Back to Reality

All the fun and games are over. What a two weeks! First week to enjoy the 4^th with my family in TN.  

This past week was spent with my BS friends for a sewing retreat.

Yeah! Starting to set up!

We all made the same quilt pattern. I am not finished with mine yet so I will have to show you pictures later.

This is what happens when you skim read the directions!

Look close, you will see drawn lines from corner connecting with block point.

The block on the right the lines are not drawn correctly. Of course I did not notice it until I was finished drawing all 86 blocks! Thankfully I used Frixion to mark with so all I had to do was iron all the lines out and remark them.

Bless Athena’s heart; she cut them all wrong so her blocks ended up being an inch smaller than they were supposed to be. She had to make extra blocks to get the size, set the quilt blocks up on the design wall, took each row down one at a time and sewed the blocks into rows Thursday night. Friday morning she began to set up her rows to sew them together and she had turned every block sideways. Can you say Jack is your friend! (Jack the ripper)

 

We ate wonderful meals like this one brought by Ellen.

 

Mel, Greg, Athena, Ellen

I added this photo (what was left of dinner) to show you one of the pans of blueberries Greg picked in their back yard for Mel to make some pies.

 



 

My first finished RBR Experience (RBR) was from Lana's,  a shop by the Red Clay State Park in TN. In this park is a big pond that is called ‘The Blue Hole’.

 

Red Clay is where the soldiers ‘encamped’ the Cherokee Indians before the Indians had to WALK  the 'Trail of Tears' from TN to OK back in the 1800’s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears

 

I made 3 more zippy bags for me…(until I give them away).

 

As I was sewing the bags I kept commenting on how dull my needle was. I wanted to finish up the bags and then put a new needle in for the next sewing project. Well, that needle thought differently!:

 

The needle hit the zipper and just folded over!

The next RBR looked to be an easy one. Just cut and sew, how hard could that be?
 I opened the instruction packet from Chattanooga Quilts and started reading. Simple, until I saw WHAT I HAD TO CUT!

(Of course the other girls think I’m already crazy for doing this RBR so they started laughing while I was reading the cutting directions.) When I got to the line that said  cut (60) 1 ½” squares I asked for this:

 

My third finished RBR is my favorite so far from Hyder Hangout. I used to live near the Ocoee River which is what this row symbolizes.

 

The 1996 Olympic water sports were on the Ocoee and I was told the river scene from ‘Deliverance’ was filmed on the river.  www.ocoee-river.net

 

Boo Hoo, time to go…..

 NEVER throw your no good, damaged needles in the garbage!

Make a needle keeper.

Take an old pill container and remove the lid. Wrap a piece of muslin over the top held in place by a rubber band.

 

Poke a hole big enough to put needles into.

 

 

 

 When full, put the whole container in a baggie, close it, and THEN throw the whole container in the garbage.

***For Demo purposes I am showing you the inside of the container. DO NOT TAKE THE MUSLIN OFF THE CONTAINER!

I put the muslin back on the container and will put the whole container in a baggie to throw away.

Have a great week.

D.G. L