Still sewing away

I did not get much done at the retreat as I was having issues with my place being set up awkward. I had lots of room but seemed unable to get comfortable. Finally I put the main project away to be finished at home and just made little 4-patches from my Civil War fabrics.

Then finished them up here at home as Leaders and Enders.

Today I made this pattern called Falling Leaves. This is the second one I have made. The first one was given to my doctor when he retired last year. Somehow this one seems lighter in value even though I used all the same fabrics.

I am so glad I have a tall husband.
XOXOXOX Subee

Back from my retreat at Bear Creek Farms

Here we are. We are all covered in threads. We all have great memories of such great food, friendship and a great sewing area.
Bear Creek Farms in Bryant Indiana goes all out for our comfort! The food is wonderful. The workers there all seem to bend over backwards for us. And we leave their lovely private dining room's carpet covered in so many threads we worry about how they will remove it all!!!!

I am the third from the left in the front row.

One of the BESTEST waitresses there. This little lady was handed 18 cameras and asked to take the group's photo! Every camera has issues and different buttons. And quite a few had dead batteries! HA! But she was a brave soul and achieved the task at hand!

 I did not get as much sewing done as I wanted to. But isn't that the way retreats are???? Too much visiting and food!!!
I did make a good sized stack of partial blocks. These 1 1/2" strips feel so big compared to the 1 " strips I have been using.

 I also got some retail therapy. A new pair of really soft and comfy slippers.
And...

 Some pretty pink beads to make myself a stiletto as per Our Bonnie's tutorial.

(http://www.quiltville.com)

And here is my table mate and friend Laura W. This was her first sewing retreat. She really had a great time. And she got more sewing done than I did!!!!

Seated is Ellen who only brought hand sewing along. She really has the right idea. Traveling light makes it so much easier to set up! She finished her Mystery quilt!

Seated are Linda and Deb and standing is Gladys. These ladies are all so very talented. Deb is our connection to Project Linus. She and Linda can really crank out those quilts!

Look at Donna's perfect posture!!!! She just recently retired and she is so pleased that she is able to finish more projects now.

I had issues with the table height. I am not short (5'6") but the tables are tall and the chairs are short (even with a full size pillow underneath me!). So, I moved my machine to the TV tray and ironed on the table. I want and am going to get one of those Sew EZI tables. This setup really hurt my back. I am sure I would have gotten more done if I had been more comfortable.

Here are Gladys on the left and Peg on the right! Peg is another Bonnie Hunter fan. You should see her container of 2" squares. It has to weigh 20 lbs!!! A scrappy quilter's dream. I am sure I left some drool at her table!

Rita is our quilter who makes the best dimensional quilts. From Prairie points to 3-D flowers. Lots of tiny pieces. And her Singer sewing machine just pounds away at all those thick seams. There were times it sounded like a jack hammer from that side of the room!!!!! We all had to laugh at that!!!! Rita is a quiet lady but her Singer makes up for it!!!

 Mary is one of our Ohio members. She is also a quilt teacher for two other guilds in Ohio.  Her DH crafted this sewing machine table for her from a folding table. This is what I want need.

Oh my...I cannot remember this lady's name. She is also from Ohio and is being tutored by Our Mary. For a new quilter she has a great color sense and made a lovely quilt top this weekend. And she used my favorite colors...Autumn hues.

Deb W. to the left, back of Donna and on the right is Deb's mother, Sara. Deb and Sara make the most beautiful applique' quilts. Then they drive them to Pennsylvania for Amish hand quilting. Their finished projects are true works of art!!
I am glad to be home. All the kitties missed me. DH kept busy. He painted the bathroom!!!  A big surprise for me!!!! Nasty job as a wall paper border had to be removed. And I had done the paint job using a sponge method and there were great gobs of color that needed to be painted over. He says he had to put three coats of primer before the wall was ready for the final color. Now we just need to decide what color we BOTH want. What a man!!!
XOXOXOXO Subee

Back from the retreat

We had one Scrapbooker working her magic. The results were very impressive. Her equipment was mind boggling! Looks as if she brought her entire craft room!

Ellen was my "table mate". She finished this hand quilting project on Saturday. She then started quilting another small wall hanging made from our guild's mystery quilt.

Here is Susan, one of our GREAT waitresses. She is a quilter too! She showed us her purse she had made. Beautiful. She promises that next year she will bring some of her work to share with us!

The food was unreal. We were treated like royalty. Two musical shows, Prime Rib, Broasted Chicken, Shrimp, full salad bar, full dessert bar....we sewed, ate, sewed, slept, ate, sewed all weekend.

Deb managed to get all this sewn by Saturday night! Beautiful work Deb! She is working on a Flying Geese border for this beauty!

My view from my little cottage. They were so quaint and tidy. I do not know how many cottages there are but they also have log cabins to rent and a campground. So nice and quiet back off a country road. You can hear cows mooing and donkeys braying.

All in all we had a great time. I knew I had brought way too much stuff. I will know better next time. And my 1938 Featherweight, Sissy, sewed like a champion. All the quilters came over to admire her beauty and the lovely sound she makes as she sews.