It was a four-day retreat filled with lots of laughs, good food, crafty shopping and everything sewing (Cutting! Ironing! Sewing! Ripping!). All that time and I felt like I got next to nothing done. And, compared to many of the women I went with, I really didn't get much done. As I was taking pictures for this post, however, I clearly got more done than I realized.
The first night, I made a Village Bag. A couple weeks previous to the retreat, I had made this Village Bag.
I really loved the fabrics, but when all was said and done, I regretted my choice for interior and exterior fabrics. I decided it would have looked better if I had reversed them. So, back to the craft store for more fabric to try again. Mind you, I have no purpose for these bags other than that I thought the fabric and pattern were cute. Still, purchasing more fabric seemed way better than ripping, he-he!
Here is the one I completed on retreat.
Before bed, my friend, Jen, made me my own, mini, portable ironing board. Check this out!
How creative is this? It's a re-purposed tray table. I ♥ it, muchly! Sadly, it wasn't until we had it all put together that I realized I chose a wobbly tray table. Oh well, I'm making due!
Too tired to start anything big, but still wanting to sew, I moved on to the next project. Before retreat, Jen had made me a custom, fabric, garbage bag to fit my Creative Memories Side-Kick. So I could be all matchy-matchy, using fabric from the same line, she also quilted me the fabric I would need to complete a sewing pocket to use with my sewing machine. I had to trim it to size, sew as desired and bind. It was the perfect project to wind down. She picked awesome fabrics!
I think every sewer needs one of these! Wouldn't this make a great gift? I was really touched by Jen's thoughtfulness. Here's the matchy-matchy garbage bag, too.
On day two, I sewed strips from a mini-bun together to make a cute little bag, but I ended up hating the fabric. Once the strips were sewn together, I set it aside and moved on to sewing and sub-cutting fabric for my spectrum, dot, quilt, "Dot On." This is a quilt that I'm making without a pattern. Jen is helping me with the math to make sure that it all comes out just right. As this will end up being a full-size quilt, it was a lot of sewing and cutting! (This is also the night that Jen and I got a little silly because we decided to make an all-nighter of it.) Too tired to head to the design-wall, we toasted a with a shot-a-piece at 5:15 a.m. and called it a night.
Jen was up by 7:30 a.m., I made it until 8:30 a.m. Going on just over three hours of sleep, I got right to it and started piecing my quilt on the design wall. Three hours and lots of math later, I decided I needed more fabric to get the quilt just right. What's a girl to do? Well, go shopping, of course!
Armed with the additional white I felt the quilt needed, I cut, and cut, and cut the day away. When I finally just couldn't look at the strips of fabric anymore, I switched projects.
While shopping for my white fabric, I also found this super-cute Origami Gift Bag pattern in a kit. The oriental fabrics sold me. Sadly, for what was to be a very simple bag, I actually had to give up and come back to it on the last day because I quit after ripping it almost entirely apart not once, not twice, but three times! All said and done, it really is quite simple and I look forward to making many more, just not on three hours of sleep!
The pictures really don't do it justice. The fabric is gorgeous!
And just like that, it was day four. I worked with "Dot On" some more, only to get frustrated as I realized I had not ensured that all my strips were of the same length before I began sewing them together. Needless to say, I don't have completed pictures of this masterpiece. In fact, it's still sitting waiting to be ripped. Ugh! In the meantime, I'll just post a picture of all the pretty fabrics to remind myself why it is I want to go back and finish this beast!
Ah, so pretty!
Well, all is well that ends well. I did have one more sewing accomplishment. Thanks to Karen, the "Quilt Whisperer," I learned of a great use for all the schniblitz I normally discard. She taught me how to use them and some rope/twine stuff (real technical, eh?) to make all sorts of things. She made a gorgeous basket/bag. I settled for a coaster for my Side-Kick. Having tried the technique once, though, I assure you there will be more projects in the not too distant future.
And here it is, put to good use.
Love, love, love it all!
Sew....while Jen completed seven (yes, really, seven) quilt tops, and Regina completed five (I think it was five) quilt tops, and Karen finished a lap-top bag, the rope bag, a tool kit and all but the borders of a quilt top and another Jen completed twenty paper-pieced blocks, two pillowcases and the start of another bag...I putzed. But, I had lots of fun putzing and I had the pleasure of meeting and crafting with some really wonderful people.
I can't wait to do it again!
Looks like you had a great time and got a lot done! Can't wait to meet you at retreat next year!
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