Quilt Retreat project Plan A...or B...no C

My guild had a quilt retreat last weekend.  With my travel in August followed by an unidentified virus that took me out of commission for another two weeks, I was completely unprepared when the date rolled around.  I had planned to have fabric cut and ready to sew when I arrived.  That didn't happen!

I ended up tossing a few things in my car the morning of the retreat and hoped for the best.

Fresh Wrapped, in the upper left, was the only project already in progress.  In fact, it was almost finished, with binding already attached to the front of the placemats and runner. My plan was to finish the binding while I decided which of the other projects I'd work on for the two days of retreat.

So far, so good.  By mid-morning, I had a finish!  That felt like a pretty good start to the weekend.

I made the tops for these last November during the Placemat Party I hosted.  I didn't quilt them until June.  I'm so happy to have this version of Fresh Wrapped finished.  I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but every fabric has silver metallic accents.  While I'm generally not a fan of metallic accents in my fabric, I make an exception for Christmas projects!

With one project down, I moved on to Plan A.  I bought these Northcott Stonehenge Oh Canada fabrics when I was in Fredericton, NB in the summer of 2022, planning to make a set of Flipped for Canada Day 2023. That day came and went with no placemats so I'm looking ahead to July 2024.

Just before I cut into these at retreat, I realized I had not prewashed them.  I don't always prewash my fabric, but I always prewash for placemats.  I've found that if I don't prewash, my placemats come out of the laundry all wonky the first time I spill on them and have to wash them.  

I'll admit I did a bit of grumbling at my past self at this point.  Seriously?  These were on my shelf for over a year, always intended for placemats, and I never got around to prewashing them?

On to Plan B!  Honestly, Plan B was a little vague.  I bought this stack of Christmas batik fat quarters on impulse 6 years ago. I've struggled to decide what to make with them.  

When I tossed the stack into my retreat bag, I had a few ideas, but they all needed extra yardage for background.  I really, really tried to find something at the shop hosting the retreat.  They had a such a beautiful selection of fabric, but I didn't find the right background to go with these.  I guess this little stack will just have to look pretty on my sewing room shelves just a little longer.

Plan C was to start the blue and white floral version of Quartz Clusters.  Connecting Threads kitted my pattern and I liked it so much I ordered the kit :)

This was the last project option I brought.  This one panned out!

I spent half the day on the first day of the retreat cutting out the fabric.

I was able to make all the strip-pieced blocks before heading home.  On Day two, I got a good start on the rest of the units, but a few distractions slowed me down so I didn't get as much done as I thought I would.  That's OK.  It was lovely to be in a room socializing with other quilters.

It's a little hard to believe this will become this:

Despite the great start I made at retreat, I'm not sure when I'll finish this top.   When I got home I went back to quilting the Accidental Quilt.  I also had some design deadlines to meet, and now I have some writing deadlines because three of those designs were selected.  It's a good "problem" to have, but it means projects in progress are going on the back burner again.

I'd love to head to retreat again, but I think I'd like to plan a little more next time.  Please share your tips for prepping and packing for quilt retreats so I can be better prepared.

Happy quilting,

Joanne

When you make a purchase from my Etsy shop from a link in this post, I may receive a refund of some of the transaction fees Etsy usually charges me for a sale.  There is no additional cost to you.

Chips and Dip

 I think I already established I really like placemats.  I really, really like this set I sewed last winter and can now share.

This is Chips and Dip, made with fabrics from the Natural Healing collection from Island Batik.  It was super quick to make, with strip piecing and stitch-and-flip corners.

I chose to make these with yardage for a cohesive look across all six placemats.  You could use a strip pack of precut strips instead.  Half a package (20 strips) plus a little yardage for the accent triangles would be enough for 4 placemats and a runner or for 6 placemats.  Or maybe assorted contrasting scraps for the triangles would look cool!  I need to go play with that idea...you know, because I can always use more placemats :)

I try to create designs that will look good in various fabrics.  I really think I hit the mark with these.  My test pieces were made with Island Batik scraps from previous projects and a completely different vibe than the ones above.

Hmm.  I'm not sure about that light-coloured binding anymore...  It's different from my usual choices.  I was limited by what scraps I had to match though, and this seemed the best available choice.

I'm still plugging away at finishing projects.  What are your sewing plans for fall?

Happy quilting,

Joanne

The Chips and Dip pattern is available as a PDF download in my Etsy shop.  You can ask for a print version at your favourite quilt shop.

Playing with Buds and Blooms

Buds and Blooms from Island Batik is a juicy new line of natural floral patterns delivering to stores this month.  Swan invited me to participate in an Instagram hop with other designers, mocking up existing patterns in this beautiful new collection.  I love the new look of these designs, so I thought I'd share here as well for those of you who aren't on Instagram.

Buds and Blooms from Island Batik, designed by Kathy Engle for Swan Amity Sheridan

I wish I had this actual fabric in my hands instead of just the digital swatches!  If I'm lucky, local shops have this on order and I can get my hands on some.  In any case, I did have fun uploading the digital swatches into EQ8 and recoloring designs.  I won't say how much time I spent coloring this, that and another possible mockups.  It's a bit addictive, but I managed to narrow down my choices to two designs.

With the hint of fall in the air, my first choice of project to recolor was Leafy Pathways.  I think I like this version even more than my original green version.

Leafy Pathways by Canuck Quilter Designs
Mocked up in Buds and Blooms

Of course, I had to recolor placemats too.  You know I have a thing about placemats :)  Here's Breadcrumbs (version 2).  I just love those rich prints!

Breadcrumbs by Canuck Quilter Designs
Mocked up in Buds and Blooms

If you'd like to make either of these projects as shown above, you can download this list of the specific fabrics used in each project.

If you are on Instagram, you have a chance to win a complete fat quarter bundle from Swan! Find my post here and jump from there to discover the other participating designers' posts.  Just follow the directions in the Instagram post and enjoy all of the beautiful quilts the lovely designers have mocked up for you!

I'm off to a guild retreat today and tomorrow.  I should have planned what to work on, but the date rather snuck up on me.  I'm doing well just getting my machine and tools packed up.  I'll throw a few UFO's in the car as well and hope they appeal to me when I get to the retreat.  If not, the hosting shop will be open for shopping, so I can browse to start something new.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Happy quilting,

Joanne

If you make a purchase in my Etsy shop after clicking through from the links in this post, Etsy will refund me a portion of the fees I pay for that transaction.  There is no additional cost to you.