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!!!!

Retreat sewing

The vertigo is better this morning, but yesterday, when I bent down to help someone find something on the floor, that was NOT a good thing! At least it's not affecting my enjoyment of the companionship of friends and sewing or writing, so I'm good! 

I accomplished a lot yesterday, although I can only share a bit with you. Boy, oh boy, sewing is humbling! It's so easy to get distracted and make a mistake. Good grief—you want to whack yourself for doing that, but there's always a plan B, so one must move on!

Besides the work on QUILTsocial, I managed to get some of my personal stuff done. 

This is a project from a couple of years ago when we had a class on Pre-cuts. I had most of the blocks complete, but not quite. I still need a few pieces of the background fabric, which is at home, for this project. But I got four rows together - it's not pressed yet, so don't panic! 

A partially completed quilt top

I have two more rows together but can't join them yet. When I get home, I need to finish three blocks, and then I can put the top together. I could make the binding here, but I'll leave it until I get home. 

I also brought my serger, intending to join the backing for this quilt. That is also done. As this one is a gift, I hope to get it quilted soon, although I have a couple of customer quilts to do first. 

A quilt ready to be quilted

I started another project last night, and it's on the cutting table. I should be able to get the top together today and then try to figure out borders or what to do with it. It needs to be bigger for a lap quilt, and I have extra fabric, so I could make it larger. I'll see how it goes today and make a decision. 

These are projects that need to be tidied up. They've been sitting around for years!!! 

I counted, and there are six more projects in my basket, and I said I wanted to work on each of them. So maybe I make one block and put it back in the basket for the next retreat? 

I have more work to complete on my QUILTsocial projects today and more writing tomorrow. So far, I've kept up with everything, so all the pieces should be completed. There will be no UFOs, but it's a challenge. No worries—I'll make it happen. 

But you can see that I was busy. Look at the threads!!!

Threads!!!!

One of the ladies was wearing her Gee's Bend T-shirt yesterday, so I had to snap a picture. She got it on the sale rack in Target a couple of months ago. Of course, I spent some time trying to find one, but they are no longer for sale! At least not online. I could easily make the T-shirt—it's super simple: a regular T-shirt with a patch pocket. That's it! 

Gee's Bend T-shirt

But the label is pretty cool! 

The label for the T-shirt

 I knew they were out whenever the collection was released—there was also a jacket, but I looked at it at the time and decided then that I didn't need it. I still don't need it!

Someone else had fun with the ice maker! I'm not a fan of ice, so I couldn't care less if there was an ice maker, but many people love ice, so we had fun watching how quickly it froze the ice cubes. 

Making ice cubes

Things were going well until after dinner when I changed the foot on my sewing machine and forgot to return to a straight stitch. CLUNK—I broke a needle. 

OH - the needle broke!

But all is good. 

It was hot yesterday, but I still walked in the afternoon. I didn't get a chance in the morning because we had the two UFO club Zooms. Today should be a somewhat quieter day? What does that exactly mean anyway? 

Well, I'm off to finish editing my document so I can send it off and then back to sewing! 

Have a great day!!

Ciao!!!

Just one more piece! Just one!

The keyboard is back! It needed new batteries as it's a BlueTooth device. But this is the bizarre thing. Look at the back where the batteries go.

Why is this wet? 

For some reason, it became WET, and my first thought was that the batteries were leaking. But they didn't appear to be. So did I spill something on the surface? Nope -- I did not. So I don't know what the issue was. I took those batteries out and left the whole thing to dry thoroughly, and this morning, I put new batteries in, and I'm good to go! 

I love an easy fix to a technology problem!

So it was Monday sewing, and I confess that I seem to get very little done during those sessions. There's lots of talking but not much sewing -- at least on my part and we get to share all kinds of things with each other. I loved it, and when it was over, I got to work and accomplished almost everything I had planned to do, so it wasn't a complete bust. I wanted to finish that novel, but that didn't happen, so I should be able to do that today. 

Look at that sleeping beauty. What a girl --- she just has to be close, but not too close. And she loves to sleep on the crocheted rugs that I make. We have a few around the house, and all of them get used. Even the new one in the office. You can never have too many dog beds in the house if you have dogs. What would my house look like without a dog bed? 

Sleeping Murphy

And I swear that dog seeks and craves attention. Everything is quiet, so I sneak into the living room to read my book, and the next thing I know -- there's Murphy -- begging me to get her ball that's been stuck under the couch for days. Or scrunching up the blankets that I just straightened. 

MOM -- I LOVE YOU!

Oh, Murphy --- it's a good thing you are super cute!!!!

I could not help myself with the puzzle. I had to put a few pieces in, and you know how it goes. Just one more piece, and then I'll leave. OK -- just one more! 

This puzzle was a first for me. I start with the border, separate all the pieces, and then create that frame. But for the life of me, I swore two pieces of the border were missing, or I had goofed. But NO  --- I was almost down to the last few pieces before that elusive last border piece emerged. Now, why is that? 

Finding the last border piece almost at the end

And here it is --- done!!! It's a nice puzzle, but I'll put it away later today, and then it goes into the giveaway pile. There is a couple of our Monday sewing group that trades puzzles, but I don't want to trade -- I just want to give this away! Remember, NOTHING is precious in my house any longer. Well, maybe the living things at my house! But I might be persuaded to give Murphy away on certain occasions! 

The completed puzzle

And what's with the price of gas? I feel like I need to make a trip just because gas is so cheap. OH -- that's hard to read, but it is $135.9 a liter. That's cheap!

Cheap gas

Here are the two quilts of the day! Both of these are flannel quilts for community projects. One was a bit larger than usual, but it's still small at 40" by 50". 

Community project quilt -- DONE

Community project quilt - DONE

I did not get the binding on either of them. I might attempt to do that today. I don't want to get too far behind in that --- I want these done so I can make a donation at the end of the month. I think those two are numbers 10 and 11, but who is counting? 

Then it was time to work on something else. This is one of the blocks from Green Tea and Sweet Beans. I still have to apply the oval, but the stem part is done. I'm not too far behind on this quilt, but it would be good to get it together! NEW classes are coming in the fall, and one needs to stay caught up!

One more block for Green Tea and Sweet Beans

I also joined that polyester batting. I attempted to do it on the sewing machine with a large zigzag, but that did NOT work. So I dug out my fusible tricot (interfacing for knits), and voila --- it worked like a charm. I did turn the temperature on the iron down! Keep in mind that this is GOOD quality polyester batting, so it has some density, and I'm not sure this would work with some porous polyester battings. 

Joining polyester batting

The batting pieces are joined

Speaking of classes for the fall, one of the ongoing sessions that I'm going to host through The Hobby Horse is "what to do with precuts?"  You know you got them, and you're not using them. There are many reasons not to use them - they are too pretty, or you have no idea what to do with them. We're going to have a discussion about them. It won't just be me chatting (I hope), and I want to hear all ideas and see a LOT of collections of precuts. Here's the link to The Hobby Horse website so you can get signed up. If you have a lot of precuts, I think this ongoing session will benefit all of us. You have to call the store to sign up. There will be NO specific monthly assignment - well, there will be a few things for you to do! 

I had a browse through my precuts this morning. OH --- there's a lot of precuts there. I found precuts in all sizes and shapes, and we'll be chatting about each of them and trying to figure out what to do with them. I've got some great ideas up my sleeve. 

Jelly rolls

Charms and mini-charms

If you haven't signed up for classes yet, there's still time -- at least for my classes. Check out this blog post with all the information about the classes and how to sign up. I will start registration for my personal 2023 clubs in October/November, so watch for that. The ones that I will run personally, not through a store. 

For some, the most exciting part of any new class is accumulating the fabric for it. I think I only have to find fabric for ONE new project, but I'll be checking that out later today. 

So -- do you want to see some eye candy? Here's the link to the winning quilts at The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England.   I haven't had a chance to go through all of the quilts. But one of the ladies in our Monday group managed to get there for one day and gave us a brief look. If anyone knows Sue Sherman from Canada, she had a winning quilt in the show, but it does NOT look like a typical Sue Sherman quilt. 

That about covers it for today. I want to try and work on something OTHER than those community project quilts today, but I still want to get more of them quilted. Just be faster and wiser about how you work. The next one is already on the long arm! I hope to be done with them by noon! 

And holy --- the days are definitely shorter and much cooler in the morning! Fall is coming! But we had a nice rain yesterday -- probably a little too late, but better late than never. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Why do we buy so much fabric?

No great insights when I woke up this morning. Darn! But then I wasn't really missing anything nor did I have any immediate issues, other than I need the motivation to get that darn quilt quilted. I did get more completed yesterday but not enough. I HAVE to finish it today!

We had a makeup class yesterday at The Hobby Horse for a class that we missed in February. I'll be posting pictures tomorrow for that class. We were supposed to have a sewing day in the afternoon, but with only one person there for the sewing, it wasn't worth staying. Oh well.

Today was also supposed to be a Sit n Sew day, but with a mixup of e-mails, there was only one person signed up and hey - I NEED to know that you're coming!  No big deal, this will give me a chance to get that quilt finished and put the binding on. Things should go smoothly now that Studio B is back in order and we can have regularly scheduled dates. It's also the end of summer so I'm happy with the day "off".

What happened to the HOT weather. I have shorts on again this morning and well - it's nippy! And have you noticed how dark it is in the morning? Fall is definitely around the corner which is not necessarily a bad thing. I love the change of seasons.

So what did I do with myself when I should have been at the long arm? The girls and I did have a wee nap in the gazebo and I read for a bit. Because the gazebo is in the shade, I even had a blanket. It was glorious.

And when I finally got myself into the house and after doing some quilting, I thought I should tackle a few more of the boxes that need to be unpacked. Yikes! I've gone through all the remaining boxes and put those that have to do with quilting and fabric in the main area of Studio B. Am I going to be able to make this all fit in the limited space?? That's going to be the question of the day. But not today.

You can judge me all you want on what I'm about to show you, but before you do  - you should have a look at your own stash!

As I mentioned the other day, I decided to group all the pre-cuts together. They were scattered in several places and time to know just what I had. Now here's the funny thing - I don't really like or use pre-cuts. They are too damn restrictive and I'm not sure how many I've actually used in the past.

So here we go - there's a tub full of pre-cuts.

One tub of pre-cuts

Oh my - there's a second tub of pre-cuts.

And yet another tub

Let's not forget the FQ bundles which are technically a pre-cut. Yep - a whole tub (it's full now)

A tub of fat quarter bundles

And then I found this bag filled with pre-cuts.

And even more pre-cuts

Seriously???  I don't really use these silly things and I have enough to fill four flat tubs???  What was I thinking when I bought them?? Now some of them I did buy on sale, but seriously - this is absolutely the most wasteful thing I've seen in a long time. A huge investment in something that I don't really like.

WAIT - do not judge me if you have even one pre-cut that you've bought and not used!

Yes - they look pretty and are easily an impulse item, but if we never use them - what's the point of buying them?

I opened a bag in the process of sorting the pre-cuts to find this.

A bundle of pre-cuts

Included here are TWELVE of the mini-charm packs, two charm packs (5" squares), one jelly roll and some yardage. WHAT?????

This is the name of the collection which obviously I really liked.

Snap pop by Sandy Gervais

Wait - there's a receipt in the bag. Good grief - I bought it on April 8, 2013. Yep - over six years ago and NEVER even removed the purchase from the original shopping bag. I hang my head in shame! I'm over the shame, but it just boggles my mind. What was I going to do with all these pre-cuts of the same collection? I bought them at a quilt store on the way to our retreat in Bracebridge (which has since closed). I know that from the date and time on the receipt. More than likely, I saw a quilt in the shop that I really liked but didn't buy the pattern because I could make it without the pattern. I e-mailed the shop in the extremely remote chance that she would remember what she had on display. Nope - a dead end.

All those pre-cuts went into the tubs. I shall be doing some investigation into some patterns to use up those pre-cuts. They are NOT up for grabs and will likely get moved to the charity quilt projects at some point.

Receipt for some pre-cuts

I see people trying to see this kind of stuff on e-Bay. What the heck is the point of buying pre-cuts and then selling (in most cases at a great loss) on e-Bay??? Doesn't make sense to me.

Then I found this box. The label says "Machine Applique Samples". I remember this box and I know that it's been floating for YEARS. What's in the box?

A project box

There were two spools of thread and three pieces of fabric. The spools of thread are in the thread bin and two of the three fabrics are shelved. That is the wrong side of the green, but I think that just might work for the missing binding on that orange/green quilt from yesterday. I haven't checked it yet. At one point, there was also a book in here which got removed and put on the bookshelf. Now the box is empty to receive an unfinished project.

Three pieces of fabric and two spools of thread

I know there are a "few" more boxes like this one. Good intentions, but it's not going to happen.

Then I unearthed a decorative container that was filled with fabric. What's all this????

Box of fabric

Yikes - here's a collection of half yard cuts - there are 12 of them and they were bought to make a quilt since they are very coordinated. I have an idea what pattern it was, but I'll have to check it out later. But seriously???  Why wasn't this put away with the pattern? Or a note??

A group of half yard cuts

I also found this in the box. There's a bunch of quarter yard cuts of pinks and greens. I also found this pattern. Were the fabrics for that pattern? No idea. I put the fabric in the appropriate color baskets and the pattern went in a pattern box.

Pink and green fabric

Must have been on a pink and green kick around that time because I also found these fabrics. For what purpose?? No idea so those got shelved in the appropriate color basket as well.

More pink and green

While I had no idea when or why I bought those fabrics, I do remember buying this next grouping and I know what I was going to make with them. They are panels. There are six panels in each pile and they were to make One Block Wonder quilts. I remember buying them after seeing a trunk show at the local guild. ACK!!!!!  One of the panels is very ugly on its own so it can only be made into One Block wonder. The middle one - well I don't know yet. They are still sitting on the table as I contemplate what to do with them.

Panels

Holy --- this is quite the eye-opener. All I can say is thank god that I've stopped buying. I don't care if I deserve a reward or I'm worth it. I'm not proud of the mess that I've created. Thankfully, I'm going through it now and at least getting it organized so the fabrics can be used up. I can't imagine letting my family or a friend deal with this. It's huge. And I can't imagine what happens to those that hide their fabric in their house so their family can't see how much they have. I've never done that, but I guess putting it into baskets was almost like hiding it from myself. In some respects, it's very equivalent to what we found at my parent's place. Just neater and cleaner.

It's totally insane and I must say that it looks like a tornado went through Studio B. But actually, it's not as bad as you would expect. Yes, there are still boxes to go through, but it's manageable. Barely - I can only cope with the unpacking for so long and then I get to a point where I don't know what to do with something. I know that sounds contradictory, but it's not.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper here, but here are some of the main ways that we acquire this stuff and we should take note of our respective situations and deal with it how we feel is most appropriate.

1. Secret Sister or swaps. You end up getting stuff that you don't want, don't like, or won't use. What do you do with it?? I stopped swaps years ago. If I want a tote bag, I'll make one that suits my style and workmanship. Thanks, but no thanks!
2. Work for the product instead of cash. Sometimes I would work a trade show and get the equivalent in products in return for my hours instead of cash. Bad idea. You end up getting things that you don't really need or what. DO NOT work for product. 
3. Friends. Ever notice how friends encourage you to buy something when you're on the fence? They are not the ones who have to store, make or cough up the cash to make the purchase. Do NOT listen to your friends and do NOT encourage your friends to buy if they're on the fence.
4. Sales. Need I say more. Oh my - it's on sale - I'll buy lots. Why???  If you don't have a home for it or a use for it - is it really a sale? Is it worth dealing with the aftermath?
5. You want to do everything. I would see a quilt in a store and want to make the exact same quilt. Why? I may not have time to make the quilt so why am I adding to the pile of things to do?? Focus on what you like and make that!
6. Shipping costs. Yep - ever get a notification that you can add three more yards to your envelope without increasing the shipping costs so we buy those three extra yards? Why??? To save money?? The same thing happens if you get a notification that if you spend $50 you get free shipping. Are we so gullible that we fall for that and end up with a LOT of stuff that we'll never use?? I used to. 
7. You're worth it. Seriously?? This is so lame. We're also worth our sanity - if you have so much that you have no idea what to do with it - does that help your sanity????
8. The retirement stash. Yep - knowing that you'll be on a fixed income in the future, you bought and you bought LOTS. 
9. The guilt purchase. I know I did this a lot. I'd be in the store, didn't really see anything that grabbed my fancy, but I bought something just because I felt that I should buy something. And sometimes, what I bought cost a lot of money. Didn't need it, didn't want it but felt compelled to buy it. STOP THAT.  You should NEVER feel that you HAVE to buy something just because you walk in a store. Just STOP. And if the staff or the owner make you feel guilty? Don't shop there ever again. 
10. Shop discount. Most stores allow their staff (and teachers) to buy fabric at a discount. Every little bit helps, but that discount has added stuff to my stash that I didn't need. There were many days when I worked or taught and technically, I owed the store more money than I had made that day!!!

I'm sure there are other reasons to buy, but these are the main ones. BUY what you need and what you can use. Don't get me wrong - I still buy but in a very restricted and responsible fashion. Yes - I have the odd issue, but nothing like I used to have. If only someone had told me those seven rules when I first started to quilt!!!!

On that note, I"m out of here to get something accomplished today.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!