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!

Plenty o' Projects

Debbie is finishing up
Suzy's Sack by This & That

Tracy is hooping a section of a tablerunner
for a quilting design.

Season's Greetings by Stitch Connection all done!
By Diane.

a common scene--computers talking to each other
and Jeanne talking to the computer

sweet little baby bibs that Mary Pat has made,
designs from OESD Baby 10

trapunto work by Char

a sample stitch-out to test a design for Dianne's next project,
experimenting with variegated thread

Leila has made little bibs for Abigail--

and pillowcases for dollies!

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

It's All About the Bag!

Fresh new bag samples stitched up for you and on display!

Book Club Bag by Around the Bobbin

Sassy Swing Bag by Around the Bobbin

Saffron Bucket Bag by Around the Bobbin (on the left)
and Ship Shape by Green Bee Design

Pen Pal by Prairie Sky Quilting 

Margo by Lazy Girl 

Sassy Tote Bag by Around the Bobbin

Karen's Tote by Totes by Sandy

Button Up Rick Rack Tote
from the pattern Six In the City by Artful Offerings

The Classic Clutch by Anka's Treasures

The Web of Inspiration

Last Saturday the Bear Patch Circle of Quilters gathered for some fun.  This is something you should mark on your calendars and sign up for because it is a great time at a very reasonable price--only $5!  You even get freebies and discounts for attending, so you will come out ahead in the long run!  Our next meeting is April 13 at 9:30.  

We talked about new things happening at the store and had a great show-and-tell.  The group got first viewing of 8 great new purse samples that are now on display in the window.  Jeanne brought Valentine's cookies for everyone and her little itty bitty granddaughter, Piper, even helped make them.

I was present to talk to the group about sources of inspiration from the internet--places that I visit to get new ideas or help me get inspired.  One of those places is Quiltville.  This is Bonnie Hunter's website and blog, and if any of you are familiar with her books and designs, you will know that she is a master of scrappiness!  She has a whole list of patterns that you can use for making up scrap quilts.  One of them is Scrappy Trips Around the World, and it has become a popular project out there among bloggers and quilters.  There is something appealing about using simple random 2 1/2" strips to put together a quilt top with repetitive rings of colors.  The people in the group on Saturday each received a little pack of pre-cut strips, enough to make 2 blocks if used alone.  The challenge is to add some of your own into the mix and continue assembling the blocks using the Quiltville instructions.  You can make many or only a few blocks, depending on how the mood strikes you.  It is up to you to decide what size you want to make.  I hope to see many blocks back in 2 months for show-and-tell!

So even if you didn't make it to our February meeting, you are more than welcome to jump on the Scrappy Trips bandwagon and see what you can come up with before our April meeting.  If you want to see more examples, you can see many examples, including the 2 below, on the Flickr group.  And now Bear Patch has our own Flickr group so we can share pictures that way, too!  You don't have to be standing in the store to enjoy show and tell anymore!

Here are examples of sample blocks that I made.  The first one was done with random colored scraps from my own stash.  Kind of fun to see how the layout plays with the eye.

The second one was done with more of a plan.  I picked 4 greens, 4 yellows, 4 reds, 4 whites, 4 blues and 4 oranges.  Then I placed them in the same order for the 4 blocks.  

So, depending on your preferences, you can do it either way.  Or, use alternating light/dark strips.  Or shades of 1 color from dark to light.  Or children's novelty prints.  Or Christmas.  Or Halloween.  Or Valentine's.  Make some blocks and show me what you can come up with!

Keep stitchin'!   Pam