Friday was a Sewing Sensation!

 I hiked on Friday morning, then did Pilates...after a salad and a hot bath I sewed and sewed and sewed.  I started out with the 35th Ave. BOM for February.  Got it done just under the wire!  Today I picked up the one for March.

 I am super happy to say  am motivated to finish off a bunch of my UFO's!  So I pulled out these Pineapple Blossom blocks from a 2015 workshop I got to go to with Bonnie.  Such fun blocks, not sure why I waited so long to get them done!  Now I have a baby size quilt ready to quilt!

 I also did the Rainbow BOM for March in red.  This is Straits of Mackinac.  Loving it!

Linking up with Angela at SoScrappy for the RSC!

I also finally dragged out the Playing with Jacks blocks from the Tuscon workshop about four years ago!  I had decided to do these blocks in modern fabrics....however when I got going I realized I did not really have enough contrast in some of my blocks and he greys really faded in and the design did not show up really well.  So they languished away for a few years.  I finally decided to take the two worst offenders out and to make six more blocks that contrasted better.  And here you have it.  Works for another baby quilt!  

SEW fun to knock two more quilts off my UFO list (well not entirely as they need quilting and binding but forward progress!).  

Today we got our March blocks from 35th Ave and had lunch with BJ.  We ran a bunch of errands and went and celebrated my nephew Colton's 4th birthday!  To top it off we headed to the casino for the first time in forever!  We won!  Kathy lost 40 bucks (plus the free 15 they have her).  I played my free 15 and won about 95...so we netted 55!  Happy campers!

Tuscon Day Three: My Blue (Purple) Heaven!

While Ros was at breakfast, BJ, Andrea and I loaded up the cart and loaded up the truck.  Some of our stuff was at the church in the sewing room, locked up tight so we didn't even have it all and two of us had rollies besides all this.  Yes sewing retreats, especially with show and tell of quilts, requires WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! 

For the "My Blue Heaven" workshop Bonnie also demoed how to use the rulers (Easy Angle and Companion Angle) and also did sewing demos.  I have made lots of Bonnie quilts and have used these rulers often, but the Easy Angle has always confounded me.  We finally came up with a way to use it with decent success, but after listening to Bonnie explain that you start out (if you are right handed) with the words right side up and use the ruler from the bottom to measure, then after cutting you pretend it has hinges on the right side of the triangle and you flip it over and cut again.  Then repeat, lots.  I cannot tell you how many minutes I have wasted trying to remember how to use this ruler each time I sit down with it.  Guess I should have read the directions, or maybe I did, but Bonnie's SIMPLE explanation and demo was the first little gem I picked up.   There were more...

Very early in the day--since it was Valentine's Day--a delivery showed up for me!  Kathy sent me a dozen chocolate covered strawberries which I shared with those at my table at lunch time.  They were delicious!  She also got me an ipod (I finally want one!) and a Packer phone cover, though I already switched back to my otter box because I am used to it!

This is my first puss block!  Now to do enough to fill this quilt!

For this workshop a few of the gals from the day before were not here and a few new ones came in.  In the shuffly of it all, Andrea lost her spot but happily she fit in at our table.  We each had a full table to work at, and it was actually too much room!  So here she and Maria are with their first blocks!  Andrea is newer at quilting and is working on Celtic Solstice, but she sews beautifully already!
The day FLEW by, seriously I didn't feel well in the morning (little migraine) and Bonnie had some kind of bug herself.  After lunch we had show and tell again!

Love this bright Lazy Sunday!

Celtic Solstice!

Zuckerwatte, not sure if I am spelling that right...cotton candy!

Already forgot this gal's name but her husband is from Racine, Wisconsin and is a Packer fan!  What a small world.  We had a chat at lunch and I will have to ask Jacki her name because she sat across from her both days!  Mary maybe?

Crabapples...not sure if that is the name of that one, I might have to make it one day.  And Auntie's Anvil, which I have in a slightly smaller size.  Love that...and it is the same layout as Playing with Jacks!

Some pictures of everyone's blocks.  So many great color choices.  I don't think you can go wrong with this pattern!

I made a few more than this at the workshop.  I was on a roll with the puss blocks, but was slower with the star blocks!  Bonnie convinced me (as many quilters have tried previously) to stop using my mat to measure when I cut.  I now know how to correctly cut fabric with my ruler and think I am going to be happier with my sewing efforts in the future.  I mean what good is getting my quarter inch seam right if my fabric is off when I start sewing?  Lesson learned!  Bonnie also showed us how to do the flying geese and doing it her way seriously improved my geese!  No more starting anywhere and not matching things up the Bonnie way!  I was amazed at the accuracy of things now that I know there is a way to do it right.  :)

On day two, Andrea sat with Maria and I and we had so much fun getting to know each other.

Above are Andrea's blocks--which we decided look like Delft dishes!  Below are Maria's blocks.  My new favorite color is turquoise.  Beautiful!

This was great workshop, I am still Bonnie's #1 Fan!!!

Tuscon Day Two: Playing with Jacks Quiltville Workshop!

 Guess who is all set up for the Playing with Jacks Quiltville Workshop??  ME!!!  Another bucket list item got checked off on Thursday.  We had plenty of space and only 24 ladies to share Bonnie with!

 Here is Jacki already hard at work!

 Bonnie gave us cutting and sewing demos.  She loved this pink machine!  It was absolutely to die for!

 I decided to use my modern fabric in all colors just to be different.  And my blocks were different alright.  This is the first completed block.

Here are some more.

Bonnie wanted to see my Ring Around the Hexies in person, so I laid it out on the floor with what was done to that point.  Only one and part of a second hexie is attached to the quilt.  The rows are put together except where three of the black blocks touch since I want to applique them before I put the rest of it together.  Bonnie thought it was great and wants to share a picture to Mickey's wall.  I am hoping to finish this top this weekend. 

The ladies did show and tell and we saw some gorgeous quilts!

 

This is Maria in the green sweater.  She sat across from me both days and we really clicked!  It was nice to make a new friend who loves quilting and Quiltville's quilts!  She is showing her Christmas Lights quilt.  I think she said it was her first Quiltville quilt and her first scrappy quilt.  I love it!

Maria also makes a quilt for a raffle every year with the proceeds going to a women.  This blue piece is her background, she will be appliquing a woman and other things on it. 
Such a generous gal!

This is Ann Marie with her quilt.

Bonnie showed us a bunch of different layouts.  Since my modern colors were kind of muted I wasn't over the moon with my blocks.  I tired out a few of them thinking the zig zag would be modern and would look best, but nope!

Maria's Blocks above.

Here is BJ hard at work! 

This is Karen, she is a really nice gal.  I am aweful with names so I hope I am getting the few I did learn right! 

Honestly this gal's turquoise was my FAVORITE color wise!  What a nice pattern you get from the way she did it!

Here are some of the layouts Bonnie showed us. 

Here are some of mine to see what works. 

I eventually decided the best way to go was this Barn Raising layout with black, then grey, then black, then gray.  At least there is something besides blah to be seen.  This quilt will be small and may wind up as a baby size quilt for Colton for at work with his mom.  She mentioned he needs one and this might fit the bill...lol warehouse floor quilt!

I did get around and take pictures of other peole's blocks.  No idea who made what really.

One gal even did them in Christmas fabrics.  I thought that was a great idea.

Of course we had to go to SAS!  Maria joined us.  It was a blast! 

  I loved the boot Bonnie's drink came in at dinner!

Here are all of us, except me after eating some great food!

Maria is from Tuscon, so she recommended this place for dinner and came along to eat.  It was fun getting to know her more and for the rest of the group to get more time talking to her, since they were farther away from her during the workshop the first day.  Dinner was delicious!  I had prime rib!

Kathy made Bonnie this sign, Bonnie loved it and will be hanging it in her new cabin above a door I think she said.

Here are all of my fabric purchases from SAS.  We were so excited to find out Tuscon had one!  We found all kinds of good deals--even Packer fabric!  Bonnie bought the bright orange one and what she didn't buy, I did.  I loved it and cannot wait to find a quilt to put it in!  And yes, I could not resist buying some more Denyse Schmidt fabric even though I have a huge shelf of it.  The price is $3.99 a yard at SAS.  I got all of this for 57 bucks!

So sorry I cannot edit this better with the pictures.  I am at work til midnight and somehow I can't do all the stuff Blogger does here.  :)