It has been over a month since I last posted. Its apparent that I've been in a blogging slump for quite a while. I don't know why that happens, I mean, I want to post about things I'm doing and projects I'm working on. I guess its sort of like getting thrown off of a routine and then finding it very difficult to get back into it. I frequently have this problem with doing laundry. But SO much has gone on lately, and I can't wait to share it all with you!
First off, I went to my first quilting retreat over President's Weekend! One of the guilds I belong to holds its annual retreat at Tall Oaks Conference Center in Linwood, KS. The place was woodsy and secluded, but only 7 miles from my house!! We had a huge common room with rows of tables set up - we each got an 8 foot table to ourselves - and an adjacent living room-ish area with couches and chairs and a fireplace for when we needed to take a break.
I know 99% of retreat-goers spend the nights at the retreat, too, but since I live so close, I attended as a day-tripper for 3 days. That way it brought my cost to attend WAY down, and I got to go home at night and sleep in my own bed and see my babies and my husband. I had a great time sewing all weekend, and it was really nice to have a break from my regular housewife/mom stuff. Here's how much stuff I took with me to work on:
I made backings for 2 quilts and got them to my longarmer. I made and attached binding to 2 more quilts that I've had finished for months. I started a new quilt project using my Terrain FQ Pack - I'm going to make a Sparkle Punch quilt with it and its going to be gi-HUGE-ant. I also [finally] cut out some background pieces for my Double Wedding Ring quilt:
I made the arcs as part of Kaelin's quilt along LAST YEAR, and just never got motivated to do all the tracing and cutting for the oddly shaped background pieces. Its really silly that I let these beauties sit for so long, because the curved piecing actually wasn't difficult at all. I only had to rip just a bit of one seam for this whole circle to make some points match up. I'm excited to see this one come together :)
I also made this rockin' bag:
Its the Swag Bag pattern by Kati Cupcake. I won the pattern at a sewing day at my LQS about a week before the retreat. It turned out really cute!
Remember my spiderweb quilt that I got from the KC Scrappy Bee? Well I finally finished quilting and binding it:
My little girl, Ardyn, is SO in love with it! She carries it around the house to snuggle up with when she's cold, and it is a must for bedtime.
This was my second time using minky as quilt backing. I quilted this myself on my domestic machine and had no issues with slipping or anything. I actually really like how its wrinkled up a bit now that its been washed and dried. Its so SO soft :)
I'm also a little in love with my choice of binding. I didn't think too hard about it, just grabbed something off my shelf, but it turned out to be the most awesome contrast to the bright pink backing! I'm very happy with how this quilt turned out :)
Last, but certainly not least, I just got my Rainbow Sherbet quilt back from the longarmer last night!
Just a little taste, since its not bound yet. I'm thinking of using a pieced binding in the colors of the quilt top... I'm open to suggestions.
Well that's my update for today! Hopefully I can get back in the blogging groove and be back soon with more fun stuff!
