Whenever I go to a retreat, I always take more than I can possibly accomplish in the allotted time. This retreat was no different. In my bag were the following projects: a twin size red, white & blue mystery quilt – pre-cut ; the letters for the crossword puzzle quilt; Fun with Bricks – partially sewn; my mom’s 4-Patch Stacked Posies- partially sewn; mini Ohio Stars; the red, white & blue shop hop blocks; fabric to make sleeves for the quilt show quilts and a stack of 1 1/2″ squares for leader/enders.
I decided early on, the mini Ohio Stars wasn’t going to work. I need to be able to concentrate without distraction. At one point I pulled out the letters. I got as far as sticking a few letters to the squares, but decided that between the monotony of zig-zagging around all the letters and the height of the sewing machine , I’d be better off doing these at home. Not a whole lot of progress was made on the quilt Mom started either. I got the blocks pressed and sewed a couple of 2-patched into 4-patches, but then realized I was going to have to decide on what size to trim the blocks to. Since this was Sunday afternoon and I was tired, I put them away. The shop hop quilt blocks never made it out of my bag.
So what did I make a dent in? I have sleeves on 3 of the 4 quilts I took with me. The twin size mystery quilt blocks are made and all but one row sewn together. That’s when I realized that I pressed the mirror top/bottom button instead of mirror left/right and instead of a scant 1/4″ seam, I was sewing the blocks into rows with a generous 1/4″ seam. I had 4 seam rippers with me (3 were in goodie bags), but decided to fold up the pieces and work on something else. That was Fun with Bricks. This quilt needed 2-patches sewn into 4-patches and I finished the blocks with the beige squares. I about 10 of the double brick 2-patches sewn into 4-patches and then it was time to pack up.
That white tray (it’s a recycled plastic box with a snap on lid) contains the 1 1/2″ squares I’m sewing into 2-patches. Eventually I want to make a postage stamp quilt. I think I need 4520 pieces so, I have a along way to go since I’ve only sewn about 176 square into 2-patches.
Now that I’m home, I’ve got to get working on the mini-Ohio Stars. I’d like to have it completed by the Guild meeting on Monday, but may just have to settle on getting it done in time for the Quilt Show at the end of the month. The cutting board is cleared, the sewing machine plugged in, so all I need to do now is find the ironing board.
