Reentering Reality Since Retreating

Three days and two nights of almost non-stop sewing, away from home, were invigorating and draining. It's invigorating to be with 12 quilters who have different tastes, and fun to see them utilizing different techniques for creating quilts. Draining because I stayed up too late, including until 2 a.m. Sunday morning, sewing!

Here are some of our Hope Quilters, minus one quilter who could come only for one day. That's me, lower right. Would you believe, there are FOUR Linda's in this picture!?

The quilt on the wall behind us is none other than my still-progressing Friendship Medallion quilt that I'm putting together according to instructions parceled out by Patchwork Pumpkin, in Australia. I've completed seven steps now. Part eight will wrap it up.

It has, most assuredly, been the scrap-buster quilt I hoped it would be. But I still have heaps of those colorful 1-1/2" cut squares, used in the nine-patch blocks. I have a basket of them that I'm sewing into my first-ever Leaders and Enders project. 

Here are pictures of what a few people were working on. Lola is showing us the quilt from Elm Creek Quilters, Sylvia's Bridal Quilt.

Lola and her mother have been working on this together for the past five years. It's just stunning!

Jodi worked on this creation using a collection of Kaffe fabrics.

And she completed this creative quilt top.

Rachel used Ezekiel blocks to make this New Life quilt that will be given to a mission.

Help! I've fallen sewn blocks together incorrectly, and I can't get up can't take so many apart by myself! What better place to make a mistake and have friends help deconstruct lots of patches? That's what good friends do!

These are 60-degree diamonds. I began making them with Carla when she and I attended a November retreat. At our Hope Quilters retreat I finished sewing all 225 diamonds for Picket Fence. Yay!

I put only some of the blocks on the design wall, so I could again marvel over the optical effect. Isn't it something?! String-pieced blocks are so easy to sew together, but it's the value contrast - dark, medium, light - that makes this design so striking.  It will be just plain fun to lay out all the pieces and begin sewing them together!

One of our quilters brought along a sack of zippers from which we could take whatever we wanted. I had to giggle when I saw this zipper. First of all, check out the price for a metal zipper. Only 55 cents! Second, see the color name? Tango. This year, 2012, is the color year for Tangerine Tango. Ah, what once was old is new again. Now if we could only go back to those prices!

Reality this week means it's back to Bible study, taking my VW Bug in for servicing, getting my annual check-up, choir practice, and house purging. The list of to-sell and to-giveaway items continues to grow while the piles do too! Pretty soon I'll be needing to actually, physically, move these things out of the house. I'm trying to find deserving homes.

Our three Kansas City grandchildren came for an overnight the day I returned from retreat. They so seldom visit us - we're most often going there - that it was a treat to see them toddling through our house. Is there anything much cuter than little boys wearing fire truck sleepers? Linda

Tay 28 months; Aesa 14 months