Hooray for full porch rail quilt displays!
And hooray for the quilters who work so hard as evidenced in the quilts they brought and tops they finished on retreat!
And for those who asked - No - not all of these were made DURING retreat - most quilts take much more time than a few days to cut, piece, assemble, quilt and bind -
But one of the most fun things that has come out of asking everyone to bring their own quilt to sleep under due to sanitizing protocols (that would kill my quilts if sanitized on a weekly basis) was that we get to see more of the quilts made by each other! And the variety is so inspiring!
I spy a Unity quilt, some Frolic blocks, a Grassy Creek, a Bitcoin top (that was assembled while on retreat!) a wonderful Grassy Creek variation, and a Scrappy Mountain Majesties from the Free Patterns tab!
Good Fortune, Zuckerwatte from String Fling, Grassy Creek, and Happily Scrappily Irish from Adventures with Leaders & Enders! The Wanderlust Table Runner (Free with the purchase of the Addicted to Scraps book) and a beautiful commemorative State Parks quilt!
Catching Rainbows, Sisters Choice variation (Free Patterns tab) a lovely floral star block in progress, Scrap Crystals from More Adventures with Leaders & Enders, Crumb Jumble from String Frenzy, and a happy quilt top of scrappy rectangles!
It was a veritable rainbow of quilty goodness hanging off the porch on Sunday afternoon.
Don't you just wonder what the passersby think with all of this color?
There were a couple of projects not shown - such as the adorable carrot runner made by Kaye - and the cute cute houses (with tree) that I'm not sure who the maker is -
Last minute photos of design walls yesterday morning before it all came down and was packed away for transport home!
If the designs aren't mine - I honestly have no idea what the pattern name is, or who the designer is. I have a hard enough time keeping the names of my own quilts straight!
This top is also done!
Some of you asked about this one - I have no idea, but if you know - please leave the info in the comments section below. Thank you. Such a beautiful rainbow!
Punkin Patch from String Frenzy!
Way to go, Meg! I love the aqua/turquoise background!
I had such a wonderful week spending time with this fabulous group of ladies! I can't wait until they are back again next August.
Much of my yesterday was spent running back and forth, swapping out loads of laundry and getting the house ready for today's arrival - it's the TADA Quilters from Erie, PA!
Housekeeper Susan does most of the heavy duty cleaning and sanitizing. I take care of reorganizing, recovering pressing stations, cleaning design walls, putting out forms and welcome prizes, making sure the back porch is ready and festively appealing.
And of course - 12 to 14 loads of laundry.
This morning the setting up of all the towel baskets is in order first thing along with getting 12 beds made so we are ready to roll.
And we'll do it all again!
On the quilty side -
Oh you guys -
I made the biggest boo boo ever.
Sigh.
I paid attention to the width of pattern, but not the height. And I am this far in and it all has to come out.
Did you ever have one of those days where you just wanted to throw in the towel?
I got this quilt finally loaded into the quilting machine, chose my pattern, started stitching, and the first row which was a half row - quilted just wonderfully.
Perfect stitch length, awesome tension.
The next row – the first full row began just fine, but about halfway through the first repeat I over extended the available height of workspace both top and bottom.
In other words - my scaled design was too tall for the available space on my machine.
You guys! I have to pull out all of the quilting and rescale this design! I am just so mad at myself!
Anyone seen my seam ripper?
I managed to unstitch 2 of the large "football" shapes (and all of their echoes) last night. this is going to take forever.
I'm using Bottomline thread in my bobbin which just sinks into the fabric and is very hard to pick up by ripper.
My best method is to slit every 4th stitch or so, and then pull the top thread to remove that stitching. I'm working in 3'' sections. It's just heinous and I did it myself by not checking that the pattern was not too tall (Usually I can run a pass without thread so I know if I am okay or not before really stitching.)
So needless to say - this pattern will be pushed further back on its release date! LOL! It is now my evening job while watching TV.
What can you look forward to next?
Rocky Road to Grayson!
This pattern will be releasing soon - you've asked for more string piecing fun, and this is it!
And yes, there will be gift-aways and fabric rolls and more - so stay tuned.
In the mean time - these three things are STILL going on:
ALL THREE of these gift-aways are still open to entries!!
Enter to win the July Quilty Box HERE. Drawing to happen Monday, 8/16/21.
I'm giving away FIVE patterns (including snap closures!) for Gail Mayhue's Busy As A Boss tote with one winner per day starting 8/13/21. Get your entry in HERE.
TWO Tickets for Quilters Take a Moment are still up for grabs!
Our Quilters Take a Moment virtual event is coming up on September 17-18, 2021!
That's SO CLOSE, you guys!
What is Quilters Take a Moment?
Quilters Take a Moment is a virtual fundraising event for the nonprofit Quilt Alliance, featuring captivating speakers, deep-dive interviews, joyful conversations, a quilt exhibition and moments of community for quilt lovers everywhere.
Join us live on September 17 and 18 online, or watch the recorded content any time, anywhere!
Enter to win a free ticket on the original post HERE. I will draw for our two winners THIS FRIDAY 8/13/21.
Okay - let's get this Wednesday going. What do you have in store for your day today?
Quiltville Quote of the Day -
Three cheers and so much gratitude for the true friends that come our way.
They bring out the best in us, and comfort the stressed in us and oh so much more.
Have a lovely Wednesday, everyone!
The cute tiny house quilt appears to be this one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDUhZWyi7LA
ReplyDeleteUgh! It's a sad, sad day when the seam ripper has to come out to play. It's especially bad when ripping out stiches made by a longarm quilting machine! I guess we know what you'll be doing for the next who-knows-how-many hours, Bonnie.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I received a quilt back from a lady who was quilting a charity quilt for me. The quilting was knotty, crossed over in several places and basically a mess. Even though it was a charity quilt - XL Twin I just could not give it away in that state. I ripped all of the quilting out and had a person I trust re-quilt it. Lots of work in unstitching.
ReplyDeleteYour purple border fabric is fab! I'm so sorry you are forced to use the ripper and delay publication :( YAY for Rocky Road to Grayson to the rescue in the meantime and more fun to look forward to with the TADA Quilters retreat. Can't wait until next time!
ReplyDeleteYou have my sympathy. What takes 3 minutes to stitch in, takes 3 hours to rip out! Been there, done that.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Many times.
DeleteI just love seeing the quilts on the porch rail! So much eye candy!
ReplyDeleteI like to look at each quilt and try to guess the pattern before I read the text below to see if I am right... so fun! Beautiful work ladies!
The Prism quilt was made from a pattern called "Strip it Three Ways" by Nancy Rink. It is still available from various vendors. It uses a jelly roll of ombre colored fabrics, the fabric does all the work.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tracy!
DeleteMy Wednesday is being spent on my deck sewing & for the first time in 49 years spending our anniversary alone. We are in different parts of the country this year.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for all the pickin' needed! Today I'm burying threads on my latest WIP. This year I'm finishing a bunch of tops I made last year. Trying to add a little new fun in there too. I use my DSM to quilt. At least this week it's cooperating!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds familiar! Missed the quilting on a quilt I was giving away. The first three passes were Fine the next 5 not so much and the beautifully fine bobbin thread became my worst enemy. I spent two whole days on the daybed in the sunroom with the quilt laid out so I could rip larger areas without moving it. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteLove love love the display of quilts and other projects by your retreat groups! So interesting to see your patterns interpreted in different colors or variations. It is a real inspiration!
ReplyDeletei feel your pain with the 'unsewing'. what takes x number of minutes/hours, takes 5-10x to unsew. i taught my dh to do it while watching tv. no he doesn't make house calls. so sorry. i love that you post pictures of the design walls, whatever quilts are finished and your walks/hikes. thank you so much for that. we can participate virtually. patti in florida
ReplyDeleteAt least you figured it out after only having stitched one row. It is an excellent way to remind you to check the height. (And hopefully now I'll remember to do that too. LOL)
ReplyDeleteThat is the cover photo on a book by Evelyn Sloopy called Strips and Strings.
ReplyDeleteAt least you can sit down now to do this. Sorry you have to do it though
ReplyDeletePiecefully your Sloth Sis, Jamie
Moda have a small house pattern as well, called Village. Looks very similar.
ReplyDeleteAs a longarmer occasionally things go very wrong & Jack comes out to play. A Havel seam ripper is awesome! You can "skin" the quilt by lifting the top & gently touching the thread with the blade... quick and easy compared to a regular seam ripper! Highly recommend!! Just use caution, it is a sharp razor blade on a handle!
ReplyDeleteI often use my battery operated "The Quick Ripper" to remove stitches when I have a lot to do. The web address on the ripper says "jmichellewatts.com". It saves a ton of time. There is a little learning curve for holding the two pieces of fabric apart from each other to maximize the speed of the ripper. I love it but have never used it where batting was involved.
ReplyDeleteMore on seam rippers -- Buy a couple of new ones since they lose their sharpness after a while. I hate to toss anything, but sometimes a new broom sweeps clean and all that. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteSo, I got all teary reading this blog entry. I'm in the August Quiltvillians group and I just got home, and I think a piece of my heart was left behind in SW Virginia. Thank you Bonnie for a really great week. Thank you Karen, Kaye, Becca, Joan, April, Tonni, ThomasAnn, Megan, Cindy, Christine, and Laura for all the memories and laughter. Let's do it again!!
ReplyDeleteThe Quilted Life, Krista Moser. She has a pattern that uses the 60 degree triangle.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog. I read it very morning.
Beth
About ripping stitches… I once “skinned” a quilt, it is easiest done while the quilt is on the longarm machine or on a table. I pushed the top and batting back over itself and then started ripping/slicing, using a “thing” (don’t know the English name, sorry), it is sort of a small knife/comb that I use for shaping my eyebrows, got it at my hairdresser. It certainly went a lot faster than the “normal” method… I just had to be careful and pay attention so I didn’t make any holes through the backing….
ReplyDelete