PORCH CHATTER: 2015

Another year has come and gone.  I have completed a lot of quilts and a bunch of projects this year, but now it is time to look at 2015.  I am not making resolutions but I am listing a few intentions.

First of all, I want to de-clutter my home.  I am participating in an organized plan to rid our house and home of excess junk, etc.  That means cleaning out some closets and planning some yard sales to de-stash my fabric.

The other intention that I am taking seriously and working on a time line for is my list of UFOs.  They simply need to be finished or sold or given away.  Plan is to complete one UFO per month.  This will not get all of them done, but it will make a dent.

I am not the greatest housekeeper!  I intend to take a few minutes each day and do a small de-clutter project; like a junk drawer; a shelf in a closet; or a shelf in my pantry.  This might be the best way to get things in order.

I will do another blog about my quilting intentions.  This blog will serve as a way to gauge my progress throughout the year.

                                       -sandi

GIRLFRIEND RETREAT

A couple friends and I gathered for a few days to hang out and quilt and laugh and eat and visit.  One of the gals lives in the woods on a little stream with an awesome waterfall.  It is a beautiful setting for relaxation and sewing.

One project was to learn to use the Curvy Log Cabin Trim Tool designed by Jean Ann Wright for Creative Grids.

Finished the quilt top.

Another project was to make these little Triangle Bags.  These are also called Humbug Bags.

I also worked on this paper piecing project.  This comes from a design by Carolyn Friedlander.

It was indeed a great three days with super friends.  I will post more about these projects as I finish them.


                                    -sandi

QUILTING AT RETREAT

I love fall retreat.  This year the weather was great!!  It was very cold and crisp.  Just the kind of weather to keep you inside sewing with some wonderful friends.  

Most retreats I take way too many projects to work on and then I get very little finished.  This time I took a few projects and hoped to finish all of them.

Even though I took this project to retreat to quilt, that did not happen.  I had so much trouble with my thread.  My machine did not like the thread I chose so I brought it home and finished it.

This is a collaborative piece made with my buddies of SLKS.  We started with a block of our choosing.

I saw this pattern online and loved it.  So I took out my paper and pencil and began to draw what I saw.

We passed our blocks around our group each month and each time a new element was added until it was completed.

Finally I have it quilted and bound.

This is the second project I took to Retreat. I started with these scraps that I found in the trash bin:

There were enough of them to make some improv blocks that turned into this pillow.  I will surprise my friend by giving these to her and remind her that they are "trash to treasure".

My friend sent me a picture of the pillow on her bed with the matching quilt!

Other projects that I worked on included this Convergence by another friend of mine.  She wasn't happy with the block so I worked on it a little and then quilted it for her.  She can now bind it.

I did some other blocks, but I cannot show them yet.  Will blog them later.

                             -sandi