Retreat

 Well, another retreat is over.   Wouldn't it be nice if the times that we are enjoying go slower than the times we aren't?  We were at our lovely retreat home Saturday-Tuesday.  And it feels like four hours, not four days.   

We worked on a small challenge since last fall.  Here are pics of the projects everyone created from their piece of fabric provided to everyone last fall. The challenge was simple.  Giver everyone a piece of fabric (small) and if you had specifics then say so, if not then have free reign to make an 8.5 inch block using the fabric provided.  

But first, the bad news.  This is how Barb limped into the parking area.  She hit a deer not 3 minutes from destination, there are hunks of fur in the center if you look closely.  The grill is somewhere in a ditch and she isn't sure about the outcome for the deer as there is no blood.  But it took a toll on her nerves on day one.  By the time she left Tuesday a tow truck had come to take the car and she was given a ride home from one of the other girls.  Surprisingly, the car repair place said it didn't look like the car would be totaled.  What a way to start, huh?  Good news, we kept telling her, was SHE wasn't hurt.

OK, here is Ines' project.  She gave small pieces of her focus fabric.  I mean small. Like little paint swatches and we were on our own.  I think we all did a good job of it!  She is so good at paper foundation piecing, look at those points on her corner squares!  By the way, Ines is 85 years old.

Jan made this table runner.  Her focus fabric is the background behind that tulip just at the top.  I found it hard to imagine using a busy fabric but she said to go for the colors in it, and that helped.  It's beautiful!

Joyce's focus fabric was the background piece.  We were told "do fall leaves" and she put it together immediately.  The only part she had to do at home was quilt and bind.  Her sashing between blocks is the reverse side of her binding.

Lisa gave us a lot of red, white and blue fabric choices but asked for stars and she got them!  

Sally's focus fabric was the one most of us used on the background.  She challenged us to use HSTs.  That meant more math for me.  But we did it, there isn't a curve in that quilt!

Barb said "red."  She likes red and works with it a lot. She used our squares and then other orphan blocks she had on hand to make something bigger than a table runner, and it gave her orphans a home.

There is no photo of mine at the reveal but this was what I did with my basket blocks. The table runner goes perfectly end to end on our dining room table. 

So, that's retreat part 1.