Weekend Retreat ideas

As mentioned in yesterday's post, some of the quilters that came to Quilting in the Mountains were setting up their workstations and it was surprizing to see what they brought along to make their work easier.  Here's a unique way of auditioning fabrics that you want to use in your project.

One of the girls had brought this rack to hang her fabric on so that she could easily see what she was working with.  Can you imagine what this would work like if you already had strips cut for your project and could just pull them off as needed?  How ingenious is this, eh?
And for those of you who like to go barefoot when sewing, here is a great idea.

Yup!  That is a bath mat that you see there.  Keeps the sewing machine pedal in place and gives you something soft and cushy to set you foot upon. 

Here's is just a glimpse of what went on at the retreat.  Of course there were some that had to do a bit of collaborating (or dare I say conspiring)....

some had to really concentrate on what they were doing to avoid a whole lot of re-stitching affectionately called "frog stitching".  You know...rip it, rip it, rip it!

Some considered doing a miniature similar to what the hosting teacher showed as a sample.  If I remember correctly this "Inlaid Tiles" piece was constructed with 1 or 3/4-inch strips.

The teacher, Dianne Jansson, showed a sample that utilized simple Rail Fence and Nine Patch blocks to enhance a wonderful print and produce a quick and easy quilt.  The pattern was developed by Jackie Robinson of Animas Quilts for a specfic fabric line.  Looks great in those reproduction fabrics, don't you think?

Another member of the group decided to go bigger.  Despite its appearance Lyn assured me that the piecing for this was easier than it looked. 

I really like the colours in this one.

What did I work on you ask?  I worked on several things, but most of my time was spent working out what I could do with some leftovers that I picked up.  This is what I came up with.

 

The leftovers are the printed fabric pieces, and were from a guild member who gave them up to the Guild.  I thought I would challenge myself to see what I could do with the pieces.  Of course I had to buy more fabric (the grey) and I'm now working on putting on the border.

Well now I'm off to finish this piece so that I can donate it to a senior's centre.  It should be just big enough to cover a lap.