Retreat Report and Stash Update

Courthouse Quilters held their Fall retreat last week.  We are fortunate to have found a Nazarene church camp and conference center that is perfect for our needs.  We sew in one of the large meeting rooms on the ground floor, there's a kitchen attached with everything we need to prepare meals except a stove (crock pots and microwave instead), and we sleep in the motel-like rooms on the floor above.   

There is WiFi there so I had plans to post daily updates.  However, my tablet decided to forget how to find a network.  So this will be a long catch-up post.

Remember my ambitious list I posted here?  Well, I made quite a bit of headway on Monday. 

1.     Bind Fire and Ice (a/k/a French Braid) - DONE!

Before I even unloaded the car – with the exception of my comfortable chair – I attacked the binding on French Braid (which I am now calling Fire and Ice).  Having promised to enter it in an upcoming show I was hoping to finish the binding before the show rep stopped by retreat to pick it up.  She came early …. I did finally get it done and delivered Tuesday.  (Forgot to get a picture)  

2.     Easy Street - Borders and back. - DONE, almost!

Second on my list was applying the borders to Easy Street and making the back.  I got all but the last two outer border strips on before heading to bed Monday night.  While still in my jammies I finished it up early Tuesday morning.  Well, sort of …. I didn’t have enough fabric for the back so will have to add about a nine-inch strip of something across the width now that I'm home.  Border fabrics counted out last week except 1/2 yard for insert.

Easy Street

That aqua border definitely toned down the lime green!  I think this one will be going to flood relief in Alberta, Canada.  

This is the sunrise that greeted us on Tuesday morning, portending the storms to come that evening.

Sunrise at Garner Creek

3.    Elegant Garden - Fix mitered border corner and make binding - DONE!

I managed to repair a mitered corner on Elegant Garden’s border and made the binding on Tuesday morning.  Another half yard out.

Spaghetti Binding

Elegant Garden

4.     Churn Dash - Cut setting triangles, assemble, apply borders - ALMOST DONE

From there I moved on to Churn Dash (which I am now calling Dots and Dashes).  Silly Me thought it would be a quick project to rearrange a couple of blocks, cut the setting triangles and assemble the rows.  Between cutting the first set of triangles too small and dealing with a directional fabric, much reverse sewing ensued.  At 8 o’clock it went back into the box, lacking only borders.  Nothing to count.

Dots and Dashes

5.     Twisted Sister - Audition sashing and borders, assemble if able - Oh, well

Next up – Twisted Sister!  This is a dinosaur from the days when I was teaching this pattern and needed samples for step-outs.  The blocks are mostly 30s and I just didn't bring the "right" fabrics for sashing and borders, though I did get some good suggestions from the Village, so it went back in the box.

6.      Kids' comfort quilts - Some progress

Most of Wednesday morning was spent throwing together a couple of comfort quilts for the guild out of fabrics from my stash (counted out last week).  Blocks cut from panels were sashed.

The blue border fabric was being uncooperative -- probably needs washing -- and I didn't bring anything appropriate to border the second quilt, so those went back in the box.

The rest of Wednesday was dedicated to paper piecing a Little Bits Halloween 15" x 18" wall hanging.

And all I accomplished was the star and flying geese.  Have I mentioned here how much I dislike paper piecing?  But I'm determined to finish.  I think I'll break out the BabyLock with thread cutter....

7.     Remembering Marie - Never left the box.

While I was at retreat a package of fabric I ordered arrived.  Final tally for the week:

Stash Report - Nov. 2

     In this Weeks:                 3.5 yards
     Out this Week:                1.0 yards
     In year to Date:            242.5 yards
     Out Year-to-Date:        194.75 yards
     Net Used 2014            -47.75 yards

Linking up with Judy at Patchwork Times.

Hope y'all have a great week!