Goals

Goals

Quilt Retreat Day Seven

| Cindy Anderson

Welcome! We are about to start day seven in this nine day adventure. Over the last six posts I’ve been sharing the journey my dog Sadie and I have been taking. We are here, at my little cabin in the woods (LCITW), for a break from everyday life. The goal is to immerse ourselves in the north woods while sewing up a storm. If you have just joined us, you may catch up by following the links at the bottom of this post. Time now to get day seven rolling.

Day Seven

What an awesome change! It didn’t rain last night! This meant Sadie slept peacefully and so did I. Yippee! The clouds have thankfully moved on and the sky is once again a beautiful blue. Nothing like a ray of sunshine to brighten your day!

Before starting my sewing I took time to look at the pile of projects I’ve made during my stay here at my LCITW. I was so impressed–so happy! How wonderful to see completed items rather than stacks of unused fabrics.

A Little Detour

You know how I said yesterday that I was going to start my day sewing on an improv project–well you probably won’t be surprised when I confess that I took a slight detour. Before sitting down to begin I thought I would browse through my tub of projects to see which ones were left. Inside were three items. The first was a kit I bought several years ago from a fabric store that is no longer in business. The pattern is called Lulu’s Garden.

LuLus Garden Quilt Pattern.jpg

The second gem is a pattern from Missouri Star’s Fall Vol, Issue 5, Block magazine. The quilt is called Teacup. I would like to share a photo from the book but I don’t want to infringe on any copyright laws. You will either have to wait until I have mine assembled or follow the link above if you would like to see how it looks.

Teacup Quilt Pattern.jpg

The third little critter is also a kit. Do you detect a theme here? I saw this quilt already assembled and hanging in yet another fabric store. The real reason why I bought the kit is because of the bird fabric. I searched all over the store for the bolt but couldn’t find it. Come to find out it was only available via the kit. I’m really very fond of the other fabrics as well but not so much the quilt pattern they were intended for. Whether or not I will stray and use the fabrics in another way I haven’t decided.

Bird Fabric Quilt.jpg

Which One?

So those were my three options. Want to know which one I chose? The project that led me to establish a new game plan was the Teacup Quilt.

I won’t bore you with all the details but I will share a photo when the quilt top is finished. If you should decide to make this quilt I want to make you aware of a mistake in the pattern. The pattern calls for one package of pre-cut 10″ squares. It should read two. I didn’t realize this until I had my blocks assembled and was in the process of arranging them. If the fabrics I chose were still available I would have purchased more to make the additional blocks. Unfortunately the fabrics are no longer available.

Before Sadie and I turned off the lights I managed to even get the first border added and the fabric strips for the second one cut. By then it was darn near midnight–well past a reasonable bedtime. But who cares!

Catching Up

I mentioned earlier that I would share links to the previous posts. You may find them here: Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, and Day Six.

Thank You

I am so thankful you have chosen to pay a visit. To those that follow my blog on a regular basis I would like to say “THANK YOU!”  A blog without followers would be a waste of time! If you have enjoyed reading my post and are not currently a follower, why not become one. Just enter your email address in the space provided.

I look forward to your return visit!

Cindy Anderson

 

Quilt Retreat Day Four

| Cindy Anderson

What quilter wouldn’t want days and days of non-stop sewing? I know I do! For Sadie and myself this is day four of our adventure, at our LCITW (little cabin in the woods).

Sadie

Day four dawned with an absolutely beautiful blue sky and temps in the low 60’s.

Blue Sky.jpg

A blue sky and sunshine always brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my heart.

This morning, while eating breakfast, I was entertained by the visitors at our bird feeder. From our dining table I have a clear view.  Watching the birds fly in and out as well as observing their many antics was so delightful.

After breakfast I took time to listen to the sound of the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. Their melodious song provided a calming affect.

Accompanied by their rhythmic chant came the aroma of the woods. I filled my lungs with one deep breath. Mixed in that breath were the scents of pine, damp earth and the sweet perfume of nearby flowers.

This experience is what makes my time here so enjoyable, so special. The memories of these days, the sights, the sounds, the fragrances will stay with me long after I have returned home.

Feeling refreshed and exhilarated I returned to my sewing table to work. I kept my nose to the grindstone until mid day, stopping briefly for lunch and a stroll outdoors. The sunshine and warm breeze felt so pleasant. So much so that I almost changed my plans but my desire to finish the Circuit quilt proved to be stronger.

I am thrilled to report that I was able to complete the quilt top. Since the lap quilt is a gift I will refrain from sharing photos of the finished project until it’s ready for delivery. Sorry for the delay! Here’s a small look.

Circuit Quilt Layout.jpg

Now that the top has been finished it is ready to be quilted on my longarm machine. Obviously I don’t have one of those here because the machine measures 14′ from end-to-end. Providing housing for something that large would be impossible. The quilt top will just have to wait until we get home. Even then it will have to get in line behind the ten other quilts already waiting.

Who knows what I will choose to work on tomorrow. Decisions, decisions! There are so many items that have patiently been waiting for their turn at my machine. Then again there are some newly acquired items as well as my ongoing improv endeavors that seem to tug harder on my attention. Only time will tell.

That’s A Wrap

That’s all for Day Four in my current adventure at my LCITW. Interested in reading the first three installments? Follow these links: Day One, Day Two and Day Three.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Your visit as well as your comments means a lot to me! I thoroughly enjoy the time we spend together.

Cindy Anderson

 

 

Quilt Retreat Day Three

| 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.

Sadie.jpg

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.

Circuit Quilt Blocks.jpg

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

Cindy Anderson