Quilts, Quilts & More Quilts!

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Barb

It’s time for a retreat slideshow of quilt projects.  I know you’ve been waiting patiently.  There is much more to tell, but for now it’s…… On with the Show!
 

Yesterday Suz’ quilt looked like this …..

…. and this.  But today….

It looks like this!  Way to go, Suz!  A completed quilt top.  The completion of my project on Monday has really motivated people to finish their things.  Not.  Suz was already a Completer of Projects.  She didn’t need any motivation from me.  (Go Rangers!)

We all thought Dori was trying to give us a new way to display things on the design walls.  Just tack some fabric up there and make it look like you’re doin’ somethin’!  But then Patti set me straight and showed me….

That all those bottom squares are quilted for a rag quilt!  And today……

There are little quilted squares too!  Dori is going to have this finished in no time.

On Monday this wall of Sue’s looked like this.  Very cute pinwheel quilts.

Today the same wall looks like this!  I have no idea what happened to the quilt on the right.  But I think perhaps it is bordered, quilted, bound and on its way to the happy recipient.  That Sue really has been busy!

Because now these cute Jack-O-blocks have taken the place of the pinwheel quilt that was on the right.  And as I type this 2 more blocks for an entirely new quilt have gone up too!  I can’t keep up.  Might as well stop trying.  And I don’t mean keeping up with the sewing either.  I mean keeping up for the blogging!  Keeping up with sewing is not even worth talking about for me.

Betty’s quilts went up and down so quickly that I only got a pic of these fabrics hanging where quilt blocks had been.  That Betty is a wonder.

Earlier this cute quilt looked like this behind Madelyn’s sewing machine.

Now that quilt top is finished with cute little pieced borders too.  And those other two blocks are an entirely new project and 5 more blocks have been added since I took that picture.  Remember how I said I can’t keep up?

Sally always wins the award for Overachievers.  I don’t know when she made this cute little laptop bag (years ago), but it is quilted with absolutely perfectly straight quilting lines.  And a bag for power cords to match.  Who makes a bag for the cords to match their laptop bag?  Obviously Sally does.  Overachiever.  You’ll really understand when you see her next quilt.

There’s a big, huge story attached to this quilt.  Sally is working hard to finish it in time for the quilt show in September.  And it is fabulous.  You’ll have to come to the TVQG Quilt Show (Sally’s in charge) to see the finished product.  I predict it will have lots of ribbons hanging on it.  Big important ribbons. 

Look at her beautiful hand embroidery.  And she colored in parts of the background.  You’ll have to talk to Sally to get the full story.  Or come to the quilt sho……. you get the picture.

Here’s more.  You just needed to see these.

And crazy quilt blocks too.  These are just wonderful!

One more up close.  This quilt is Sally’s tribute to the women in her family.  What a tribute.  And once it’s quilted?  Oh, man.  It will really be somethin’.

Suz brought this already pieced top from home and quilted it the first day.  It has miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles of straight-line-in-the-ditch quilting.  I know this because I’m sitting right across from Suz and my table shook the whole first day.

See?  It’s so in-the-ditch that you can’t even see the stitches!  Fabulous fabrics.  Fabulous quilting.

Barbara started this quilt in a workshop last Thurs.  And came to retreat with very little of it completed.  I think this was at the end of day one.

Here it is today.  All blocks finished and all sewn together.

You do remember that I finished a project this year, right?

Davene and Karen discuss the laying out of Karen’s quilt earlier at retreat.

Here’s this one now!  Totally together.  And fabulous.

Sarah has her nose to the grindstone working on her appliqué.  With Cheerio snacks on the side.

Here it is up on the design wall.  Wonderful.

Now Sarah is working on this cute baby quilt.  And I see that as I’ve typed this blog today, more has been added.  I give up.

Davene is amazed with the amount of cutting that she accomplished on her project.  We were all amazed at her amazement.

But here it is now.  A cute little doll quilt!  Quilted and everything.  She really picked up the pace in the last day.

Barbara decided to take some lessons from Dori and put her fabric up on the wall for her next project.  Love the cows.

This is how this quilt looked just before she took the completed top down off the wall to pack up for home today.  Wow.  We miss you, Barbara!  And those cows and daisies are very, very, very cute.

Barbara from San Antonio is working on a paper pieced project and I see that another block has been added to this one too.  Beautiful.  And the little bag on the right is to hang by the bed for the TV remote controls.  It’s made out of wine cork fabric from the CA wine country.  Brought to all of us by LaLa!  Retreat surprises are such fun.

Patti was only with us for a short time, but she was very productive and had this quilt up on the wall.  I believe all the holes were filled in before she left this morning.  But she took it down too fast for me to get a picture.  Or maybe I slept too late?  Nah.

Peggy was also here for way too short a time.  Peggy was here, wasn’t she?  I think I saw her beautiful Kaffe Fassett applique quilt up on the design wall, but I totally missed getting a picture.  How could I?  Peggy, come back!  Or did I just dream she was here?  Wait.  This is Peggy working on the circle borders for that quilt so she must have been here.  If any of you have a nice pic of her quilt, please email it to me and I’ll update with a pic of it here.  In the meantime, picture it gorgeous.

Davene is now working on this cute quilt and the wall is changing faster than I can type.  Those strips on the right are already cut up and being added to the sides in checkerboard fashion on each block.  Picture them fabulous.

The little embroidered blocks are so cute, you had to see some of them up close.  The Quilter.

The Knitter.

The Seamstress.

And The Embroiderer.  Cute.

Sally also made a little project and we all want one.

When it’s opened up it’s a swell little portable ironing surface.  But when it’s closed….

It’s a fabulous little bag for carrying your hot iron home from class, retreat, any time you need to carry an iron along.  I want one!  Ha!  I’ve already completed two projects at this retreat.  I think this one will have to wait for next time.

And Sally left early too!  I think we have to make a new rule that you can’t leave retreat early.  We are in withdrawal and the room is getting way too empty.  But dinner smells fabulous.  I’m ready.  And those gals are gonna really be sorry they left.  I bet they are sorry already.

Now I better go take some more pictures.  The design walls are blooming again.

Hugs,
Barb

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A Retreat Shocker

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Barb

Those of you who know me well and have been following my blog are never going to believe what happened at this retreat.  It’s going to shock the socks right off your feet.  Really.  Are you sitting down?  Hang onto your hats, dear readers.  You’re never going to believe it.

I completed a whole project.

Shocking isn’t it?  This project was just a pile of fabric when we arrived here on Sunday evening.  Nothing precut or anything.  In fact the fabrics had to be sorted.  And auditioned.  And it’s finished.  Totally done.  Quilted and everything.  I know, I know.  I’ve just thrown you for a loop, haven’t I?  Try to collect yourself and I’ll show you the beautiful completed project.

But first I must tell you that this never would have happened if not for a big internet problem on Monday.  I blogged that morning and then for some reason the router didn’t want me online any longer.  Was it something I said, Mr. Router?  Whatever the reason he kicked me off the internet and I wasn’t able to get back on until Tuesday.

The good news?  I was able to sew.  What a novel idea.  Sewing at a quilting retreat!  I didn’t know it could be so fun.  So I got on a roll and completed a whole project.  Finished.  Done.  Never to be worked on at a retreat again.  Shocked, aren’t you?

OK – enough is enough.  I know you’re just dying to see a picture!  So here it is:

Isn’t it cute?  A fun little bag.  And it serves a very useful purpose.

It’s for my Kindle!  So I can throw it in my purse and have it protected.  In a cute little quilted bag.

And here’s the back side.  Aren’t you impressed?  Didn’t I tell you recently that I’m hooked on hexagons?  I hand pieced those little pieces using Inklingo, my new favorite quilting tool.  Then hand appliqued it to the little background.

One more pic from another angle.  Aren’t you just speechless?  Hey!  It’s a completed project.  A retreat first for me.  I hear you snickering out there.  It’s done.  Lined and everything. 

I bet you can’t wait to see what I did on Tuesday……

But next up?  Pics from around the design wall.  Works in progress.  And you’ll even get to see the progression!  Stay tuned…..

Still not believing I have something finished to take home,
Barb

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Laughter, Always Good Medicine

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Barb

It’s JSS Retreat time and you know what that means.  Talking, eating, laughing, sewing, eating, sleeping, laughing, eating, laughing and laughing again.  And eating some more.  And about that sleeping part?  Not so much.

Who has time to sleep?  There are quilts to make and snacks to eat and laughter to share.

A few retreaters got a little prize on their pillows.  Cute pillowcase too.

At least one retreater actually thinks she going to get some reading done.  Right.

These sayings are on the wall in our room this year. 

Anyone in a naughty mood?

This is my latest excuse for procrastination.  I like it.

And this one just made us all laugh out loud.  Cute.  I’m sure we read all these sayings last time we were here.  See?  Senior memory moments are a good thing.  We can laugh at the same jokes over and over as if they are new.  There is always a silver lining, right?

I loved this guy.  Says it all, doesn’t he?

These gals win the prize for Best Packed Vehicle.  There were 4 ladies in this car and not a single one of them was riding in a rocking chair on top of the SUV.  And I wasn’t quite quick enough for the picture.  See all the stuff on the cart by Karen?  All of that was in there too! 

They needed a pic to remember how to pack to go home.  Apparently there’s only one way that all their stuff will fit in the car and they have to pack exactly the same for the return trip.  I’m hoping that their stitching will diminish the size of their stash.  And perhaps some of their things are consumable goods like salt and vinegar chips and chocolate.  But I’ve got their back with a picture if they need it.  I’m always there for my friends.

Before I left home I took some pics in my yard. 

These bushes have overgrown the house and have completely taken over the front yard.  I threaten to cut them back significantly all the time.  Except right now they are covered with little white blossoms.  And the blossoms smell heavenly when I walk out the front door. 

Apparently I’m not the only one attracted by the smell.  Isn’t he cute?  The bushes are covered with butterflies all the time.  I saw a Monarch yesterday and one of those cool swallowtail ones too.  Of course by the time I got my camera they were gone.  But I took 243 pics of these little butterflies.  I won’t share them all with you or I’ll have to rename this post, “Boring Butterfly Pics that Only Barb Enjoys.”

Pics of quilts to come!  It’s retreat time and these gals are sewing up a storm.

In between eating and laughing, of course.

Hugs,
Barb

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Last Day

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Barb

Yesterday was my last day in Montreal.  As you read this, I am (hopefully) winging my way back to Texas.  And Boo and Miss Kitty.  And Mom & Dad.  Do you think they all missed me?

On my last day, I decided to clean Dear Hubby’s apartment top to bottom.  Which meant I swept, mopped and dusted.  Straightened the cupboards in the kitchen.  Cleaned the bathroom.  I virtually did Spring Cleaning on the entire place. 

Twelve and a half minutes later I took a nap from pure exhaustion.

Then I got out the $7 iron that we bought at WalMart in Vermont and ironed all my tiny little hexagon blocks.  Including the one that I sewed on the plane on the way here.  I have hopes of doing another one today.  At this rate, the Insane quilt will be finished by 2063.  I hope you’ll still be around to enjoy the finished product.  By the way, I love how easily hand pieced things press.  Thus, the backside of one block so you could see.  I love Inklingo.  And I love hexagons.

Where did all the time go?  I blame the Timbits.  I think I spent too much time in a sugar stupor.  And the French.  Too much time trying to figure out the microwave.  And my laptop.  Because I think that is really the culprit for where all the time goes.  Story of my life.

I am nostalgic today.  And torn between two cities.  Two countries for that matter.  I miss Dear Hubby already and since I’m writing this before I left, that’s really missing him!

Here’s his favorite place when he gets home from work.  I am glad that I can now picture him sitting here with the laptop, reading about the news of the day.  Just before he calls me on Skype.  I look forward to my next visit to Montreal.  Maybe I’ll get used to the French?  One can always hope.

I still have things to write about the trip.  I must tell you about the B&B we went to in Vermont! 

It was fabulous and I really want to share all those pics with you.  And I never showed you the desserts we had on my birthday either.  I took pics and by golly, you have to see them. 

OK, there are just two pics so I think I’ll share them here and get that one out of the way…..

Dear Hubby’s dessert.  Chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate! Very rich.

My dessert.  The little brownie bites had a creamy, decadent center and were crunchy on the outside.  With drizzled fudge and raspberry sauce.  Yum.  I gobbled them up.

It’s been fun sharing the adventure with all of you.  Many more adventures to come.  But maybe I need to get back to quilting?  Either that or I have to change the name of the blog, eh?

By the way, I also did a few last loads of laundry.  Just because I wanted to play with the cute little washer once more.

And besides that.  There’s still no TV.

Hugs,
Barb

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Camp-Style Cooking

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Barb

I’m cooking under a handicap this week.  Small kitchen.  Not much in the way of conveniences.  1 large pot, 1 small pan, 1 skillet.  No food processor.  No mixer.  No measuring cups.  1 small good knife.  You get the idea.  Nevertheless, it hasn’t deterred me from a mission of stocking Dear Hubby’s freezer and fridge with healthy things to eat after I head back to Texas.  Emphasis on healthy.  Because this is what he eats when I’m not around:

Not exactly the picture of healthy eating.  At least he got the turkey/veggie ones.  Never mind about the carb count or sodium.  Check out the nutritional facts:

Not much nutrition there.  Unless you count high fat, high cholesterol and high carbs as nutrition.  Yikes.

I’ve been on a quinoa kick this trip.  I read the nutritional info online about this great seed, bought some and have been feeding Dear Hubby a diet of quinoa recipes while I’m here.  Thank goodness he’s pretty easy to please and eats just about anything I put on the table.  Maybe if I bump up the nutritional value when I’m here, it will counterbalance when he goes back to pot pies after I leave?  I can always hope.  Besides, I have to feed him a healthy dinner so we can have Timbits for dessert.

So the quinoa recipes I made are these:

Sweet Potato, Black Bean, Quinoa Burgers.  I fried some and I baked some.  We liked them either way.  They were very yummy and he has 6 of them still in the freezer for reheating.

Curried Quinoa Wraps with Avocado Citrus Slaw.  Yum.  I tasted as I made this one yesterday.  And I made quite a few modifications.  Didn’t have or want to use curry, so I subbed chili powder and a little cumin.  I didn’t have tahini (couldn’t find it at the store here and no food processor to make my own) so I just left it out.  Left out optional mint and nutritional yeast too.  I didn’t have cashews so I subbed toasted sunflower seeds.  No rice vinegar so I added a splash of regular white vinegar.  Orange instead of a tangerine.  No liquid smoke so I splashed in a little worcestershire sauce. 

In other words, my recipe is nothing like the one in the internet link.

And this is how I made matchstick carrots.  No food processor, remember? 

And I have no idea why the color in that photo is so bright.  Maybe the bright orange carrots mixed with the nice cyan blue of the dollar store plastic bowl weren’t happy together?  And maybe the fact that I had the camera set on vivid?

Like my measuring cup?  Hey, it’s worked pretty well for me this week.

Black Bean Mango Quinoa Salad – you saw that one on this blog before.  The weekend that Susan’s emails had me locked in the kitchen.

We even had quinoa for breakfast one day with a recipe I found on this site: www.quinoia.net.  It was very yummy.  I added raisins, too.  Well, actually they were currants unless you read the French on the bag.  And a bit of Vermont maple syrup.  I did not add apples.  Only because I didn’t have any.  I’m sure they’d be good too.

Then yesterday afternoon while chopping, my knife slipped and I sliced my finger.  No bandaids here!  So I fashioned a tight wrap with a paper towel and a rubber band.  Pretty ingenious, I thought.

I think the finger will live to chop another day.

So I spent the rest of the afternoon chopping up a big humungous amount of veggies and made a pot of soup.  I made it up.  And I know some of you will ask me what was in it so here goes. 


All ingredients were chopped into bite-sized pieces or smaller.  Even though I was handicapped with a sliced finger.  I was on a mission. 

I started by sautéing onions in a little olive oil.  Added celery, carrots and then threw in about 4 cloves of garlic.  Added zucchini, sweet potato and some vegetable broth (probably about 3 or 4 cups.  I wanted to fill the pot.)  Added a couple of handfuls of frozen corn and frozen peas.  Then I threw in a large can of diced tomatoes.  To bump up the nutritional value I added about a cup of red lentils.  Spices?  A palmful of cumin, a smaller palmful of red pepper flakes, sea salt and pepper.  Remember, no fancy measuring devices here.  I’m camp-style cooking.  And I also sprinkled in a few dashes of worcestershire sauce.  Just because I wanted to.  Simmered the whole pot for about an hour.  Because it was really, really full.  Dear Hubby tasted it and declared it very good!  After it cooled I put it all into single serving containers that we got at Dollarama.

Aren’t they cute?  Dollarama is my new favorite shopping place.

I also made this soup earlier in my visit. 

And yes, those are chunks of garlic on the toast alongside.  We love our garlic!  There were leftovers of this soup too.  It was mucho yummy.  I made it with kale instead of collard greens, but otherwise followed the recipe pretty closely.  Except for the pressure cooker.  I’m camping, you know.

So here’s Dear Hubby’s freezer now.  Salmon, tilapia, veggie burgers, frozen peas and corn and 9 containers of soup.  It was empty when I arrived.  Well, except for the pot pies.  He told me that he might still have some of these things when I come back the next time.  I just grinned.  That was my goal.

It was over 80° in Montreal yesterday.  At least 10° warmer than at home in Texas.  What’s up with that?  I had the windows wide open all day and I didn’t even bring a short sleeve shirt with me on this trip.  Today though?  The high is supposed to be in the 50’s.  Sounds a lot like Texas, doesn’t it, you Texas blog readers?  Apparently a big cold front came through last night and dropped the temperature nearly 30°.  Tonight?  34° brrrrrr.

One of these days I might have to get back to sewing again!  I really thought I’d do lots on this trip.  Seems I’m on the computer too much.  Emailing and blogging and reading blogs and doing research on quilt shops and how far it is to this thing or that thing.  Oh!  And cooking.  And eating Timbits.  I wouldn’t want my sewing to get all sticky, now would I?

And yes, I had Timbits for dessert last night after dinner.  Why do you ask?  But I’m going to have to brush up on my French.  I asked for strawberry, chocolate and powdered sugar Timbits yesterday.  And ended up with glazed, chocolate and powdered sugar.  I might not have gotten the powdered sugar ones either if I hadn’t specifically pointed.  Does strawberry and glazed really sound the same in French?  Oh, my.  Tomorrow I’m just going to have to point.

Hugs,
Barb

Posted in food, healthy, recipes, vacation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments