Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Retreat time!

When you hear the word 'retreat' you probably think of solitude, quiet, relaxation, and time away from the rat race.  When you pair that word with 'quilting' you get...noise from laughter and discussions with friends and the hum of machines, friendship instead of solitutde and focus on projects rather than relaxation...unless you find quilting relaxing...and WE DO!!

And I probably don't have to tell you how satisfying it is to come home with projects completed or at least mostly completed.

I just got back from here after 4 nights away with the girls in my satellite group.  I wanted to focus on getting UFOs done and I got these finished:

ROLL ROLL COTTON BOLL 
At long last, my Roll Roll Cotton Boll is completed and ready to quilt.  I'm so excited to have this one done.

After Roll Roll Cotton Boll, I worked on Tuscan Hillside.  I just needed to work on the appliqued vine and grape leaves.  I still have to stitch down the raw edge applique of the grape leaves but for now they are fixed down by Steam a Seam 2.

TUSCAN HILLSIDE


And lastly, Orca Bay!  I got the top done and I'm thrilled with it but I had some trouble with the borders.  I put on a white border like Bonnie Hunter's instructions said (no picture shown of that) but after measuring in the middle, it was about 3 inches short on each side.   Not a happy camper!  Anyway, this is where the quilt fairies come in (aka retreat friends).  After  agonizing over the border dilemma I've decided to take off the white border and add a wider black border and then square it off from there.  I've got almost all of the outer border units done although I ran out of units so I couldn't finish it, but here's a picture of the quilt without the borders.  I'll update with another blog post once all the borders are on.




ORCA BAY


I'm very happy with what I got done at my quilting retreat.  Now to get them quilted!!

Until next time,
Mavis

6 comments:

  1. My goodness! You must've gone for five days without any sleep to get so very much done. All three are beautiful; good job!

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  2. Pretty guilts. Retreats can be so productive.
    Good luck with fixing OB. Your work is lovely.

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  3. So impressed with your RRCB and Orca Bay quilts. That's what I want mine to look like when they grow up. My Orca Bay is basted and ready to quilt but RRCB needs its final border attached.
    Are you going to blog about your plans to quilt them? I would really be interested in that.

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    1. Hi Sarah, yes I expect that I will blog about my plans to quilt them. I'm missing a few units for the Orca Bay border and I'm not happy with my current inside white border so I will be taking it off to redo it and then making up the missing border units. I really want to finish it off this year and then start quilting them. Don't hold your breath though; it may not happen until after Christmas.

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  4. Hello, Mavis : )

    I have to say I like your idea of a 'countdown', or round-up, or status listing of your quilts in process. Does it keep you honest and more on track? I may have to cook up something similar for myself...right now I just have a book - I tend to misplace once a month - with an on-going list and what still needs doing in the process.

    As for your comment on my blog earlier: You're welcome...LOL - and it's nice to meet you, too!

    Thank you for your comment and for following my blog (wow!), it's great to hear from a machine-quilting, hand-stitching-curious kindred spirit. I have begun appliqueing only very recently, and/but besides crazy quilting by hand, that's it. Although - - I do have a few small wall hangings I began hand quilting years ago that've never been finished. But one of these days.

    I do fantasize about being more of a purist, though, so I do turn and stitch my bindings by hand. ; ) I wonder if that would count in my favor.

    I'd love to have you join my group on Fb called "FMQ on Domestics" - where your Orca FMQ would be most welcome - that is, if you ever find the time to look through one more group.

    Regarding the batting conundrum:
    As far as I can tell from reading the CHQ comments, as lovely and warm and old-fashioned a finish W&N may give once quilted, it seems to be a bear to hand quilt. Most folks are saying wool or silk are the preferred, with the poly (and poly/cotton blend - heavily favoring the 80/20 blend) are a strong second favorite - if you can't afford the silk and wool, that is. When I crazy quilt, I have found the bamboo batting is a nice, friendly weight and thickness, but not hard to needle. Sometimes I end up changing my needle to something longer and smaller gauge, and it makes a huge difference. Just a thought.

    Thanks for the invite to check out your blog. I look forward to many years of happy reading and kibitzing.

    Yours in quilting,
    Beth

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