Quilt Retreat...

Can't believe it has been a month since I posted...so much has happened.

Today I'll keep with good stuff though - quilt retreat!

Twice a year we have a 4 day retreat at a local camp.  It isn't fancy but it is clean, the food is good and there is lots of space to work in.  What more can you ask for?  (OK endless cups of coffee and some chocolate...we managed to bring our own!)

There were lots of "ta-da" finishes...

ranging from traditional

to modern

and everything in-between.

I worked on some applique for our next donation quilt.

More later...have lots of projects going.  Having to work slowly though...

Retreat prep and MS awareness

I love going on quilt retreats however I have found them more challenging with my MS.

First, the noise!  I love being a room full of quilters but that is never quiet.  The constant talking, laughing, and occasional screams (a finish!) for a person with MS is exhausting!  It isn't just with quilters.  It takes a lot of energy to process constant stimulation like this and it happens when I go to other workshops.

So I try to keep my projects simple.  I know I'll have difficulty focusing and that I will tire quickly so I avoid projects that require a lot of thought.  For our next retreat I'm packing up this Pat Sloan project that pretty much uses two sizes of squares...and since it is scrappy no problem with putting a fabric in the wrong place!

Also, I don't start a new project from scratch.  When fatigue hits there are cognitive difficulties.  I remember one year when I was embroidering a witches hat...I must have spent an hour reading and rereading and rereading directions!  Sometimes there isn't enough coffee on earth to make things make sense...that is when a hand quilting project (already marked) is great...following lines with one type of stitch is sometimes all I can handle!  Also when hand quilting no getting up and down to go to the ironing stations!

Which leads to my second point...kit up as much as possible.  For the Traffic Jam  Quilt I have cut a quilter's bazillion 2-1/2 inch squares...made about 80 four patches and even made a few of the finished blocks.  This means as little thought and movements as possible (now if they could just set up a caffeine IV I'd be set!)

And just in case always have a backup project.  So say my leg is a but numb so even the walk to the ironing station is tough and my eye is wonky so I can't thread the needle to do hand quilting...go to project number 3.  For this retreat I have a stack of 10-inch squares (mostly from my stash with a few cake layer squares) that I will trace a huge hexagon onto.

So MS just requires a bit more planning...and coffee...

Happy dance - another quilt finish!

Color me happy...finished...yes, completely finished with binding, sleeve and a pillowcase my second quilt for the guild show next month!

Only two more to go but those are both small.  This one autumn one is queen size...felt like I wast stitching binding down forever!  The quilt design is from Blackbird Designs (with a few adjustments) and I think it is called 1904.

Good thing my guild had a retreat this past weekend.  It is easier to stitch down binding when there is a lot going on around you but no interruptions like making dinner or playing with the dog!

that is me in the far right, front row...

The retreat was great!

It was out at a church camp in South Carolina.  Nothing fancy but it had lots of work-space, was incredibly clean, and they provided two meals a day - and the food was really good!  (the tomato basil casserole was amazing!)

Getting together in groups like this can be a great kick in the pants to get things finished.  Like this group of blocks my friend Linda had...

She put them up on the wall...one quilter recommended the orange-y yellow for the sashing...

then another brought over some black polka dot fabric for the cornerstones.

Project goes from UFO to a a flimsy in just a couple hours!