What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Well, this is my first blog on the new computer. All is good—I'm connected to the Wi-Fi at the retreat house. What is impressive—well, not really—is that everything is FAST!!! My goal will be to keep the crap out of the memory and the storage to keep it fast! 

By the way, we are at the Springhouse Retreat in New Hamburg. It's a great place to sew! I got a chuckle when I went to bed. Some people have mentioned that my bedroom is cold, so imagine my surprise when I saw winter-themed flannel sheets ...

Last week was the fall sleep-at-home retreat at a conference center in Flat Rock. We haul everything there on Tuesday, set up our machines, start projects and leave it overnight both nights. Food can be left in the refrigerator, so you don’t have think about lunch each day. I always take more projects than I think I can do because it is usually so productive. I set up my sewing space, and got to work on binding the wine themed table runners.

I had five to do, and they took me most of the day to do all of ...

 Yep -- here I am at a quilt retreat. It's a small group (intentional) and is one of the most relaxing retreats because of that! Plus, it's an excellent opportunity to catch up with friends we rarely see. After getting all the morning stuff out, I loaded the car and was on my way. I think this is our third or perhaps fourth retreat that this small group has done. 

I always look at what I bring and think do I need all that, but I've cut way down on what I bring. OK - so I threw in ...

 I am so sorry it's been so long.  Life seems to be moving at warp speed these days.  Theo girl is already 7 months old.  She is crusing around the furniture and I don't think it will be long before we have an independent walker, oh my!Avery is almost three and a half already.Learning his letters and we are having a lot of fun together.My health.I went home to

      My quilt guild had a retreat at Stella Niagara, an old Catholic school and convent complex in Lewiston, NY the first weekend of March. March 3rd is my birthday and this was a great way to celebrate it. It is a terrific place. The view is atop the slope of the Niagara River and you can see Canada across the river. There is actually a path down to the River that is flat enough to walk and stand as most of the river from the Falls to Lake Ontario is a gorge. During the War of 1812, the British crossed ...

 Here is a quilt I was able to finish last week at the quilt retreat! 

When I was teaching in Idaho, Marsha B and I bartered! She made 2 very similar quilt tops and I ended up with this one! I really love it!  Read about it and see her similar quilt HERE. 

I had a lovely time away last week but boy we had some winter weather!

      I have no idea why I cannot keep up here. Why is it so hard to post on a regular basis? I take the photos and get them off the camera into folders and then I cannot sit and write the posts. It is frustrating. I read everyone else's everyday, but not write my own. I lost a whole month.
     At the beginning of November, my quilt guild had its fall retreat. It was bigger than the six it had dwindled down due to covid fears. We were up to 14! It was a great time of sharing and ...

Hi everyone! I am so excited to share with you something I have been working on for the past FIVE MONTHS! I would like to introduce you to Transparendo - The Transparency Sampler Quilt, 12 Modern Blocks to Create a Masterpiece. This is my first official book with IBSNs. I can't believe it. I finally wrote a book and published it myself. I learned so much in the process too such as creating my own publishing company, being receptive to feedback, learning how to design cover artwork, and marketing my book. Are you curious? 

Would you like to see the ...

I peeled this project off the

design wall in the Thread Shed...

and took it with me to 

Quilt Retreat last week...

Looking forward to seeing this one hung

in our living room.

CLICK HERE to view the Quilt Retreat images

CLICK HERE to view all Fabulous Finishes 2022

Happy Friday Friends!

I barely managed to finish a quilt before leaving on retreat this week. It is a scrappy version of The Align Quilt.

This is actually my test quilt; the first of these I pieced. Everything in this quilt is from my stash. When I make scrappy quilts, I like to show them in a variety of fabrics. That way, no matter what kind of fabrics and scraps you have in your stash, you know the quilt will “work.” For this quilt, truly anything goes. The chain down the center of the blocks helps tie everything together. As ...

      Sounds counterintuitive, but going on a quilt retreat, if you plan for it, helps make huge progress in finishing quilts. I plan and take blocks that need to be webbed and all sewn together. I also take blocks that are laid out on freezer paper (ironed on) and put together those blocks. I take a couple of leader/ender projects. And snacks.
     Lately, it has been hard to get quilters to go on the retreats, which we do in March and November typically. We used to have 20 and a waiting list, now we get six, which is not as ...