Back to sewing

After finishing my crocheted baby afghan I decided it was time to get the thread and needle out. I have been doing some hand piecing in the evenings and totally enjoying it. I also went into my sewing room and discovered that I was 6 signature quilts behind for the Thunder Bay Retreats. (During the retreats we ask the retreaters to bring a pre-determined amount of 5 inch squares of a certain color of fabric. We exchange the squares with the retreaters and each retreater gets to take a packet of squares home. I always get involved in the exchange. I also have each retreater sign a strip of fabric and I make a signature quilt from each retreat). I decided to pull some of the squares and signature strips out and see what I could get done. I ended up piecing, machine quilting and binding 5 of the signature quilts. It is amazing how much time you have when you can't drive. Steve went to work last Friday and my daughter-in-law Tasha wasn't available to take me anywhere so I stayed home all day and sewed and it was wonderful. In fact afer our dinner and evening walk I asked Steve if he minded if I went back into my sewing room for a little while. I believe his exact words were, "Oh hon, I think you are back!!" and he was excited.
I would love to know what you have done with square swap fabric, whether it was from a retreat here at Thunder Bay Resort or from somwhere else. Please post a comment and let me know what you have done with square swap fabrics.

Preparing for another retreat

Things get a little "hairy" around here when it is time to get ready for a retreat. I seem to have a bad habit of being "last minute Lucy". I really admire Karen and JoEllen for being right on the ball and getting an early start on putting together packets and so on. We have two retreat in August here at Thunder Bay Resort. Mark Lipinski makes a return visit and as of right now we only have a few openings for his Aug. 17 - 20 and Aug. 21 - 24 retreats. Sherrie Jaqua, pattern designer and owner of Sunshine Quilt Shop of Oscoda, MI will be here on Oct. 15 - 18 to do a Quilter's Murder Mystery Retreat. Sue Nickels will share tips and tricks on her award winning quilting on Oct. 22 - 25 and Jeanne Perrine will share her WOW bags on Nov. 5 - 8. During that retreat our resort staff will also be sharing some quick holiday gift ideas. I invite you to check out our web site for additional details. Reservations can be made with our reservationists at 800-729-9375.

Part of my therapy

I am almost 3 months into my recovery from surgery. My eye sight was affected so I have not really been interested in using a thread and needle. I thought about a crochet hook. About a month or so after I got home from the hospital I purchased a baby afghan pattern book and a skein of yarn. I studied the book for almost 3 weeks and decided that I am just not much for reading crochet patterns. There was a small sample pattern to demonstrate a ripple pattern. I doubled the chain stitch length and made a baby afghan. I am happy with the way it turned out.
Last week I decided it was time to get the thread and needle out. I worked on hand piecing some blocks that I started awhile ago. I also sat at my sewing machine and sewed a binding on to my Round Robin quilt. I hand stitched the binding down on the back of the quilt. When I can I lay out a finished quilt on my living room floor and we walk around it and admire it. Right now the Round Robin is laying on my living room floor and I have decided that I need to do a little more hand quilting on it. I will take a picture as soon as I get that done and post it here on the blog.
PS - Don't you just love the little Cabbage Patch Kids? I think they are so cute!!

I am back, well sort of!!

I have been on medical leave since the first part of April. I had an AVM in my brain and ended up with surgery. I spent 16 days in the ICU unit of a downstate hospital. I am surprised how much of a toll all of this has taken on my body. I just don't seem to have a whole lot of "get up and go" right now. I am limiting my time in the office as I certainly don't want a back slide. My family and friends have been wonderful with prayers, cards, food, phone calls and well wishes. I am not allowed to drive until Christmas. My husband and my family have been wonderful in taking me where I need to go.
For some reason I have not had any desire to do any sewing since my surgery (well, except for the button I sewed on a blouse about a week and a half ago). I did manage to crochet a small baby afghan. The bleed in my brain affected my eye sight so I think that is my biggest reason for not sewing. I do have a couple of quilts waiting for binding so I hope to work on those in the not so distant future.
I have missed not working with the retreats and I sincerly thank Karen and JoEllen for stepping in and taking care of the behind the scenes work. I really appreciate you girls.
This picture was taken during the 4th of July weekend when Steve and I spent the weekend on Mackinac Island with our daughter and grand daughter. The weather was perfect and the flowers were just gorgeous.
I hope to get back to blogging real soon.

At a recent meeting of a quilt organization I belong to (Michigan Quilt Network), we had a speaker, Kelly Smith, who authored a book entitled, Open Your Heart With Quilting-Mastering Life through Love of the Patches. I found when reading Kelly's book that we shared a mutual appreciation for another book, Simple Abundance, by Sarah Ban Breathnach. In introducing Kelly, I cited a favorite entry that contains a statement about the creative process attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. It says,

"the women who works with her hands only is a laborer; the woman who works with her hands and her head is a craftswoman; the woman who works with her hands, her head, and her heart is an artist."

Kelly talked about how she came to write her book and what she learned about why people quilt. The presentation was followed by a special show and tell where members brought in quilts that they had made to commemorate a special event or person in their lives or for someone they knew. As each person came forward to share their narrative and show their quilts we were touched by heartwarming and emotional stories about life experiences, some happy and some sad. It seemed that although many of us entered the room as strangers we were going to leave with new friendships and understandings for our passion about quilting. It was also clear to me that I was in a room full of artists as each quilt contains a piece of the heart from the person who made it.

Happy Stitching,

Karen Gibson

You might have noticed that Pam’s voice has been quiet for a little while. Pam had a serious medical emergency and is now on the mend. She has asked me to fill in for her until she is ready to start “blogging” again. Since I am new to this, it will take me awhile to get up to speed and capture some pictures and stories to share with you. To get things started, I’d like to share a favorite quote:

"Friends are like a quilt with lots of different shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns of fabric. But the end result brings you warmth and comfort in a support system that makes your life richer and fuller " —Suzanne Dale Ezell

I ran across this quote in a book of Daily Devotions for Women. I always liked the analogy it makes between friends and a quilt, even more so because I recognize how many friends I have made since I became involved with quilting. Nowadays I am also more keenly aware of the importance of friends, especially since several of my friends are facing serious illnesses. I have seen the support system in action and know the positive impact it has on friends as they recover. It is more inspiring than the best show and tell at quilt guild and even more uplifting. When someone has been absent from our guild for awhile, it is wonderful to see the warm hugs, smiles and encouragement they receive upon their return. Quilters are just wonderful people!

Happy Stitching,
Karen Gibson

Another Guild Block of the Month Incentive Gift

My Quilt Guild, Thunderbay Quilt Guild (no affiliation with Thunder Bay Resort, although we are in the same county) has another Block of the Month going this year. Actually we have two going on. I have noticed over the years that a lot of the women take the patterns and don't end up making the blocks and/or quilts. So I decided to make incentive gifts for those members who make their blocks each month. This month (actually today is our business meeting) I have made the Clicker bags for the members who have made their March blocks. Have you made the Clicker bags yet? They are really fun to make. It takes 2 fat quarters and some metal tape from a tape measure and about 20 minutes to assemble. When you pull on the little praire point handles the bag makes a clicking sound. I made 24 for the Guild, 1 that I gave to Pat Sloan when I took her class in Pigeon Forge and 3 for my grandchildren. Allie, at 21 months old was running around clicking her bag and just a giggling.

For the February quilters I made little pin cushions and for the March quilters I made the wonder wallets. Now to think of what I can do for May!!!