It's the little things
The week before last was the Girl Gang retreat, held at a new venue. And the best thing that came out of was a bunch of little things.
And I'm not talking about makes.
Our surroundings were more intimate than ones in the past. We were in a large log cabin that was extremely dark. Mary had warned us to bring lots of lighting, and we all obliged.
We all arrived on Wednesday afternoon. We took turns cooking meals, and the fridge was overflowing! Snacks of all kinds lined the counters. No one was going to be hungry on this trip.
I took 5 projects, I think. I finished nothing, but I made a lot of headway on 2 projects, both of which have been languishing in UFO Central; one for almost 2 years, the other for at least 15 years, and both consisting of many, many half-square triangle units. One project in the box, a charter member of UFO Central, came out and I just stared at it for a while. I pressed some of the almost-permanent creases out of it, laid it over a chair and stewed about it. That's as far as I got with it until I came home Sunday afternoon.
One project I thought would make the perfect baby quilt. I haven't worked on it in at least 5 years, if not more. I took it out of the box, started evaluating it to see what else needed to be done. Unfortunately, I need to do some serious reverse stitching on this one. I sewed up too many pieces...I'll explain more if I ever get this one done.
Another project never made it out of the box. It's a one-block wonder I started 8 years ago, still waiting for all the pieces to be cut. I brought a flannel-backed tablecloth with me to use as a design wall, but there was no where to hang it.
I also took my new Bernina 350PE that I purchased in March. I haven't had an opportunity to use it because I spend most of my time on The Beast, but she's much lighter and easier to take on trips. She performed very well!
Three of the girls brought only handwork. I worked on baskets #100 and #101 for the Trick or Treat quilt. I think I'm calling it a day with #101 and working on the layout.
None of us took a lot of photos because it was too dark, and we were having too good of a time quilting, laughing, conversing, and just generally hanging. It was fabulous.
And that's my point about the little things. We've only met the last few months to have lunch and no sewing. And while eating with these girls is always good, I learned this week that I much prefer us sewing and all the other little things. It was so wonderful having all of us in the same room for 5 days.
Another little thing...I was first to rise every morning. I enjoyed my coffee while listening to the cows greet everyone with their morning songs, and watch the sunrise over the river.
Another little thing...ok, it's a big thing...the friendship I enjoy with these girls runs so deep and I know we all have each other's back.
There are many little things from the retreat that I will savor for a long time.
This was the best retreat ever. Thanks, girlfriends!
And just to prove that I did work on stuff, here are a few random photos.
When I returned home I knew I needed to immediately start on Christmas makes. Instead, I selfishly continued working on two projects that are not Christmas makes, but that's how I roll.
I haven't posted in awhile due to work and other stuff, but I have been sewing and quilting. I finally have the Girl Gang DIY quilt on the longarm and started quilting it last night. The only reason I'm quilting it now is because I had the backing loaded on the frame for a month, and I need to get this one quilted because I need to finish a quilt for Christmas! Oy...
I have a lot more to show you and hope I get to post all of it before the end of the year. If you don't hear from me before then, have a wonderful holiday season, and go quilt!
And I'm not talking about makes.
Our surroundings were more intimate than ones in the past. We were in a large log cabin that was extremely dark. Mary had warned us to bring lots of lighting, and we all obliged.
We all arrived on Wednesday afternoon. We took turns cooking meals, and the fridge was overflowing! Snacks of all kinds lined the counters. No one was going to be hungry on this trip.
I took 5 projects, I think. I finished nothing, but I made a lot of headway on 2 projects, both of which have been languishing in UFO Central; one for almost 2 years, the other for at least 15 years, and both consisting of many, many half-square triangle units. One project in the box, a charter member of UFO Central, came out and I just stared at it for a while. I pressed some of the almost-permanent creases out of it, laid it over a chair and stewed about it. That's as far as I got with it until I came home Sunday afternoon.
 |
| The project box |
Another project never made it out of the box. It's a one-block wonder I started 8 years ago, still waiting for all the pieces to be cut. I brought a flannel-backed tablecloth with me to use as a design wall, but there was no where to hang it.
I also took my new Bernina 350PE that I purchased in March. I haven't had an opportunity to use it because I spend most of my time on The Beast, but she's much lighter and easier to take on trips. She performed very well!
 |
| Baby Bernina on her maiden voyage |
None of us took a lot of photos because it was too dark, and we were having too good of a time quilting, laughing, conversing, and just generally hanging. It was fabulous.
And that's my point about the little things. We've only met the last few months to have lunch and no sewing. And while eating with these girls is always good, I learned this week that I much prefer us sewing and all the other little things. It was so wonderful having all of us in the same room for 5 days.
Another little thing...I was first to rise every morning. I enjoyed my coffee while listening to the cows greet everyone with their morning songs, and watch the sunrise over the river.
Another little thing...ok, it's a big thing...the friendship I enjoy with these girls runs so deep and I know we all have each other's back.
There are many little things from the retreat that I will savor for a long time.
This was the best retreat ever. Thanks, girlfriends!
And just to prove that I did work on stuff, here are a few random photos.
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| 160 itty-bitty HST units |
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| One row from Shimmering Triangles |
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| More Shimmering Triangles |
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| The Perfect Tree designed by Sandy Gervais; this is the one I where I pressed out the creases! |
I haven't posted in awhile due to work and other stuff, but I have been sewing and quilting. I finally have the Girl Gang DIY quilt on the longarm and started quilting it last night. The only reason I'm quilting it now is because I had the backing loaded on the frame for a month, and I need to get this one quilted because I need to finish a quilt for Christmas! Oy...
I have a lot more to show you and hope I get to post all of it before the end of the year. If you don't hear from me before then, have a wonderful holiday season, and go quilt!
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