I had a great time at the retreat...lots of laughing and a little sewing.
The machine I use at home is big and very heavy, so I took this little Bernette 55.
It was my son's machine (from his grandmother) but since he never used it he gave it to me.
Huge difference to sew on!
I was shocked when I realized I had to thread my own needle AND cut my threads by hand!
My other Bernina has me really spoiled with the automatic threader and cutter!
I found myself a little disorganized as I tried to put together my Garden Party quilt. It was obvious that I'm not one to adjust to new surroundings or small spaces while sewing. I kept having to look for my ruler, my scissors, my...everything. Luckily, I found my seam ripper for the gazillion times I needed to use it because of the oodles of mistakes I made sewing the blocks together.
Late in the afternoon of the second day I was feeling a little more in touch with my quilty feelings. Then my friend, Brenda, looked at my almost finished quilt and noticed I hadn't put the little blocks in the sashings like the pattern required. She thought I was just using my usual don't-follow-the-pattern thing. NOPE...I just forgot to put them in. It bugged me so much I just put it back in my bag. I'll drag it out later when I think of how I want to finish it. It definitely won't end up looking like Jenny Doan's Garden Party Quilt!
Next year I'm sure I'll be more focused...maybe.
There's no hard rules that all quilts must look alike - relax and enjoy. I don't think I could sew in a small, crowded and noisy atmosphere - maybe that's why I don't do retreats.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to get into a groove at a retreat. I take very simple patterns (and still manage to mess them up) and just try to enjoy being with other quilters.
ReplyDeleteThe Garden Party quilt will be just fine. It's called creative license. Retreat are fun and distracting. Take simple, easy priojects that require minimal thinking. The retreat I go to is pretty nice in that each sewer has their own 8 ft table. Lots of room!
ReplyDeleteI've never been to a retreat! I'll remember all the good advice if I ever get the chance to attend.
ReplyDeleteYour quilt block looks very similar to the blocks I made...I forgot the sashing too and just left it that way...works for me!
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