Retreat Day Five

It was so nice to wake up with the alarm at the retreat and not have to get up! However this morning when I woke up before the alarm, I did luxuriate in bed for fifteen minutes before the alarm went off, then I got up. Too much to do to just hang out in bed!

In the past, the last morning at the retreat was always a crazy morning with people getting ready to leave from the moment they got up. Now it's a very relaxed atmosphere.

I managed to get the final border on the second scrappy quilt. Yeah - two down and one to go.

Second scrappy quilt top - - DONE

This one has a piano key border. I took the picture at home, but it sure turned out dark. Not sure what happened there. Anyway - I'm happy with it. I pulled some fabric for a backing and that went into the Monday sewing bag.

I pulled out the scrappy binding tin. It's jammed with scraps. 

Scrappy binding tin

Normally, I don't dig to the bottom, but this time I did. Oh my - what memories. All those quilts that I've finished! There were a few fabrics that I didn't recognize. I even found some binding that matched some of the fabrics in the quilt! I got a chuckle out of that. So I dug to the bottom and I pulled a whole pile of binding scraps. I need to make two bindings so I pulled lots. I threw it all into a bag and it's all in the Monday sewing bag.

The bottom of the tin of binding bits

Despite what I took out, there's still lots left in the tin. This is what it looked like when I put it away last night. Of course, all those strips are now fluffed up so they take more room.

The binding tin when it got put away last night

Back to the retreat. When I pulled the third scrappy quilt from the sewing bag, I realized that it wasn't even completely together yet. Oh, shoot - so I finished putting the quilt top together and put the first border on. It was getting close to 11 at this point and I didn't really feel like working on the next two borders. So I quietly started to pack up. Next thing I knew, everyone was packed and gone. I was the last one in the house!  Now how did that happen?

The girls are getting very good about taking home what belongs to them, but I still threw some food away. Nothing much - the last of the frozen dessert, some parsley. Thanks for the bread crackers and the package of nuts. I kept those! Oh, and whose slippers got left in the foyer????

I had a good chat with my Dad on the way home. I have to laugh though. So I'm going to come right out and admit it so none of you can accuse me of this. The apple didn't fall far from the tree at our house. My Mom would find a new craft and sink her teeth into it - BIG TIME. She did that for many crafts. Fortunately for me - it was only one. Anyway - she has a basement full of stuff for ceramics. Paints, kilns, molds, greenware, finished goods. You name it - my Mom bought it in spades. It's been a few years since she did ceramics. We've been trying to get rid of it. After much discussion, a price was settled on and now to find a buyer to take it all. Finally, a buyer surfaced and after much delay, she and a couple of her sons arrived to pick up the stuff last weekend. Let's just say that they were a tad overwhelmed when they saw what was in the basement. They took the big stuff - the two kilns and some of the smaller stuff. They'll be back in the spring with lots more people to get more, but I doubt they will even make a dent in what's there. It's too overwhelming. It would appear that the woman who bought all the stuff isn't that familiar with ceramics and Dad overheard one of the sons say that she had no idea what she was getting into!

That's the same way our sewing rooms are (at least mine). It's so overwhelming to the uninitiated. But to me - it's home!!!! 

I'm going to blame this purchase (since I do not need anything more) on the girls at the retreat. They were at Thimbles and Things and saw Halloween fabric that was on sale. OH - I need more Halloween (like I need a hole in my head!). Anyway, this followed me home.

Halloween yardage and bicycle fabric

 And if that wasn't enough, I bought two charm packs of Halloween. This collection is so darn cute, but I surely do not need another Halloween quilt!!!

Halloween charm packs

 Here's my bolt of Hobbit fabric. It's perfect for a backing. I have loads of fabric for backings, but the price was right. I'm going to need a lot of fabric for all the backings I have to make.

Hobbit fabric

I unloaded the car when I got home and brought it all downstairs. Then the fun task of unpacking the bags. There were only two that really needed to be unpacked. The third one contained three of my UFO projects and it's going to stay as it until the project in my Monday sewing bag is finished. Then I'll pull out another one to work on. The end of the year is fast approaching and I'm not going to get the UFOs done again this year. But no worries, I'm making progress and those projects are NOT being forgotten. I'm very happy with the system. Next year, I'm going to spend my Monday's focusing on those UFOs.

I have almost everything put back in its place. I've found a home for all of the new stuff and I repacked the Monday sewing bag. I think I'll be doing backings for most of the day. I'm OK with that. I haven't had a chance to touch the stuff that I brought back from Houston. That'll have to wait until I get a few of the urgent projects done that need to be done.

Here are my favorite snips for sewing. If you don't have a pair of these, you should get a pair. I found them years ago and I love them. They are sharp, they are sturdy and they are cheap. I gave each of the retreat girls a pair. I have the snips all over the studio, but I can never seem to find a pair when I want them. I need a pair attached to my arm!

Best snips in the world!!!!!

Ronda was on a roll to make key fobs and she used some of my Letterpress fabric (by Northcott) to make mine. It's so cute and nice and sturdy with the Decor-Bond inside. Thanks, Ronda!!!  Thimbles and Things have some of the fabrics if you want it.

Key fob

I got loads more pictures, but that's all you get for today. It's Monday sewing and I need to get the girls out for their walk.

Other than unpacking when I got home, I really didn't do much else. I slept and I read. Bad me - because I shouldn't have done that. But that's what I felt like doing on my Sunday afternoon. Today it's pedal to the metal to get some serious work done!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!