Quilt retreats are the best

Just waiting for the email wth the photos to come through! It's been a super productive retreat so far, and we still have a few days to go. Can I finish the remaining quilt tops for the dog quilts? They will have to wait unit October to be quilted, but that's OK. 

OK -- the pictures came through, but some of them need a bit of editing; however, that doesn't seem to want to happen this morning. No big deal -- some are sideways -- we'll just have to let it go. 

This first picture is a bit weird, but it shows the mist/fog that was on the cornfield yesterday morning. There was a lot, but then the day was nice and warm. 

Mist in the cornfield

As I worked on the dog quilts yesterday, I had to trim the panels and fabrics very closely, so those nice selvages were taken off and tossed, as there was only the selvage. I think most people want a bit of fabric attached to the selvage. Well, my treasure in this case is the panel, NOT the selvage, so off with its head and it's gone! 

Nice selvages that ended up in the pet mat bag

I didn't even have the luxury of joining the border strips on the diagonal as I always do. They had to be butt joined. 

I had to return to the quilt store to purchase more of one fabric, as I had made the borders a bit wider than initially planned, and therefore a bit extra was required. No problem, the store isn't that far away. So even with the construction on the way there, I was there and back in less than an hour. I took a detour on the way home, so I missed the traffic congestion. 

And here is the first of the two quilt tops I made yesterday. Remember, this is a panel with three borders attached. We are not talking rocket science here. But they don't need to be. They are a gift of appreciation, they look so cute, and they will hopefully be well-loved. 

Dog quilt top number three

It's tough to see the fabrics as the pictures are taken with the light behind them. You'll see better pictures when they get quilted. I had to buy the dark grey for the first border. Then I had about 1 yard of each of the other two fabrics, and there is NOT much left of either!

And here is the second quilt. 

Dog fabric number four

Like yesterday, I had TWO of the same panel. I also had a lot of fabrics to work with, but not much of any particular one. The same dark grey was used for the first border, and then the other two borders were approximately 1-yard pieces that I had. They look pretty awesome, and I'm super happy with the results. 

And so nice to buy fabric and then actually use it immediately. This one will never even make it to my stash because there is nothing left. When I went to buy the second piece, I purchased .3 meters because that's all I needed. I'm past the point (almost) of where I need to feed my stash!

This is what MY cutting table looks like this morning. I know -- I sort of commandeered that one table and I've been using it (not exclusively) to cut fabric and get those borders on. I'm now working on that white and teal quilt that's on the table. I had to find a fabric for that one and a half of the outer border is on. You'll see it tomorrow. 

MY cutting table

Hey -- I have time, and I have the dedicated space, so you bet, I'm taking one hundred percent advantage of it. So is everyone else. Since we are so few, we each have quite a bit of table space and so we are all taking advantage of it. 

Here's my office. Lots of toys, lots of wires, and it's nice to have a big keyboard on the laptop to work on. No mini office for me!!

My portable office

I should also mention my enders and leaders project. I'm working on these blocks that are black and white with red centers. Sorry -- this picture is upside down, and unfortunately, I'm unable to rotate it. When the orientation is off, it drives me mad! I'm not sure how many blocks I'm making, but the ones on the left are done. Well, there is a light (black on white) round to put on them. I'm working on the center of the ones on the right. I don't have enough fabric to complete them, but I'm going to get as much done as I can. Then I'll have to bring my black/white scrap box with me next time, or just have a cutting session before I come to the next retreat. 

My enders and leaders project

And here's the other thing that I decided to work on. Well, it's not really something to work on, but I have TWO of these bobbin holders and they are full of partially filled bobbins. I don't use these bobbins at home, and I decided to bring one tray with me. So I'm using them up! GASP!!!! You mean you are piecing with multiple colors of thread? Yes, I am, and I'm not worried in the least!!!! It's actually really nice because when one bobbin is done, I just pop in another! Look at how many I have emptied so far!!!!

Using up multiple thread colors

Here are a few things that I purchased the other day. This is the quilt that I saw at the Buckhorn Quilt Show. Someone had made the quilt, and I thought it would be perfect for me. I managed to find it at the second quilt shop we were at. 

Spectacular Savana pattern

With the exception of the rhino, we saw all those animals on our safaris! I thought it was appropriate!!!!

I also found this pattern, which has many possibilities. I'm not 100% sure what direction I'll take, but I'll come up with something. 

A Suitcase pattern

And I LOVE this panel (there are four sayings on it), but I bought it mainly for this one. This is what I need to keep in mind as I'm continuing on my decluttering journey. 

Quote on fabric

And OK -- I do not do impulse purchases, but I bought these just because. 

Precuts that I bought

But here's the interesting thing about these. How much do you think I paid? 

I'll tell you at the end to give you time to contemplate the prices. 

And here's the progress on the 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle. I don't think I'm going to get it finished. Should I leave it up for the next group? I would love to arrive and have a puzzle already set out. I might do that!!

Progress on the puzzle

And guess what? We were chatting about Advent Calendars, and Oh my --- the new EXIT Game calendar is available for order. I've got it on order and can't wait to start it. We haven't done anything for months, but our schedules have been so silly. October, at least for me, means I'll be home for a good part of the time. And hopefully in December as well, although I have another quilting retreat!!

The 2025 Advent Calendar

We had Chinese for dinner last night, and we each got two fortune cookies, which were randomly plunked down at our spots. Hmmm --- I'm not sure that others admire this character trait in me. Most people will just think I'm pushy. I'm OK with that --- just make a decision and move on. I hate (OK -- dislike) when people just keep popping up ideas - we can do this, we can do that. Just pick one and move on!!!!

Do they really admire this trait?

But this one? Oh my ---- isn't this what everyone keeps telling me? Next week, it'll get better. OK -- it won't get better until October. I already know that!!! 

Is this me? 

OK -- so what was your guess on the prices? The mini charms were $10 each, and the charm pack was $20. If I had paid better attention, I could have purchased TWO charm packs for the same price and gotten more fabric. DUH!!!!! It's a simple matter of chopping those charm packs into four if you want the smaller squares. Live and learn and check the prices. 

Well, on that note, I'm off to finish that border and then get to work laying out those 483 blocks - one quilt at a time, of course!!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!