Quilt Retreat Day Three

August 16, 2017August 15, 2017 | Cindy Anderson

This is entry number three in the diary of my quilt retreat. I began this journey with great hopes of making tremendous progress on my many projects. Read on to find out how productive I was.

Sadie, my little companion, had some issues last night. You see it stormed and thunder storms make her very nervous. Settling her in made for a very late night. A late night meant another late morning–but who really cares! I have no morning deadlines to meet, other than sewing as much as possible.

The two of us efficiently moved through our morning routine then started working on our projects. Here’s Sadie’s #1 priority.

The focus of my attention was the Circuit quilt I started yesterday. The blocks for the Circuit pattern are not at all difficult to assemble. Before closing shop last night the pattern pieces had all been cut out. The next step was to begin piecing the segments. I chain-pieced each of the units together, which made the stitching go much quicker, then pressed the seams.

Although the quilt block is not difficult to create it still took the better part of my day to make the first eighteen. I managed to get a start on the remaining seventeen but was interrupted by my assistant Sadie. She had other ideas in mind. Apparently after a very long, but productive, day Sadie thought it was time to relax.

I turned off my sewing machine, iron and all non-essential lights then popped in a movie, and headed for the love seat. Sadie immediately expressed her delight. I grabbed her blanket and her. Up went my footrest. Sadie quickly found her favorite place right next to my leg. I pressed play on the remote and leaned back to relax and watch the movie. I’m not really sure how much I actually saw though because when I awoke the movie was just coming to an end. I’ve watched the movie many times before so sleeping through most of it really didn’t make a difference. I guess the two of us must have been exhausted. Time to call it a day.

Before I go here’s a photo of the progress I made on the Circuit lap quilt as well as links to day one and day two. Tomorrow I anticipate being able to put the rest of the blocks together and perhaps even get the quilt top assembled.

Thanks so much for your visit! I look forward to chatting with you next time.

Cindy Anderson

Enough Said

Image | August 12, 2017July 31, 2017 | Cindy Anderson

Quilt Retreat Day Two

August 9, 2017August 15, 2017 | Cindy Anderson

Welcome to day two of my adventure! Yesterday was basically a travel and settle in day. Not much was conquered by the way of sewing. Today I plan on changing that. With time a wasting and a to-do list as long as my arm it’s time to get rolling.

I’m not typically an early riser, just ask my husband, and today was no exception. Of course I did stay up late to watch one of my many favorite PBS programs the night before. The program was on until midnight so rising shortly before 8:00 am was not really what I would call sleeping in.

Before going to bed I set a mixture of quinoa, water and yogurt on the counter to soak overnight. For breakfast I cooked my quinoa in additional water along with two beaten eggs. I topped the steaming hot recipe with butter, cinnamon, honey and a small sprinkling of dried cranberries. After sipping a cup of my pour over coffee I set aside my dishes for the maid– ha ha :o) — then got to work on my first project.

The first item on my to-do list was a lap quilt. I was commissioned to make it for a relative of my sister-in-law. The pattern is called Circuit. I found it in a book called Fat Quarter Style. Chosen by my sister-in-law’s relative was a fat quarter bundle called Under The Ocean Blue (which sadly to say is no longer available) designed by Katie Doucette for Wilmington Prints.

My first task was to carefully press each of the fabrics. This is one of my least favorite parts of quilting. It’s a time consuming process that bores me to tears but smoothly pressed fabrics lend themselves to a much more appealing outcome. After hours, and I mean hours, of standing at my pressing station I was overjoyed to finally finish the last piece.

Another laborious, but very essential cog in the wheel, is accurately cutting the prescribed number of pattern pieces. To achieve a successful outcome I have to not only carefully cut each piece but also read the directions to make certain I don’t screw up. No matter how many times I refer back to the pattern it only takes a brief moment of daydreaming to make a mistake. Sadly I cut one piece to narrow. That one piece made it necessary to pull another fat quarter from the pile of extras and start again. Thankfully I regained my focus long enough to finish.

By the time my rotary cutter had made the last slice it was well past 10:00 pm. My energy level had been screaming down hill since 8:00 pm but my desire to have this step finished was stronger than my desire to sleep. While I would much rather have been well beyond this point I was pleased that I could start my day tomorrow actually sitting at my sewing machine. I really look forward to that because sewing the individual pieces together is way more enjoyable.

Time for me to call it quits. There’s no energy left in my tank. If you would like to read the first installment in this series, you may follow this link.

Happy Quilting!

Cindy Anderson

Enough Said

Image | August 5, 2017June 13, 2017 | Cindy Anderson

Quilt Retreat Day One

August 2, 2017August 15, 2017 | Cindy Anderson

After weeks and weeks of constant motion, motion like that of a spinning top, Ive found myself on a 10 day breather at my little cabin in the woods (LCITW). The anticipation leading up to this respite has reignited my enthusiasm for my art, fabrics and all things related. This excitement or drive has been stifled by the many activities stuffed into my daily calendar.

Carefully packed into my vehicle were totes filled with some of my favorite quilting books, piles of fabrics, spools and spools of thread as well as an inventory of rulers, my rotary cutter and enough projects to last me for weeks to come. While I will admit that I may have gone slightly overboard, just a tad, with the volume of items I brought, I have to say I would much rather have a variety of options to choose from. It gives me the chance to be more creative.

Of all the projects that I brought with there’s one that will definitely be completed and that is the lap quilt I’ve been commissioned to make by my sister-in-law. Once that ones finished the sky’s the limit.