Virtual Retreat 2017

[Scoopie]

Wendy, Nancy always has a practical and smart way to do things. And, she is right, wood is better than steel, if you are going to hit it with a needle. That being said, everyone in my guild loves their homemade jewel stiletto. It is a very handy tool for so many things. I use mine a lot for all of my prepared edge appliqué. It has a little weight to it and bulk which, as we get older, is so much easier in the hand. I even make some super chunky ones for people with severe arthritis. It is sooooooooo much more comfortable than using things like the porcupine needle, or even that long, too heavy, Apliquick rod (sorry Alex!). So, Wendy, if you are going to make them, there are two things to watch for. How sharp is the point of the skewer? (Some are filed off at the tip.) They should be able to stick into a pin cushion. And, what size are your beads? Many beads have too small of a hole to feed onto the skewer. You can also make these with a bamboo skewer, if you get beads with really large holes. But, these will limit other uses, and will not poke into you pin cushion. The glue I use for attaching the beads is Aleen's Jewelry and Metal glue. It comes in a tube, and is similar to a gel super glue. Be careful! You'll be wearing it the first time you do a few, until you get your rhythm. :woohoo: I always buy my beads on sale, and found owl beads sell well! Have fun!

Love your confetti quilts! I have done two, and both have won ribbons. They are so much fun to do! Do you use tulle on yours? It doesn't look like it. I did graduate to only one layer of tulle on my second one. (Noriko always uses two.) I was working on one at retreat one year, and when I had all of my confetti in place, everyone thought they were really funny pretending they we're going to sneeze on it. :evil:

Rosemary, nice quilt! Not wanting to do piecing for my mini, and being more comfortable in free form, I (and my partner) will be making a
small art quilt. Qualifies as a mini.

Well, time to get back to the huge, paper pieced Judy Niemeyer UFO that I am determined to finish!!!!
Dawn

[sewengel]

Hi Joyce, I have just submitted a quilt into that show. If it gets in would you mind taking a photo for me, with, hopefully, a ribbon. That is awesome you will get to meet your partner at that show.

Sharon in Colorado

[twiglet]

Good luck Sharon hope you get that ribbon.

Dawn thanks for the tips, I've discovered most already These are ones I made this morning using toothpicks. I've got turkey lacers on order from Amazon and I'll be off to the bead shop tuesday.



Well done doing so well with your confetti quilts. I started using black tulle as Noriko does but it looks dull so then used organza which is very shiny but clear. So on these three, the first is fusible to the backing then confetti placed onto it and ironed. The second is bondaweb to confetti before cutting it and the last is organza over confetti then cut back. on the night we'll be doing the tulle/ organza all over but I wanted to be able to show other ways it can be done.

[twiglet]

Rosemary,
What are the dimensions of those blocks that comprise the center portion? And, what is the finished dimension of your quilt? It is absolutely gorgeous. I can see why you love it.

The main blocks were 6" so the centre blocks ended up at 1" square. The whole thing is about 75-76" square and the quilting was all done with a walking foot except for the small flowers which I did on my hand crank which doesn't have one.

Sewing today but not quilts, I am putting patches on our 'new to us' tent. My new machine is handling the canvas with no trouble at all

[twiglet]

Thanks for the info. Have fun with your tent time. I've given up camping, my back just can't take it anymore. So I just walk a lot, like at the beach this morning.


Or around the neighborhood.

[twiglet]

Lovely flowers Luann

[Lorchen]

Wendy, I have been partnered with a lovely quilter called Shelley in New Mexico. 'A marriage made in heaven' comes to mind. We seem to have a lot in common, and have started chatting quite a lot. We use email, but also facebook. By becoming 'friends' on facebook we can see what the other one is up to.

So far we have not really decided what to do, and we are very much aware that we have to keep a lot secret, but I think it's going to be quite an obvious one for Shelley to take her inspiration from the the native indian, desert, New Mexican culture and environment, and I'm trying to channel Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest..

I have the feeling that Shelley and I will still be friends a long, long time after this challenge has finished.

Like so many things in life, you have to be quite pro-active to make it work. I haven't really discussed it with Shelley yet. So, if she reads this, it'll come as a surprise to her, but I'm planning to hop over the big pond in September 2018. The reason is a retreat with Ricky, but that means I won't be too far from New Mexico, and I'm going to try my best to meet in person.

The one thing I have been wondering about........ I might be a good idea to start a closed facebook group for this challenge. It would be so much easier to use than the forum. What do you think??

This is also going to be quite a tough job for me. I don't really do miniatures. Heaven knows how I slithered into this one.

[twiglet]

Lorchan, all you need to do is take one of your bishop's quilts and chop it in half for size. At 18"-24" square it is not a scary size at all.

I find it amusing that they currently have a short fall of American quilters needed for the group . Although it would be nice to get a partner from a different country that is not USA, _{speaking as a Brit}

[twiglet]

Thanks for your take on it Lorchen, let me know if you start a FB page or thread here. Your partner sounds great, how lucky you hit it off so soon.
I did suggest that Rosemary but it seems to be US based which I suppose TQS is

[genevacarroll]

Whew! I was off for a long weekend birthday party-ing with my sweetie and you all are burning up the lines! Nice!

Wendy, sorry about your finger, hope it's better. Dawn and Wendy I love your picks with beads. They are beautiful!

I joined the International Exchange last evening after reading your posts and have been assigned someone already. We just got home so I haven't reached out to her yet. But I will soon. It sounds like fun and it's good to stretch ourselves, right?

I know I am neglecting to mention so much, but I'm glad to see this thread lighting up. I missed you guys!

Take care, geneva

[twiglet]

Morning Geneva, one more off the list in front of me Look forward to hearing how you get on.

[lotti]

TQS IMQE: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
just read the guidelines and clicked JOIN on the international miniature quilt exchange...
as i won't have to submit the actual quilt till early next year i decided that i can join the fun - although i know i won't be doing much sewing this spring/summer/fall...
:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

fabulous stuff being made all around - sooooooo jealous want do try it all - but love looking too.
wendy: fingers are for using, for holding, for licking when chocolate being held has melted, for looking after and comforting, for all kinds of things - but definitely NOT for putting a sewing machine needle through! yes - i know it happens - have done it too - now generally more careful (generally). very glad it was saveable and you can already do stuff with it! love those pin-thingies - looking great - another thing i want to try...

saying goodbye for a while...
as most of you know by now - I'll be moving in june - and off for a vacation in canada for almost a month before that... so I won't be around for a while as I need to get myself organized...
now -> 18. May: clear out and give away more stuff / pack everything else - just keeping what is absolutely necessary to live
bring my sewing machines for their big service / work - and get things organized for the spring/summer exhibitions / pack for vacation
19. may: get my hair done / bring luggage to railway station and do early check-in
20. may: hop on plane / hello montreal / hello terrie & walter
21. may: hop on train for ottawa
...
17. june: hop in plane for switzerland
18. june: try to stay awake until evening - get some fresh air
19. june: get key to new apartment ...
20.-25. june: get caught up on work and do the last of the packing
26. june: move
27. june: clean the old apartment
28. june: say goodbye to two workmates - one is leaving the company and the other is going off on maternity leave
29. june: check apartment is really clean and turn over keys
summer: get new apartment organized / at work try to do a 5-person job with 3 people for the next month or so while hopefully working in someone new...
september: hope to be back here

the state of my livin-/sewing room right now (yes my lizards are still hanging - and they'll stay up as long as possible - absolutely necessary for survival mode


What will be my new apartment as it was yesterday morning - joe is also in the midst of moving...







My new view (unfortunately it was raining and cloudy yesterday so you can't see the mountain... or the lake
the green hill you see is actually the foot of mount Rigi - the queen of mountains ... you'll get a good picture with an actual view in july - i hope

[Scoopie]

Wendy, sorry about your finger, that sounds so painful! I've not done that one yet, though I've gotten a sewing needle stuck in a safety pin once......

You all are making me curiouser and curiouser about the Mini Exchange.....Wendy, am I reading correctly you are still on the waiting list to be paired with a US person? There aren't enough of us US folks signing up...? Maybe I'd better take another peek at the guidelines.....eek! You all make it sound so tempting!

I am busy busy busy neglecting my rows and finishing a quilt I hope to enter into a show. I started on the quilting yesterday, right now just doing stitch in the ditch but as it's composed of a zillion pieced hexagons (each hexagon being pieced from 3 house shapes, and then all those pieced together, and then appliques on top of it....) it is a LOT of seams! Egads. I've never actually did the whole "every single seam" thing before. Slow going! But it must be done to reinforce all those Y seams and outline the appliques and......the "real quilting" will come when I finish this part. Spending every spare moment on it, and then some....soon as I finish I'll catch up on all my rows.

Lotti, have a safe vacation, travel, work, move, etc, and we'll see you again in September! Pop in here & there if you get the chance, we'll all miss you.

Okay, back to work for me.....

[Scoopie]

Wow, Wendy! You jumped on the beaded stiletto fast! Your toothpicks look great! You will enjoy the metal turkey skewers, too. They can be used for picking out stitches, and other things that require a really sharp point. And, thank you so much for the descriptions on your confetti quilts. I will have to try the fused method, and the organza. I always like to try new techniques. You never know when they will come in handy.

Lotti, good luck with the move, and remember to leave the heavy stuff to the "helpers". Take care of yourself! And, have a super vacation! Sounds like you have a really full schedule for the next few months! And, your new little town is adorable! Love the lake and mountains! Looks like where I live, except the architecture of the buildings is totally different.

Good to see your face again, Lorchen! And, I'm glad you are happy with your exchange teammate! You too, Joyce!

Hello, Geneva! I was wondering where you were! Thanks for the spring flower picture, Luann. And, Rosemary........are you making fun of us, over on this side of the pond?

Dawn

[eileenkny]

I'm getting very interested in the IMQE, but I am scared of not following through. What to do? :unsure: Lorchen, I do like the idea of a FB group. I think the interaction would be faster, although I do want to be a loyal member here. Oh, what the heck! Let me go click "Join"!