My trip was extended another day because of the November Nor'easter that swept through Virginia. The weather was pretty awful but we were nice and cozy inside and luckily we didn't lose power. I managed to finish 5 quilt tops, a table runner and the next step to our mystery quilt. I was a sewing machine!
There was also a quilt store not too far away where we all managed to help the economy some. It might be a good idea if any future quilt retreats are at least an hour away from the nearest quilting store...
About a month ago my dear sister asked me to make a quilt for her living room using this fabric that she fell in love with. She also wanted a very simple pattern. I brought it with me to work on at the retreat.
I needed the advice of my quilting friends on the layout. This is not a color scheme I usually work with and I was having trouble finding something pleasing to the eye. This is the first layout we came up with...
I think we unanimously agreed it didn't work. So we tried again...
This was better and I ended up sewing it together. However, none of us were in love with the result. I sent a picture to my sister and she wasn't too impressed either. See for yourself...
After discussing it with her, we're trying yet another layout. I removed the stitching in the columns and have laid them over a large piece of the background fabric on my design wall. I've sent her some new pictures and I'll wait to see what she thinks. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post them.
Now to quote Jan, "Never use a stitch length smaller than your seam ripper." I imagine Tamah will never forget this. She worked for days on a quilt for her granddaughter who attends West Virginia University. She wanted a simple pattern using the blue and yellow for her granddaughter's dorm room. The top went together pretty quickly, only when she spread it out to show us, Verna's eagle eye picked up a discrepancy. Then we spotted two, then three, then... We lost count.
When Tamah was putting the four patches together in rows, she didn't realize that the direction mattered and a number of them were facing the wrong way. We helped her determine which ones needed to be turned and she placed a little sticker on each square that had to be ripped out. (And yes, she used a small stitch length the first time around that made this a lot more difficult.) She was determined to stay up all night if need be to fix it.
Here it is during the process...
And here's Tamah by the next morning...
Even after she cleaned up, we still found stickers in her hair. But her perseverance was rewarded with a beautiful quilt top that I believe her granddaughter will love!
She did an amazing job on the center applique! Way to go Tamah!
I have tons more pictures from the retreat to share with you, but this is long enough for tonight...
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