Retreating

Our quilting guild retreat was great. I believe a good time was had by all. I swear we made PittyPat cry because she was laughing so hard a few times. It’s funny how many people have told me that they get so much inspiration at these retreats that going to their 9-5 job is really getting in the way of their quilting. I didn't get as much finished as I would have liked, but I got things figured out that had been boggling my mind for sometime, so I can start them now. Sometimes it takes a village to create a quilt! Or perhaps it was belting out Copacabana with Barry Manilow that got the creativity flowing. Who can tell?

I usually have Christmas dinner at my house, and my sister has Thanksgiving. This year however, she is going to be in Australia for Thanksgiving, so I will have dinner. I don't have any Thanksgiving stuff though, so I decided to make my table cloth for it at the retreat when I'd have long tables to cut and press it. I put it on the table last night and realized that it's a tad bit narrow.

I'll have to force myself to adopt DiscoJen's motto of "oh well, it's done!" There's no way I could have made it any wider. It's already 116" long! Do you know how much more material it would take to match the pattern on the fabric, which is the Dorothy line by Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics, by the way. It kills me to use such a beautiful fabric as a table cloth, but better to use it then to let it sit around collecting dust, right? I have to make the napkins next. I’m going to try out a couple of binding feet to make those. Debbie and Sophie got them at the Rosemont quilt show. It will be interesting to compare what they each can do.

I also got the majority of this quilt top sewn together:

It’s the Let it Snow line of batik fabrics and pattern from Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. Pictures do not do this fabric justice. I bought the kit at the Madison quilt show and have been unable to resist putting it together immediately! It is absolutely FREAKING STUNNING! I had the blocks laid out on the floor to sew together and Pittypat came over to exclaim over their beauty. She said that it reminded her of the Caribbean! Jennie and I looked at each other in bewilderment. We weren't quite sure how snowflakes remind one of the Caribbean! PittyPat said that the color looked like a pool to her and that she wanted to swim in it. I think I should name it "PittyPat's Pool". I'm going to try to quilt it in metallic thread. I've never used metallic thread to quilt before, so it should be fun to play with. I just have to sew the last two rows together and put the border on it. Only one border! I don't know if I can accept that.

I have to share what Robin, Sharon, Karen and Linda made at the retreat. They all did the same pattern, Mexican Stars by South Wind Quilts. They were all totally different, and all gorgeous!

What you can't see in my photos is that the triangle parts fold back on themselves forming a cathedral window curving effect. It's really wonderful. Isn't it fun to see how different a pattern can look in different fabrics? That's why classes are good. You get to see how all of the different fabric choices turn out.

This is what the hubby did while I was away:

It was a lot of work, but worth it! It's amazing how different the kitchen looks with back splash tiles! I just love it. I sit and stare at it quite often. Every time he does tile work he says "I'm never doing this again. I'll write a check for it next time!" Then he gets the quote and says that he'll do it instead. He does beautiful work, even if he hates doing it. See the cutting board up on top of the cabinets all the way over on the right? My friend Bill made that for me for Christmas last year. It's really lovely. So lovely, in fact, that I'm not allowed to use it. The other metal things are my bundt pans. I kind of have a bundt pan collection. And darn that Williams Sonoma for coming up with new ones all the time!

The hubby also got us a new Husky while I was away. He was apparently very busy while I was gone. He left me a voicemail saying to call him back because he has an important announcement. I thought he was going to tell me the tile was done. Imagine my surprise when he told me that we were getting a dog I hadn't even met! She's from Free Spirit Siberian Rescue. They took her photo down already, so you can't see her. Her name is Josie. Donna, DiscoJen and I don't really like that name though, so we think we will call her.....Mojojo!!! The hubby even took Robbie along w/the other two to meet her. Robbie was happy with him all weekend after that! It's amazing how he loves the hubby while we are in the car or going for walks, and when he has meat, but otherwise is all nervous nelly around him. The hubby works hard to get Robbie to like him, but Robbie just prefers me.

It's funny what the men do when the women are away at quilting retreats. PittyPat's husband got a new tv last fall while we were away, and mine got a dog this year! I can only guess what will greet us next time we dare go away for 3 days!