The aftermath of a sewing retreat

I am thrilled to say that it took me three trips to unload the car once I got home from the sewing retreat. One for all the loose stuff in the front seat - water bottle, glasses, etc. And two trips with bags and the sewing machine. Wow -- I love that and I didn't run out of stuff to do! 

In the morning, we stopped in at a local quilt shop as they were having a sale, and a few things went into my bag. Suitable for backings at that price! I should take pictures to share. However, I have other things to share this morning. The store is located on a farm, and they raise Clydesdale horses. They are beautiful! 

Beautiful Clydesdale horses

While I was sewing in the morning, I peeked out the window to spot a chicken taking a stroll through the parked cars. I wonder if it thought it was going to find some goodies? 

Cluck - cluck! 

While I love being on a sewing retreat, I also love coming home and sorting through the project bags and getting ready for the next one. Don't ask! 

I made great strides and progress on that black and white project. A strip was sewn to both sides of the red squares, and I believe there are 40 of them. I don't remember. Then, my job was to sew the remaining small rectangles into pairs, so I could sew them to the sides, as shown in the bottom left, to form a square. 

My ender and leader project

I think I've completed about five squares. At least with this round, as there is another round of black on white to go on. I had a fifty-fifty chance that there was an even number of rectangles to make the strips. I lost! 

One rectangle left over

No worries. As soon as I got home, I grabbed the box with the black and white scraps and cut a new piece. I've no idea if I have enough or too many. I'll just keep sewing and let it be a surprise. 

My black and white scrap box

Now that the project is bundled back up into a plastic bag, it is ready for the next retreat. It's a good, mindless project to use as enders and leaders at a sewing retreat. 

Then I got serious about emptying the two project bags. The black and white quilt top I completed has been stored in the storage room, and I will add a backing when I get to it. The small Christmas one also went into the storage room, as that is where I store the community quilts. 

One of the project bags to unpack

These plastic bags that sheets come in are the BEST for UFO projects, especially those you are taking to retreat. I see people carrying plastic tubs filled with all kinds of stuff. I just want to take only what I need. For smaller projects, these zippered bags are the way to go! And nothing falls out of these ones with the zippers. They don't take up a ton of room either! They are my new best friend. You can put the components of a queen-sized quilt in one bag! I may have a few extras available if anyone is interested. I got a ton of them from Diane. 

Zippered bags

Someone brought me some new books, so they went onto the bookshelf. 

"New" books to add to the reading pile

As I emptied the bags of their contents, I went to my large retreat basket, which sits under a table, to find what was next on the retreat list. Usually, I'd take this huge thing, but it's heavy when full, so I now take the two smaller tote bags and it works! I filled my two project bags, and there are still three projects in this tub. They will have to wait for another retreat. This area was jammed before I removed the items for the last retreat. 

The holding basket for retreat projects

There are two bags filled with retreat projects for the next retreat. They don't take up a ton of space, they are light to carry, and when you have two - one for each side - you are balanced. No MORE taking copious amounts of stuff, and I will NEVER take a hard plastic case to a retreat again! Two trips into the house - and that included my clothes bag, my office bag, food, and the sewing machine! TWO TRIPS!!!!! Less the first one with all the crap stuff from the front seat. 

Almost ready for the next retreat

I also examined Diane's triangle project. Oh boy - I was right - it wasn't cut properly. 

The pattern said to cut equilateral triangles using a blunt-tipped ruler. I dug through my rulers and found these two. 

Checking for proper cutting

Depending on how you position the ruler, they are NOT equilateral triangles with a seam allowance at the top. So I'll position the ruler as shown above and trim off one side. Then it will sew back together again with zero issues. 

NO seam allowance at the one corner

It's going to be a great project to work on during the virtual retreat. So it is sitting beside my computer. And I must get out my heat press to prep the pieces of the Mondo bag lining and prepare the handles. Then it can go back to the next retreat so I can get it done! 

The project is waiting to be pulled apart

Of course, the girls were happy to see me. They had a dog sitter while I was away, as DH was also away. Not good timing, but that's the way it works at our house. They were quite clingy to say the least, but they didn't really want me - they just wanted a walk, and the second I went to the front door, they were right there! Look at those faces! Lexi is lecturing me, and I think Murphy thought I had food! Such cuties!

MOM -- we need a walk and we're hungry! 

I didn't sleep well last night. No - that's a lie. I slept well once I finally fell asleep. I got up many times - to use the bathroom, get water, eat, and mindlessly scroll on my phone. It wasn't until I wrote out a to-do list and started reading a novel that I found myself drowsy and asleep before I knew it. Sigh!!!!

But I was up at the usual time and off to the gym to see Brooke. Oh boy --- so much weight lifting! I'm tired! I think it's going to be a two-nap day! One for sure!

And YES -- there is a Virtual Retreat this weekend. It's going to be loads of fun as people recap what happened at Quilt Canada. Not that anything bad happened, but it'll be fun to hear people's perspective! The Virtual Retreat is open to anyone and is available on Zoom, completely free of charge. Here are the links. 

June 28 - STARTS at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82693702241?pwd=QpQkm8Ppppy1XwCPOqva1bcgJCWKdP.1

Meeting ID: 826 9370 2241
Passcode: 795071

June 29 - STARTS at 3 PM  (NOTE - the later start time!) 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838

And on that note - I'm out of here. I have a very long to-do list, and I still need to clear that cutting table so I can get some work done! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!