Quilt-in Background Top

This is what I have worked on all weekend.  Well, not really allll weekend.  I did take a couple of naps and played games on the computer and read blogs and finished a book.  So, I don't want you to think I slaved over this one quilt top.  This small top - about 36 inches square - is the background for some applique.  Back in September I attended the Ogallalla Quilter's Society's annual fall retreat.  The proposed project for that retreat was applique.  Since applique is not really one of my favorite things, I decided to work on another project or three.  However, watching people at the retreat work on this project, I found it really intriguing.  I loved the concept, the story and the meaning behind the pieces along with the designer, Cinde.  My friend Kathy and I decided that we needed to do a project, also, but we would wait until the January quilt-in at our guild.  That quilt-in was this past weekend. 

Kathy got to the church with a sketch of what she wanted to make and an armload of her hand-dyed fabrics that she recently snow and ice dyed.  (way cool stuff)  She just jumped in - which we learned at the first of the school year is her nature (can you say North?) - and began working on her quilt top.  She got it all put together before we left Saturday afternoon.  (sorry, I didn't take a picture of it.  Maybe she will send me one and let me post it here later, hint, hint Kathy)

I showed up with my folder of the design elements, a couple of tubs of fabrics to choose from, another stack of fabrics that might include a background fabric and some steam-a-seam 2.  I also arrived with no clue as to what I really want to do.  My original intention was to use the light blue as my background.  However, Friday night I had changed my mind and decided I wanted a pieced background of subtle monkey wrenches. (or churn dashes)  I left the quilt-in Saturday with the middle squares put together.  Today, I added the borders.  I didn't know I was going to put those on there, but Saturday night while eating dinner I saw the two fabrics (waiting to go in the wash) and decided they would be the perfect borders for this quilt.

Now, I am making and cutting out all of my elements.  Hopefully, I will have everything ready to go later this week and can begin the designing.  Even though the quilt top could stand on it's own right now, it's just a work in progress, but I am pleased with my background. 

February's Retreat

After at least two posts with no pictures I may totally overwhelm you with the tons of pictures in this post. Way back at the end of February my friend Kathy and I hosted our 7th annual (or maybe it's our 8th?) retreat at the girl scout camp at Mitre Peak. One of the reasons we love to go there year after year is the beauty of the west Texas mountains . . . .

And sunsets - even though this picture is beautiful, I couldn't get my picture to look anything like the sunset that night no matter how many pictures I took. It was really breathtaking. Lot's of purples, pinks. This picture is showing too much blue and there really wasn't much blue like that in the sky. . . .

and wild life that walks by the windows of our workroom. This year it was only turkeys.

There was a family of wild turkeys that came by at least once a day. We counted a minimum (they were always moving and you didn't know if you counted one twice or not) of twenty turkeys. One large tom turkey kept heard on all the others not letting them come close to us even though you could tell that that wanted to, especially after we threw out some bread for them. They didn't get it that day, but it wasn't there the next day so somebody feasted that night. See him in the picture below keeping watch? He really was a large bird.

This year was Kathy's turn to teach and she taught a scrappy, scrappy Jacob's ladder quilt. Below is a picture of my mother's quilt. It was the only one I had on my camera even though I thought I took pictures of more quilts. If you look closely you will notice the lovely blue painter's tape. One of the bad things about this camp is that you can't put up any flannel backed tablecloths so we have learned that you can put up each individual block with painter's tape and if you are really good, like my mom was below, you can see what your quilt might look like all sewn together. I love the color combination in her blocks. It has a warm inviting feel to it.

I didn't work on that quilt this weekend because I wanted to try out a new pattern. Over the last couple of years, this retreat has kind of been my time to work on new patterns. The quilt I am teaching at Ogallala in a couple of weeks was made at our retreat last year. I have just finished writing the pattern for it and can't wait to introduce it to everyone.
This year, I was working on my mess up of a version of a quilt I saw on the blogs. However, I liked my mess up; so I played with it at this retreat. I am not totally satisfied with the way it looks yet so this is not the end of this quilt top. I haven't had a chance to play around with it since I have been home, so stay tuned on this one. It may be something totally different when I am done with it. Below are two settings for the blocks and then a lot of them up on the wall just to see what it will look like.

That fabric, (can't remember the name of it - let me get back to you on that one) has a lot of pattern and it definitely overwhelms these blocks. The may need to be sashed and that is one thing I am going to look at when I get the chance to put them on the wall here at the house.

Okay, I have had a rough time getting my pictures to do what I want them to do - (note to self: next time just download one picture at a time so it will be easier to move them around.) and it has gotten past my bed time so I will leave you with the last of the "wild" life I saw when I was leaving the camp to return home. I just had to stop and take pictures since they were almost close enough to reach out and pet. They were a little annoyed that I stopped my car, rolled down my window and took their picture. However, it was nice of them to all look into the camera and say cheese.



However, he was not really happy that I was disturbing his Sunday lunch and a chat up with the ladies. Look at the frown on his face!