I'm in Retreat

Well, not exactly!  I'm going on our first Music City Modern Quilt Guild Retreat this weekend! Not just our guild's first, but my first!

  

I do quilt all the time.  Practically every single day.  This will be different.  Spending the weekend with a bunch of crazy fun, super talented and like minded people is going to be the best ~ EVER!!

I've spent the last couple days prepping.  Getting fabric cut, filling WIP bags, sorting through fabric. Little time has been spent on what to wear!  Because really...who cares?!  



I've remembered to pack my power cord and foot pedal, imagine forgetting those two things!

  

I have all my prints and solids (not shown) ready for another Denyse Schmidt quilt.  This time using her 'New Bedford' collection.  I think it'll be amazing!



I also decided Hazel needed to come along for the ride!  I've decided my couch would be spruced up with two pillows using Anna Maria Horner's 'Echinacea' fabric.  I think they will make a boring old couch pretty jazzy!

My color wheel's are in the mix!  I need a few more before I can hope to make something out of those 4" rainbow wheels!  

Stop me now!!!  I'm thinking of another project I would love to bring!  Yikes!  You would think were going to be gone a week!  We'll see how that plays out!  Kona Highlight is the star of that one!

We all have heard of or been the lucky recipients of Swag Bags, right?  Because the retreat is on the heels of QuiltCon, how could we...our guild...not have a Swag Bag?  Mind you it isn't as fancy or stuffed with fabric goodness, but it's the thought that counts!

Cute right?

My daughter designed the front of the tag, as for the back...well isn't it so true?  

Little treats, little goodies, little bits of love!

Off we go to Paris!  (Paris Tennessee!)  I'll report back on Monday!

Charity Sewing

Twice a year our local guild ~ Music City Modern Quilt Guild  has a charity sew.  We take the entire meeting and then some, to sew little tiny smocks for Vanderbilt Children's Hospital NICU.  These smocks are a way for us to give back to our community and to hopefully make a serious situation just a little bit more pleasant.  They are designed to go on easily and fit 3-5 lb. babies.  

The pattern is available on Craftsy ~ NICU Smock 

These smocks are so very small, cute as can be and they can be a challenge to make! 

The outside is cotton with a soft and snuggly flannel on the inside.  Our last Charity sew was right before Christmas, so we made a pile of Holiday smocks.  

There isn't much to putting these together.  Sew the shoulder seams and then stitch around the outside leaving a section to turn them right side out.  The toughest part about making these would be turning them!  It's a little challenging and I may have swore a time or two!

Once they are turned and ironed, we topstitch and add a couple of pieces of velcro.  

I wanted to finish these up for our last meeting, but we were having some crazy ice/snow weather (seems like everyone was) and had to cancel our meeting.  

I cannot imagine what a parent goes through having a baby in NICU. Thankfully there are many amazing hospitals that give these little ones a fighting chance.    

LINKING:

Sew Cute Tuesday 

Hand Dyed Workshop

Hand Dyeing fabric is so much fun!  I have been doing it for just over a year now.  It didn't take long to get hooked big time!  

Last year I joined a local quilt guild.  Music City Modern Quilt Guild.  Do you know how nice it is to hang out with a bunch of ladies who also love to quilt?!  They are such a fabulous, talented bunch of the sweetest people ever!

During a planning meeting there was interest in doing a hand dyed workshop for the following year.  I was asked if that was possible and of course I said yes!  Even though it was still new to me!  I was counting on and secretly praying that my daughter Britt would be there teaching the class!  She was the one who roped me into it!  Being a Fiber's Major...who better to head up the class?

Fast forward to August!  With the class fast approaching and me getting more nervous by the second, Britt and I conspired, cleaned, mixed and organized to make this class fun and informative.  

I had no idea we would have such a huge turnout!!  Beyond my expectations in every way! 

The day before we mixed up 20+ dye colors.  We didn't use them all.....just the basics for the class!  Mixing dye is a pretty big deal.  You certainly do not want to breathe in the dye powder!  Our usual mixing spot is outside.  We are not a big operation, but I do have a few fat quarter bundles that I offer in my Etsy shop!

Supplies

Bottles & Dye

Orange Crush!

Yummy Deep Purple!

My daughter, Britt! 

With our respirators on, we mixed a small fortune of beautiful colors!  Both for the workshop and future dyeing ventures!

Britt had on a beautiful hot pink and yellow face accessory, paired with some delightfully red saltwater sandals...she is stylin'!

Class Begins!

Our garage is the 'workshop studio' for this class!  It happens to be huge!  It functions as a dye studio, soap making factory, work out room, workshop, storage, ceramics~ oh, and yes we do house our cars in there too!

Britt began with the basics.  She showed some swatches of her own hand dyed fabrics so everyone could see the possibilities.  Each person brought 4 fat quarters of a pre-washed white cotton.  At this time, I will thank Stefanie Greenwood-Williams, owner of Cotton Bliss who so graciously brought fabric for most of the students!  The goal was for each person to leave with 4 different colors.  

With gloves on (except Jenny and Lindsay, who are the Rebels of the group!), we set about mixing those colors!  Everyone had a pretty good idea of what colors they were after.  Some light, some dark, some mixed!  I was so excited to see what every one came up with!  With so many beautiful colors, I am itching to get back into dye my own!

Britt did a fantastic job!  She knows what she is talking about, knows what makes an effective teacher/class, I knew I could count on her!  Honestly, I never ever in a million years could have done it on my own.  Never.  

I wish we had been able to get some pictures of every one's end results.  I think it was a successful class.  As long as everyone had fun, learned a little bit about hand dyeing, left with some usable fabric...what more could you ask for?!

Well maybe a beautiful bouquet of flowers!  Thank you Stefanie for bringing the Hydrangea's! Simply gorgeous!