CQ Retreat Fall 2011

Well, it has been a busy month and I had a lot going on, so I guess I am going to have to start posting more regularly again :-)....  I finished the clown quilt that I started during Hurricane Irene, I have finished a top I started over a year ago at Mary Anne Ciccotelli's 3D workshop and I am almost finished quilting a piece I started at this falls retreat....  but I will share all of those in separate posts, hopefully within the next week :-).

Today's post is about the CQ Fall 2011 Retreat two weeks ago at Interlaken Inn, in Lakeville, Ct.  As always we had a ball, just laughing, eating and quilting away!  A little smaller group this year than normal, only 48 of us, but still a wonderful time was had by all.  Somehow I forgot to take pictures of quilts in progress until Sunday, so sorry if I missed sharing some of the masterpieces of the weekend.

This is Claire Oehler on the left, the former owner of the Country Quilter, our hostess and her daughter, Jane Davila on the right...  both all smiles for the camera.

Here is Nancy Mirman, another of our hostesses for the weekend.  She is very talented and has her own pattern line for quilted clothing, bags and accessories.  Nancy is working on a paper pieced star from the new book she and Claire have just released!  Those of us at retreat were fortunate to be able to order a copy and they will be signed by both Claire and Nancy...  WooHoo!!!






Somehow I missed getting a picture of Noreen Lipolis, another one of our hostesses busy quilting, but I did get a shot of her from our Saturday night, Red Carpet themed dinner...

Noreen, is in black on the left.  Sorry Noreen for not getting a better shot.  But thanks to all 3 of you for a wonderful weekend!!  P.S...  no I don't dress up for theme nights..  so I played the roll of Paparazzi and took photos :-)....





And here is Donna Chambers working on her one of her mosaic pieces....

Donna, a goldsmith by trade, is so talented and has her own jewelry line.  Check out her jewelry website for a little quilting inspiration :-) 
This is Donna's mosaic technique.  She will be teaching it to some lucky quilters at The Storytellers Retreat coming up this weekend and at Hartsdale Fabrics this winter in December and January.  Her workshop filled up so fast at Storytellers that I am going to be her assistant.  This shall be fun, can't wait until Friday :-).

Gay sat next to Donna in the Patio room (we love the sunlight and view of the garden during the day).  Gay is part of the gang from The Pelham Quilters guild I belong to.  A bunch of us (Donna, Lorraine, Margaret, Jeanne, Evelyn and I) have been coming to retreat for years.  We even sit in the same seats.

   
Gay worked completely by hand this weekend.  She does stunning hand applique and hand quilting.  We were all so jealous when it was time to pack up.  No machine, etc... to load up!









Here is Lorraine busy at work...

Lorraine was working on Christmas presents for her grandchildren this year. Sitting next to her is Margaret.  Margaret always finds such lovely panels to incorporate into her work.  This year she was working on a Dahlia piece for her sister.

Remember, in my last post I mentioned I had won 2nd place in the Art Quilts category at the ViewArts Show in Old Forge, NY.  Well Marie won 1st place in the Wallhanging category and her lovely piece was used as the cover image for the Exhibit's Program.  Way to go Marie!!  Marie always works on very complicated paper piecing patterns.  Here she is taking the easy way out, doing a 'simple' cat paper piecing pattern....  lol.

On the design wall behind Marie is Ashley's circle quilt, seen here..

Ashley is my long time buddy and retreat roomie.  Can't believe I didn't get a picture of Ashley, but her gorgeous colors will have to represent her :-).

I also didn't get pictures this time of Jeanne or her Mom, Evelyn.  Guess I was so focused on quilting this weekend that my picture taking duties seem to have taken a back seat.  Sorry Jeanne and Evelyn.  I will remember to include you in April for our Spring 2012 retreat!

Well, now let's go next door into the room where we always here the most laughter coming from.  On the design wall right outside our door was Dory Higgin's house piece, made from all striped fabrics.

Actually, Dory sits in our room, but the design walls were all busy when she went to lay out the piece so she slipped next door.

Also in the room next door is Jane Davila.  If you are a quilter you know Jane's name.  She is the a well known quilter, teacher, speaker and author.  She teaches across the globe, has a great quilt pattern line and has written a number of "Sew Simple" quilt pattern books.  Not sure how she will use this pattern, but I believe it is being created using a Jelly Roll....








Barbara comes every year and works on very interesting patterns.  This year, she is turning a photo into a stunning floral piece...

 You can see her pattern on the table in front of her in the first picture.  It is an enlarged version of the photo in the bottom left hand corner of the picture below.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring, at our next retreat!

Here is Jenny intent on laying out a nice blue and white top...  

I believe those are called tumbling blocks.  There was another quilter working on a tumbling block pattern, but I didn't catch a photo of it.



Just like I don't remember whose top this is, I just loved the daisy fabric.  I think it is one of those BQ block patterns...

Love the polka dots fabric as well!

 

Here is my piece.  I stated it in a 3D Workshop with Mary Anne Ciccotelli over a year and a half ago.  The mariners compass as well as the circular flying geese are all 3D, using Mary Anne's folded fabric method.  I completed the circle after the workshop and then it just hung on my design wall, waiting for me to figure out what to do next.  It finally spoke to me a few months ago, so I drafted out the rest and packed it up for retreat.  The side boarder geese are folded as well, using the one seam flying geese method.  They aren't sewn on at this point, but I have finished the top since coming home.  More on that in another post.

Well I hope you enjoyed visiting with me today.  As you can probably tell, we have a great bunch of quilters who retreat with the CQ ladies every 6 months.  It is such an inspiration after a busy summer when I get so little quilting done.  

I hope to bring you up to date on my other projects soon, but until then, Happy Quilting!

Hugs!!

Northern Star Quilt Show 2011: Part II

Here's an update on the NSQS, A World of Quilts XXXII.  I never did post pictures from all the other wonderful quilts. 

This won Best in Show....  it is fantastic...  but it took Carolyn Cook 4 years to complete!  Shaping the trees and adding all the details.  The trees on the right hand side are shaped by using wide ropeing, cut in half and stitched over with various yarns.  If you get a close look, you will see how each element was made individually and added to the top.  Carolyn said it took her months to decide to leave the top uneven.  Her original plan was to have a black boarder...  but after looking at it behind the piece for months she knew it wasn't right.  I am glad she didn't.

You have seen this piece before, it is from my friend, Donna Chambers.  "Dr Smoooth" was a creation pulled together after taking a 3D class with Mary Anne Ciccotelli.  Donna and Mary Anne (you'll see her quilt in a minute) are both members of Pelham Quilters with me as well as a fellow quilters in the mini-group I belong to.

"Goodbye NY" by Jerri Riggs received Honorable Mention.  Jerri is known for his bright colors, which is why I have always loved her work.  There is tons of quilting in this piece.  Jerri dyed her own fabric for the background.

I have always wanted to do a Jacqueline de Longe quilt.  Here is one "Colors of Life" by M. Sugar.  Look at all the piecing.  I love those points and colors!

Another friend of mine, Mary Anne Ciccotelli, made this quilt as a wedding present for her niece and nephew.  It is absolutely gorgeous!

I really was happy to see so many quilts of different styles and techniques, and soo many by my quilting friends :-).  I actually watched this piece by Sandra Parratt, another member of my mini group, come alive.  I remember Sandra going through the decision process on the size and shape of the black birds.  "Eye of the Black Bird" took 2nd Place in it's category of small quilts.  Sandra does a ton of thread painting in her work.  She did a lesson for our mini group, but I still haven't mastered the technique.

 This quilt just captured my eye for a long while.  "Scattered Blocks" by Sterk (sorry, I missed the first name), is very different then the rest of the quilts in the show.  Each block is totally different, but blends into the rest of the quilt quite nicely.  I love the way she gave the illusion of the blocks being 3D by adding a darker fabric to give the feel of shadows.

While I didn't get pictures for some reason, I want to give a shout-out to Eunice and her husband.  Both got ribbons this year.  Eunice for 2 very different quilts, in 2 very different styles.  Eunice and I, as well as Donna Chambers partake in the bi-annual Country Quilter Retreat (hear after to be known as the CQ Getaway).  Way to go Eunice!

Ok, time to get quilting.  I will see if I can post more pics later in the week.

Cheers!

Country Quilter Spring 2011 Getaway...What a great time!

So last week was a whirlwind!!  I was in Mexico City, Mexico for work Monday through Thursday.  Then Friday afternoon, after only about 15 hours home, I picked up my friend Lorraine and headed north to Interlaken Inn in Lakeville, Ct for our bi-annual Country Quilter quilting retreat.  Along with 55 other quilters we had a wonderful 3 days of eating, laughing and quilting, thanks to the ladies of the former Country Quilter in Somers, NY.  Even though the shop is closed, Claire Oehler, Nancy Mirman and Noreen Lipolis (CNN to their friends) have kept the retreat going.  Claire was the owner of the Country Quilter for over 20 years, so she knows what it takes to make quilters feel at home.

As is the norm, I thought I would share some pics of the weekend.  For the life of me, I can't remember the names of all the ladies, but as you can see, we are a big group :-).

So if you are reading this post and I don't identify you, please know that it is merely a senior moment.  You know one of those times when the world goes blank and all the thread seems to just jumble up and clog the gray matter we call our brain.

At least these ladies by Donna Chambers have hats on to keep their brains together.  Donna is always doing something different to keep us on our toes.

Now completely different, Donna is working on a collage piece in prep for a class she is thinking about offering.  Just wait until you see the work she did on our Pelham Quilters Round Robin...  a collage heart that will blow your mind...  unless you pull your hat over your eyes :-).

 

And here's Ashley working on the back to her green and white quilt.  She was intense, determined to finish a bed quilt she'd started at the last retreat.

Eileen is just starting a new piece, squaring up her center for each square.

Maria is at the other end of her project.  All sandwiched up, by Sunday, Maria is beginning to machine quilt her weekends project.

Ever have a hard time deciding on baorders?  Pat is getting help from her fellow quilters (senior moment here... sorry).

This is a piece that I worked on this weekend, translating a picture of a parrot I took at Jungle Island in Miami into a quilt.  Still need to fix the beak and add more leaves....  but I love all the thread art used to create the parrot.  I will probably also add more definition to show his ruffled feathers.  I might even have to define his perch a little more, it seems to be blending into the background...  oh well, that is why photographing your work, can really help you to see what a piece needs.  Love having a digital camera :-).

Yes, we have hand quilters in the group as well.  Doesn't she look so relaxed...  hmmm maybe I need to take a page from her book.

Funny thing, while Mom sits peacefully with her hand quilting, daughter is busy at her machine creating a new quilt.  Will she machine or hand quilt it?  Guess we will have to wait until October to find out.

Smiles all around with this cheery yellow quilt.  With kaleidoscope blocks on her design wall behind her, she holds up her latest completed block.   Oh yes....  triple senior moment with the last three photos :-).

Claire is busy using the left over fabrics from two other quilts to make a third blue and white quilt.  The colors must agree with her...  she is all smiles for the camera.

Oh yes, here is our fearless leader.  As you can see by Sunday night many retreaters have packed up their machines and are relaxing with hand work.  Claire Oehler, the mastermind behind our wonderful weekend.... WOOHOO!..... is chilling doing some hand work on one of her quilts.

Nancy, one of the N's in CNN, is 'chilaxing' as well....  yes, I picked up some slang from my great nephew.... I think she is working on a binding, winding down a quilt, as we all wind down for the weekend!

Now it is count down until Oct 14th, when we all head back up to Interlaken Inn, for another wonderful weekend with good friends, lots of food and laughter and all the quilting you can imagine.  Interested in joining us?  Just email the ladies at cqgetaway@gmail.com.  I think I heard there are only 17 spots left!

Hope to see you there!

Country Quilter Fall Escape 2010 - Friday Night Fun

Hey everyone, so last weekend was my bi-annual trip to the quilt retreat sponsored by The Country Quilter.  While we were down in numbers this year due to the Jewish holidays and a few quilters who were sick, fun was still had by all those present.

I know, I know, I usually post pics of everyone from the weekend, but this time is different.  Yes, I remembered my camera, but I had forgot to charge the battery.  So my apologies....  no photo album of all the busy quilters and their fabulous work.  Instead, I came home and took a picture of the piece I made Friday night, during my normal Friday Night Fun.  For those of you who haven't seen the results of my Friday night pieces, my goal on Friday night is to make something fun and quick to get the juices flowing for the weekend.  I don't have a pattern, sometimes an idea, and yet other times I just cut fabric and go. 

This weekend, I had a sketch on my sketchpad and inspiration from a piece Ricky Tims had done earlier in the week.  Here is the result of my night of fun:

As you can see, she is dancing away, just enjoying the music in her head.  Hence the name "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy".  Here are a couple more pics.  One of the quilting in the center sparkling lime green background and the other a shot of the back.

It was fun to make. I once again, I did free form feathers in the boarders.  No marking, just let the machine guide me.  Both boarders were cut freehand, no rulers.

From the first pic, you can probably tell that only the bottom is finished.  I am 'facing' this piece, instead of binding it.  The bottom edge is faced, but not the other three sides. 

Still have to finish the facing...  but otherwise it is done.

I will post a pic of the other piece I worked on tomorrow.  It is another baby quilt, totally designed by me, including the appliqued drums.

Hope you enjoy it. 

Quilt Escape - Spring 2010: Part II

OK, as promised here are some pics from the retreat last weekend.  You will see what I meant when I said we had some pretty talented ladies...  the creativity just flowed freely at the Interlaken Inn, in Lakeville, Ct.  Our host from Country Quilter/Flourish ---  art quilter, Jane Davila is always the "hostess with the mostess". 

Alright, without further adieu, here are some pics ....

My roomie, Ashley, worked on two different Kimono projects this weekend.  Ashley is known for her precision piecing and decided to try her hand at paper piecing this weekend.  Here she is next to four Kimono's using Japanese fabrics.  Ashley was unhappy, because in prep for the weekend she sorted her fabrics into 'good' for the Kimono's and 'rejects' for the Kimono's.  Well upon unpacking she realized she brought the 'reject' pile of fabric and not the ones she considered 'good'.

Now you tell me, do you see anything wrong with the fabrics she used in these Kimono's?  I sure don't. 

Here is a close up.....  they work for me Ashley!    The one on the right is a second set she is working with just black and white fabrics with all the sashes done in red.  Very sophisticated looking...  right :-)

This is a piece Donna Chambers started before the retreat for her Mom.  You can see she finished the top, made a fun back and has it all basted to take home and quilt.  If you look closely, there are squares with women in the center to represent the strength her Mother has provided her.  I think this is going to be a wonderful Mother's Day present.  The question....  will she get it finished in time???

Donna also worked on a top from a kit she picked up at Lancaster.  Here she is busy at work...

As you have heard me say before, Donna always has some interesting fabric...  even when she buys a kit.  I guess she just has an eye for it :-).

Jean was her normal quiet self, but as you can see, she was also focused...

She brought this fabric and the pattern at Lancaster, when the Pelham Quilters went to the AQS Show.  But by the end of day Saturday, she had the top all put together.  I just love the colors.  I told Jean that should she decide she doesn't like the quilt, or that it doesn't fit into her color scheme at home, that my quilt museum would feature it with honor :-)....

Next in one of the other rooms, Jane's sister, Linda decided that this was her weekend for hand work.  She didn't cart her sewing machine, just one bag with this master piece....

the fabric is all her own...  either dyed or painted, or both....  it is all needle turn applique.  Can I hear the OMG's as you read this.  Here is a close-up....  take a breath...  breathe....

I said breathe!  Absolutely stunning.....  My hat's off to you Linda! 

Back into the room I sew in...  the Garden Room.  One of the women who rides up with me, has a strong tie to very traditional fabric and patterns.  So Lorraine spent the weekend working on her 56 12" blocks.  This will be a Queen size quilt when finished...

Here they are layed out on the design wall.  She completed 42 of the 56 blocks.  Boy my hat goes off to her for her determination!

Tonight, Lorraine told me one of her friends saw it laid out this week and fell in love with it and wants it.  Now that it has a home, it means it has to get finished, so Lorraine asked me to quilt it.  Yikes...  Queen size...  haven't done that in a while.  But, it will get me into practice...  another story for another day, but I am thinking about quilting on commission.  Of course when I told Lorraine in the car going home, I told her I would start on smaller projects first.  But as she said tonight...  this will be a good practice piece :-).  We'll see...

Another of my car buddies is Margaret.  Margaret is also pretty quiet most of the weekend.  She just sits at her machine and sews..  not much talking from her.  But that usually means that at the end of the 3 1/2 days, Margaret has finished more than one top. 

Here she is with her 'Suduko' quilt...    always a challenge to lay out, so that you don't repeat a color in a row or column.

And here is Margaret with a top she fused before we arrived, but needed to be machine appliqued down.

That is a picture of Margaret's mischievous cat sitting in the flower pot amongst the tulips!

Maria, is a girl after my own heart.  She does a lot of paper piecing.  Her points are always exquisite and her quilts stunning.  I thought I had a picture of one of her tops finished, but it must have been blurry, because I can't find it.  But here, you can see she spent the weekend creating spiky sections via paper piecing.

Can't wait to see this one finished next year :-)...

Next are a couple of photos I took in one of the other rooms, but I don't know whose work they are, as the quilters were doing the same thing I was....  wondering the three rooms, getting inspiration from others work. 

Yes, I am an AKA, so pink and green hold a special place in my heart, but don't these squares just sing to you....  boy I can't wait until the fall to see this one finished...  at least, I hope she brings it back.

This was a quilt on one of the design boards....  It is string pieced, but you can see the pattern and the design is pretty interesting.  I love the way the colors move around....  but in this state, who knows where the quilter may be taking this piece.  Guess we will have to wait until the fall on this one as well :-).

Ok, I confess...  I just can't pull her name out of my head right now....  come'on, give me a break, there were 51 women this weekend.  She sits in the room right next to mine and is at all the retreats....  why can't I remember her name.  Oh well, take it from me...  she loves color....  and her quilts always full of it..  Here she just finished squaring up a block.  As you can see, color abounds.  Gee...  why can't I remember her name...  and I can't blame on a Senior moment, because I have been bad with names for years :-)....


Well I think that is about all the photos I have.  Except one of the group...

We are a motley crew, aren't we!  This is right after Sunday lunch and most of us, just want to get back to our machines :-).

I do have a bunch of photo's from Donna of quilts she had made prior to retreat, but I think I will save those for another night.

Night all.....