11th Annual Seven Sistahs Retreat

 Another fantastic retreat on Wells Beach, Maine. We all agreed that if it weren't for the fact that we truly missed our "Miss Tina", it would have been a perfect week. Tina was patiently recovering from her eye surgery and we were in constant contact with her to make sure she was behaving. She is doing wonderfully so all is well! 

We always have a great time, but we all admitted that this year was different. We all seemed more relaxed  about what we intended to accomplish. Instead of whirling with pedal to the metal, we spent a lot of time chatting and truly relaxing. We even tried to solve some of the world's problems as we ate our way through the week! 

I took very few photos this time, but here are a few highlights. A little retail therapy on Wednesday at the Portsmouth Fabric Company.

Susie Karen, Karen, Kathy and Charlotte hard at work. Fotini had to leave on Thursday, so I missed catching her photo! 

 

Susie Karen and Karen cheering Charlotte on with her marvelous border treatment on this gem. Karen's aunt Marsha gave Karen some vintage "Double Wedding Ring" archs which she turned over to Charlotte who created this wonderful master piece. 

 

Way to go Charlotte!

 

I only brought hand work but still brought more than I could finish in a month. I was able to assemble all these potholder blocks to create, "Fancy Feast". I  loved the one I made with vintage linens and feedsacks so much I decided to make one with chintzes and toiles. I love it! 

 

and back And, the backs is just as much fun with these printed patchwork (aka "cheater prints"). 

 

This is my favorite stage in the "potholder quilt" process. I love seeing all my blocks stacked up before I stitch them all together. 

 

These are a few of my favorites: Love those fishing cats!

 

And, of course my cowgirl days!

And this one because it is one of my friend Judy Roche's toiles. The chintz and the cheater on the back came from Judy as well. Thank you my friend. I miss you! 

 

Needless to say, a good time was had by all!! Enjoy the day.

It's Tea Time

 I finished all these potholder blocks last month but, before I could assemble them I started another one! I decided that I liked the look so much, I would try one with totally different fabrics. (stay tuned for the unveiling LOL). This one is made from  feedsacks and vintage tea towels (hence the name, "Tea Time"). 

I had so much fun trying to find the right towels from my collection. I didn't want to cut up any that were still usable as linens, so it was a bit of a challenge. Some of these have been in the family for quite a while, so it is nice to be able to showcase them in a colorful quilt.

And, as usual with this potholder method, the back is almost as much fun as the front. 

 

I'm off tomorrow for our annual "Seven Sistahs" retreat where I will be assembling the second one. Photos to follow! Enjoy the day!

Sugar Shack Village

 My little quilt for Cecile and Corinne's sew-a-long is now complete. Such a happy little quilt!

 

and back 

 

Thanks Cecile and Corinne for another great sew-a-long. You can visit their Facebook site (here) and see the unbelievable creativity! So much fun! 

This little cutie will be visiting the Iowa Quilt Museum soon. I will post more info as it unfurls.

Bird's Nest Soup currently at the New England Quilt Museum

 Just a quick head's up for New Englanders. My Bird's Nest Soup 

(along with "No Bake Applique") is currently on display at the New England Quilt Museum. The exhibition consists of quilts from the fabulous book, "Portable Patchwork" by Pamela Weeks. It runs through July 15. Please visit New England Museum for details. Lot's of superb "potholder" quilts as well as other exhibits and a wonderful gift shop! Enjoy! 

Oh where oh where has my little blog gone??

 I am no longer going to promise myself to be better about blogging. When it happens it happens. I have long since figured out that I can quilt or blog, so I guess I can see which wins out! I don't want a mile long post, so I will just show a few of things I have been working on. 

I love making donation quilts and most of mine now go to the local "infusion center" so that the patients can be wrapped in a quilt to keep them warm during those long hours! 

This first one was quilted by our "quilting angel" Sharon Patterson. She too understands how important it is to keep warm during those long stretches and also how nice it is to know that someone cares. She does a magnificent job!

 

The next two were very simply (yet lovingly) quilted my me. I am not fond of machine quilting but I can seem to manage straight lines when I need to. I had a big stack of yellow strips leftover from another project and thought they would be perfect for brightening gloomy days in a chair! 

 

This one was really fun to make. I used lots of small chintz pieces leftover from another quilt. I must admit, this setting is not for the dyslexic. It isn't difficult, you just need to pay attention to which side the white strip is on! 

 

I also finished (quite a while ago!!) my "bonbons" quilt utilizing a fantastic collection of fabrics by Brigitte Giblin. This quilt was sooooo much fun to make! I hand quilted this one, just for me!

 

I'll post more later. I know we are all busy and "post overload" is something none of us need. LOL. Hope to get back to reading and commenting too! Hugs to all!!