I'm A Knotty Girl!

Over the Mountain and Through the Woods, to Crabapple Hill I Go...

I have been a fan of Crabapple Hill Designs for a long time.  I have made a few of Meg's patterns such as this

and this

and this

So, I was very fortunate to treat myself and attend a 3 day retreat in Benton City, WA at the Crabapple Hill studio.  And boy, I was not disappointed at all!  So much to show, so much to tell.

I flew into Tri-Cities, Washington via Seattle.  I'm so glad they have a regional airport because I did not want to make the 2+ hour drive from Seattle or Portland by myself.  

Here is a photo of the drive to the studio.

And finally, the gorgeous studio!

I could hardly wait for the retreat to start!  Luckily, Meg and her staff did not disappoint.  I had soooo much fun!  To view more (and better) photos of the retreat, visit Meg's blog here and scroll down to view the Spring 2013 photos.

The food was delish, Meg's studio and home were gorgeous, Meg's staff were friendly and my fellow attendees were all so friendly, funny and talented.    

Glad to have met new people who were so nice and helpful.  In fact, I hardly made a dent on my project because I spent way too much time chatting and visiting with others and gawking/drooling at Meg's beautiful quilts and studio decor.

Here are some of the cool projects we made.

Here is our cute, little mascot Honeybunny.  He is so sweet and photogenic.  I must have taken a couple dozen photos of this cat.  But here's my favorite 4.

 

Drats!  I forgot to take a picture of Meg.  Seriously, I had the Best.Time.Ever!

And here is the project we were all working on at the retreat.  

I made my block into a pillow and added "Hurray for Spring" so that I'll always remember spring 2013 when I had the pleasure of visiting Crabapple Hill Studio and had a blast!

I also framed the pillow with a crochet trim (from JoAnn) and mitered the corners.  I tried sewing it as one continuous piece (like ric rac) but it was just too difficult and honestly, I just couldn't figure it out.  

But look how good I did with mitering!  Ha! Just had to show off ;-)

I'm almost embarrassed to say but will admit it anyway, the green polka dot fabric is from JoAnn, as well. *Gasp!*  

Well, I was already purchasing the crochet trim and you know how sometimes its just so much easier to buy new fabric than dig up what you already own.  Yes, I was too lazy.  

Hope you are having a fabulous spring, as well.

Oh Brother! You are a &*#$^@#!!!

Whew!  I'm glad to report that I have made some progress on my Abundance quilt.  Here are a few completed blocks. 

 I love the toile background fabric of this block.  It's a very subtle blue-green fabric.

Here's a trio of acorns.  I decided to use wool felt for the stems.

And a pair of cornucopias.

And a squirrel wreath with 78 pieces!

And here's my favorite block.

But wait, there's a problem.  There is actually another "ruffle" between the brown check fabric and the background but the color is so pale that it blended right into the background.  I did not have the heart to rip it all out and replace the fabric so my friend Janet suggested that I outline it with embroidery floss just so it stands out just a little bit more.  Hmmm, I'll post a photo right after I work on it.

I had to put away my Abundance project for a while to finish up a present for my friendship group annual gift exchange.  This year, I picked Patty's name and I wanted to do something special for her.  She's been a very generous friend to me and she's also had a tough year, so I decided to give her the snowman redwork which I was working on when I went to the Philippines earlier this year.    

So, I finished the block and decided to make it into a pillow (18 inch square).  I hope you can see the rick rack framing the block.

All I had to do was sew on the zipper on top and serge 3 sides to finish this project.  However, I hit a road bump with my serger.  Just like last year, my serger (a Brother) decided to fall apart at the slightest face of a challenge.  Last year, the upper knife broke.  This year, the needle broke while sewing 2 pieces of cotton together!  Come on now.  It's 2 thin pieces of cotton.  it's not even upholstery fabric, denim or corduroy.  I was so frustrated, I just had to use every curse word in every language I know.  I was probably over reacting but anyone who has ever had to thread a serger and jam 3 threads through one eye of a needle knows how annoying and frustrating it can be.  Thus the title of this post.

I'm glad to report that I was eventually (like an hour plus later) able to re-thread the serger and finish the pillow.  I have to admit I was really tempted to keep the pillow but I know it's going to a very good home.

As for the serger, it is on probation and final notice.  If it misbehaves one more time when I'm on a deadline, I may not be so kind.

Tag-along Sewing Project

Sorry for the long absence.  I recently took a two week vacation overseas.  I recently went to the Philippines and that is a 15 HOUR plane ride from Southern California.  To ensure I had something to keep me occupied on the plane, I brought 2 Logic Puzzle magazines, an I-Pad (thanks for lending it to me Trish), and a new embroidery project.  I'm sure you've all heard the saying "Idles hands are a devil's workshop" ;-)

So, here's a peek at the embroidery project I brought with me.

This pattern is from Crabapple Hill and it is called "Winter Wonderland".  The entire quilt measures 64x71 and there are 10 different panels to embroider.  And believe it or not, I traced all 10 panels and brought it with me on my trip!  Okay, what was I thinking?  Clearly, I couldn't possibly embroider that fast.  But, I wanted to bring it all with me so I'd have a choice of which panel to start on.

When I travel, I usually bring a Redwork project with me just because it is easy to pack and I don't have to change tread colors often.

In my little sewing kit, I bring these itty bitty scissors, which can't cut anything but thread.  Occasionally, it can tackle a tag from brand new clothing.  I also bring with me a spool (ok I admit, I brought 2 spools because God forbid I run out) of Cosmo floss.  I love that Cosmo has 2 strands of embroidery thread already on a spool.  I place this inside a used dental floss container so it doesn't unravel in my sewing kit and I can also use the top as a cutter.

I am happy to report that I did get one panel done.  Most of the time though, I slept on the plane.