Virtual Retreat 2016

[Geneva C.]

I'm back in the USA!!! In Miami but will be home tomorrow.

I've missed you guys!

Geneva

[Catherine S.]

Beautiful quilt Carrie.
Everyone must be really busy. Not much has been posted lately. I have been very busy too. I have 6 small quilts I need to get put together today. I have already finished 2 others. There will be batting, but no quilting or binding. I am just going to sew edges together with an open space to turn. I will topstitch a quarter inch around the edges. Will try to post a picture tomorrow.
Did I mention I am babysitting 4 grands this weekend too and have a wedding shower to go to tomorrow. No time to get a gift yet hmy: hmy: . The shower is going to be at a winery. I may have to indulge. :cheer: Carefully though because I will have my youngest grand with me. She is to be the flower girl so gets to attend. Hope you all have a happy and much less stressful weekend than I will be having.

[Catherine S.]

I would herewith like to give notice that future posts with pictures from myself are liable to suffer from
Twiglet-itis, as I have finally bought my birthday pressy from my parents of a snazzy new iPad. I will also be suffering from the auto-correct :P

Did enjoy playing with this feature in the photo section though...



Izzy hates this one of my eyes...

It is nearly as bad as the one of my nostrils!

These, however are much better-




And here is a tea towel we bought last year on holiday.

[Geneva C.]

Rosemary, The pictures are interesting. Is this how you will design your quilts now?

geneva

[Geneva C.]

Fun stuff Rosemary - I'll hint for an iPad for my birthday this year!

Barb

[wendy w.]

Oh dear I'm going to have to lie down to read your posts now. *tuts* :lol: :silly: :dry: :lol:

[wendy w.]

Rosemary, The pictures are interesting. Is this how you will design your quilts now?

geneva

the camera has a kaleidoscope function on it. The red pictures are our curtains in the lounge, whereas the green ones are a grape fabric that I made into a dress for Izzy. Could be a fun way to design fabric -providing I/you start with a copyright free image - eyeballs or nostrils anyone?

[wendy w.]

Oh dear I'm going to have to lie down to read your posts now. *tuts* :lol: :silly: :dry: :lol:

So which way is up?

[wendy w.]

No idea. Not cracked it yet :lol:

[Catherine S.]

Well, I ended up doing 8 small quilts, not the six I first thought. I have one more to do, but no rush with that one. I finished the binding on my Colorful Rhapsody for our local guild show. Received a blue ribbon on it. I am glad that is finished. I am getting things ready for a quilt retreat next week. I really need it. I need close to 200 charm squares cut for the class we are doing. I have 70 cut so far. I am just cutting from the smaller pieces in my stash. It is a Scrappy Stars quilt.
DH went with me to the LQS looking for batik fabric. He likes the Hawaiian shirts, but they cost so much. I let him pick out two fabrics he liked. I will make the shirts, then I get the scraps to go in my stash . I guess my labor is free, and he gets two shirts for the price of one ready made one. Just need to get started before summer is over. :S :S I also save his old shirts. I will make a quilt from them someday too.
First priority is to get caught up on my row exchange. Then to finish my mystery quilt. Then I guess I will sew his shirts. At least he won't complain about the time I spend down in the sewing room.
Oh gosh! I forgot about the garden. I help him plant the veggies, and pick the veggies, but the canning and freezing is up to me. When is there ever enough time. hmy: hmy:

[Jules M.]

Congratulations, Cathy, on your blue ribbon! Fantastic!!

I hear you about the list of quilt projects and then real life like the garden and such need to jump in there! It is crazy here with us trying to get our crops planted but it has been so very rainy and now cold this weekend. We don't even think about the garden until he gets his acres planted. So... our garden is usually late. Tonight the gardens would need covered though as the low is forecast to be 34'. :\

I've been busy quilting for others and really have an itch to get a quilt of mine on the frame since I attended 3 classes this week at the Cedar Rapids, IMAQ, Machine Quilter's Showcase.

[Catherine S.]

Thanks Frances. I love MQS. I haven't been able to go the last two years. Definitely want to go next year. Will it be in Cedar Rapids again? Maybe some of the TQS group can get together. They have great classes at MQS!!

[wendy w.]

Wow Cathy congratulations on the ribbon for your colourful Rhapsody Quilt. Good idea making batik shirts, make sure you order enough . You sound really busy.

Happy sewing Joyce and Cathy, I must get out in the garden as well now it's getting a bit warmer

[Geneva C.]

Cathy, Congratulations on your blue ribbon! You have been busy....

I was in Cuba for 3 weeks in April. For Americans this is unusual, as we are not allowed to go unless we have permission from the US Treasury and go with an approved "people to people" group. We had a wonderful time, learned a lot and enjoyed the Cuban people. We went to the studio of Martha Jimenez in Camaguey. She is known internationally for her sculptures, paintings and etc. This is a big deal as most Cubans are not allowed to leave Cuba... expect to go to Russia. In any case, look at the little piece of art I was able to buy. I love it and loved meeting Martha. She signed the back of my art piece. It's 4" x 6". Martha's mother used to sew when she was a child and sewing machines are in a lot of her work.




Since we've been back I've been working on a 3' x3' quilt barn picture. I am turning our shed into a quilt barn! I had a friend design the center block, I enlarged it and traced it onto the wood "block". Then I painted it all by hand. It was fun to do.





And I have been working on my kimono quilt. I have a couple more ideas to work out. One is to use the black dupioni silk and make a woven background. The silk has a clear nap, so I think it will be an interesting texture for the background. I plan to use the stabilizer on the back, cut the strips, weave it together and then sew down the raw edges. Do any of you have any hints on this? And of course, I will be finishing up the bottom half of the kimono before applying it to the woven background. This is what I have so far.





Hope all is well with each of you! It's raining today, but it's been in the 70s-80s all week!

Geneva

PS. I have no idea why the pictures are messed up! They are straight on my computer!

[Geneva C.]

Geneva, will the weaving be square to the edges or on the bias to the edges? Because if it is on the bias to the edges it will take up more fabric - I once saw a couple of woven ribbon samples, both the same size, but one done on the straight and the other on the diagonal. The diagonal one took up more ribbon to make. Also, if you are using iron on stabiliser I would recommend that you hunt out some of the black version it would probably give a better finish.

Cathy, congrats on your ribbon. :cheer: