N&B Days One and Two

Nuts & Bolts

It's a long (and not very kind) story about how this retreat became known as Nuts and Bolts, so I will spare you the details -- except someone ate all the crust off the peach cobbler ... (and wasn't invited back) ...

I headed out early on Monday and after a brief stop at Whittle's for some backs, it was on to Loucon Training and Conference Center near Leitchfield, KY. I like to use retreats to finish up projects where I have plenty of space to properly measure for borders and backs. So that's where I began -- with the inner and outer borders for Zagnuts.

Zagnuts

I'm not thrilled with my border choice, but it was already cut and I was here, and WTH, just GO with it! So I did.  Look at the gorgeous floors in this room.  They've been down for at least three years and still show no signs of wear.

Next was the back for Zagnuts, one of the pieces I got at Whittle's.

Zagnut Back

I hope there's a little girl out there somewhere who loves purple!!!

Next I cut borders for Holiday Frost.  But it was getting late in the day and I didn't trust myself to get them on right so I cut the back for it from a wide back from Whittles and sewed the borders on first thing Tuesday.

Holiday Frost

I spent the remainder of Monday night making the back for Star Gazing out of the aqua blue/red berries print, another Whittle's purchase.

Star Gazing with back

The measurements I had taken with me were apparently written down before the borders were added so in the end I only had a sliver left.  I think I'll stop and get more on may way home because I REALLY love that fabric.

As I said, Tuesday began with borders on Holiday Frost.  Then I moved on to borders for Spare Parts Bright.

Spare Parts

Nothing on hand for the back, but I did make the binding out of this piece.

Spare Parts Binding

Next up, borders on this wheelchair quilt made out of leftovers from Trellis Garden.

Wheelchair Quilt

That took care of all the loose ends and provided a great sense of accomplishment.  I finished the day by putting Geese Migration up on the design wall and attempting assembly.

Geese Migration

I'll begin today ripping out what I messed up yesterday -- one row of blocks turned "wrong" (tho who would notice but me) and two setting triangles stitched before the sashing was added.  My tip for the day:  If you have to spread a project out over a long period of time, try to use the same machine and make notes on where your needle is set.  It also helps if you square up your blocks before assembly.  Make lots of notes and READ them!  You can guess how I know this.

So Day Three begins Bloggin' and Froggin'!  After a shower, that is.

PS: WiFi connection here is spotty, at best, so I'll try to catch up on comments, both incoming and outgoing, once I get home.