Retreat!
January is never one of my best months. After the thrill and fun of the holidays I needed a break, but didn't like the funk that came over me once January settled in. We received some bleak news about Will and his future, the workload was insane and...I needed to find a way to make it better. I realized late in the month that this would be my second year to miss the Girl Gang retreat which took place the first week of February...another year where I did not have an entire week of quilting without the distractions of home, work and other things. It got me thinking...
I need a retreat! Granted, it's at home--but I can tell everyone I'm GONE! I talked to the Hubster and the Boss and they both said, "Do it!" I also changed my work schedule back to a compressed work schedule so I can have a day off every other week. That decision did so much to put a spring in my step!
To make it work, I had to do a lot of planning. I determined my objective and set about prepping the studio (i.e., CLEANING IT) and pre-cutting and making sure I had all the supplies necessary to get-'er-done. The hardest part of planning and prepping? Deciding what I would work on. It would have been easy to just work on UFOs, but I've been desperate to start something NEW. So I compromised: Complete a flimsy, quilt and bind another quilt, and start a new project. Three things. Once I decided that would be my course of action, my brain went WILD...see that Bucket List on the lower right side of my blog? Yeah, I see it ALL the time...and I have an inspiration folder on my laptop and on Pinterest that I salivate over for new stuff...
Due to other obligations, I couldn't start the retreat until Monday, February 23. The day before we had the kids over for brunch and after they left, the Hubster and I scurried around running errands before the next snow-and-ice apocalypse that was starting that afternoon. Kroger and its parking lot were packed. The sleet was just starting and we were in the store about 45 minutes. When we finished shopping, there was already 3/4" of ice on the car. On the way home I remembered that I needed some fusible web, and Hubster turned the car around and headed to JoAnn's. Zipped in, zipped out, and made it home safely. We spent the rest of the evening making soups and some other dishes so we could hunker down and enjoy our time. We received word that school was closed on Monday and I thought, okay, I'm not going to let this stop me...and please, Lord, don't let the power go out...
As it turned out, schools were closed for three days, and the power stayed on. As soon as I had breakfast each day, I headed downstairs to the Bottoms Up! Studio and STAYED THERE. I only went upstairs to eat and go to bed!
And here's what I did:
Yep, that border is bit overpowering. I had no matching fabrics for the border and most of the fabrics were from the Cherries Jubilee and Apple Pie lines by American Jane for Moda. I couldn't believe there was some out there--this is what I could find and maybe after it's quilted some of the border will be whacked off...
This quilt is an adaptation of the version in Jan Patek's "Up On a Rooftop" book, and this will be on a bed at Christmas time.
Having the time in the studio was fabulous, and I hope I can do it again in the fall--it's amazing what a solid week of creativity can do for the soul!
The icing on the cake? My boss texted me Thursday morning to inform me that our new analyst would begin on March 9. WOOHOO!
So it is now Sunday and after finishing up the binding on Chinese Nachos, I am giving my hands a rest and binge watching House of Cards with the Hubster. I'll have a separate post on Chinese Nachos later. Life returns to whatever normal may be tomorrow.
Go quilt!
I need a retreat! Granted, it's at home--but I can tell everyone I'm GONE! I talked to the Hubster and the Boss and they both said, "Do it!" I also changed my work schedule back to a compressed work schedule so I can have a day off every other week. That decision did so much to put a spring in my step!
To make it work, I had to do a lot of planning. I determined my objective and set about prepping the studio (i.e., CLEANING IT) and pre-cutting and making sure I had all the supplies necessary to get-'er-done. The hardest part of planning and prepping? Deciding what I would work on. It would have been easy to just work on UFOs, but I've been desperate to start something NEW. So I compromised: Complete a flimsy, quilt and bind another quilt, and start a new project. Three things. Once I decided that would be my course of action, my brain went WILD...see that Bucket List on the lower right side of my blog? Yeah, I see it ALL the time...and I have an inspiration folder on my laptop and on Pinterest that I salivate over for new stuff...
Due to other obligations, I couldn't start the retreat until Monday, February 23. The day before we had the kids over for brunch and after they left, the Hubster and I scurried around running errands before the next snow-and-ice apocalypse that was starting that afternoon. Kroger and its parking lot were packed. The sleet was just starting and we were in the store about 45 minutes. When we finished shopping, there was already 3/4" of ice on the car. On the way home I remembered that I needed some fusible web, and Hubster turned the car around and headed to JoAnn's. Zipped in, zipped out, and made it home safely. We spent the rest of the evening making soups and some other dishes so we could hunker down and enjoy our time. We received word that school was closed on Monday and I thought, okay, I'm not going to let this stop me...and please, Lord, don't let the power go out...
As it turned out, schools were closed for three days, and the power stayed on. As soon as I had breakfast each day, I headed downstairs to the Bottoms Up! Studio and STAYED THERE. I only went upstairs to eat and go to bed!
And here's what I did:
First goal, complete a flimsy - German Braid IMT quilt:
Second goal, complete and bind a quilt - Chinese Nachos IMT quilt:
This will be a Christmas gift for one of our granddaughters.
Third goal, start a quilt - say hello to Pinetree Village:
Having the time in the studio was fabulous, and I hope I can do it again in the fall--it's amazing what a solid week of creativity can do for the soul!
The icing on the cake? My boss texted me Thursday morning to inform me that our new analyst would begin on March 9. WOOHOO!
So it is now Sunday and after finishing up the binding on Chinese Nachos, I am giving my hands a rest and binge watching House of Cards with the Hubster. I'll have a separate post on Chinese Nachos later. Life returns to whatever normal may be tomorrow.
Go quilt!
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