Our Retreat in Review

As explained in our last post, we had a wonderful employee retreat to attend, and lots of stitchin' was accomplished!  Even knitty stitchin'!  Here's a fun group picture--

From the top left:  Anne, Diane, Pam, Eileen, Kristina, Karen,
Jeanne, Tammy, Nancy, Linda E., Linda P., Sue, Sharon and Barb

Missing from that photo are Debbie and Laurel (hiding behind the lens!) and Beth and Marlene, both out of state in warm climates!  

Some pictures of our works-in-progress--

Modern Logs by Christa Quilts.  This is Debbie's quilt for the next Easy As Pie class.
It's way outside her box!

During our fat quarter game, we were very focused!  

Karen learned how to use the serger, thanks to Jeanne's help.
Receiving blankets, which means the Karen will soon be receiving the title of grandma!
And possibly dreaming of owning a serger?!

This is a quilt that Linda E. was making, it uses flannels that look "suedeish", probably not a real word, but it is a really cool quilt!  We have coordinated packs of the flannels for purchase, and I will find out where her pattern came from.

This little doll reigned over the sewing room, staring down anyone within range!  And Jeanne, who is hiding behind the machine, made a fabulous little backpack for her!  She also made a little ruffly skirt for her granddaughter and one to match for the doll.

Sharon showed us her embroidered quilt top, a pattern by Crabapple Hill.
 Sharon is a pro at embroidery, and teaches our classes.
There are a lot of ladies who love embroidery!

Laurel worked and worked and worked on these blocks!  And the result is fabulous!  Soon to be a class, I am told!

Barb worked on some beading, look at that neat and tiny little chain she made!

Feelin' Good!

I love the beginning of a vacation.  I always like the feeling when you realize you have some free time stretching out in front of you, maybe going somewhere, maybe having guests, maybe just a blank slate.  That's what I'm feeling this morning!

This special feeling is made possible by the generosity of the owners of Bear Patch Quilting Co., Debbie and Laurel.  It's actually a Christmas gift to the store employees, about 16 of us.  The gift is 5 days of time.  How rare is that!?  The store is closed for 5 days (February 24-28) while we gather ourselves at a retreat house, Bridge Creek Cottage, in Augusta, WI.  How cool is that!

Closing the doors of the store for that many days and hosting the whole group really means a lot.  It is a real investment of time and money.  The lost revenue, the rental of the house, the time spent in planning, all add up to a significant amount.  We have never done an employee event like this before.  It was never possible, because on any given day, there are  5 or more employees scheduled to work, depending on the day it can be even 8.  We have had employee sew days at the store after hours, but that's pretty limited when the event starts at 4 or 5 PM.

We have a really good group of employees, probably one of the most compatible and enjoyable groups that I have known since starting to work at the store 15 years ago.  We are using this opportunity as another way to build the strengths of our team, plus some learning through sharing ideas.  And doing what we love to do, quilting and sewing!  There will also be some knitting, reading, movie watching, walking, eating, talking, laughing and goofing off!

I know there are going to be some customers who won't get the word that we are closed, in spite of trying to get the information out there in any way possible.  And I know they are not going to be happy about that no matter what.  We feel badly that we can't be in 2 places at one time.  We will be doing our best to become an even better quilt shop for all of you!

We all have our own favorite projects to work on during retreat, and here's one that we are bringing along for "show and tell".  We have been loving the Sweetpea Pod pattern by Lazy Girl.  Here's one I made in January--

And here's another one that I made from some faux leather we had in the store--

Sweetpea Pod by Lazy Girl

I have to say, it turned out pretty cool!  For anyone wanting to experiment with this, I used the leatherish fabric for both the outer and lining layers, plus a layer of SF101 lightweight woven fusible interfacing on the wrong side of the outer layer.  I blinged up the zipper just a little with a beaded pull, and I'm bringing along the supplies to show everyone how to make one of those.

Oh, and don't you just love that old tabletop, too!  It's from probably the 50's, but I'm not sure of the history of this table.  It looks like the surface of the moon, or a muskmelon!

Gypsy In The Mail!

I am such a lucky girl!  When my friend, Thora Lee, saw that I was using the PB&J fabrics from Moda for my Gypsy Wife project, she said I could have the scraps that she had left from something she was making.  Yesterday this wonderful package of goodness landed in my mailbox!  These will really fill my need for better yellows and blues in my assortment.  Isn't it great to have friends that know how much a scrap can mean?

I have cut out what I will need to make the March blocks, according to the schedule I am following.

I have a quilt retreat coming up, so I have sealed the block pieces in ziplock bags and placed the bags and instructions in the "to go" pile.  When I do something like that, I worry that I will make a mistake with something and end up without the right fabrics to complete a block.  So my obsessive self has packed another ziplock bag with backup pieces of those fabrics to take along.  They will stay in the car on reserve in case I have a fabric emergency.  Do you do this?  Am I the only one?  Please tell me that I am not the only quilter who brings backup fabric to retreats!

Are you working on the Gypsy Wife quilt?  Let me know---

And merci beaucoup to Thora Lee!

A Multitude of Projects!

We are inching our way along through so many beautiful quilts, bags, tablerunners, etc.  What I have here is a small sample of the fun things we are working on.  This is a retreat that is not centered on teaching a specific class.  Instead, everyone is working on their own ideas and patterns.  Some are starting entirely new quilts.  Others have unearthed a few "oldie but goodie" projects that were started sometime in the past, but set aside in favor of something else.  There can be any number of reasons to file a project in the UFO (UnFinished Object) bin.  A missing fabric, a shortage of fabric to match, a misprinted pattern that requires re-working, a loss of interest, or just the allure of something else sparkly and new.  Whatever the reason, it can take a lot of discipline to control the urge to start new things while the old ones sit sad and forlorn in the closet, just waiting until someone kind will bring them out into the light of day and release them from the plastic bag prison.  I swear that sometimes I can hear them calling out to me, but usually so faintly that it is easy to ignore!

These pictures will show you some of the things going on.  If you follow us on Facebook, you will catch more glimpses of our ideas.

Judy brought along a quilt she recently finished to show.  All of the pictures and words are done by machine embroidery.  The designs come from Anita Gooddesigns.

Marlene finished all of the blocks for this beautiful pineapple quilt, named for the layered pieces.  This was a pattern by Edyta Star.

This little purse was made from the hedgehog fabric shown above.  The pattern is Bucket Bag from Kenzie Mac & Co.  The jute webbing really makes a nice finish.  I made this for a store sample, and there are some kits available.

This small tablerunner is a free pattern on allpeoplequilt.com.  It is called the Scrap Lab Tablerunner.
Debbie gave each person a bundle of 5 coordinated fat quarters to make their own souvenir of retreat.

Marlene made this eye-popping tabletopper from a pattern called Triangle Frenzy by Bunnie Cleland.  This pattern, and others like it, are some new best-sellers and are offered in a class at the store.

Eileen made this quilt and we have named it Sea Glass.  Actually, the pattern is named Flora by Valori Well.  But it will be forever Sea Glass in our minds!  I don't see it listed as available on their website, but it was originally from The Stitchin' Post in Sisters, OR.

I did a little assembly line sewing and made 8 of these zipper bags yesterday.  They are really fun to put together in interesting fabric and color combinations.  It's a good way for me to use some of the things that I collect and think are precious.  The front is clear vinyl, letting the inside of the pocket show through.  The pattern is Bridget's Bagettes by Atkinson Designs.

Last night a few of us actually had a sewing break long enough to watch the season premiere of The Good Wife.  Some knitting was going on, but I really had to pay attention to what was going on with the characters so the knitting was not serious.  We all loved the plot, and we are worried about Kerry.  I won't say any more so I don't spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched it.  But I can tell you that when the closing credits came up, we all let out a group cry of anguish because we didn't want it to end!

More City Sampler Blocks and Retreat

59, 60, 61, 62

A bit of a gap here with the block pictures, I'm really just giving you time to work on your own collection!  

This weekend is our fall retreat at Bridge Creek Cottage, and yesterday a great group of gals descended upon the sewing room.  Now it is overflowing with good vibes, the hum of machines, creativity and threads all over everything!  

Debbie and I came a day in advance to get everything just right for the quilters.  One of the things on our to-do list was recovering the ironing boards.  The sewing room is equipped with standard ironing boards and "big boards".  The big boards are rectangular wooden enhancements to the usual ironing board.  Those narrow ended ironing boards are great for pressing a shirt, but not so functional for our purposes.  The big boards are a little wider and longer without the narrowed end.  They get some pretty heavy use here, and sometimes need a little spiffing up.  Easy to do with some durable fabric and a staple gun.  However, the staple gun that I brought stopped working on the second board, so we visited the local hardware store.  The fellow helping us did get it to operate again, but not consistently, so I invested in a new one.  In the meantime, Debbie was wandering the labyrinth of narrow aisles, discovering that this was much more than a hardware store!  For example, they have Gumby and Pokey and Percy!  Perfect for some little guys I know--

I used some of the leftover fabric from the big boards so cover my own personal little board--

 The black binding strips are ready to sew onto more pages for this little soft book made from a panel print by Jenn Ski for Moda--

Half of the pages are made of chalkboard fabric, so it comes with a zipper pocket for chalk.  Can't wait to see how it actually works in the hands of a 2 year old!

The night before everyone arrived, I pulled out a project from a few years ago.  I had actually designed this for Quilt MN in maybe 2011?  I had all of the blocks together and necessary fabric, but hadn't finished the borders.  So I managed to get 4 borders sewn together and now it's ready for the quilter! (That would be me!)  And I like the look of the design, and discovered that I had done all the math for the quilt in multiple sizes, so maybe it will be a good pattern to publish for 2015!

And, oh yes, there snacks!  This is one I made, long story short, I have discovered the tasty goodness of the elusive caramel bugles, so I made my own from a caramel popcorn recipe.  It's energy food!

Stay tuned for more retreat pictures!

Back To The Real World

It's good to be home but sure do wish that life was one big long retreat!  Lots of things got stitched up, some got finished and even more got started!  There is no lack of creative thinking among this group and it serves to encourage us to look outside the box now and then.  I have some of the pictures assembled in this slide show--

Create your own slideshow

Machine Embroidery Retreat

Here's a sampling of what's going on with our 

Machine Embroidery Retreat at Bridge Creek Cottage.  Wednesday through Sunday there is a pleasant hum of machines and conversation in our spacious sewing area.  

We are so lucky to be here!

Our Show of Projects

We have put together a little slideshow of just a portion of the things that have been underway during this retreat.  I tried to get a representation of all kinds of projects by as many people as I could.  It will take just a minute to load, and if you don't want to hear elevator music then shut off your speakers now!

Picture slideshow personalized with Smilebox

There is a whole lot of thread involved in this type of sewing, and last night we had a little bit of a contest.  I asked everyone to give me a fairly accurate number of spools of thread that are here in our workroom.  All kinds of thread.  Here are the results for the 20 attendees:

4,438 spools

based on an average price of $8/spool, that is $35,504

based on an average yardage of 750/spool, that is 3,328,500 yds

That is the equivalent of ~1,891 miles.  8 round trips from Minneapolis to Augusta, WI!  Or a little more than Grace's return flight to Florida!

Tonight is movie and popcorn for those that want to give the machines a rest.  Tomorrow is finish up and pack up for our return to the real world.  We have a list of people who will return next spring for Round 2!

Retreat Update for Friday AM

One thing that these ladies have in common is the tendency to be thread hoarders.  I think this might be a new reality TV show!  Can you see the gleam in Carol's eyes as she looks over one of her many thread boxes?  Always looking for just the right color number!  She forgot to pack her thread color number chart on which she keeps a record of which of the hundreds of Isacord colors she possesses.  But she does share!  Such a dilemna.

Judy is trimming up some threads on a block for her Feathered Star quilt, the same design that I wrote about in my last post.  Her machine accommodates a bigger hoop, so her blocks are a little bigger than mine.

Zane was stitching some great words to live by on dish towels.  I wouldn't mind a set of these for myself!

More towel stitching, this time Kelli is putting cocktail recipes onto black towels--very lovely and oh so handy to have around in case of a cocktail shortage!

Grace is showing her completed puppy dog from the Animal Antics by Stitch Connection.  This makes an adorable little baby quilt along with a whole zooful of other critters.

Grace is one very devoted retreater!  She flew back to MN from her winter haven in Florida just to come here with us!  We have another fun day ahead of us and I will have more inspiration to share very soon!  I have also posted a few things over on my own blog so take a look over there!  And if possible, sew a stitch today! 

Retreating...

Debbie has been working on a new quilt that just might be a future "Easy as Pie" class for summer or fall.  Nice big blocks, lots of potential for playing with colors.  Now it's off to the quilter--that would be me!  How would you quilt this??  Any ideas??

Tortilla Strips by Atkinson Designs

This retreat is like Machine Embroidery University!  For a novice like myself it is perfect.  I think I stated before that I am learning to use the embroidery features on my Bernina 730.  This is an interesting niche of the sewing world.  I signed up for a class to get me motivated and on track to learn about it, which is just what I needed.  I have worked today on embroidering these 9 little blocks, each 5" square, that will be sewn together (after Laurel shows me how!) to make part of the wallhanging.  This is really interesting to me, playing with colors and threads.  Speaking of threads, you would not believe the amount of thread that is in this sewing room!  Hundreds of spools in every color of the rainbow.  And maybe some new colors that were just invented!

I have started on my next set of squares for another block, this block requires 3 more squares just like the one below to make a star.  The other 3 sections are on hold until I get some more thread to match the stuff that I just ran out of.

We are living it up with catered brunch and dinner from Jason (Sweet Clarisse Catering).  Usually we do most of our own cooking, but now that we have experienced the pleasure and convenience of catered meals, there's no going back!  

If any of this sounds like something you would be interested in, make sure you let the staff of the Sewing Center know about it so we can start planning for our next retreat!

Spring 2013 Machine Embroidery Retreat

The Machine Embroiderers' Retreat has begun!

We are hosting 20 ladies at Bridge Creek Cottage in Augusta, WI, for a long weekend of sewing focused on machine embroidery.

We are having a few little snow flurries, but that won't last long and it is warm enough that nothing is accumulating.  It just makes for a very pretty view of the creek behind the house--

Some prize-winning icicles adorn the eaves--

I wouldn't recommend standing below them!

Debbie and I made the 2 hour trip here yesterday afternoon, with stops for lunch and 2 quilt shops on the way.  After settling in, I pulled out a sewing project to work on and used my BSR foot.  This is an amazing little piece of technology.  Notice the little black plug and cord in the top left of the picture.  It is plugged into the machine's computer, and activates a sensor mechanism on the bottom of the foot.  As fabric is moved beneath the foot it changes the needle speed faster and slower to match the speed of the fabric movement.  This adds a whole different dimension to the possibilities of quilting.  It is similar to the feature that my longarm quilting machine uses to help get a consistent stitch length during free-motion quilting.  As with any specialty features, there is a learning curve, and really is easy to learn.  If you are interested, make sure you test drive the BSR in our Sewing Center.

The Bernina Stitch Regulator (BSR) foot