So much fun!

Temp measured from my car on Friday

Thursday and Friday of last week I went to see Bonnie Hunter in Houston at the Kingwood Guild. It was absolutely what I needed! I've read everything on her site, followed her for years, cut my fabric into strips....but somehow, never "got" it. Listening to her made a light bulb go off in my head. It was as if she was saying to me "Marla! JUST do it! Just go out and do what you want! Just use your stuff! Stop being paralysed! FORGET the quilt police!" It was as if a huge weight was lifted off of me. My GF took a picture of Bonnie and me but I need her to send it to me.

Let me tell you what a trooper she was. The church we were meeting in had no A/C. She carried on as if it was nothing. We were dying of heat and not even moving around and talking.

It was utterly miserable!

I need to take a picture of my star struck blocks ( the workshop project). Right now I am busy sewing, sewing and limiting my computer time.

Stash Report

I've decided to use this stash report to track my fabric as opposed to feeling guilty for purchasing. I really do not want to buy...often. However, on occasion, it is a necessity...whether physical (need to right shade of fabric) or mental, (need to fondle some new fabric)

I did however clear 13 yards! I made all of these pillowcases from flannel. I had bought it from Joanns the day after Thanksgiving. I wanted to make myself a robe but gosh it is too thin and (so aggrivating) printed off grain! My friend didn't realize what she said when she told me to make a pillowcase! I made a few for me, a few for my fellow roommates at retreat, plus a few from golf fabric for my husband (hey, he supports my quilting habit and deserves something once in a while too!) I made the pillowcases a few inches bigger all the way around to try to compensate if they shrink.




I discovered that it requires a boatload of fabric to make the number of kippot needed for Aviva's wedding. Naturally I don't have enough candy fabric! I bought M&M and Tootsie Roll fabricsthat are so cute!

The tally....

Used this Week: 13
Used year to Date: 13.5
Added this Week: 6
Added Year to Date: 6
Net Used for 2011: 7.5

Scoot on over to Judy's blog and catch up on all the other participating stash busters!

Snow Day here too??

I decided that in solidarity for all those poor students and teachers off of school today, I too would take a personal "snow day." My plate is so full that I am overwhelmed. A snow day is exactly what I need to recharge before retreat next week!

So how will I spend my day? Cleaning. Washing. Cutting fabric and exercising! It will all be for the best as I will need all of my energies next week to sew, sew, sew!!!!

Stash Report

I've been thinking about stash this morning. We have fabric stash and then we have all the rest of the stash. The gidgets and gadgets. The tools, rulers, sticky things, storage containers. The thread and oooooo don't forget the quilt patterns, clothing patterns, craft patterns, magazines, books, computer printouts, and saved computer files of our someday projects. Like the fabric stash, these things overwhelm me. Which leads me to....

I've been cleaning. Cleaning with a purpose. I've managed to cull 50, no that is not a typo, 50 patterns, books, and other assorted items. I can't wait to share my trash with others!! LOL!! I am going to retreat next week and have decided to hold a silly little giveaway so all 20 participants walk away with something. Most of the items are patterns that I've accumulated from $1 sales, Half Price book clearance etc. But some of the patterns and books are "good ones." One that I bought, still like, but know I'll never ever work on. It is so freeing knowing that these items will no longer be weighing me down.

I cleaned out clothing patterns, size 20, don't need those any longer, to "sell" at our monthly guild silent auction. I've purged out quilty gift items that I've received but will never use.
I've even yanked things off of the shelf that pain me but I know, know, know, I just like owning and won't ever actually see finished.

Fabric. Well, I used a whole .5 yard this week recovering this. REad about it here. It's a super functional table that I use constantly at home and is fab. for traveling to retreat.

I also made an additional padded ironing surface to take to retreat.

Pop over to Judy's blog and see how others are actually busting fabric!


Used this Week: .5
Used year to Date: .5
Added this Week: 0
Added Year to Date: 0
Net Used for 2011: .5

Design Wall Monday

Last week I posted my empty wall because of retreat. I figured that this week I'd post the design wall FROM retreat. It runs the entire length of the room (for more on retreat check back later this week). As we are in the midst of creating we throw it up on the design wall. Now these beauties aren't all my creations. I just thought you'd like to take a looksee at the design wall I looked at all last week. I didn't get a chance to take pictures until most of the projects were finished. I was, after all, busy making my own additions to the design wall!


This is a top created by my table partner. It's from the Turning Twenty Around The Block book. LOVE THE COLORS. I'm not a fan of the Turning Twenty quilts but I really like this one!
I

I don't know WHO might be working on a bazillion triangle quilt. Here are two of the 4 finished rows. The measurement is going to be 114 X 120.....SOMEONE is NUTS!



Isn't this pretty! Made from the "Simple Stars, Beautiful Quilts" No Diamonds, book. See the bear in the corner? It's made from UT fabric and really cute.



This top was created with this pattern. I'd never even heard of Art Gallery Fabrics before!



Another Turning Twenty Quilt



The table runner on the left is from Connecting Threads. The purse is a Runaround Bag by Lazy Girl. The one on the right? No idea.



This is Ms. CCCat's. Isn't it soooo pretty in the 30's prints!



Love the colors on this one.



The wall hanging is from a pattern called Seasonal Skinnys by Crazy Old Lady Quilts. The quilt on the right is from a pattern in Quilts n' More. We have all made a number of this particular pattern. It's wonderful because it's huge blocks.


One of our quilting friends doesn't quilt at all! She is a sewer. She makes all of her husbands shirts and this is one of the one's she finished



I don't remember what pattern my table partner was using to create this beauty. She is SO prolific at retreat...like a machine she cranks out the tops all week long!






This is one of my favorites! It is created by drawing the stars on freezer paper and cutting apart. I think I like it so well because I know I'd NEVER do this pattern. I kept trying to steal this but she INSISTED on taking it home with her!



Mine. It is for DH. He was thrilled. If you can't see the print, it's Cleveland Cavalier fabric and basketballs.



The second one for DH. I figure he supports all of this quiltting business, the least I can do is make him one....or two! This one is the Cleveland Browns. If you look at the top (only) border, it is a dog print. It's the DOG POUND!!!! LOLOOLOLOLOLOL!!!! If you aren't a Cleveland fan or a football fan you won't get it!


One of the 4 pillowcases I made.

Design Wall Monday

Well....I know that this isn't strictly a post about my design wall.....However, in a sense, it is.....Because we are on our way to retreat! Whoo hoo! How can I post what is ON my design wall when everything from it is IN the car? This car holds all that is necesary to create a great design wall!! If I have an internet connection once we arrive, I will post an additional entry with a real wall with stuff on it!!!! Ohhhhh ok, to be fair, here is the empty one at home!!LOL!!

This is all the junk three women need to spend 4 days away from home sewing!

View from the back....



View from the front.....



The three amigas! Packed, ready and waiting for morning!


Hope I didn't anger anyone with my unorthodox posting for design wall monday!!

Pop over to Judy's blog for a look at the other entrys that actually have quilts!

Stash Report

I am getting ready for retreat!!!! Really. Really, Really and truly. Now in order to get ready for retreat I am cutting triangles (that's for tomorrows report), and getting projects ready.

Once I finish the triangle quilt (my goal is to have it ready to show for the March guild meeting! Aren't I optimistic!!) I will need a back. A HUGE back. So as long as I am going to have a huge palette, I decided to make the back a solid so I can display mini quilts (aka, the UFO's I poop out on and never quite get big enough to cover my king sized bed) and make some toppers (this is what Nancy Smith and Lynda Milligan have graciously dubbed these larger than wall hanging but too small for a bed, quilts). (In all fairness I LOVE the toppers books and the entire idea fits my "eyes bigger than stomach" mentality) Plus I certainly didn't have 10-12 yds of one fabric sitting around. Well a huge solid palette required shopping!

That triangle quilt, as my friend puts it, sucks up alot of fabric. Because it is a scrap quilt, I couldn't have toooooo many of one fabric in it and had already run through all of my homespuns. Some twice! That required more shopping! (when this quilt is finished I will have only scraps left in homespuns and homespun-like materials)

In order to make pillow cases on retreat, I needed to get solids to go in the little flange. Naturally, I didn't have the right colors AND Hancocks had 50% off of Kona Cotton.......It required more shopping!

In all fairness to my buying binge this week, all of the fabrics I bought for the king quilt have been turned into triangles with the leftovers waiting to be turned into proper sized scraps. (another retreat project) The solids are readied for pillowcases and the ENTIRE bolt of Kona Ivory is on alert, waiting for the top to be finished. The only thing I bought and added to the stash was a shirting that I know I will be able to use. I left all of the "prettys" at the store.

Soooo, without further ado, my stash reportFabric added this week 24 yds
Fabric used this week 0
Total added YTD 39
Total used YTD 0

Retreat 3

(sorry this retreat business is so drawn out! I've been readying for my in-laws and have had trouble at work....)

This is the kitchen of the Red Barn. On this morning, she had decorated the tables with flower pots wrapped in fabric & filled with flowers, napkins that matched the fabric on the pots and coordinating placemats. Each meal greets us with new centerpieces, placemats and cloth napkins. The upper shelf is decorated with discontinued Fiesta Ware dishes.

The windows are all covered in these fabric wrapped clothesline. Well, fabric wrapped is an odd way to put it. It is more like pieces of fabric tied around the rope. They are very cute.

This is a view of the sewing room. I am standing at the corner and getting as much in the shot as possible. See the open doorway? That is one bedroom. The sleeping is dormitory style and there are 12 beds to a room. The closed door next to it is one of the bathrooms.

This is one of the bedrooms. This one is decorated in the Christmas theme. There are another set of beds on the other side of the cubbies.

This is one bathroom. Each of the potties is covered by a different fabric. At the end of the room are two showers. There is another, identical bathroom adjoining.

This is what she uses as a curtain to give some privacy to those showering. It is not a shower curtain, just a "door." Click to enlarge, it's a rag quilt!

In "our" bedroom, this is the wall that is adjoining the sewing room. Friendship stars made from carpet!
This is one side of our bedroom. There is a wall with open doorways to....

The other side of our room. There are 4 of us that share this room. The other rooms are all pretty full as our retreat group is around 16. They can house up to 24. It is nice back here in our little corner because we have room to spread out all of our stuff. Plus, when it gets too cold we can grab an extra quilt! I always choose the bed on the left in the corner. I figure if I snore too loudly at least I won't be snoring in someone elses ear!

This is the view from where I sit. See the two women across from me? Mad women I say. The one on the left is a machine! She just churns out quilts left and right. The woman on the right is such a great quilter that she had quilts, quilts with an "s" accepted to the Houston show!!!

Here are the "5 AM-ers." We are the three "M's," Morah, Mollie, & Mary!!!!!

Retreat 2

Before I go on and describe some more about the retreat facility, let me show off my accomplishments.

I finished 7 table runner tops. No quilting and binding yet so no pictures. I assembled a "Simpsons" quilt. Because I won't be quilting this any time soon, you won't see it for a while. It's a shame because it is big in the "counted fabric" department.

I can show these ...

The birthday banner. I free motion zigzaged on the applique. I don't like it. The next time I will try Herky Jerky
The two kippot (head coverings) I made for a former Hebrew School student of mine. I made him kippot from matzo fabric (you need to scroll down to see) and he has been wearing them for the last two years....no matter what the occasion!

The pillowcases for the quilt I just finished.(OMGOODNESS! I JUST TRIED TO LINK TO THE POST SHOWING THE QUILT I FINISHED AND I NEVER POSTED IT!!!!! YIKES!!!! THIS WILL BE REMEDIED SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I also finished 4 wonder wallets but didn't take pictures.....I've discovered that I really stink lately at this blogging business.........I WILL get caught up!

Retreat 1

We were on our way!! After meeting at McDonalds for coffee, we headed to Humble, Texas and It's a Stitch. After doing some damage to our checkbooks we headed to Huffman to The Quilt Room. More checkbook damage here however, the girls at this shop were ready for us. They had coffee and cake and more importantly, lots on sale and a discount since there were so many of us at once! They were sooooo nice and since over at I believe Donna, With Needle in Hand is from that neck of the woods, I thought I'd take a photo of the shop and …uhm… well, I forgot her name!!!!!!! Here is the photo of us. See the bag in my hand!!! I bought the cutest fat quarters!

I took this photo so I could show some of the cute things they have in the shop. All the other photos were unflattering pictures of my friends backsides leaning over the cutting table!!!!

Off we went again. We laugh that it is over the river and through the woods to get to the Red Barn Retreat Center. You decide....Here is a shot of us entering the Sam Houston Forest.....

For a while I thought we took a wrong turn. The ROMAN forest??~!!!LOL!

Through more woods. I was trying to capture the feeling of driving with the trees surrounding you but even after many, many pictures, I couldn't' quite get it.

Have you ever wondered where wooden pallets come from? Have you ever seen so many in one place?

I don't know if these are the trees used to make the pallets or the pallets are for transporting trees but there are alot of trees here!


.....and back into the woods!

I took this by hanging my head out of the window like a dog. I musta looked like a nut snapping and snapping pictures!

When we finally arrived at the Red Barn, I forgot to take a picture of the front!!! You'll need to go to their website to see the full view..... I did get the carport, very convenient when to unload when it's raining....

....and the front door....

....and a few of the decorations.......more tomorrow!