Bursting with starts

     After finishing the three tops at the retreat, I started new ones. One of them will be a vet quilt- Red White Blue scraps- a string quilt I discovered in an older quilt book I got at a library discard sale. I am using the papers from Missouri Star- they are thin, strong, and don't wrinkle. I have 24 of the 36 string blocks I need. Kind of a cool quilt.

Here is the book I got the idea from and some sewn blocks.

One of the four zig zags needed

      Another quilt, Katie's quilt from MSQC, was started. I have all 16 patches and 4 patches done. I need the white rectangles and triangles cut and sewn yet.

The last start is one I need my head examined for. I fell in love with the quilt, Harvest Dawn, at a store and foolishly bought the pattern. It is a Judy Niemeyer one and I already have Sea Urchin that is stalled. It seemed like it was a shorter and easier one and in the heat of the fabric moment, I bit. I have all the pieces in the right bags and now have to paper piece them. I can't even tell you how long I took to piece these 4. I will just have to take one bag at a time forgetting what has to be done and chip away at it, regardless how long it takes.

Quilt Retreat!

    Participating in a quilt retreat is awesome. I get to see how other quilters work and learn new things not from Youtube but from you ask questions and get answers. The retreat place, Camp Pioneer, on Lake Erie, gave two nights of gorgeous sunsets. Where else in the world would I rather be? You don't have to be a millionaire to stay at a place like this and sit on the beach and watch sunsets. How could I make these into quilts? I may just have to paint it.
   Learning new things is another great part. I learned paper piecing using Judy Niemeyer's new Charm Elements, number 1, Compass Rose. I have two awesome experience paper piecers, who have taken workshops with Judy, to help me through this and were exceedingly patient with all my questions and interruptions to their sewing.

I did it! I did it!

    I was fortunate that the quilters wanted to learn Geta's pouch and Kris prepped all the fabric into kits ready to go. It was rather late on Saturday night, but they were ready to learn and everyone made a great pouch. Here are some of them.

Front side

Other side

Inside

    I am grateful for the time and people that made this happen. I did work on my daughter's circle quilt and my HSTeria quilt also. Quilt retreats can be done reasonably (we provided all the food/meals) at some camps. They are worth it.

Fabric Field Trip

     What could be better than a fabric field trip with friends who are awesome quilters and help you pick out fabric? Nothing in my book. On Saturday, we took a trip to Penn Yan Sewing Machine (2 1/2 hours away) to deliver 4 machines for repair and pick one up. None of them were mine. However, just down the road is Golden Lake Fabrics, a Mennonite fabric store. You have to pay by cash or check, but the top of the line fabric is significantly less $$$. I bought batiks for a Judy Niemeyer quilt called Sea Urchin. It is my first attempt with her patterns. I have very talented friends who are going to help me cut this out. I did not realize it took so much fabric, so I could only afford to buy the background fabric and have to save up to buy the bright colors. All 3 of my friends pullled out fabric and helped me select it. 
    I also bought border fabric for my One Block Wonder quilt. They also helped me make, I think,  a great selection. More eyes help me look at more options critically.
    At Mt. Pleasant Quilting, I succumbed to a very unusual fabric from STOF for using in a bag. I don't want a tote, but bigger than a small bag. Have to find a pattern. 

Border fabric choices against top

Final Arrangement

Darks for Background choices

Really Funky Fabric, STOF from Denmark