This past weekend I attended my guilds Fall retreat. It was held at the Unity Village Hotel and Conference Center here in the metro area. It was a beautiful facility and the food was fantastic. I’ve only been a member of the guild since June, so it was an opportunity to get to know the other members.
Unlike other retreats I’ve gone to, I didn’t get my packing done until the morning I was to leave — was because it was only 15 minutes way? The good news is that I had everything I need, although in retrospect I wish I had taken my Sidewinder as I had to wind my bobbins twice to get the tension right. I was sewing on my Genie.
When I travel with sewing gear, my personal rule of thumb is that it must all fit in these three bags.
The black bag holds my sewing machine extension, seat cushion, a 12 x 18 mat, a 12 x 12 rotating mat, and my larger rulers. The sewing machine bag has plenty of space since I purchased it to fit my big machine and now take my Genie. The square “serger” bag is my project bag. I’m so glad I was talked into buying it. It holds a ton of stuff. This weekend I had the following projects in it.
- On Ringo Lake
- Allietare
- Candy Sunflower Seeds
- Now & Later
- Cascade
- Postage Stamp Leader/Ender
- Christmas Wall Hanging
- Kitted pillowcases and zipper bags
In addition to the above, I had my Ott Light, my stuffed Bionic Gear bag, travel iron and a few other supplies/notions in the serger bag and there was room for more. But I refrained as the retreat was only from 10 AM Friday to 3 PM Sunday.
So what did I accomplish?
I finished assembling my On Ringo Lake top. It looks wonky, but that’s the way it’s hanging on the wall and there is an air vent behind it.
Next, I got the borders on Allietare.
Then I pulled out Candy Sunflower Seeds. The center was done. I just needed to add the borders. Most of the border was pieced. But I struggled turning the corner with my 4-patches, so I came up with another plan, which took all day and a 2 hour nap to implement. At this point it measures 51 x 70, so I’m calling it DONE. It also means I have some of that great brown print to use in another quilt.
I then pulled out something almost mindless. My version of Now & Later. The squares were already sewn to the colored rectangles, so it just needed assembling. I got this far just as I needed to stop and pack up. This may actually be done, as it measures 48 x 60 and the border print that inspired the colors is way too busy for it.
Of course the whole time I was sewing I was working on my postage stamp quilt. I sewed my 2-patches into 4-patches, then my 4-patches into 8-patches, then started making 16 patches. I think there are enough pieces there for 8 more blocks which will bring my total blocks to 32. I’m aiming for at least 72 blocks (64 x 72), so I’m not quite halfway there.
