Retreat Prize and Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2025 Blocks

Retreat blocks

Goal number ten on my September list was to document the blocks and prize that I won at the Clark County Quilters Virtual Retreat. I like retreating for the camaraderie and inspiration of my fellow retreaters. Virtual retreats have spoiled me.

I have dietary issues which make eating at functions challenging. If I do eat a restricted food, it won't kill me; but, I sure won't feel well! Packing up my supplies, unpacking them, hoping that I've packed what I've needed, repacking them at the end of the retreat and unpacking them at home isn't fun. With a virtual retreat, I don't have concerns about meals and projects! Plus, I don't have to drive anywhere. There is the downside of not being able to shop hop on the way to and from the retreat though!

The prize

The charity blocks for this retreat will be stitched into a QoV. This was a Buggy Barn pattern from long ago. We were to use red, white and blue fabrics to make three stars. The fabrics were cut all at the same time so it was a matter of mixing and matching when stitching them.

I like how the stars float. Even with the directions, I found
putting the block together challenging! I do like the end result so I may try this block again. 

Then there were the games and the prizes. I liked that the prizes were notions and supplies like batting instead of fabrics. I was a winner of one game which was bobbin chicken. 

The prize

We were supposed to take a photo of the bobbin with the thread on it and then a photo with the thread measured. Four times I lost at the game because I used all of the bobbin thread. Finally, with a couple hours left in the contest, I was successful. My remaining thread was 2 3/8 inches. Second place was three inches and third places was 3 1/2 inches so it close. We didn't share our results, we sent a photo to one of the retreat chairs.

The prize was a box of Aurifil thread! I like the combination! Winning a prize was cool as it is rare that I win and thread . . .well, it couldn't have been more perfect prize for me!

String selvages made into squares

The retreat ended with fond farewells and yes, I made some new friends and caught up with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. I even made progress on my quilting project! It was a total win!

Two more blocks

Regarding the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color this month, Angela said to go back to the light and bright colors--blue and green! I went with green and orange! Why orange? I laid out the finished blocks and with the ones that I will finish next month, I needed two more blocks for the layout. I'll share the layout next month.

I started pulling selvages and with the projects that I finished this year, I had enough new orange and green selvages to piece the two blocks! It wasn't long until I had sewn the two blocks that I needed!

This was goal number seven on my September list.

Grow FINISHED--post 5

Diagonal lines. . .fail

 It's official. Grow is FINISHED! This was goal number 2d on my annual list. It was goal number two on my September list.

I was stuck for a bit of how to quilt the background behind the leaves so I asked you for your thoughts. I appreciated your responses! Nancy R. suggested quilting more circles to hide the blocks and emphasize the leaves. Vicki suggested quilting ghost leaves. Bonnie suggested vines. At my Friday Sit and Sew, Pat and Rosanne suggested diagonal lines. I was thinking trellis so I tried the diagonal lines.

I mirrored the spacing of the leaves; but, the lines felt too heavy. They didn't add to the piece. I removed the lines. I thought about free motion quilting small leaves in the space. Large ghost leaves, while a great thought, replicating them made the stem of leaves clunky. I didn't remember to take a photo!

The piece seemed to be saying that it wanted lines; but, Gertie was not interested in straight lines. Get is my inner squirrel. Bonnie's suggestion of vines made me think of a curved line. While I was pondering how to have a similar curve in the blocks, I remembered my stitch book.

Curved line with machine embroidery stitches.

With my first Bernina 790, I stitched out all of the embroidery stitches in various widths and lengths on muslin that was stabilized. I put the finished sheets into clear sheet protectors and stored them in a three ring binder. I looked at different stitches and found one that I thought would work. It did. I had altered the stitch I chose making it wider and longer than it was designed.

Page from the stitch book

If I had been more mindful and started the stitching a bit further from the left and right edge of the block, I wouldn't have had a gap in the center. I tried filling in the gap with another line of curved stitching. Gertie and I both agreed that was not the right approach.

Feather stitch

After I had stitched all the curved lines, I chose another embroidery stitch. This time, I used the stitch as it was designed. I thought the feather stitch represented the leaves on the stem well. I thought that I would repeat this stitch in the leaf stems; but, both the green thread and the stitch did nothing for the stems.

Thread used for the project sans the blue

Instead, I used a dark blue thread and stitched a straight line through each stem. At this point, I had finished the quilting. I used three threads on the top. I used the purple thread in the bobbin.

I estimate that I used 10 yards in this project. All of it came from stash. I have now used 10 yards of fabric from my stash this month. For the year, I have used 93 yards and I have a net los of 28.25 yards for the year.

Quilt back

This sleeve was one I used on a project and then removed it because I decided that I wanted the orientation of the quilt vertical instead of horizontal. The leaf print fabric fit the theme of the quilt. I did use machine embroidery stitches to quilt the background as a nod to the brush strokes vanGogh used in his work.

The label

This project will be my submission for the book, "The Secret Life of Sunflowers" by Marta Molnar. It is a historical fiction book with one story line about how Vincent vanGogh's widowed sister in law works to promote his art. The leaves reminded me of sunflower leaves. Finishing a started project was a bonus!

I will be gifting this quilt; but after the quilt show next fall!

Quilt front

Previous posts of this project are:the creation of the top-- post 1; the tutorial of basting a quilt--post 2; Beginning the ditch quilting--post 3; Quilting decisions--post 4. The project started in 2023 as a Positively sew along with Preeti Harris who blogs at Sew Preeti Sew. I'm linking to Oh Scrap and Sew and Tell. 

Gifted Quilt

The bride and groom

I have a niece who loves the color purple. Years ago, I made a two color mystery quilt that was purple and lime green. I set it aside to gift it to her as a wedding gift. In July, she married her best friend. 

The gift area. . .note the lime green package

My niece is an honest to goodness cowgirl. Her wedding reflected her love of ranching. She and the love of her life, are so happy together. They were filled with joy and exuberance on their special day!

Back made from the leftover

Regarding the two color mystery quilt, I added a second label that listed their names and washing instructions. Best of all, I gifted it in a pillow case of coordinating fabrics. I''m sure that they didn't receive a second gift like this one!

The front

I hope it will warm them both when they need it! Documenting this quilt's forever home was goal number three on my September list. Linking to Finished or Not Friday and Patchwork and Quilts.

Paris Highlights Through the Eyes Of An 11 Year Old

This is the final post regarding the trip that J, my ll year old granddaughter and I took last July/August. Since J was the last one in her family to visit Auntie in London, Auntie and I decided that J should visit someplace before her sister. . .we decided a trip to Paris, France was just the ticket. We tried to surprise her about the trip; but, a well meaning friend dropped the trip in conversation.

Capturing a night photo of the Eiffel Tower

J loved seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up a night. From so many places in Paris, you can see the Eiffel Tower.

The Paris Cauldron

She thought that the Paris Cauldron, which is a helium powered balloon that debuted at the Olympics in 2024, was super cool. It has been retrofitted so that can be used year around. We found it in the Tuileries Garden.

Taking in the architecture of the Louvre

When we walked by the Louvre, J waved to Mona as in Mona Lisa. She wanted to spend her time outside and not in a museum.

Charcuterie bowl for dinner

We had charcuterie from a deli for dinner one night. It was delicious. It is more fun to eat at a neighborhood spot rather than a formal restaurant. J liked the variety of meats and of course the baguette that went with it! 

J on the river tour

We took a river tour on the Seine and learned a lot more about the bridges that I had heard on previous trips

Door into Notre Dame

We visited Notre Dame and it is just as beautiful as it was before the fire.

Sitting for a portrait

We visited Montmartre and J sat for a portrait. We walked around the Basilica of Sacre Coeur. We enjoyed a lunch and a sherbet while we enjoyed the sights. We even took a ride on a carousel!

Galettes

We had lunch at friends of Auntie. R made us galettes or savory crepes. He shared the recipe and I look forward to making them.

Dessert

That night for dinner, we went to "le Relais de l'Ebtrecôte." It opened in 1959. There are a variety of drinks, desserts; but, the menu is a walnut salad, fries and sirloin steak with a special secret green sauce. There is no take out, no reservations and no delivery options. We arrived 45 minutes before the restaurant opened and we waited in line an hour and a half before we were seated. That is how popular the restaurant is! I didn't take photos of the steak. . .how could I have forgotten? It was delicious. I did get a photo of the dessert sherbet.  When we left the restaurant, the line was just as long as when we had entered! 

Waiting for the train

We did have a challenge taking the train back to London. Our train was canceled due to a signal issue. We arrived at the train station about 9:30 for a 11:00 departure. There were a lot of people who were stuck like us. N found us seats on a train that left at 2:00. The challenge was that none of the seats were together and only two were in the same car!

N kept checking to see if there was a way we could get our seats closer together; but, with the upset in the schedule, there were no available options. I did ask one of the train attendants what happened to the staff that were supposed to be on our 11 am train. She told me they too had been waiting! I told her how sorry I was and how tired she must be dealing with cranky passengers AND she still had to work while I was going to be sitting in a comfy seat! 

She then told us that two people hadn't checked in for the car that the two seats were in. Lucky for us, they didn't show. I sat across the aisle from N and Miss A. J sat in front of the car in the seat she was assigned. She liked having space to herself. The delay made for a long day as there aren't a lot of activities that can be done to exercise an active 11 and three year old in a train station! 

All in all it was a great trip.

Response to Melva--Top Notch

Playing with a shape & filling it with stitches

Melva, at Melva Loves Scraps, posted last week about being a top notch blogger. Her blog was voted #81 in the top 100 blogs! She said she was sent a few questions and asked to answer them as if in an interview. 

Then she asked if anyone wanted to play along. I thought, why not? So I jumped in to participate. Melva sent me five questions to answer and to share in a biog post. Her questions are in bold.

*Have you had any major quilting/sewing successes that you’d like to share with us? (Please toot your own horn!)

Not really. 

More shapes and filler stitches

I once won first place in small quilts when the Machine Quilters Exposition show was held in Portland, Oregon. For the last couple of years, I've stitched and awarded a Quilt of Valor to a veteran. Each presentation has warmed my heart. 

What brings me the most joy is being part of small quilting groups where there is laughter, sharing 

Detail of the filler stitches in the border

and even some quilting! I've made dear friends, picked up  great tips on subjects other than quilting and have been helped when a project has stymied me!

 *Are/were you influenced by family members to get into quilting and have you passed on the love to the next generation?  

Detail of center filler stitches

No to the first question. I've tried regarding the second question.

My great grandmother (my granddad's mom on my mom's side) made at least one quilt. I know because I have a quilt that her sewing circle gifted her Dresden plate blocks when she moved from Kansas to Oregon in the 1930s. I do have a hexagon project she started and hand pieced a number of blocks which I haven't looked at in years.

Detail of one of the motifs

Another great grandmother (my grandma's mom on my mom's side) didn't sew; but she did have someone make quilts for her great grandkids. I wore out a Sunbonnet Sue that she had gifted me. I also have a quilt her family made her when she left Nebraska to live in Idaho in the 1930's.

View of another motif against the ray background

A third great grandmother (my granddad's mom on my dad's side) did quilt; but I don't remember seeing quilts when I visited. In a crazy set of circumstances, I have a grandmother's flower garden top that she pieced which came to me through my mother in law! One of these days, I look forward to finishing it!

I didn't see quilts being made when I was growing up. When I was about 12 my mom quilted a comforter for my bed. 

I enjoyed quilts; but I wasn't drawn to making one until 1980 when I made one for our bed because I was freezing! In 1982, I made a quilt for my brother as a wedding gift. Then, I was hooked! 

Back of Quilt

While I have certainly tried to infect my daughters and granddaughters with the quilt pox, I haven't been successful.  . .yet. Perhaps, the virus is latent and will show up later in their lives. Our youngest daughter made one quilt when she was 10 years old.

After our oldest daughter married, she made at least two quilts which she gifted as baby quilts. The two older granddaughters, aged 11 and 13, have each made two quilts. I still have a chance with our youngest granddaughter who is three!

Front view

I've also taught free motion quilting numerous times to members of my quilt guild and English paper piecing to members in another guild. I even lectured about how to be inspired when faced with a challenge of creating a quilt after reading a book! Through those experiences, I hope that I was able to spur the love of machine quilting, handwork and/or design to at least one person!

 

*How do you learn best? Reading/Lessons, watching, a mentor…..

Being able to take a class, try the technique, receive feedback, try the technique again and teach it to someone.

 

*Early Bird or Night Owl?

Definitely, Early Bird!

Growing up on a farm/ranch meant we were up before dawn to do chores. During the day, there was always plenty of work which we did until it was dark. Life was never boring even though we had some similar routines. We were too tired to have sleepless nights! It's been almost 50 years since I lived full time on the farm. The early to rise and early to retire routine, however, continues.

 

2022 and 2023 Temperature quilt

*What quilt are you most proud of? Why?

I'm most proud of my "Bursting with Joy" quilt. I planned to gift it to my first grandchild. I stitched it to capture the joy I felt when I learned I was going to be a grandmother. I made up free motion filler stitches which stretched my comfort zone and got me into a whole new box! To achieve the electric neon color, I used neon threads and stitched over the design as many as four times. It is about 41 inches square and all but the last photo are of that quilt that I made in 2012.

The quilt, however, wasn't what my daughter wanted. It was a whole cloth quilt with bright colored quilting stitches on a black background. I've kept it and have enjoyed hanging it a month or two during the year. That oldest granddaughter is now 13! Someday, she will get that quilt. 

What's next?

Now, I'm nominating Alycia at Quilty Girl and Frédérique at Quilting Patchwork Appliqué to play along. I'll e-mail them some questions and we will get to review their answers in one of their posts. They will also each nominate two to three bloggers to play too. 

Just like the chain letter from the past, maybe it will work and maybe it won't. Whatever we get will be great! I have no doubt that we will uncover an emerging top notch blogger in the process! Thank you, Melva for getting me out of my comfort zone!

To stay on track with my monthly goals, I did layer and pin baste my two year Temperature quilt 2022 and 2023. it was goal number nine on my September list. Linking to Finished or Not Friday, Patchwork and Quilts; Oh Scrap and Sew and Tell!

London Through the Eyes on an 11 Year Old--post 5

View of one wall of the coffee shop

One place J wanted to visit was a particular coffee shop. At 11, she doesn't like the taste of coffee; but, this shop makes great dairy free smoothies. That was not the reason that she wanted to go there. She wanted to go because she wanted to see for herself what the hype was all about.

More eclectic trinkets

The shop is Fuckoffe. It is pronounced Fu coffee. The link will tell you about the origins of the shop. My family has laughed because there was a time that my drink of choice there was a smoothie with banana, non dairy milk and coffee. It had a name that I could not say. I rarely swear and if I do, I don't use the F word. I've noticed Londonners seem to use that word or some derivative of it it  often in a conversation. 

Example of the souvenir shirt

My daughter, who has no issues with that word, would order for me. If I went to the shop on my own, I would point to the item and say that I'd like that option with oat milk. The barista would say. . ."Oh, one MotherF* with oat milk coming up!" Even that would make me blush. This blushing action delighted the members of my party.

J with her berry smoothie

Now, my drink of choice is an iced Americano with oat milk. There is no need to utter a profanity! J ordered a berry smoothie which she enjoyed. She did purchase a shirt. 

The other activity that J enjoyed was seeing a performance of Wicked put on through the London Theater. She and her auntie attended the event. She convinced her auntie to purchase a souvenir sweatshirt for her from the event. All in all, London was a great place to vacation!

Next week, I'll share a couple of highlights of our trip to Paris. That will be my last travel post!

Recap August and September 2025 Goals

Where did August go? I can't believe it is time to recap what I did and what I plan to do in September!

Sweet Tooth Label

My Annual Goals are:

✒1. Have a net loss of 100 yards of fabric from my stash.

✒2. Finish six UFOs

✔ a. Temperature 2021--pin basted and ditched quilted started in January;  progress made in February. Almost finished the quilting in March. Completed the project in April. Hooray!!!! 

b. Temperature 2022-2023

✒c. Martha's House blocks--purchased backing in May; determined a quilting design in August;

Binding Sweet Tooth

✒d. Positively Grows--pin basted in February; started ditch quilting in July, finished in August. Yay! It will get the check mark after I document the finish next month!

✔e. Maze top--purchased backing in May; longarmer quilted and I added the binding, sleeve and label in June!

f. Butterfly number four 

Fabric Summary:

Fabric in this month:  6 yards   

Fabric in year to date: 64 3/4 yards

Fabric used from stash this month:  0 yards 

Fabric used from stash year to date: 83 yards

Net loss/gain this month:  6 yards

Net loss/gain year to date: -18.25 yards  

I did finish two projects this month. Next month, I'll document those finishes and update this information.

More string blocks made for Grassy Creek

Books:

My favorite listen of the month was: In the Shadow of the Greenbrier by Emily Matchar. Who knew that foreign diplomats at the beginning of WWII were housed in an inn?  My favorite read of the month was: The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods. Likely being in Paris when I read this book had an impact on my decision! 

Quilting progress on Stitch By Stitch

My August goals were:

✒1. Share my progress with the Triple Treat Leader Ender project. (Post is written.)

✔2. Make the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.

✔3. Sew more 2025 Temperature quilt blocks. (I added another row to the project.)

✔4. Make progress on Grassy Creek.

✒5. Document gifting a quilt to my niece for her wedding.(Post is written.)

✔6. Begin documenting my trip to London, England. post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4

✔7. Document Rita's Rhododendron Trail becoming a top.

✔8. Bind and label Sweet Tooth.

✔9. Make progress on Stitch By Stitch.

✔10. Document one QoV presentation.

✔11. Make progress quilting Grow.

Another section of Stitch by Stitch quilted

All in all and considering I was out of the country for a week, it was a good month for progress! Making the QoV presentation was my highlight of the month! Alycia at Finished Friday or Not linked my QoV post in her Friday blog post! What a surprise and what an honor! Thank you Alycia!

My September goals are:

Progress on 2025 Temperature quilt

1. Document the finish of Sweet Tooth.

2. Document the finish of Grow.

3. Document the quilt that I gave my niece for her wedding in July.

4. Share my progress with the Triple Treat Leader Ender Project.

5. Continue documenting my recent trip to London, England and Paris, France.

6. Make progress on Grassy Creek.

7. Makc the Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks.

8. Make more 2025 Temperature Quilt blocks.

9. Layer and baste Temperature Quilt 2022-2023

10. Document the blocks I made during the July virtual retreat and the prize I won.

11. Make more progress on Stitch By Stitch.

12, Schedule a QoV presentation.

More stitching is in my future that is for sure! Linking to: Finished or Not Friday, Pathwork and Quilts, Oh Scrap and Show and Tell!