Yesterday's weather started out sunny and then turned to rain and then snow. The high got to 7C. This morning it is partly clear and -4C. Today is supposed to be sunny with a high of 3C.
Lifestyle
I went to the retreat yesterday. It was held in a building that looks like a barn. Very big and rustic inside. It was warm in there as they had the heat on.
As I set up and I thought I was at the wrong retreat. There were 21 ladies making quilted jackets with an instructor. After a bit of looking, I realized that there were 5 of us doing our own thing. They had put two groups together as the venue is expensive and they need about 30 people attending.
I got my stuff set up on an 8 foot table. The table beside me was empty which I thought was great. I got my sewing machine going, my little iron on and laid out the table runner. When I went to sew, my machine wasn't on. Nor was my iron or the retreat iron. The fun began as many others had the same issue. All the irons, and most people had irons, tripped the whole electrical system in the building. It was a good half hour of chaos with people waiting around for power. I was included. I put away my iron and waited. All was good again when it was only sewing machines and 2 irons being used.
I got the table runner done faster than I had expected. It went together like a charm. Having it laid out on an empty table really helped me out. I had it done early in the afternoon and I had even visited people. It was bagged very quickly as the long arm quilter wanted it "now". She gets to choose the design and I want grey thread but feel it may have red thread for the quilting of the design. I will know in a couple of weeks as I gave her full control on this project.
At noon, I stayed in the barn with a few other people and had my lunch. It was down time as I needed it. I wandered around and looked at the jackets being made. A lot of pieces in those. I did talk to the instructor for a few minutes. If it is offered I may take it though there is a lot of prep work. You have to cut out about 5 meters of fabrics into small rectangles for the project.
I did visit with a young lady who was sitting off by herself making the jacket. We talked about starching fabric and we laughed as I had figured out how to do it from a video that we both watched and she was having some concerns. We got that sorted out. She also felt how starched vs non starched fabrics feel. I also visited with another lady who is making a quilt using the newest fabrics the quilting store brought in. It is going to be stunning. She had most of the center block done when I left.
At noon, the last person arrived and set up her machine on the empty table. The tone of the building changed with her. She is a person who wants things to be perfect at the retreat. Her hobby is quilting and she is focused and on task 90% of the time. It seems like she has strict time lines. Her work is beautiful but she made people feel somewhat uncomfortable. I chose to ignore her most of the time.
In the afternoon, I started on the doll's quilt. At 5 pm I was almost finished the first half of the quilting. I was panicking a bit as I had worked on two projects instead of one. I was over prepared. So I took some time to visit with others near me. I showed a gentleman how I made piping and will be giving him a piping ruler today. I will probably making a bit of piping tomorrow as I am thinking of taking my Diamond sewing machine.
At 5 pm I cleaned up my spot, unplugged my machine, and put what I didn't need into a bag and brought it home. I was invited to join a group for dinner but declined. I needed to get home and apply heat to my sore body. The weather had made me ache like crazy. Also the old style brick floor was uneven and hard to walk on. A couple of others noticed that also.
The drive home was crazy. Rain was falling when I left and it turned to snow as I got closer to home. The roads were bare and wet but we certainly did not need snow. It is the end of March. It snowed for a couple of hours but it didn't stick to the ground.
At home, I made dinner and sat with heat on my sore hips. I was exhausted from the pain. I went to bed early and cracked a couple of times while stretching. I can't wait for physio on Monday.
Thoughts
I took no pictures yesterday as my table runner was packed up shortly after it was done ready to go for long arm quilting. The doll's quilt was not ready to photograph. I don't do pictures of the retreat not knowing who wants to be in pictures and none of the coats were advanced enough to photograph.
I was surprised at how one person could change the tone of the retreat. She knew a few people who were there and you could see that people tread lightly with her. I am sure she is a nice person but you can tell she is a person who only makes quilts and is extremely focused on what she is making. She also commands perfection in everything. She was highly organized so I know she is out quilting at different venues most of the time.
I am the dark horse at this retreat. I was missed for a name tag and gift bag though I was counted for a space. They knew I was coming and I was greeted warmly. I am also the one in the group of people I visited who does projects to the end. They have lots of projects on the go and I like mine done one at a time. They don't mind UFO's and I dislike having them under foot. But, we did joke about me being OCD. It doesn't bother me as I know I am OCD/perfectionist.
One lady showed me her bear paw quilt block. It was gorgeous. She showed me the book that was her inspiration. It is Selena and the Bear Paw Quilt by Barbara Smucker. I was flooded with memories as I had this book when I taught school in Mennonite and Hutterite communities. We had done paper blocks and I remember how much fun it was. I left the book at my last school and wish I had brought it with me when I retired.
Today
I have a few things to put away and a few other things to pick up. I want to prep to make piping if I have time. My goal today is to finish the doll's quilt and start the bag. I won't do any hand sewing until after the bag is done. I can sit quietly and hand sew at noon and in the afternoon. I will probably bring the Juki home and take up the Diamond tomorrow to make piping and to embroider on the shirt. It depends on where I am today with my projects. I will not be knitting tonight as I know I will be tired and sore.
Until the next time.............................................................
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