Virtual Quilting Retreat

This weekend most of my closest blogging friends are all at a quilt retreat in the WI Dells. I had planned to join them, as I did last year when I got to meet them all for the first time when we went to OH. With the challenges my family has faced this year, I decided it wasn't meant for me to go this year. I made the decision in early January and things have significantly improved, but I had already decided not to go. I miss my blogging friends so much!
Jen and Regina wouldn't leave me out though! I decided I would do a virtual quilt retreat with them. Friday night after work I got started. I made 4 red project bags and 3 mini black project bags. These will go to my dear quilting friends. I've had them cut out for months, but just got around to finishing them. The Keep On Quilting logo was from fabric I got at retreat last year.


Then I made a bigger project bag for my UFO's. It's already been filled with my latest UFO from Sat. I used the Winding Ways fabric for the applique. I also used the teflon foot to sew all these, including the applique and zipper and it worked great!

Then I moved on to my snowball/9 patch blocks. I needed to get my April ones done and ended up making 15 which is what I had cut out. I ran out of the gray rock candy, so I guess I won't be making any more blocks. I figured out I needed 2 more after I layed it out, so I quickly whipped those up with the few leftovers I had.


Then I layed it out on my design wall. It's 5x7 and I think will make a nice throw quilt for playing I Spy. It's so fun to look at all these fabrics and remember the projects I've made with them. I piled them all up in order so I can sew them together in May.

I really wanted to play with the new 60 degree ruler I got, so I used the scraps I had from the Al Fresco line and started cutting. I'm really not sure how I'm goint to lay them out. I was going to go with random and then I layed them in the hexi's. Not sure I like them this way either. The pattern I saw had them all random in a tablerunner. I'm thinking mine will be more short and fat like a table topper.



Throughout the evening, I was texting with Jen and Regina and keeping up with their projects and showing them what I was working on. It was so good to hear from them even if I couldn't be with them. I finished up a nice pile of each, so I have plenty to play with. I saved enough backing and binding, so now i just have to figure out how to set them.

It was after 1AM when I finally called it a night, but it was so fun to sew again for once! It feels like I haven't been doing much all month.