May Quilt Update

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I have moved the previous posts to the end of the entry.  I hope that you make it that far.

Goals:

Round Robin (RR) blocks (14)  for pink/purple made and put into row, attach, and mail - all units finished and 2 blocks complete
BOM blocks (3) complete -  yes (actually a day ahead -- finished April 30)

Easy Street (ES) Clue 8 - no
Orange Crush (OC) ripped out, re-sandwiched, quilted and bound - no
Bow-Dacious (BD)  area ripped out, quilted, labeled, binding on - no
Old Tobacco Road (OTR)  - Clues 2, 3, 4, 5 - 2, 3 only

Quiet Book for Ophelia Made -  all pages cut and hand work complete, 8 pages completely sewn and ready for binding
Mother of the Bride Dress Made - yes
Flower Girl Dresses Made - yes
Christmas blocks (extras) - several smaller ones finished


1st -  I am at retreat weekend #1 of an 11 day stay down on the Brazos River.  To read more about this weekend, please check the separate post HERE.  Today I manage to sit still long enough to start my OTR Clue #2.  Stacks and stacks of HST's are running through my "Annie".  She is loving her new table.  Today's clue is PINWHEELS!  Not only am I getting to use my new table that Mister worked so hard on, but also my medium design board that I made from leftovers while preparing for retreat last month.  It is making this SOOOOOOO much easier.

Ribbons of Love - Introduction

Pinch me!  Is this real?  I am so very excited to be offering my very first mystery quilt to all of you amazing people.  I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking this journey with me and allowing me to "test" my creativity.

I have been working on this pattern for about a year now and have tweaked and retweaked it so many times that I'm not sure how much it resembles the original anymore BUT --- I LOVE IT!  My hope is that you will as well.

Before we get into the details, may I share a bit of how this design came about?  First of all -- I am a victim of violence against women.  I don't talk about it much and do not wish to dwell on it here but it does play in the patterns that will evolve in this beautiful quilt.  The white ribbon has become known as a symbol associated with this and the hope that we can someday overcome it and become a better society as a result.  I hold tight to those hopes and dreams.

A beautiful Sunset!

Looking to the west from my porch.  Ah.

A Sweet New 301 Baby

Mister was perusing Craigslist yesterday and spotted this sweet 301A.  After sending the listing out to a friend who wants one, we contacted the owner for more information.  When said friend opted out, Mister couldn't stand to let this one pass.  We set up an appointment to go have a looky, looky and knew at once that we wanted her.  Just take a peek.  She came with the cabinet and lots of extras for $75.00.

I LOVE the side storage area.  I don't think the lady who owned this (inherited from her grandmother) knew the bottom drawer was even there.  The dust layer inside is THICK.  For some reason there is a hole in it, but Mister can work his magic and repair it.  She had been using this 'door' as the brace for the table.  When Mister released the actual brace, it too had a ton of dust on it.  Never used.

Brazos House Retreat - May (Mother's Day)

Are we ready for round two?  After 3 1/2 days of quiet sewing bliss at the center, it is about to fill with wonderful ladies again.  Most of the women in this group are new friends to be made.  I have not met them in person yet and so it makes it a little more exciting if that is possible.

In the calm before the storm, I clean off 5 of the 6 tables that I have been using.  Oh to have this much space at home.  Wow.  Marti is busily sewing away in her corner -- determine to make progress on her top.  Between the two of us -- the past few days have sure contained a lot of seam ripper usage.  Oh my.

Brazos House Retreat - Apr/May 2015

The day is finally here!  I am about to go on retreat down at the Brazos House for ELEVEN days.  Yep, you read that right.  I am hosting a retreat for 17 ladies over this weekend, then a friend and I are staying at the center during the week before greeting another group of 17 ladies next weekend.  I am packed, the car is loaded and it's time to get this show on the road.  Come on Mister, let's drive.

Mister is dropping me off as he cannot work from home for such an extended time and  you all know we only have one car so -- we do what we do.  The drive down is enjoyable and I spend most of it attaching charms to the nametags with the nifty tool that Mister picked up yesterday.  Somehow I have managed to get it all figured out over night and they are going on lickety split.  We arrive at the center to find that Miss Allison is already there.  Yay --- the fun starts right away.  She helps us unload the car and soon Mister is on his merry way back to the city for work.  First things first --- get my room and my corner of the world all set up.  Yes!  That's my spot --- way in the back corner of the room.  I like it there!  Now to tackle the remaining name tags so that they are ready to hand out as people arrive.  Don't they look amazing?  Stephannie did such an amazing job and the charms just make them fun.  Every item has special meaning - yep, gotta do things right ya know.

Old Tobacco Road - Clue 3 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

I am at retreat and just posted Clue 3.  I guess that means keep on sewing, right?  This step is truly simple in its entirety.  We are joining our 4-patches and pinwheels together.  I sit down and start chaining away.  It is only AFTER I have started to add the third piece that I realize that the direction of the 4-patch mattered.  Really?  Oh my, that is only 88 seams to take apart.  Here we go.  I get lucky now and then and have them sewn correctly.  After awhile, Ana Earl takes pity on me, gets a couple glasses of wine and her seam ripper then leads me to the swing on the porch to visit and rip out seams.  Now, that's what I call going above and beyond.  We have a great visit and I am able to come back in later and finish putting these units together.  Yay!  Onto Clue 4

Old Tobacco Road - Clue 2 - Bonnie Hunter - Mystery Quilt

Pinwheels!  Lots and lots of pinwheels.  I am heading for retreat so take the time to kit up the rest of this quilt.  Oh yeah baby!  The process takes a bit of time as I need to make sure I have enough of each color cut for the pinwheels, but the task is soon complete and I am ready to pack it for retreat.