Fireside Retreat Day Five

It's a sad day - the last day of our retreat. While I'm ready to go "home", I always hate the last day. Packing up the car and last-minute sewing to get another part of the project done. But alas - it's the end - for this time. I still have four retreats booked for this year.

Honestly, this virtual sewing retreat has been a HUGE learning curve for me. Well, not so much a learning curve as a revelation. Here's what I learned:

1. I can survive a five-day retreat with ONE laundry basket of projects. Just BE REALISTIC when packing. 
2. I do not need to panic pack. I touched nothing that was in that bag. 
3. Do your homework BEFORE you go. Everything was prepped. I had double-checked all the items I would need - tools, thread colors, etc. and I didn't have to go shopping or borrow from anyone. 
4. Pack the tools and supplies in a separate box so it's easy to find them. 

I can't wait until the next retreat (we've rebooked this one and let's pray that we're able to go so that I can test my new-found knowledge.

In case you think that I sewed day and night - that wasn't the case. I started at 9 AM, stopped briefly for lunch, when for a long walk (over 1 hour in the afternoon), and stopped around 7 or 8. About the same amount of sewing that I would do at the retreat, except for a shopping trip or two. I accomplished loads! And lots of time to chat with the others via our Messenger chat group. We even got in a video chat or two. If ever there is a next time, we need to do that at least once a day. I thought the quality of the chat was bad, but that's because I can't stream very well from that room (it's far from the router). So I had to come to the kitchen. No big deal.

So what did the others get done yesterday?? Since I couldn't technically take pictures, I'm going solely on what they posted.

Tish finished up this table runner that she had started at the November retreat. Notice how beautifully staged it is?

Tish's table runner

 Katheleen got the last of the Martha Washington blocks done for the Snow Days quilt. YEAH!!!!  Hopefully, that's all the pieced blocks she has to make before she can start to sew the quilt together.

Four Martha Washington blocks

 Here are two more blocks from Susan's Vintage Christmas. Remember - she is NOT in our group so don't panic that you missed some homework.

Vintage Christmas blocks

And Susan shared this storage system that she found at IKEA. It looks like a pegboard, but it's not a pegboard. You can buy all kinds of little containers, hooks, etc. to put stuff on the board. I LOVE it. I've given you the link so you can check it out.

IKEA wall storage system

And what did I get done? OH - I was determined. Very determined. My goal was to get the Easy Street quilt top together. Remember - all the blocks and setting triangles were pieced and hanging on the design wall.

Easy Street is the 2012 mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to twirl EVERY seam on the back to reduce bulk. OK - so it does make for a flat quilt, but what a pain. I started when I started to sew it together in 2012.

The sewn seam needs to be twirled 

I had it all laid out with the seams going in the right direction. I was making progress. Then right after lunch, I came back and OH - it appears that I put the wrong setting triangle in this place (half of them were pressed one way and the other half were pressed the other way). When I went to join one of the rows, the seams didn't match. OH - crude. It appears that I was right the first time and shouldn't have changed anything. That meant a wee bit of ripping. I could have finished way before I did. Fortunately, I caught my error before I went too far, but still.

The seams don't nest

At one point, this is what it looked like. It's an awesome quilt and I love the colors and how it appears to be moving.

Easy Street - getting finished

And there it is. The quilt top is done!!!!!!  Let me say that I was doing the happy dance. This was a lot of work to make the blocks and get the top together. A LOT of work. I'm thrilled with the results.

Easy Street quilt top

Now comes the decision to add a border or not? I think it needs a border even though the quilt is already huge at about 84 inches square.

I tried one of the fabrics in the project box. Nope - too light. But it was the only one that I would have had enough of for the border and the binding. I just need a skinny border - about 2 - 3 inches.

Auditioning fabric for the border

This is more like what I want.

This is much better

There isn't enough of that fabric for the borders nor for the binding. I'm going to go shopping today (Chez Elaine) to see if I can find something. If not, that goes on the shopping list when we're allowed out! As much as I would like to finish it now, I'm not going to sacrifice the look I want, just because I can't buy the right color immediately. This won't take long to finish once I get the right color. I'm good with that.


As my ender/leader project, I got all the half-square triangles made for the 11th block of the Mini BOM. 

Half-square triangles made for the mini-BOM

 This morning, I got most of them cut apart and ready to sew. Notice that I'm using my blue mini-design wall?

Laying out the piece of the small block

Oh, shoot - I should have taken a picture of our video chat so I could superimpose it on this picture. I might try to make that happen today. Just for the fun of it. I wasn't thinking fast enough. Actually, I did think of it, but I had left my phone upstairs and was using the iPad for the video chat.

Our photo op bench on the porch at Fireside Retreat

So this is where we normally sit to relax at the retreat. Those red chairs are so comfy and it would have been beautiful to sit out in the sun. Alas, that wasn't to be.

The red chairs at Fireside

However, I can't really complain because this is where I sat yesterday after my walk to enjoy the sun before I went back to finish sewing that quilt top together.

My blue chair in the gazebo

I hope everyone remembered to sign the Guest Book before they left. I love signing the guest book. I made that cover for Emma at the very first retreat.

The Guest Book at Fireside Retreat

And thanks so much to Emma who played along and provided some pictures of Fireside Retreat so we could enjoy the retreat house even if we weren't there.

I forgot to post this picture of the welcome on the chalkboard!! She's truly the best!! I always sign the Guest Book as the Production Crew since we tend to get a lot done when we're there.

Welcome to Fireside Retreat

 And there's the setting sun. One more retreat in our memory book. Thanks, Emma for all your hospitality. It was so much fun!!!

The sun goes down on another retreat

I managed to get the homework assignment out for the Celebration quilt class. It looks like I'm going to be prepping for FIVE of these ongoing classes now. Well, I would be prepping for them anyway, but they've been moved (or will be) to online until things settle down. But that's OK. I've got one more to prep today and I'm going to catch up on some paperwork and e-mails.

I'm going to do some more prep work for sewing and then take a couple of days a week and focus like this past weekend. Or I might just prep in the morning and sew in the afternoon. I'll see how it goes.

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Fireside Retreat - Day Four

I'm exhausted! This focusing thing is going to kill me, but I'm determined! I swear it's the audiobook! I finished the novel I was reading and moved onto the last audiobook on my shelf. I'm going to have to find another one soon. The book is non-fiction called Salt, Sugar, Fat. It's about how the food industry has engineered food to make us crave more of the bad stuff and how they target their advertising, etc. to make us want more!

Oh - I'm totally aware of it all but it's very interesting to "read" the story of the cereal companies and the soda pop companies. It's actually shocking how the FDA has tried to make the companies more responsible in light of the obesity issue, but it boils down to money. The food companies are big and all they care about is the bottom line. I truly believe that the root of so many evils is that darn bottom line.

We have this discussion at home often. The argument is that it's a free country and people don't have to buy these bad products. Yes - I get that. But they are conditioned from babies - watching the commercials on TV, wanting those incentives in the cereal boxes or whatever. Then it becomes an ingrained habit that is extremely challenging to say no to. To the extent that people end up eating the bad stuff, not because they are hungry, but the food substitutes for friends, loneliness, boredom, etc.

The worst is soda pop. I can't believe that the AVERAGE consumption rate of pop is GALLONS per year - something like 50 gallons, although that number has decreased. But still - don't drink it - just don't. It's so bad for you, even the diet stuff. It's just evil - the worst thing ever made.

Anyway - it's an interesting read. Thanks to Nancy for the recommendation.

Here are my neighborhood pictures.

Oops - this is what happens when you think that snowman is such a great idea and it's November. But what do you do with him when it's April?? It doesn't look like an inflatable one. This is a townhouse so not a lot of storage. Oh well - Frosty will be waving all year long I think.

Frosty is getting a bit hot

My local grocery store must have started limiting the number of people in the store. On the last three mornings, I've noticed a physical distancing line outside the store. It looks like the people are closer together, but that is their shadows!!! The picture was taken shortly after 8 AM when the store opens and every morning it's like this. I wonder if that line exists all day?

Grocery store line

Life is sure different. There's no question of that. I know my city is patrolling this weekend for people gathering and I see the police almost every afternoon on my walk. But since I'm just gathering with my girls, we are OK.

Hey - I've got some show and tell from the others today.

Tish was working on this wool applique project. I love it - the car is adorable and the snowflakes are very cute. I think it's going to be a wall hanging.

Tish's wool applique project

Lynn finished a baby quilt with leftovers bits.

Lynn's baby quilt

Then she got started on the next project.

Lynn's next project

 Here are some of the components for the new quilt. I love the color of those fabrics!!!!

Lynn's partially completed quilt

Susan was working on an Easter table runner. It's adorable!!

Susan's Easter table runner

 Katheleen was working on the Martha Washington blocks for Snow Days.

Two of the Martha Washington blocks

One more block

No need to panic about the size - it looks close enough 

Paula was busy painting a cabinet in her new sewing room. I guess that counts as retreat work, but I bet it was tough to get that in the car!!!!

Paula's newly painted storage cabinet

And this is another of the cabinets in her new room. I can't wait to see the room when it's done!!  Look at the hardware in that room - the doors. She lives in a beautiful old house.

Another cabinet in Paula's sewing room

Ronda was working on this blue and white quilt. YIKES -- essentially, that's just adding borders upon borders. A LOT of work. I heard that she's pinning every row to make it lie flat. Good job Ronda!!!!

Ronda's project

Me? Oh - I was a busy little bee. I think I've carried this darn quilt to many retreats. This one is on my Dirty Dozen (UFO) list for 2019. Hey - did you notice that I'm working on those UFOs?? Oh yes - these focused days are GREAT and I just need a few more of them and I'm going to get those lists done!!!

This quilt is called Easy Street by Bonnie Hunter. It was her 2012 mystery quilt. Loads of little pieces. I've worked on three of her mysteries. One is completely done and waiting to be quilted. There's this one and one more that I need to work on at some point. While I enjoyed them, I won't do another one. Too much work for a mystery quilt and too many other quilts to make.

The quilt is on point and the four corner triangles were made, as well as four (of 25) blocks. This is what it looked like on the design wall the night before.

I needed to make 16 of these blocks (they are 15"). Four blocks were made. Some of the components of the remaining 12 blocks were made. Note they got laid out on my foam core boards which were the perfect size and happen to be stored in Studio U.

The components for the first block

I needed to make nine of these blocks. The components were made, but still in 25 separate little bits for each block.

The second block

12 setting triangles needed to be made. I found them in a plastic bag like this.

The setting triangles

So I started by organizing them to look like this.

The setting triangles 

See that blue board? That's been tied up for years with this project.

Mini blue design board

Not that I was absolutely missing it since I do have two. I love it so much that when I found another one on sale somewhere (actually, I think it was at Fabricland) at one of our retreats a few years ago, I snatched it up.

Two blue mini design boards

I did have to cut a few additional squares of purple. I guess I can count pieced components, but not squares. No worries as all the fabric for the quilt are still in the project box. That project box took up a LOT of space in the laundry basket as well.

Project box for Easy Street

It's the last day of the retreat and I haven't touched the yoga bag, the backpack, nothing in the panic packed bag (there were three projects in there) and there's one more small project that I haven't touched. I may get to one more project later today. We'll see. So YES - I can survive with a laundry basket of stuff for the next retreat.

I started off by making the setting triangles. This is going to be bright, but it looks awesome. Did I mention that all the seams are twirled on the back? Whose bright idea was that?

Two setting triangles are added

All the setting triangles are made and need to be pressed.

The setting triangles are done

Then I worked on that first block and soon (yeah right) I had the setting triangles, the corner triangles and those 16 blocks on the design wall.

Progress on Easy Street

Then it was onto that last block. I started off by sewing the blocks into rows. Notice they are not pressed yet.

Working on the second block

I was so close to finishing all the blocks when two things happened. One, I sewed a couple of those rows (OK - six of the stupid things) together incorrectly and they had to be ripped out. Then my sixth bobbin ran out. CRAP!!!! 

The 6th bobbin ran out

Instead of cleaning the machine and inserting a new needle, I wound another bobbin and finished the blocks.

And here it is. All the blocks and setting triangles are DONE.

Easy Street

All that remains today is to sew all the blocks and setting triangles together. Then I can decide on a border from the fabrics in the project box. Oh my god - this is eight years old, but guess what? It's going to be done today and I'll get to cross it off the list for 2019. I'm staying at the retreat until it's done. I don't care if Emma comes to kick me out!!!

On that note, I'd better get myself organized. I'm working on the Celebration homework assignment which will be sent out later tonight. Maybe even this morning, I'm almost done. I think they are going to love what I did with the quilt. I'll show you at some point.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Fireside Retreat - Day Three

I'm surprised, but then I'm not surprised. I love to sew and I love having the opportunity to sew totally uninterrupted. And that's what we do when we go to the retreat. However, I think I'm the ONLY one sewing! But that's OK.

Our current situation of self-isolation is one where we need to learn to take ourselves somewhere else. We can't travel, so why not pretend that we are traveling. And that's what I did. I make it to the "retreat" by 9 AM after I walk the girls and then I'm at the retreat for the day. I can go back to my routine when Monday rolls around, but I'd go mad if I did the same old thing. That's totally boring!

 I think this is one of the things that we should be teaching our kids during this time. You can transport yourself anywhere and do anything. You just need an imagination! I REFUSE to watch or pay attention to the copious amounts of news about the virus. I stay informed as much as I need to be, but I'm NOT dwelling on it. I can't change a single thing so why dwell on something that I have ZERO control over.

Today, I'll start by sharing a couple of pictures from our daily walks. Might as well - I spend a good part of my day (OK - so two hours) walking and there are loads to see in the neighborhood.

The first is the mall. I think the deconstruction is pretty much complete. They did remove over half of the existing building. I saw them putting up some new steel beams the other day - those darker ones in the middle of the picture and the next day a couple of cement trucks were there. The rubble is mostly cleared up and well, we just have to wait and see what's going to happen next. It's great to walk around the mall as there are NO cars and no people. 

Construction at the mall

The wall past the mall (to see what changed from the previous day) is the highlight of the daily walk - at least for me. The girls are so totally not impressed. 

Since most people are home during the day, you get to observe their cars. I want to live in this house! Notice the color of their vehicles? Not ONE of them is white, grey or black. They go for color!

Colorful cars

Let's see what the others accomplished yesterday.

Ronda is becoming very accomplished at quilting her projects with her embroidery machine! And she's loving the fact that she is making projects totally by herself - from beginning to end! I love it! Hey - I don't care how anyone finishes something  (especially the quilting), the thing is to learn how to make it work for you and go for it!!

Ronda's baby quilt is now quilted

She may even have the binding on by now - I didn't see a picture of that though. Susan got one more block finished from the Vintage Christmas book. This is the Dolly block.

Vintage Christmas Dolly block

 Katheleen got two quilts quilted. They are ready to be quilted and bound. I think she quilted feathers on the blue table runner as I see the spines marked in chalk!!! Way to go Katheleen. Her quilting is amazing. Guess how she got amazing? She practiced! Shows that practice pays off.

Katheleen's two quilted projects

That's it for show and tell. Who knows what the others were doing? I may have to think about who I take on my next retreat! Some of these people are total slackers!!! I'm kidding of course.

This is one of the yummy desserts we could have been eating.

Custom cookies were on the menu for dessert

And this is what I got to have for dessert. OK - so that's not really a hardship! But the Nanaimo bars are gone!  And there will be no more. 

My Nanaimo bars that I had for dessert

So what did I get done? I decided to work on one of my UFO projects on the 2017 Dirty Dozen (UFO) list. After this project is completed, there are only TWO projects left on that list. I'm GOING TO GET THEM BOTH FINISHED by the end of this year. This project is the Night Sky quilt by Jaybird Quilts. I started it a while ago, then it got shelved and ended up on that list for 2017. There it has sat. I made a bit of progress from time to time, but now it's time to get that thing done!!! It's also my UFO homework for this month so I have to get it done or I cough up $10 and we're not letting that happen.

The blocks were together (it's sewn together in half blocks) and all the half blocks needed sashing which I had cut before I left for the retreat. Let's just say that it took forever to get the sashing on all those blocks. I laid it out on the design wall as I got the sashing on.

The blocks as they get the sashing sewn on

At last, the sashings were sewn on all the blocks. I might as well forge ahead and get this top together. And shortly after dinner, the top was together. I was ecstatic. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you spend a bit of time focusing!!

Night Sky lap-sized quilt top is done!!!

Yep - I did a happy dance at that point. My UFO homework for this month is DONE!!!  But I wasn't going to stop there. When I was cutting for this quilt top, I ended up cutting more blocks. Seventeen more to be exact. Don't even ask why I do these dumb things. To make a lap quilt, I need 20 blocks. So as part of my retreat prep, I cut the remaining three blocks. Guess what? Those three blocks are now together as well.

Three blocks for the second Night Sky quilt

Oh yes - I was doing some serious happy dancing at this point. My back was getting tired - it's not used to sewing that much in one day. However, I was thrilled with my accomplishments. I seriously think I'm going to host a two-day virtual retreat for myself once a month. I've accomplished so much and we still have two days left. 

Here are the rest of the blocks for the second quilt. When I get home, I'll need to cut the sashing for those. It's going to take one day to get that second quilt top together. But I going to try and get this one done for our next UFO meeting as well.

The blocks for the second Night Sky quilt

Did I mention that all the seams are pressed open? I hate doing that, but it's really the only option with this quilt to reduce bulk.

All the seams are pressed open

I was a bit worried as the retreat started. I didn't know if I could keep myself motivated. But I'm good at pretending and I found a good audiobook and away I went. I've had ZERO desire to wander off and do anything else. Except to go for my afternoon walk.

So I have to tell you something about needles. When I started sewing the other day, I had put in a new needle. I could hear it punching. I had a better look and the point of the needle was BLUNT. Even in this photo, you can see the difference. That makes a HUGE difference when you are sewing. If you hear that - STOP and change the needle.

The needle on the right is blunt

 The only thing I can think is that the needle was in the incorrect package? It seriously looks like a ballpoint needle. Definitely not suited for cotton.

I emptied a spool of thread yesterday! And GASP - I even fixed a pair of pants!!! I didn't think my sewing machine could do that, but it did!

One more spool of thread bites the dust

 I have to say that I'm super impressed with my retreat packing. So far, I haven't missed anything. I've got the sewing machine feet, I've got the thread colors I need, I've got needles. With two days left in the sewing retreat, I still have projects that I haven't touched. OK - so Tish was right - I CAN survive with just one laundry basket of projects. Thanks, Tish -- I think I finally got it!!

Before I went to bed last night, I got the next project all laid out and ready to sew this morning. I'm so excited, I can hardly wait to get there!!!!  Does anyone know what quilt this is??

The sewing project for today

On that note, I'm out of here. I'm madly prepping the homework for our Celebration quilt that I hope to get sent out tomorrow. For those of you who didn't sign up, you're missing some good stuff. That's all I'm going to say for the moment. Although it's not hard for me to get excited about working on a new project, this one takes our on-going classes in a totally new direction and I can't wait to share with the others!!!  I'm liking the online learning thing. I may end up doing more!!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!