Retreat Report

Last weekend, I attended a quilting retreat, my first in two years. Everyone in attendance was double vaccinated and our tables were spaced apart. I brought along 4 projects plus some mending to work on over the three days of the retreat. My husband gave me a nifty folding cart for my birthday in February 2020 and this was my first chance to use it since I got it. With the cart, I was able to bring in all my sewing stuff in one trip as well as my overnight bag.

My first project was my Buffalo Check Modern Snowflake quilt top. By the end of the first day, the top was together! I have already purchased a flannel backing for this quilt so I will be able to take it for long arm quilting soon.

Next up, I worked on my black and white colour block quilt top. I made these blocks a few months ago and they got put aside for some reason--it was time to get them made into a top! I chose to make the sashing and outer border with a fuchsia cross-stitch print. I like the way the black and white blocks look like a checkerboard. There are all kinds of interesting prints in the little squares that make up each block. I have chosen a backing for this quilt from my stash, and will quilt this one myself, after Christmas gifts are made.

I took a break from quilting and shortened two pairs of pants for myself next. A friend pinned them for me. I used the extra fabric that I cut off the bottom to repair a hole in a pair of jeans that my niece ripped while climbing a fence.

Back to quilting! I brought along some Christmas prints that I bought a couple of years ago. I had started a project with them at the last retreat I attended and then they never saw the light of day again until last weekend. I managed to finish off a wall hanging and then did the quilting and binding when I got home. Here is a sneak peek at this project which will be a Christmas present so I can't show the whole thing.

I made a pompom for the hat I showed last week, and started a new knitting project this week, another gift. I got started this morning on this gift while I was attending an online seminar on Zoom. The knitted snow person also saw some progress this week.

I spent the remaining time at the retreat cutting and organizing the blocks and sashing pieces for my lupin quilt. You may remember me showing my lupin blocks months ago--I got stalled on this quilt when I stopped to make a bunch of gifts. I would like to have this top put together and to the quilter before Christmas. I made 4 more lupin blocks at the retreat:

My husband and I crossed an item off our bucket list this week--we got to ride in a combine at a family member's farm while he was harvesting corn. It was a beautiful day and lots of pictures were taken.