Quilt Retreat Report, Part 1

     A few weeks ago, I was able to join some old and new quilting friends on a 4 day quilt retreat.  This is my third retreat with some of these ladies, and what a nice time I had.  If you have never taken part in one, you should!  It is a great way to spend large amounts of time sewing, being inspired by the work done by others, and getting to know other quilters. 
     What I didn't realize before I started going on these adventures is that there is a healthy amount of wine sipping that happens in the evenings.  Sewing while sipping is a thing, and now I plan for it.
     When I am figuring out what projects to take for the 4 days, I include precision projects for the morning and afternoon, and "drinking-proof" projects for the evening.  I always take more projects that I can actually finish!  My precision projects were three versions of the GE Designs Lexie pattern I purchased.  I got a good start on those, and will share soon. 
     For the evening, I had decided to work on two scrap projects.  I have bags of scraps, some of which I had previously cut into 2 1/2 inch wide strips.  Before going on the retreat, I sewed those together into two long rolls.  I also cut lots of scrap batting into 2 1/2 inch strips, with the intention of making a jelly roll rug. 

 During the retreat, while sipping wine and binge watching Grace & Frankie on Netflix, I managed to sew the fabric covered cords to create a rug.  I used up all the batting I brought, and created this nice big ball!

   Yesterday, I had a few hours free, and decided to try a sample rug.  Because I was curious about how far these strips go, I measured out 60 feet before starting.  I put on my zig zag stitch and went to town.  I like how it turned out, although I'll probably tweak the next one a bit, especially where the coils end.  The finished little rug is 24 inches in diameter.  A cute little mat for the sink or lav, and almost no cost, since everything was scraps!   

     My other "drinking" project was to start working on a crumb type piece with all my little solid bits.  From my various bins of solids, I filled a huge Marshall's bag!

 

  For this project, I just started on building from a small center, and kept adding and rotating as the mood struck.  I ended up with dozen small pieces ranging from about 5 inches square to about 14 inches long.  I like how these look individually and how they may look together.  I am still mulling over what to do with them.  I barely touched the scrap stash, so I can just keep going.  I enjoyed this sewing tremendously!  The lighting was pretty bad when I snapped this photo - sorry!  

     I wanted to check my values, and had decided not to include white, so I used my phone camera to see if I had a mix of lights, darks and mediums.  I think I do! 

   So, 4 days of sewing, and only a small little rug completed, but lots of projects started, and lots of great memories of the retreat.

Take care,
Gretchen