Retreat - Day Five

The saddest day of any retreat - leaving!  But we had a blast and I'm grateful to have such wonderful friends to share sewing days with. We laugh, we cry, we sew, we eat, we drink and everything else!  It's really a fun thing to do.  Hopefully some of you have been able to go on a sewing retreat.  If not, let me know - maybe we can arrange one more!

I didn't ride my bike or go for a walk yesterday.  Got some last minute sewing done and then we sat outside enjoying the beautiful weather for a long time. Then people started leaving and I still had sewing to do!  Leftovers for lunch and then to pack all that stuff in my car! And last minute tidying up. I'm of the philosophy that if the house was tidy when we arrive, then it should be tidy when we leave. All the stuff we moved around had to be put back in place, the kitchen was tidied up, empty the fridge, load the dishwasher, put the recycling and garbage away, lights off and all that. I think it was 1:30 before I locked the door and hopped in the car.

The ride home was pretty uneventful. Despite the fact that it was Sunday afteroon and many people were headed home from the cottage, the traffic was pretty normal and only slowed down because of a disabled vehicle on the side of the road. Why people have to stop and look is beyond me.  And I noticed that every time there is a hill, the traffic slows - people have their brakes on.  Why?

Once I got home, it was time to unload the car. It was jammed.  I didn't take any pictures to avoid comments, but let's say that there wasn't much room for anything else.  I got it all in the house and more or less unpacked by 4 PM.  Well - the grocery stuff unpacked and the rest of the stuff downstairs.

Even though I had a lot of baskets and bags, I did touch or handle stuff from all these bags!

Stuff I had worked on or tools

 That stuff is all pretty much sorted out and put away.

This was the stuff that I didn't touch. Well - except for one project that I dug out. I have consolidated all the stuff into four bags and it is going to sit and wait for the next retreat. I must promise myself that I do NOT need to prep anything - just grab those four bags and go!

Didn't get touched

 While the house we rent is fairly big, the sewing area can be a bit tight. I think I mentioned that Tish went with ONE laundry basket of stuff. How I have no idea considering she had a BOX of steam a seam in there as well!  I think we should all challenge ourselves to take ONE laundry basket of project stuff next time. ACK!  I could do it!  I'm just afraid of running out. And I would pack everything in ziploc bags! I might give it a shot - it would mean priotizing to death but I did that this time and it worked well.

I spent a LOT of time on that quilt top that I had to rip out and redo and then I was short one piece of fabric. Since it is for a magazine, I can't share it with you at this time!  It will be worth the wait.

Then I worked on a tote bag - also for work. Not for sharing at this time.

I also got all 16 of those eight-pointed stars done. That was a huge accomplishment. Very time consuming!

16 star blocks - DONE

I finished the last 16 blocks of this disappearing four-patch.  All thirty five blocks are now done and ready to sew into a quilt top.

Disappearing four-patch - ready to sew into a quilt top!

 Next up was three blocks from the Gravity quilt.  This is going to be spectacular when it's done. Anyone interested in a class???

Three blocks from Gravity quilt

Gravity quilt by Jaybird Quilts

I also managed to get three blocks done for Gypsy Wife from Jen Kingwell.

Three blocks for Gypsy Wife

Gypsy Wife by Jen Kingwell

I think I'm going to have to remake one of them. There isn't enough contrast at all. It's very busy and this is an experiment. I hate those busy backgrounds, but forcing myself to do it.  This would also make a good class.  Anyone interested????  You really need to be on your toes to make this one (so perfect for a class) and it would be fun for a class. Do a google search for other colorings!

Neither of those quilts are hard!

I'm sure I worked on a couple of other things, but I don't remember, nor did I come across them. Oh - I did sew and trim some half square triangles. Can't show you those either!

I managed to snag another license plate. So far - I'm sticking to my plan on this year's Row by Row and I'm happy!

One more license plate

 And look what I found at Fabricland. Those buttons that I was stitching on the other day and was missing one.  Now I can finish repairing that piece.

Missing buttons!

On that note, it's back to reality and to play catch up on whatever I missed last week.

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!