Happy Valentine’s Day Weekend!!

 Last week we were at our Guild’s Annual Retreat.  My husband always wonders why we leave home, which has a quilt store; to go up the coast 35 miles and stay.  Gold Beach doesn’t have a quilt store!!  But we have 39 quilters in a large conference room.  And the ideas are flying around!!  Laughter, and a good time was held by all!

I can’t claim to have finished anything … BUT I did touch everything I brought to work on!!  Several ancient UFOs!

This Lovely was a free Sue Spargo mystery(?) many years back.  I used all Cherrywood Hand Dyed fabrics for it.  And, of course,  I kind of followed the directions, but not closely!  I’m anxious to finish this, then I’ll allow myself to use the rest of my Cherrywood collection!!  BUT we figured out it needs another column to make it bigger.  Hope to get this top finished by summer!!  Yes, you heard it here!!  A promise to ‘get’r dun’!!

Next up was my ModSquad Improv challenge.  It’s an odd size - wall quilt or table runner-ish?  It was one of two projects that I pin-basted before retreat.  So I was actually machine quilting!  Our tables were big enough to quilt that size.  When I presented the challenge, a friend asked me what I was going to do with it - I flippantly said, “Make a dog quilt.”  Well, she told me in no uncertain terms - THAT was not an option!!

Can we talk about the really, really, ugly carpet in the conference center??  Oh yeah - you really have to plan ahead to avoid that in pictures!!  And OMG! It is indistructable!  I have a picture of it when I was sewing a dress for Miss P - when she was in Kindergarten???  She’s 19 now and doing great at University of Oregon!!

The first day, I started with long-time project - Tickertape!!  You know how I love scraps … Well, P and I have been sewing them together (Willy-Nilly!) and cutting them to 2.5” wide.  So fun to work with them - no color choices, just what’s there in front of you!!  I found a pattern I finally thought would work.  More info later!!

What else??

• I also touched charm HSTs - it’s going to be great!!  
• Orphan Blocks that I worked on last retreat.  That needs some more neutral fabric to set it off … so laters!  
• A kid quilt that I started at a pattern tester.  It didn’t work!  So it’s been sitting for years.  It needs another block or two.
• And I saw at least 2 new projects at the other tables I want to start!!!  Ah, retreats!!

We were table 3 and each table had to come up with music that would be good to exercise with.  Well, at the beginning we were going to have to dance to it, etc!  But it all calmed down but, AFTER we bought accessories to wear!!

So - here we are … Stop in the Name of Love was our song.  We had audio setup so we didn’t have to sing along!!!  The whole room participated - at the beginning I told them we were going to sashay out to the ‘Treats Table’ after our work out!!

Off we go!!  What are you working on this week?