retreat wrap up #2

Okay, a little commentary and some quilts in progress during the retreat. The Snail's Trail is being made by Helen, Joy's 19 year old granddaughter. Helen has been piecing since she was about 6 or 7 having learned her lessons well from her grandmommy. She loves to play with the arranging her blocks. The color is probably a little off but it is yellow and purple which just so happens to be her college colors though she has been working on this off and on for several years. When the picture was taken, she was half done with it.

The cat quilt is Debora's. She was working on getting the binding machine stitched down at this retreat having spent her sewing time in February working on the top. Vangie is a left helping to hold up the quilt. She also got another top bound--a vintage string quilt with tinkerbell fabric for the backing. Fun!

Mary Frances is hiding behind this star pattern. We found some lovely plum fabric that may be going with the top or perhaps for binding/backing. She remembered that we had tried those "Mary's Triangles" when she was still meeting with the group. Now she is back living in Indiana and her husband came down with her for the weekend. I love the fabrics she used and actually have some the postage stamp focal print in a stack and whack top that I started with the class several of the Belles took at the Trussville quilt shop. Her sewing project was an antique Lemoyne star top that she was edge finishing by adding the fill in sections so it could be trimmed down to a square.

This picture will not near do Kim's quilt justice. It is the "Eureka" pattern from Animas Quilts, a Jackie Robinson design. Kim's fabrics were probably the same ones used in the quilt on the cover of the Keepsake magazine or close to it. I think she said that this was only her third quilt---WOW! She is hand quilting it and was keeping those fingers busy. We just couldn't get it high enough or straight enough for full out viewing.

This one is Debora's as well (our friend Joy in the foreground) "Boston Commons" done at a retreat that several of the girls had attended last fall sponsored by the Trussville quilt shop. Unfortunately, one of the girls had cut and purchased all her fabrics and then was unable to attend. But the worst of it was that the pattern had several errors and the opinion was that the teacher knew about it as she had to add some coping strips and so forth. Lot of unhappy quilters who probably did not finish their tops. I can see where this would have been a piecing nightmare as they did not use QSTs on the edge triangles and that bias end could pulling like crazy if one where not mindful of their pressing. Debora finished hers so she was able to do some private instruction and guide Vangie with piecing her top---in lovely batiks, greens, tans, etc. --while Debora used Oriental prints. We found a nice pink that looked like chopsticks for her backing.

This is a top that Debora was finishing up as well---this was another of the quilt shop retreats from a year or so back. (Joy had made several re-sized block tops for the kids and I know I mailed them to HQ late in 2006). She used Hawaiian prints for this one. Oops, some of my blocks peeking out from underneath on the design wall. Tell you about those later.

This is Joy's daughter Woodlyn (who came up from Texas) with her fall themed quilt. 16 patches with alternating pinwheels. By Sunday afternoon she only needed to put on the final border. Woodlyn used a focus piece of fabric with blue skies and a country fall scene but her daugther who also quilts really did not like this top. We all did though! It is to go on the guest room bed and Alicia told her mom that she might expect the houseguests to drop off. (I said if it worked, I might need to borrow it to keep the golfing buddy away, LOL) Anyway, one of the shop owners came back with a "we, the undersigned think that this gorgeous quilt" or words to that effect and we all signed it. Actually, Mamie then printed it on a fabric label and we signed it again.

This is another of Woodlyn's quilts---just picked up from an Alabama long armer and will be given as a wedding present soon. I think it is a quilt from Nickel Quilts but I recognize the pattern as "Jewel Box"

Looks like I have to do one more post---my output in that one.