Sunday, September 16, 2012

Productivity, Thy Name is Felicity

I love all day quilting retreats. I am so grateful to my husband for taking on a full day (plus) of childcare duties involving a cranky nearly-5-year-old with a cold so that I could be whisked off to Quilt By The Bay, one of Krista's wonderful retreats.

Rather than work on one large project, I brought a whole bunch of smaller bits to do.

First up, I pieced my water/sea glass quilt top but having neglected to bring any backing or batting fabric, I had to put that aside. My forgetfulness regarding the backing/batting is even more baffling considering I consciously chose the thread I wanted to use to quilt it and made sure to bring it along. I really wonder about myself and my memory sometimes.

sea glass on sand

Next up, my challenge blocks for VMQG. We were to make blocks with black and shades of grey solids, with a pop of Kona Curry if desired. Paul, our challenge coordinator, was inspired by a quilt by Jessica Blomquist called New York Skyline. It was featured in the Modern Quilt Guild's 100 days of Modern Quilting series.

black and grey challenge 2

black and grey challenge 1

It's a block lottery this month so you get an entry for every block you make, then a winner (or two depending on the number of blocks) is drawn and they win the blocks. I made two - I'd love to win a few more of these blocks!

Next up is a block for Holly in the Fab Bee. I am not officially in that bee, but Holly had a really great idea for the two of us to swap bee blocks between us. She knew I needed more Scrappy Churn Dash blocks for my Stash Trad Bee quilt, and she needed more for her Fab Bee quilt. It was very easy for me to say yes when I saw what kind of block she wanted.

fab bee for holly

Cool or what? Holly was inspired by a number of different quilts and blocks (here's her Pinterest inspiration board). The bee members each received fabrics - including some wonderful linen - in a variety of neutrals plus a feature colour. When I saw Amy's block where she had made the piecing of the coloured bits wavy like water, I knew right away what to do with the fabulous orangey bits. The triangles are my interpretation of flames.

But wait! There's more! I then turned my attention to pattern testing for Nikki The Girl Who Quilts. She wrote a pattern for this fabulous tote.

Here I am with my version of it. Closeup photography was thwarted by aforementioned cranky child. 

me and my tote
Like my swing coat? $10 at Value Village.

And then I basted that outstanding Easy Going Modern top:

EGM flimsy

I still had time left (!!) so I then pieced a little Halloween themed quiltie using blocks I won in the VMQG's Halloween block lottery 11 months ago. 

halloween quiltie
A nice mini size: 24" square.

I'm not really a "Halloween person" - I loved making G's costume last year and I love the candy (Tootsie Rolls for the win!) but with our limited storage space here, I am loath to acquire a lot of Halloween decor stuff. This quiltie can hang on our door and replace the one I made 10 years go.

Not bad, huh? I added a project to my WIP list but that's okay - I'm having fun! 

18 comments:

  1. Holy cow, you're right, you were super productive!!! The retreat sounds like tons of fun, and I especially love the sea glass top! I just made something a little bit similar that I finished over the weekend! And those challenge blocks are stunning! Love the pop of Curry :)

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  2. Oh wow! Talk about productive! I went to a 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. retreat on Saturday. First time for this group. I was the first to arrive at 9:15, the iron didn't arrive until 10, and the cutting board until 11. Since all of these things were listed as supplied, I didn't bring my own. Then everyone was packed and gone by 3:45. It was kind of weird, to say the least!

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  3. Love, love your water/sea glass - great inspiration since I seem to have acquired (a) some great Essex linen/cotton and (b) am growing water-colored Kona! The other blocks are delightful as is that little H'ween quiltie! Good job.

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  4. Ooh, love your sea glass quilt. So soothing and elegant. Love those blocks! I may use that neutrals/colour block idea for my bee month -- it's awesome! :)

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  5. you were so productive - getting so many projects finished up - way to go. I'm looking forward to seeing your sea glass quilt all done up.

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  6. Whoa, yeah! Productive indeed. Maybe one day I'll make it to one of Krista's retreats. It's that darn ferry in between!

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  7. oh my gosh you got a lot done! What a totally fun day full of fabric awesomeness!!

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  8. Very impressive! My 5-year-old was cranky this weekend too. Maybe it's the time of year?

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  9. Productive is right! Maybe it's a good thing you forgot the batting? Your shoes are cute, too!

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  10. What a day!!! Wow, you got so much done Felicity. I just love the Hallowe'en quilty, and your bag is fantastic.

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  11. You got a LOT done! Next time I'm sitting beside you, so your productivity can rub off on me!

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  12. Awesome job getting all that done! Retreats really are the best. I love your quilt top and blocks!

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  13. Holy crap, you got a TON done! I got your email, too, thanks so much for the help!!

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  14. Damn, that was a productive day! I know exactly what you mean about remembering the matching thread but not the backing and binding. I might have done something similar 2 weeks ago :)

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  15. I love that quilt block lottery idea. How fun! And I absolutely love that first gray block of yours!

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  16. Wowzers! You were on fire, girl! Speaking of, I LOVE the neutral fire block!! I see a neutral quilt in my future.... And how cute are you in your swing coat?

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  17. Wow, I love each of your blocks and the halloween mini is very cute too. Sounds like a great day!

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  18. It was a great day and I'm impressed with all that you got done! Thanks so much for my awesome flame block!

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