Category Archives: Quilting Retreat

Sewing Therapy and More

Posted on September 18, 2021 by heARTsCreations

I found myself floundering the past week as I was working through emotions on the loss of my sister. She had been sick for a while and although her passing was imminent, it somehow doesn’t seem real when it actually happens. To help clear my mind, I went to my 2 1/2″ strip box and began to sew. Mindless sewing can be so very therapeutic!

A few hours of sewing resulted in this scrappy Hospice quilt. I cut a backing from a pretty printed fleece and hung both in my flimsy closet to be quilted another time. Of course, there’s many more strips to sew together for many more quilts!

Cooking is also therapeutic for me. After sewing, I made a batch of dough for a pizza. We are spoiled with homemade pizza and no longer order out for it. It was yummy and some is in the freezer for a quick fix dinner another night! That is always a win.

In the garden the red spider lilies were popping up in several places – so pretty and such joy!

I’ll be retreating this coming week in Blowing Rock and am so looking forward to it. Those coming are always such a joy. We sew, laugh, share and laugh some more. Lucky me.

Note: The 2021 retreats are full. You may put your name on a wait list.

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At Home Retreat

Posted on March 22, 2020 by heARTsCreations

The Spring Quilt & Sew-In has been cancelled.  Although it was definitely necessary to cancel this event, it has made me somewhat sad as I so enjoy all the amazing creative souls that come to the retreats.  We laugh, we sew, we share, we laugh, we shop and yes, we sew! Some I only see at retreat. Hopefully there will be a rescheduling at a later date, but more likely it will all need to wait until next year.

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My last social sewing for some time took place last week at the home of a friend for 3 days. There were three of us and it was wonderful and inspiring.  As usual, I came away with some good tips. I have been sewing, sewing, and sewing the flying geese made from leftovers of my Tula Strings quilt. It really is a pile of sewing! As a result of our sew-in, I have on order a flying geese trimmer and how that should make the task easier! Actually, hubby has it on order for my birthday (smile).

I also started to put blocks together for the Tangled quilt. I am using Robert Kaufman Blueberry Park collection which is in a variety of fabulous colors with a white print. 

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How about we all have an At Home Retreat!

Sew to your heARTs desire!

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Cutting Quilt Blocks

Posted on February 2, 2020 by heARTsCreations

Spring Quilt & Sew-In has 2 spots available! Please come join in the fun & creativity!

April being not too far away, and the Spring Quilt & Sew-In Retreat, I prepped blocks for the charity quilts that the attendees will be sewing. The first block is for a quilt called Mid-Century Quilt. There’s a variety of blues and tans for the blocks and enough blocks to build a twin size quilt.

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Thank you Pineapple Fabrics for donating the fabrics used in these blocks.

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The next two sets of blocks are for nine-patch quilts. One will have various light neutral squares in the center of each block, with the remainder of the squares being scrappy. With the exception of some of the center squares coming from Pineapple Fabrics, most of the fabrics came from stash scraps.

The second set is also for a nine-patch twin size quilt with a gray pin stripe as the center square and the rest are scrappy.  Several years ago at a warehouse sale I bought a bolt of the gray pin stripe. It’s almost all gone which is very sad because it has been such a useful and attractive neutral.

Being charity quilts, my hope is that the completed quilts will bring a smile and warmth to the recipients.

Many thanks to all those attending the retreat who are always so enthusiastic about sewing the blocks!

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Twin Size Quilts & a Winner

Posted on January 27, 2020 by heARTsCreations

Each year at the Quilt & Sew-in Retreats, the retreaters sew blocks that are then put together for Hospice quilts. This spring, however we’ll be putting twin size quilt tops together for another great cause – Snuggled in Hope Quilts. They accept quilt tops for volunteers to quilt and/or tie and bind. The quilts are then sent to Flying Horse Farms, which is a camp in Mt. Gilead, Ohio for children with serious illnesses and is part of Paul Newman’s Serious Fun Network Camps. Thank you to Kayla, a beautiful young woman who attends the Quilt & Sew-In Retreats for this wonderful suggestion.

A real bonus to donating to this cause is that the quilts do not need to be finished! I know many quilters have twin size quilt tops in their stash that may never be quilted – please consider this donation avenue!
The above quilt top will be accompanied by the backing and binding fabric below thanks to the maker of the quilt top.

 

Winter Blues Blog Hop – thank you to all who hopped along with the Winter Blues. Your kind and uplifting comments were so very much appreciated! Congrats to comenter #28, Dixie, for winning the Batik Surprise.

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Winter isn’t over yet! May you spend many happy hours keeping warm while creating!

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Prep & Progress

Posted on October 31, 2019 by heARTsCreations

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Lots of prep has been going on here.  Saturday I leave for the mountains for the Fall Quilt & Sew-In! Even though I’ve been doing retreats for thirteen years, I still get a little antsy and anxious a few days before it begins.

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Blocks have been prepped for the charity quilts from the bin of precut scraps above. There are a couple of layout possibilities for one:

And here is the layout for another quilt:

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A bucket of blocks with instructions are available for anyone who chooses to complete one or more blocks. They then put their name in for a drawing and on Show & Tell night names are drawn for prizes. I and another quilter put the blocks together for a quilt –  it certainly helps to get more Hospice quilts completed!

My projects – I always bring more than I could possibly complete. When you are the facilitator, time sewing is reduced. I love it though, and wouldn’t have it any other way! First and foremost, I plan to work on my Tula strips.  I already have several blocks complete and all is very organized (completed block above).

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A nine patch I worked on at a recent sew-in is also in the queue.  The plan is to do a disappearing nine patch, but I just haven’t decided which pattern I will be using.

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For when I don’t want to actually sew, there is this bin of half-square triangles that need to be trimmed to size.  There’s a bunch, so trimming a little at a time will make the task less daunting.

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And finally, a bin of 3 1/2″ squares for a leader-ender.  I recently spent two (exhausting) days sorting my batiks by color.  There is now a bin full of scraps, and six bins of larger pieces.  The batik squares will be paired with black and white squares.  I think this will be quite stunning. I love to have a leader-ender project going – makes me feel so productive!

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A fun and productive week is ahead! I can’t wait to share all that is Quilt & Sew-In!

 

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Two Weeks – Week One!

Posted on October 12, 2019 by heARTsCreations

Whew! I’ve been gone for the last two weeks.  The first week I went to a sew-in with some great gals, came home on a Saturday, and left on Sunday for a week vacation with hubby! Some careful planning made it doable and it was all totally worth it!

First, the Sew-In.  A good friend planned this time for us at the same place where I have the Quilt & Sew-Ins – at the Meadowbrook Inn in Blowing Rock.  This place is like a second home to me so I was thrilled that we gathered there.  How convenient it was that my sleeping room was just around the corner from the sewing room!  There were only six of us so it made it very intimate.

auuofdigryeekn9xf2_fhq-medium.jpgDebbie had the first finished project. This is such a cute mini.cx-bqbztskqzt3tmcrxz0a-medium.jpg

Another Debbie creation.  This pic does not do this beautiful log cabin justice. The fabrics were just glorious!

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Pam’s wine fabric casserole carrier sure is classy!

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Yes, Debbie was quite productive. This flimsly was mostly done before the retreat – a few more seams and border – colorful and fun!

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Pam made this bag using a preprinted batting and precut strips.  I love the way the strips meet on the sides. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be getting some of this batting.

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Love this scrappy block pattern that Sue was working with. The block is rather time consuming and she made several. This is going to be one beautiful quilt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three table toppers! Sheranna tackled the 10 minute table toppers – one Christmas, one St. Pattrick’s Day and one very elegant and formal.  Full disclosure – they take a bit more than ten minutes!

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And yes, I did sew.  I worked on blocks using some of my batik stash for a quilt called “Katsura” from Modern Quilts Illustrated.

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I also put together a pile of nine patches with a pile more to go.  I’m going to split each block but have not decided which method to use yet – something different from the most used split nine patch.

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I also managed to complete a flimsy for Hospice.  This will be a 2020 contribution. How nice to have a bit of a head start!

It was a great week! Along with sewing I enjoyed talking, laughing, swimming, walking, dining at a few fine restaurants and lots more laughing.  Now back to reality…

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Sew-in Fun!

Posted on September 8, 2019 by heARTsCreations

Last week I had the good fortune to spend four days in South Carolina with a group of talented and fun quilters! Everyone brought their own projects and worked away all day and into the night. Mostly we had hot sunny days and were able to enjoy the outdoor pool.

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These hat pin cushions were made and gifted to each of us by Judy. I absolutely love mine and am so thankful for her thoughtfulness and efforts.

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Here’s Laurie with her very impressive bin full of 1 1/2″ solid scraps.  She’s turning them into the now popular spinner blocks. What a great use of scraps!

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Debbie lives nearby and is the one who introduced us to the Homeplace B&B that we were at. Thank you Debbie!

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Studious Susan is carefully planning her next project. (Something I need to get better at)

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Sandy really worked away consistently.  She not only machine sewed but also worked on some English paper piecing.

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This square in a square quilt tells Susan’s life story. The grits block was definitely a favorite!

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Lots of trimming and squaring up. Sandra was another who sewed, sewed, sewed!

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A log cabin quilt for a friend of Laurie’s who recently purchased a log cabin! She’ll add a border – what a wonderful and thoughtful gift.

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Judy is cutely peeking out from behind her 30’s print quilt. I love the design this layout makes.

This is such an impressive paper pieced beach quilt! Lorel isn’t finished with it yet. She’s planning on adding on some amusement – shells? crabs? beach balls? Can’t wait to see the finished quilt!

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Debbie brought her very impressive woven (from bed sheets) rug. Wow!!

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Sandy finished this Frozen quilt top with a special little one in mind. How cute!

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This minimal and very striking modern quilt was completed by Susan. I can’t wait to see this one quilted.

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Five O’Clock Coffee Time!

Unfortunately, some did not get into the picture, including myself. There were eleven of us and I do believe a good time was had by all. Lucky me to be a part of this group of fun and talented ladies!

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Endless cutting and August Progress

Posted on September 1, 2019 by heARTsCreations

A blogger I follow, Quilt Diva Julie recently posted about a string quilt she was doing called Optic Strings, using prints and solids. I loved it and immediately knew what fabrics I would use from my stash! The prints I pulled are all the Tula Pink prints I had and matched them with coordinating solid shot cottons. It was a blast to pull and match!

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The cutting marathon began. The strips are 1 1/2″ wide by 10 1/2″+ long. There are 37 pairs of fabric and I cut two sets of each fabric with 4 print strips  and 5 solid strips for each block. Whew!! It took me days because I cannot cut very much at once. The tennis elbow has improved, but I can’t push it. The blocks are all cut and clipped together – yippee! I do not have permission to post a pic of Julie’s blocks, but you can follow the link above to see them.

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This past month I did manage to complete and prepare the backings for two quilts that are now at the long armers. I quilted and bound a scrappy flannel quilt that will be added to the Hospice quilt pile. I will share pics of these at a later date. And I made 8 Baby Tag Blankets.  Because I am attending quilt retreats in September, October and mine in November, I have been very busy prepping so when I get there I can just sew!

August WIPS

How about you? Have you gotten to sew in August, or did end of summer activities take over? Either way, I hope you had fun!

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Cutting & July Wrap-up

Posted on August 11, 2019 by heARTsCreations

A small retreat awaits me come Labor Day so I wanted to do some prep.  Most of my Works in Progress are not travel worthy – they are at the point that there’s too much thinking or I’m just not motivated to work on them. Interesting how when I begin my projects I’m SO excited and then, WHAM! Somewhere along the line I lose that enthusiasm. Fortunately, I tend to regain it later, sometimes even years later and manage to complete the project!

I recently purchased a kit on clearance and knew it was perfect for retreat. It took very little time to cut as there were two charm packs that did not need to be cut and a solid that was cut into strips and then subcut. Here are the charm packs – such pretty batiks!

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Then there is an off white neutral and this really pretty dark turqoise batik. The pattern picture shows this fabric used as a very narrow border, however, it is nowhere in the directions! That would make it tough for a beginner, but I’m okay. I’ll decide the width I want to use once the body of the quilt is together.

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And here’s to hot, hot July.  I did escape to the mountains once and then to the beach for a few days. It may not look like I did much sewing, but I did complete a very large flimsy – a bed quilt for our master bedroom.

July WIPs

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Post Retreat + Enjoying my Passions

Posted on May 8, 2019 by heARTsCreations

After being home a week, I’ve finally made it to the computer to do a wrap up of my somewhat productive sewing at a quilt retreat I attended in South Carolina.  I began the week full steam ahead by making string blocks for a border that I cut into fours. I then paired each with a white on white square and made half square triangles.  All of my notes were at home (why oh why??) so I just made bunches!  This is the quilt top I was preparing the border blocks for:

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These are the border blocks, not yet attached to the quilt:

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And these are the leftovers! They will make a sweet little quilt. I will either add a couple of border to make it a baby quilt or add to it to make a lap quilt. That is a decision to be made at a later date.

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Following my “string fling” I just piddled.  I did some pinning, some sewing, but didn’t really attack anything else with much vigor. Mostly I enjoyed my time away and being with an awesome group of quilters!

What’s really been keeping me busy is the great outdoors.  I am in the process of dividing my ferns. They are truly glorious this year! And tree work was done in our yard and this pile of mulch was the result. I can only load a few wheel barrels a day and do the spreading. Hubby cut this pile of wood and we’ll need to get a log splitter to finish the job. This is not fun yard work.

There is also much weeding to be done. I attack it a bucket at a time and have the wonderful ability to look past the weeds and enjoy the pretty plants and flowers. Fortunately, my one side bed manages to stay weed free!

 

The temperatures here have been glorious so I am enjoying the outdoors fully.  I will sew more when it becomes very hot – mid to high 80’s and gardening do not go well together for me!

Embrace ALL your Creative Passions!

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