Quilt Retreat progress report

Life has been a little nuts since I returned from quilt retreat two weeks ago. I’ve barely touched my sewing machine, which is why I love going to it twice a year for three days of completely uninterrupted sewing time.

I had a pretty hefty to-do list when I left, and I’m happy to say that I finished most of it.

The biggest accomplishment was finally finishing the last eight of 64 blocks for my Christmas New York Beauty. The day I left for retreat Facebook showed me a picture I had posted five years earlier when I started the quilt. I was sharing a photo of my first curved seam. Well 128 curved seams later, this quilt is finally ready to be pieced together into a complete top.

I also have been on a home decor kick recently. I was tired of these ugly, sky blue pillows I’d had since I graduated from college. They matched a slip cover that covered up an even uglier love seat I picked up at a garage sale when I was first working and had no money.

I took the class, Sew Luxury Fabrics: Pillows with Linda Lee on Craftsy. The class covers using fancy fabrics like silk and organza, but it also covers basic pillow cover construction, piping and how to keep your corner from being too pointy. You can click here to check it out.

I thought the instructions were great. and I was able to make four pillow in one night. And the bird fabric is so much better than the ugly sky blue.

I also made some progress on the sample for the next QAA fabric exchange. Other than this picture, I’ll tell you that we’re using batiks and strip piecing.