Hit by not one, but TWO storms!!

Well, I am back from a FABULOUS Cobble Court Quilters retreat!! I have sooo much to tell you about the retreat, but for right now, I am still keeping and savoring it and the wonderful memories all for myself. I will post pics and tell you all about it this weekend. I will say that it was in Litchfield, Ct and we did get hit with the snowstorm. Our estimate was about 14 inches of snow fall where we were, but I haven't had a "professional" total yet. I do know that despite having no heat, no power and no water since 6 pm Saturday night, we had the time of our lives even without sewing. That was the first storm. The second storm was a tornado..take a look:

This is what my sewing room looks like AFTER the retreat!! There are my projects, Go dies, etc that I brought to put away and there are 3 boxes of upholstery samples that my dad's wife saved for me from her job and my dad hauled up from Ky for me. OHHH...do I have a project I can't wait to start to make out of these!!!! There are also bags of goodies that my lovely retreat friends had for me. I am really the only REALLY scrappy quilter of the bunch of us. (There are 22 of us). So, while the ladies were cutting out fabrics for their projects, they saved all the scraps for ME!! Wheeeee!!! I felt (and still feel) like it was Christmas for me!! Some retreaters brought special little gifties, also. So there are bags of those, also! Last but not least in this pile are 2 boxes and a big bagful of fabrics that my pal, Kathy, passed along to me. I believe a friend of hers was in possession of most of this fabric due to the death of an aunt. Most of them are homespuns and the friend offered them to Kathy as she wasn't interested in them. Kathy also wasn't interested in them, but she knew who would be....ME! So, Kathy hauled them to her house and they then got to make their way home with me after the retreat. Wowsers...I am like a kid in a candy store in my very own house!!!! Why God blessed me with all these generous, kind, wonderful friends in my life, I have no idea, but you can bet I am so very, very grateful that He did!! Tonight is quilt league night, but I am too distracted by this wonderful mess in my sewing room to get any sewing done, I think. The plan is to get the room in order, starting with the easy stuff like my own old projects. Then I will have to reorganize my shelves (boy, am I going to need more shelves!!) the best I can adding in all this new fabric. That will take awhile as I know I will be fondling each and every piece before putting it away...dreaming of what I can do with all this. Last on my list will be going through all the gifties and mementos from the retreat and reliving it all. Ah...that is going to take a long time. As I sort, I will share pics of what I am doing..but don't hold your breath..this may take awhile as I bask in all the memories and friendships.

Getting ready for a retreat

Yay! I will be leaving this Friday for a retreat with my fellow Cobbled Court Quilters online group! We all met on author Marie Bostwick's web site. We started with a love of Marie's books, did a few swaps together and last year we had our first retreat with Marie in Connecticut. It worked out so wonderfully that we are doing it again! Marie is a wonderful hostess, showing us around the town her books are based in, sharing herself, signing our books and then just plunking down with the rest of us for some laughing, eating, drinking and sewing! We had 17 of us last year, and I believe we are up to 22 this year!! Tonight I was doing some of the odds and ends to get ready. I made a pillowcase:

We will all make a pillowcase or two and then we donate them to a woman's shelter there. I also made a Jack in the Box block..thanks to Marge and Delaware quilts for so generously allowing us to use your pattern!!:

We are making these blocks and you get one entry for each block you make. I will pull a name and the winner gets to bring all the lovely blocks home! We are all using the same color scheme, so this is going to make a great red white and blue quilt!! I have a bunch of other odds and ends to do to get ready but thought I would share what I have gotten done so far. The hardest thing is going to pick what project(s) I want to bring along. HELP!! lol

Thursday Night Quilt League

Hub tried to convince me that since his golf league was over for the year, my quilt league should be done, also. I told him it wasn't my fault his hobby was seasonal and mine was year round! lol Tonight I finished quilting and got the binding on my Mercy House quilt. Yay!! Feels sooooo good to have a finish. Feels like it's been a while since I experienced one of those. Here is the quilt:

It measures 65 1/2" by 77 1/2". I will get the binding sewn down this weekend and then it will be ready to be delivered. Now, if I can only keep myself from starting anything new and just keep working on some more finishes!!

Lazy Sunday

I am planning on enjoying a lazy Sunday. Hub is outside working on one of the cars and everyone else is working, so it is just Patrick and I inside. At a little over 100 lbs, I can carry him from room to room, but I can't carry him up the stairs (he is as tall as I am), so I can't get up to the sewing room. So, Patrick is plopped on the chaise in the living room and I am next to him on the couch with this:

I went up to the sewing cave and grabbed my rotary cutter, mat and a shoebox full of scraps to cut up. Going to turn some thirtysomething on tv and Patrick and I are going to relax and cut up these scraps. Funny how this little box doesn't look like much scraps, but I have learned there are more in there than you think! lol Not sure what the rest of the day will bring, but off to relax a bit!

Bricks and Stepping Stones

Bricks and Stepping Stones top is all finished. This will be going to an auction for a fundraiser for a Humane Society in Alabama..if my friend wants it. If she doesn't, it will go to Mercy House homeless shelter. I am SO making another one for me. I do love this pattern and it will be hard to give up, but both are great causes. I don't NEED another quilt here..I just WANT it lolol. It is a rainy, blustery day here with winds going up to 50 mph. A good day to stay inside! I have a chicken roasting, most of my housework done for the day, and this top completed. I am taking Bonnie's advice and just relaxing tonight with hub. We will pop Northern Exposure into the dvd player and just chill. I confess that knowing me I will probably do some handquilting while watching, but at least I will be chilling! lol Depending on the day, I am hoping to finish quilting a Mercy House quilt tomorrow. That's the plan anywho..lets see if it really works out! Hope everyone is dry, warm and safe this weekend!!