Last of the retreat

Last up taken on Sunday morning are Thelma's blocks of the month, Pat's blocks on point for a grandson and Jackie's QAYG log cabin.

Thelma's blocks

Jackie's log cabin

Pt's quilt for a grandson

Retreat Day 5

Izi's tessellated windmills

My LBD - the border took a long full day necessitating marking, amending
pressing directions etc.

Detail

Izi's batik tessellation

Retreat Fourth Day

Miriam made a sewing tidy to match her sewing machine cover
after seeing mine (below).

My set up with handy sewing mat.tidy pockets.

Kathy's stunning and precisely sewn stars using a variety of colours In Moda "Grunge".

Jacquie's jelly roll race quilt using a Jen Kingswell Gardenvale jelly roll - the same line  as I
used for the strippy quilts on Day 1. We all loved this and plan to hold a jelly roll
race day of our own

LBD inner top completed

LBD detail

Retreat Third Day

Checking my LBD units go together

At this stage projects start to appear thick and fast. Heather Hasthorpe had been binding quilts and now hung them up to photograph while Carrie had had quilts longarmed by Mandy. I got on with my LBD blocks. By midnight I had three rows sewn so I hope to have a the inner top done on Day 4 though we are going shopping too.

Heather's

Heather's - this one she quilted herself.

Another one of Heather's - the orange makes it pop.

Detail

Heather again

and a detail

Heather's quilt showing Mandy's quilting.

Mandy's completed purchased UFO with exquisite redwork.

Colette's using lovely classic Modas

Isabel's

Detail of  block using Jane Saasaman fabric

From Mandy combining modern low impact
fabrics with Liberty prints.

M

Carrie's interesting workshop project - love the self coloured setting triangles

A huge completed piece from Carrie

Retreat Second Day

Popipes quilt for Judi

A reminder of top left block

On our second day we all got well stuck into our projects including me. I added an extra border to the poppy quilt and mitred the corners. When I get home I'll source a back. Thanks to my recent fabric sorting I know I have plenty of red yardage.

16 LBD blocks

Next I made a start on the Little Black Dress stack and whackery squares and setting units. This should be relatively straightforward as the time consuming cutting out of pieces was done earlier. Lots of chain piecing though. I  hope everything matches up.
And we all like to see and photograph the work of fellow participants.

Maggie's pinwheels; camera was on the wrong setting.

Julie's disappearing hourglass

Izi's tessallated pinwheels

Julie's t-shirt and babygro quilt detail

Julie's quilt for a baby - so much fun.

Retreat First day

Daphne's woolies completed by Mandy as a QOV.

Back of the trimmed woolies quilt

Every year I go on a quilting retreat with a number of quilters who live some distance away from me so every time it's lovely to catch up with their projects and whats going on with their lives. This time however three of us Usual Suspects from Kent have joined them so the combination of the two groups of friends makes this time particularly special. My sewing machine took a bit of time to settle down but a clean out of fluff seems to have done the trick and I sashed and bordered the two layer cake quilts from the U3A class before bed. The fabric is Gardenvale by Jen Kingswell.

Muted version

Stronger colours

A former member of the group sadly died and now her friends are completing her UFO's. The last time I came attendees helped finish blocks for her final project though the bulk of the work was done by a few people. This time we got to view the completed quilt custom quilted by Isabel Hall and it will go to the person Daphne was making it for.

Started by Daphne but completed by many hands

Piecing at QuiltCon

Shattered and Mended by Lindsey Sanders' accompanied the maker's struggles with personal
problems and the rebuilding process.

Detail showing the Alison Glass sunprint fabrics, popular with many entrants.

Rebecca Burnett "Fish and Visitors", quoting Benjamin Franklin who said "Fish and visitors
stink after three days"  as did the piecing task.

Detail

Detail

Fruit Flavours by Mary Menzer again using Alison Glass sunprints on  an Andover
chambray background and Patty Staniger's Fractal Block PP pattern.
For her first grandaughter.

Dawn Gotstab "Shape Shifting"  which was tricky to piece. She used Carolyn Friedlander's
fabrics which again were a popular choice among exhibitors.

Detail