Retreat Projects

Here are pictures of the projects I worked on at the quilt retreat. Majority of the items will be Christmas gifts. To see projects by my friends, read this post over at the Jersey Girl Quilters Blog:

This bag of Dye It Treats (above) turned into this quilt top (below)

Annual Quilting Retreat in the Poconos

A couple of my quilting pals and I recently spent a week in the Pocono Mountains sewing, quilting and relaxing. This was our third year doing this and it gets better each time. This years adventure was at Ski Side Resort in Tannersville, PA. It is really gorgeous up there this time of year. Here are some pictures of the surroundings:




This is a view of the living room from the loft. We pushed all the furniture against the walls to set up our sewing tables.

A view from the loft of our sewing set up.

Wrap Me Up Shawls

I took a class during the springat Woolbearers, my LYS for this shawl, the Wrap Me Up pattern by Chris de Longpre of Knitting at Knoon. I have been wanting to do this shawl for a long time now. And since this shawl required a lot of knitting I decided to do two at a time, one for me and one for my mom.

The Yarn for the first shawl is Noro Kuryeon, colorway172 and Cascade 220, colorway. The yarn for the second shawl is Plymouth Boku, colorway 3 and Cascade 220, colorway 2240. I used size 8 circular needles for both shawls.

I started the project on May 12 and finished August 5. A lot of knitting but an enjoyable pattern.

I'm Ready for Fall

I made an assemble of bags for fall: handbag, tote bag, lunch tote, iPad case, eyeglass case, wallet and purse. Fabric bought at Olde City Quilts:

Tote: no pattern, just winged it.
Purse: Atkinson Designs Cash N Carry Pattern
Wallet: Scrap Bags Easy Zip Wallet

Pleated Tote Pattern by Jen Giddens.

WestKnits Mystery KAL

I participated in the WestKnits Mystery Shawl KAL over at Ravelry. Name of the pattern: Earth & Sky, by designer Stephen West. Yarn used: Punta Yarns Feather Spaced Dyed purchased from Woolbearers. Used size 4 needles.

Miscellaneous Projects

A few projects done over the past few months:

Juliet Bag - made during a sew a long with my quilting pals, the Jerseygirl Quilters.

An apron for my son Thomas. He likes to barbeque.

Quiltsmart Market Bag - made during a sew along with the Jerseygirl Quilters.

Leisure pants

More leisure pants

A Dora dress for my granddaughter AA.

A couple of crayon cases for my grandsons

PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL QUILT EXTRAVAGANZA XVIII

PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL QUILT EXTRAVAGANZA XVIII
September 15-18, 2011
Greater Philadelphia Expo Center
100 Station Avenue
Oaks, PA 19456

Quilting is Murder

A new mystery game that sounds like fun. I don't have a lot of free time, but I'm going to attempt to play. Click the badge to go check it out.

Cool Drinks For Hot Mama Apron Swap

Many thanks to Tammy for my pretty in pink reversible apron and all the accompanying goodies. I especially love the recipe drink cards. Bear with these pictures please, my four year old grandson took them:

Here is the package that I did for Donna:

And the accompanying goodies. I embroidered the towels, thought they were appropriate "cool drinks".

My Favorite Bag

I took this bag class this weekend at The Village Quilter. Patti, one of my quilting buddies joined me. The pattern is called My Favorite Bag. I really like this bag and will make another one, perhaps a bit smaller.

I modified the pattern a bit. I made the handles a little bit longer.

There were a few lessons learned from this project.

1-) Do not use directional fabric for the outer pocket.
2-) Find a different way to do the handles because turning them is very difficult.
3-) The machine walking foot because the layers are thick and will shift.

The pattern contained instructions for a clutch or wipes case. I made one up with the leftover fabric. I decided to give the bag and case to a family friend who recently had a baby. She can use as a diaper bag or a tote bag.