Birthday retreat and lots of quilts!

      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 from Canada at that spot and marched the miles to Fort Niagara and burned/captured it.

Building complex behind trees, meadow in front between buildings and river. Taken in November, too rainy to take on this March.

Meadow down from buildings to Niagara River, Canada across River, tiny chapel at edge of shore. Photo taken in November, weather was uncooperative for photos this March.

 

 

 

     We have a large room in the basement where we leave all our sewing set up. We go upstairs and they feed us. We all have a single bedroom and share bathroom facilities. Everything is clean and nice. One of the things we do is, as we finish projects, we hang them over the railing to the ramp in the room. At the end of the retreat, we do a show and share. I finished one quilt top as I had a lot of quilt kits I had cut up to bring.

     I especially loved my friend, Elizabeth's, quilt that was a memory quilt dedicated to her mother. It was just beautiful.

Trying to catch up

      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 working with others, seeing how others do things and asking each other for suggestions/critiques. Just wonderful. As we work, we put the done work on the railing into the room down the ramp. It gets exciting seeing the work build up. We have the retreat at Stella Niagara, which is a facility that used to be headquarters for a certain group of nuns and a school. There still is a little school there. It sits on a perch above the Niagara River just north of Lewiston, NY (Artpark) and south of Youngstown, NY (Fort Niagara and Lake Ontario). Gorgeous walks when you need a break.

     At the end of the retreat (Sunday morning), we do a show and tell of all our work before we take it all down and leave. We can be there from Thursday to Sunday. The next one is at the end of February. Just a sample of what was done there.

Made from old tie pieces left over from a larger quilt

Finished from a UFO left at the guild sharing table

     Plus, we always work on a small project. I always try to find something we can do together. I found this great folding box on She Can Sew.

Retreats are for progress

      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 much fun. The place we go is Stella Niagara, an old school/covenant/mother house and sits on gorgeous land on the banks of the Niagara River above Lewiston, NY just before it empties into Lake Ontario. They feed us and we have our own bedroom and a large room to set up all our stuff and leave it there.
     As we finish projects, we load the railing into the room with them for view.

Some of the blocks sewn from Pixel Chain that I had ironed on freezer paper for portability and to keep the pieces in order.

More at retreat

     One of the perks having a retreat at Stella Niagara is to be able to walk outside on the grounds. The complex sits above the Niagara River just north of Lewiston, NY. When you look across the river, you see the Parkway in Canada, which is as close as I have been to Canada in over a year. You can walk down right to the river edge across a wild meadow. Most of the US shoreline is cliffs along here, so it is rare to walk to the shoreline. The British crossed here during the War of 1812 from Canada.
     It was a sunny day, but there was a huge cloud lingering above us making too much shade.

The chapel sits on the shore, Canada is across the river.

The main Stella Niagara campus

Closer to the chapel, Niagara River behind, Canada across

     I was able to finish some hearts for Deanna's daughter's wedding quilt (Sparkle Jane) that I mailed yesterday.

      I usually teach a fun project to build up our companionship. I found a tutorial for quilted 45 records. Here are our attempts.

     As we work, we display our finishes on the railing on the ramp. Our goal is to fill it before the time is over.

     I am so grateful for the time I had and the women that worked together.
 

Thank goodness for retreats!

     Last weekend, a few of us (8) from my guild were able to go to Stella Niagara for our spring retreat. The accomodations are wonderful as everyone has their own tiny bedroom and they feed us. We have a huge workroom and the surroundings, between Lewiston and Youngstown, NY on the Niagara River is unparalled.

     It was so wonderful to eat meals together and just laugh. Don't judge- we followed all the precautions- masks and all the nine yards. Our meals were all put in individual containers and placed in the frig or warming oven for us to take. They did an excellent job in difficult circumstances.
     But the best was I finished tops. I had done prep in putting together blocks clipped for webbing and assembly. I finished tops that will become comfort quilts. Now I need to find a deal on backings. I make my comfort quilts at least 70" long because I think they need to cover you if you are laying down. Most of mine are a bit longer.

Diagonal variations made from strip tubes

HSTs Blue Green Zig Zag

The other batik blocks from the failed Craftsy kit, arranged like the orange ones.
I did not have border fabric and it needs them as it is only 40 x 60.

Upstairs, Downstairs top

Quilt Retreat = Lots Done

     People ask me why I go to quilt retreats. They say you have a sewing studio- isn't that enough? The truth of the matter is quilt retreats are focused times eliminating distractions and interruptions- 2 things necessary to complete work in a compressed time period. Also, it is fun to sew with others and see what others are making. Twenty guild women sewing who all get along. And someone else cooks and cleans up. And all the stuff left out for days with no guilt. What is not to love?
     I prep for the retreat when I clip a quilt into columns for assembling. I had three this year in bags and sewed all of them. I completed a bunch of new blocks. And I learned some new things, fixed a machine for someone and taught a label technique. The whole thing cost $205 for Thursday through Sunday, so I am calling it a win.
     The three tops were web assembled. When I got home, I found borders for two of them, the 2 x 4, 3 1/2" one was big enough on its own.

2 x 4 quilt with 3 1/2" wide pieces

2 x 4 quilt with 2 1/2" wide pieces

2 x 4 quilt gray batik border fabric chosen,
border will finish at 3"

MSQC Katie's Quilt

Border fabric chosen, border will finish at 3"

Retreat rail of progress

     As we finish projects at our quilt retreat, we drape them over the railing coming into the work room. I think there were more, but some people left early.

    In addition to the quilts, I made fifteen butterfly blocks, but I will need a lot more. They are piecing good fun.

Retreat forward progress

    On our guild retreat at the beautiful Stella Niagara facility in Lewison, NY, I was able to finish sewing up three quilts, a variety of blocks (butterflies, One Block Wonders, and teeny wonky stars), and two small projects we were taught at the retreat.
    The quilts were Exploding Squares, Red, white and blue rectangles, and Strawberries and Licorice (Connecting Threads). These, after quilting, these will all be comfort quilts.