What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

It's so nice to have time without a looming deadline! I have loads to do, but with no deadline, I had a great visit with my colleague yesterday. Of course, that put me behind with the day's schedule, and only ONE piece of paperwork disappeared, so this morning will be devoted to paperwork. 

However, loads still got accomplished once she left. I'm still working on the cutting table, which is like a revolving door. Something might get placed there, and it's gone within a day or two. This is its current state. 

The current state of ...

Oh, shoot -- I forgot to get a picture of the under-the-desk drawer situation. Something to look forward to tomorrow!

More great classes yesterday on using pre-cuts and scraps. I've got my share of pre-cuts, and I need to use them up! The class (hosted by The Hobby Horse) runs until June, and if you didn't sign up, I think you missed the boat. The discussions we've had so far have made me WANT to use these things up, and I'm getting ideas on what to do with the pre-cuts. So this is what I'm tackling ...

 Well this is the last retreat of 2022. I will say that there were a few of them this year, and I've enjoyed every one of them. Yes -- I am spoiled and I truly appreciate all my friends who have made the retreats possible. I would NOT be renting a house just for me! 

There are retreats booked for next year and I believe all of the spots are full! That's how much we love our retreats! We are at Seams Appropriate near Huntsville in case you are wondering! 

In the past, we have always gone to the ...

Staying at Spring House Retreat involved a lot of FIRSTs. 

We had the cat wrangling incident -- more on that tomorrow. We were ten people, which is the largest group that we've ever had and I wasn't sure if I would like it. Too many conversations at the same time, too crowded, too noisy, etc. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and YES there were times when there were too many conversations going on at the same time but I was in the corner and I just tuned them out! Actually, it's not the number ...

I'm going to have to start blogging at night! I know some people like to read the blog over coffee or breakfast in the morning, and well -- I'm going to be late. Not too late, but it'll have to be short!

Why? Because I started reading a darn audiobook -- that's why! I started it yesterday - only 9 hours, but the darn thing is a page-turner (so to speak!). 

I listened with my big headphones on while I was out setting up the sprinkler, then I sat at the kitchen table while I waited 20 minutes to ...

 HA -- I love the comments - I LOVE them all referring to the Jen Kingwell quilts. Yes, indeed - I LOVE them all, and very hard to pick the one I like the least. They are all so worthy in their own right, and I'm just so darn proud of everyone who finished, and there will be more finished quilts. Those will get posted and added to the appropriate slot to keep them all in the same place. You'll know when that happens. 

It's that bittersweet day at any retreat, as we're going home today. But as usual ...

 I sewed for a good part of the day, but I was in slow motion mode, and that's OK. I managed to get all the homework done for the class last night and the two classes this morning. OK -- that's a lie. While I did get the homework done for last night and the presentation went together, I still need to make 7 more blocks for The Butterfly quilt. I was thinking I'm doing great - I've got everything cut. Then I realized that we needed to make EIGHT blocks, not four, so back to the cutting ...

 Guess what?? Yep -- we're back at a quilting retreat. YES --- I know that I'm fortunate to be able to go as often as I do. When we first started going to quilt retreats, we used to rent the same house for every retreat, and it was the same group of people, and things were easy! 

When that first house closed down, we moved to another one that was a bit closer, and that was fun. Then that one closed down, but we found another one even closer. This time, we're at a different one -- we first came ...

 Well, it took a bit of planning, but I'm ready for today! Actually, the first class of the weekend was last night, and we're working on The Butterfly Quilt by Tula Pink. 

I had purchased the original pattern years ago, and well, it had never been out of the package until yesterday! 

The original pattern for The Butterfly Quilt

I knew that some of the students had the old pattern, but most would have the new one, so I had to get the new one. 

Version 2 of The Butterfly Quilt

Here's MY take on the updated ...

 Another super day at Retreat at the Farm. I have learned to be very focused when at quilt retreats. You'll see what I mean in a minute. 

But while at quilt retreat, one must keep active! So Susan and I headed out in the morning to locate a geocache that was nearby. We had to walk 1.9 KM to find it, and it was an easy find. 

The geocache