I went to the retreat exhausted (thanks to my kids, for giving us less than 4 hours of sleep before I left!) and came back exhausted - but it was a "good" exhausted because I had a great time. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so this post has shots I took when I came home.
I spent most of my time working on what what was soon dubbed, "the clamshell monstrosity." It is probably the least enjoyable project I have ever worked on but the frustration was softened by being surrounded and cheered on by friends. This project is an adaptation from a clamshell pattern found in Sandi Henderson's book, Sewing Bits and Pieces. I started this project in July 2011 and it was abandoned till last week. I came to the retreat with the partially begun quilt top completely taken apart, 105+ clamshells precut, a large piece of prewashed muslin, and lots of tinfoil and spray starch.
I am SO happy I got it all done - if it hadn't been for the "special-ness" of the Mendocino fabric (you can't find a fat quarter on ebay or etsy for less than $10!) and the retreat - I would probably have had to relegate all those lovely clamshells to the scrap basket! Now I need to add borders and get quilting.
Surprisingly, I still had a bit of time to return to this project with the string blocks and hexagons. Jen helped me with my "lining up" issue and by the second attempt - I had a near perfect block. I don't have the time or patience to redo the less perfect ones but I am sure the last twelve will be great.
Retreat was just awesome! I love hanging out with my guild peeps and seeing what they are working on. Even though we all come from such diverse backgrounds and have different tastes, we really do "speak the same language." I really wish I could've come the extra day (Thursday instead of Friday) so that I could've relaxed a little more and socialized even more - but overall, it was a great experience. We even shared the gym with my traditional guild that I have been a part of - a group from Chelmsford- and they were a lot of fun too.
Anyway, what trip to Maine would be complete without a visit to Marden's? We also snuck into a NH Joann's where I found some DS Quilts prints that are not stocked in my local Joann's. Here's a picture of my goodies:
4 comments:
I'm so glad you were able to get your clamshell quilt top finished! You're going to be even more happy once it's all quilted and ready to snuggle under.
I love your little apples hexagon quilt. Looking great so far!
I loved getting to see the clamshells in person - what a relief to have it done! Both projects look fantastic! :)
I'm glad you resurrected the clam shells!
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