Do you like a good quilty challenge?

 My quilting retreat is coming up next month, so I thought I should work on our "challenge". We play several different games during the retreat, playing for fat quarters and another specified size of fabric (2.5" sq, 5" sq, 2.5" x 6.5" rect. 2.5" strips to name a few). That second piece of fabric changes from time to time and has a catch....we have to make something out of our winnings before the next retreat. Last time, we played with 10" sq. I ended up with 22 of them. That's actually enough to make a quilt, but I decided to make some smaller projects instead.

My first project was a Boxy Corner Pouch. I like this cute, Craftsy pattern. It's easy to adjust and make larger or smaller sizes too. So perfect for this one.

I took 4 of the 10" sq. and made a 4-patch. Then I cut several strips from the sides, moving them to the opposite sides of the center 4 -patch for an interesting, patchy look.

 It was fun playing around with it like that!  Next I quilted it using a cute stripe for the inside and a simple line design, not worrying if the lines were completely straight and perfect.

 It's a little longer than some of the others I made, but I just went with the size it turned out after cutting, sewing together, and quilting.

 I like it and they make great gifts if I end up with too many! Now what should I make with the other 18 sq. We decided to exchange 3" sq. at our next retreat.

 I re-covered my tabletop ironing board before the family sew-in last week. It was burnt up and ugly, so I found this cute cat fabric to brighten it up. I know it will get burnt up too, but since I bought it a long time ago and haven't used it, I figured I could enjoy it while it does last. Do you make or buy covers for your board?

I spent some time tonight prepping for Saturday's Super Tote class. I think I'm ready!

Quilting Retreat Challenge...who's up for it?

 At the last retreat, we played games using fat quarters and 5" sq. We issued a challenge about the using the 5" sq. in a project before the next retreat. Well, it's coming up in a few weeks, and guess who hadn't done anything with hers....yea...so I got them out the other day and pondered. I only had 13, so it wasn't going to make anything too large.

 I decided to make an even square as I should be able to think up something to do with a square. So I cut 3 more 5" sq. (don't worry, it's allowed!). Should I lay them out evenly or unevenly?

 I decided on this and sewed them together.

 I thought about lots of ways (ok, a few different ways) that I could cut the square to make something else and decided to crosscut it on the diagonal. There were only a few ways I could lay it out after cutting and this is one of them. At this point I'm thinking that it will be a table topper.

 Then I realized that I could make two smaller squares instead of one large sq. so I played with that for a bit. You can see in the first pairings, the yellow and the purple corners wouldn't have been pieced. So I switched them around.

 That's better.

 Here are both of the squares laid out.

  I thought about sewing them together to make a rectangle, but then what did I really have? It was sort of a genius plan to have two squares anyway because I could have a front and a back, both pieced. So I got a piece of cotton batting and and sandwiched them together, with the front and back right sides together on top of the batting. I left an opening to turn it and flipped it right sides out.

 After pressing and closing the opening, I decided to do some simple quilting to hold all the layers together.

 I also top-stitched around the edge. Now it's 12" mat to set hot dishes on or whatever you want it to be. Is it the most beautiful thing I've ever sewn? No.

But it's a great reminder of the retreat and quilting fun! This time, we are playing with 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" rectangles. Should be interesting!

Talk about challenges....

I took my challenge bag from the fabric swap I did with friends a few months ago along on my retreat. You might remember that we all brought fabrics of different sizes with the guidelines and we had to make something out of it. I had some trouble deciding what to make plus have been busy with other things. So I decided it was time to get busy on it.

I cut it all into 2 1/2" strips and then cut those into half hexies. I sewed them into 2 long braids, then cut each in half. I had about 36" of braid in each row after trimming.

I had taken white along to put in between the rows. I think it adds some clarity to the busyness of all those scraps.

I like it! I hadn't taken along anything to border it with, but when I got home last night I tried out several fabrics I had here.

So far this is the winner. It's a reddish paisley. I don't think I want anything multicolored, though not sure.

Here is a close up of the design, though the color isn't right in this picture. It's not this goldish.

Cindy is in the same challenge group and I posted pix of her blocks in progress awhile back. She finished her blocks and put them together on retreat. We all loved it!

Now for our RETREAT challenge.....

We like to play games while on retreat. We play the L-C-R dice game with fat quarters. It's fun and someone ends up with 6 fat quarters at the end of each game. We also play Trader's Dice, which is fun because there are no losers....everyone ends up with whatever you are trading. Last year we each took 10 width of fabric 2 1/2" strips, cut them in half and played with them every time we played Trader's Dice. The challenge came after we got home...using them to make a project that we would show at the next retreat. I procrastinated until about a month ago, but made this cute snap bag with mine. It's got the strips in the lining too. I used them all and didn't use any other fabric except for the point in front.

Diana made each of us a soothing eye patch that can be heated or frozen .  They are filled with good smelling scent and flax seed.

Rose made this cute quilt sign for her quilt room.

Here is Dianne's bag....she had it started so it was her first finish on the retreat.

Cindy finished hers on the retreat too. We all loved it...and thought she did such a good job that she could make each of us one too.

I will share more of my retreat pictures through the week. 

Ahhhh.....retreat....

 Our retreat is in full swing and we're having a great time. I worked on finishing the mystery quilt, so I worked in another room most of yesterday to keep the mystery a secret. I was glad to have the blocks put together late in the afternoon so I could join the others. I could hear all of the conversation, but wanted to join in. It was a great motivator!

They were busy all day! Diana is working on a sampler quilt...she really wants to finish it this morning.

Dianne made a microwave bowl....and finished her challenge project.

We swapped 2 1/2" half strips last time, so challenged ourselves to make something...I forgot to take pictures of all of them, so I will do that later, but here are Cindy and Dianne's projects!

Cindy finished her challenge project....

nice!

Rose is working on her ZigZag quilt. She got the blocks put together already this morning, but I don't have a picture of it yet.

I made two microwave bowl potholders....I love them! You can get the pattern here.

I also started cutting the fabrics from my OTHER  challenge...so will be working on it soon. Breakfast is ready...gotta go!