What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

I'm back home. As much fun as it is to go away, it's great to get home. The girls - well, let's say they were a wee bit excited and would NOT leave me alone when I was trying to read. Then I let them outside and they were perfectly happy to play by themselves. Hmm - those two dogs should be outdoor dogs and would be if Murphy didn't bark!

I never ride my bike on the last day. I reserve all the time for sewing. I love how relaxed we all are on the last day ...

This morning is bittersweet. It's the last day of the retreat. We don't have to check out until 3 PM, but then you get excited to go home and so - it's not a full day. But that's OK. I feel like I've got loads done with just my 1/4" piecing foot. Although when I get home, I've got some urgent applique to do. Heck - I can't even zigzag the pieces of batting that I brought to make placemats!!! Now technically, I could borrow someone's machine, but I brought TWO sewing machines ...

Day three is a wrap at the retreat. Yikes - we look forward to coming here and then the time seems to just fly by. But that's OK. As long as we have fun while we're here.

I was out on my bike again yesterday and got in 35Km. I took a quieter route but still had about 3 KM to ride on a busy road. There was a small incident with a pickup. The guy was coming from a side road and YES - he stopped at the STOP sign. However, he actually stopped just inches from the main ...

Day two is finished and done!!  Oh my goodness - I heard somewhere that children laugh about 400 times a day. Adults about 15. Well - I guess that means we've all reverted to our childhood while we're here. The laughter is hilarious!!!  And what we talk about at retreat - well that stays at the retreat, but this is such a great way to connect, to relax and to just have plain old fun which, to me, is what life should be all about.

If I could have my way, I'd be at sewing retreat for the rest of ...

Day One of the retreat is finished!!!  We're still waiting for one more person to arrive later today. Sadly, she wasn't feeling up to par, but hopefully, she'll be fine today. It was super great to catch up with everyone as we don't see some of them on a regular basis.

And yes - I'm sitting at the kitchen counter while my oatmeal simmers merrily on the stove. I hate GAS stoves. Well, that's not true - I hate them because I"m not used to them. I couldn't find a temperature where the oatmeal ...

I was just reading a comment left by Judith. She's the one who has sold her house, selling many of her household possessions, putting some items in a 10 by 17 storage locker with a support post right smack in the middle - so I guess a boat won't go in that storage space! They are traveling the country for the next year in an RV - a HUGE RV, but that RV also has a finite amount of space. She's a quilter and what the heck does one do with all their fabrics?

I see that she has ...

It was so nice to wake up with the alarm at the retreat and not have to get up! However this morning when I woke up before the alarm, I did luxuriate in bed for fifteen minutes before the alarm went off, then I got up. Too much to do to just hang out in bed!

In the past, the last morning at the retreat was always a crazy morning with people getting ready to leave from the moment they got up. Now it's a very relaxed atmosphere.

I managed to get the final border on the second scrappy ...

It's the last day of the sewing retreat. Times seems to fly past when we're here, but after the last couple of weeks, I'm looking forward to getting home and trying to get into my normal routine. Especially on the eating part. It seems that I have to send out a reminder before every retreat about the desserts. We've eaten a LOT of rich desserts and I'm feeling it.

When I'm home, I feel like I want to drink only water - lots of water and eat fruits and veggies. For days!!!  But I've ...

Have technology - will travel. It's all about the technology. I remember one day a couple of years ago when a couple of very uneducated business people in the industry told me that quilters were not technical. I think their thought process was that we cut up fabric, sew it on our treadle machines and that's the extent of our technological knowledge. Well - they are so wrong. I think that each of us here has at least two devices. A smart phone and a tablet or a laptop or a fancy embroidery machine or one of each!

And we ...

I'm on time this morning. I "sleep in" here until 6 AM. I'm usually awake at 5, but you know there's a certain luxury to lying in bed and realizing that technically you don't have to get up. That's a very nice feeling.

I made great progress on my project yesterday. The embroidery was mostly done and had been finished early in the morning except for a few missed bits that I had to do throughout the day. It's mostly sewn together - I'm finishing it up as we speak. And there's a ...

Here we are at our favorite quilt retreat house. Fireside Retreat in Orillia.

After we got Bear safely off to the airport (he arrived safe and sound in case you're wondering), it was time to get home and pack the car for the retreat. I had packed the bags, but they needed to be loaded into the car. Then I was off.

The trip up was uneventful - just the way I like it. Everyone was very anxious to get started and when I arrived, most of the group had just arrived as well. I love their enthusiasm. Unpacked everything ...

There's just too much to share with you!!!!   My own stories and things I've found on the internet.

Where to start???  I need to get some of these links posted so I can close them in my browser. Otherwise, I'm going to run out of memory!!! Yep - already getting that message.

Here is the most adorable little film EVER!!!  And I mean LITTLE.  Check it out. Watch the first video which tells how the film was made and the second one is the actual film itself. Very cute and has a textile perspective to it.

And here ...

It's great to be back home and to be able to PROPERLY cook my oatmeal. No bananas in the house so I had to use a nectarine. Not quite the same thing! The girls were happy to see me - of course - they went crazy. But then they are just crazy all the time.

In all the retreats that I've been to (and there have been a lot - this was number 12 at this retreat house and prior to that, I organized 23 or something like that at the one in Bracebridge and we've had one at Midland ...

I have been slowly working away on The Chickadee block and I am thrilled to say I am finished.  I must confess, I am mighty pleased with the way it turned out.  This block is the first of 13 blocks I am making that are inspired by Canadian birds and flowers.  The blocks will be stitched together to create a quilt, although each of the single blocks will make lovely stand alone wallhangings.  Your choice!

I taught this block at both Retreats I recently hosted at Fireside Retreat in Orillia.  It is suitable for beginners as well as experienced stitchers ...

No new surprises out the window this morning.  In other words, no more snow, but they are forecasting flurries?  Who knows with the weather. The sun was out yesterday and it was a glorious day and I see the sun out this morning as well.  It's a wee bit cold though - I think I saw minus 17 on my phone.  Yikes!  And I want a Tim's?  I must get my head examined! Apparently, the thermometer outside says minus 12.  Not sure where my phone is registering the temperature.

But at least I was better off here than at ...

Hmmm -- the landscape looks a wee bit different this morning.  We have SNOW! Not tons, but I see the owners of the property are out there shoveling the driveway and playing catch with their dog who is loving the snow! We knew it was going to snow as we heard weather advisories and warnings all day.  Remember the good old days when they didn't even forecast snow?  You could tell by the feel of the weather and the sky what was going to happen. Oh well!   Not only do we have snow, but the temperature has dropped significantly.  I ...

So here I am at Fireside Retreat after a crazy day yesterday.  I'm waiting for my oatmeal to cook!!   It's the only place that I eat this oatmeal as it takes 20-25 minutes to cook.

Yesterday was a totally crazy day but I was calm. Very calm.  What's the point in getting frustrated when there is nothing you can do about a certain situation except wait?

I was up early and prepping more stuff for the retreat. I really didn't have much time to think about what I needed so I just packed lots!  Why not ...

So I'm supposed to be at the retreat house in about 10 minutes from when I'm writing this. Instead, I'm at home writing the blog with my fingerless gloves on because it's only 16 degrees Celcius in the house. And why is that?  Because the furnace isn't working!  And this just so happens to be the day that DH had to be out of the country so guess who got relegated to wait for the repairman!  I'm thinking we're due to get a new furnace, but hoping to last out this one last ...

This past weekend, my “To Everything There Is A Season” quilt won a ribbon at the Simcoe County Quilt, Rug and Craft Fair!  This quilt was exquisitely machine quilted by Rose Bell of Fancy Feathers. The paper pattern is now available on my website .  The digital patterns for the blocks will be available by the end of the week.  Many of you have asked about getting the patterns available in digital form and we are doing our best to make that happen, including the patterns from last year’s Academy of Applique, A Taste of Lilies and Crazy For Callas ...