Retreat Results

Retreat came and went in a whirlwind. Of course, I had projects for about two weeks, upon review. But I did get quite a bit accomplished. First, i worked on a couple of my red and white Kansas Troubles blocks, just to get warmed up.

Then, I attacked the "scrap box". Last year, Linda G. was working from a bright yellow shoe box of scraps, making a pieced setting for some of the Lorilei girls. She was going to toss the remainder of the scraps, but I protested, and she gave the box to me. I got out my box of Kabnet Wax deli paper (see Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville website), marked a 10 1/2 inch square, with a 2" wide diagonal line for the purpose of centering my starter strip. I chose a white background with small black stars to be the constant fabric. Also in the box were some black as well as white half-square triangles for a 3" finish. Centering my starter strip, I just began adding bright strips of various sizes, to the point where the half-square would fit in the corner. Just worked with my "hand-me-down" strips at first. Since Miss Mary's Quilting Cottage is right next door to the Quilter's Harvest, we had to make a daily foray into the shop, just in case we may have missed something on a previous visit. I selected about ten fat quarters to add to the mix, and just kept going. We also made a "field trip" to Sew Creative, to visit our Mary J., who was working that day. A quick stop at my house, to grab a tub of brights, and I managed to assemble about 20 blocks. I'm planning to make about 28 more. It's going to be bright and fun, don't you think?

What may even be more fun is that we have launched a new tradition with the original yellow shoe box. I've added strips, and as soon as I complete my blocks, I'm passing it along to Ginny K. to play with it. It should be interesting to examine the fabrics when the box has made a full round to see if any of the original fabrics remain.

Next up, the quest of assembling the two remaining sets of shop hop blocks from the four shop hops I participated in in 2006. I had taken time to cut all the pieces, so I merely needed to open each packet and sew them together. With the good journaling habits I've learned from Laura, I pasted each instruction sheet into my journal, noting which shop distributed it, and the date I assembled it. Next project will be to descide on a set. The pinks and turquoises are the 2006 Flamingo Trot blocks from Tampa, Florida, area.

The last packet of shop hop blocks were from the 2006 Paducah Booth Hop featuring Judy Martin's fabric line for Timeless Treasures. I have always loved Judy's approach to quilt making. She doesn't rely on short cuts so much, but offers correct cutting instructions for perfect assembly. Ive managed to collect all of her books. Her book, "Scrap Quilts", has seen so many miles of use, that I had to take it to Kinko's to have plastic covers and coiled binding added to keep it together.

I think I made a remarkable amount of progress. Nothing can explain the fun, and how hard we laughed. There isn't any kind of "training" that prepares one for the aching sides from laughing. What a gift . . . friendship is the thread that quilts our hearts together.