quilt retreat – Page 2 – tierneycreates

Every Spring my Quilt Sisters and I have our annual quilting retreat in May at sewNgo Quilting Retreat Center in Vancouver, Washington. Nancy, the host, makes delicious food and has recently published the Quilter’s Delight Cookbook featuring recipes her wonderful quilt retreat menu!

Today for lunch I made the Vegetarian Kale Soup from the cookbook and it was delicious! The recipe made a large batch and I have lunch for a couple days plus enough to freeze for a future lunch.

Nancy, the retreat host, is very sensitive to the dietary needs of her quilt retreaters and this recipe was actually Vegan in addition to being vegetarian! (No, I am not a Vegan or a Vegetarian as I could not live without bacon, but I do appreciate meat free dishes)

Postscript

I do love attending quilt retreats (even if I get sleep deprived at times from them). Someday when I retire I want to regularly attend quilt retreats!

If you would like to read a couple of my past blog posts on my quilt retreat adventures, they are linked below:

Quilt Retreat May 2016: The Tools & The Stories

Quilt Retreat Weekend: The Projects

Sew N Go Quilt Retreat, in Pictures

The Road to the Retreat

Little Miss Muffet, Made Her Own Tuffet

Repost: Road Trip

Quilt Retreats

Little Miss Muffet, Made Her Own Tuffet

August 15, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Feature photo: one of the chalkboard wall art decorations in my room at the Over the Rainbow Retreat Lodge.

TUFFETS!

You remember that nursery rhyme:

Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, eating her curds and whey…

I never really knew what the “tuffet” was in the nursery rhyme other than something to sit upon. That was until the recent tuffet making craze that seems to have taken the crafting world by storm (at least in the Pacific NW).

While attending a four-day quilt retreat at the beginning of August, I sat in the same room as a Tuffet Making Class by the very talented professional long-arm quilter and teacher, Krista the Kwilt Queen.

Several of my quilting friends (both old and new) were taking this class and I wanted to share some photos of their completed tuffets!

Here is Krista, the teacher, with nearly all the tuffets made in class:

Here are the various beautiful tuffets made by the students. They used a variety of fabrics – from Kaffe Fasset and Hoffman Batik pre-cuts to RECYCLED DENIM JEANS!

13920871_10204947005154262_6863409876086695979_n

One quilter, my friend Joan, made a tuffet from her husband’s old jeans as a gift to her husband for their RV!

It was very fun watching them assemble the tuffets (sewing the tuffets onto the the special template looked very tedious) and seeing their joy with the final project. Krista was a wonderful teacher and I wished I was taking the class (except how would I gotten the tuffet home on the plane ride?!?!)

OTHER PROJECTS

Several of us attending the retreat did not take the Tuffet Class, instead we worked on our own projects. You saw my project from the retreat in my post What’s on the Design Wall (Need Your Help). Here is a sampling of the other projects “retreaters” worked on during the retreat:

2016-08-07_031822573_16490_iOS — Intuitive log cabin square-in-a-square art quilt by Dana

2016-08-07_031833361_C09CC_iOS — Sasquatch themed flannel quilt by Judy – very Pacific NW!

2016-08-07_185315449_2848D_iOS — Tiny paper pieced block by Diana – it was amazing!

THE RETREAT

The retreat itself was held at Over the Rainbow Lodge Retreat in Camano Island, Washington. I first heard about this retreat during our annual May, Jelly Rollers Quilt Group Retreat. I was not going to attend as I would have to fly to the retreat and I was watching my budget.

However, as I mentioned in my post Distracted, I was feeling a little out of sorts with all the sad stuff going on in the world and needed something fun to lighten my mood. I discovered I had enough airline miles to purchase a discounted Alaska Airlines ticket (Alaska Airlines lets you combine miles and money to buy tickets if you do not have enough miles).

In addition to sewing, I made time to go on twice daily walks on the beautiful property and neighborhood where the retreat is located (it is a former private home in a private neighborhood). Sometimes I went on a solitary walks listening to an audiobook and other walks were spent with my fellow retreat attendees – both old and new friends. It is so fun to go on a long walk with a new or old friend during a retreat and “discuss life”.

Here are photos of the retreat center, the view of the water from the lounge area of the retreat and the road I walked on.

frontviewlodge — Photo credit: Over the Rainbow Lodge

Beautiful views of the water from the porch/deck of the retreat center

The beds at the lodge were premium/high quality and I had great delicious sleep in the cool Pacific NW nights. I struggle occasionally with not sleeping well at quilt retreats due to uncomfortable beds and unfamiliar sounds. I sleep really well in a nice double bed to myself and had a great roommate Dana!

The Over the Rainbow Retreat Lodge is filled with art with inspirational messages. One of them is shown as the feature photo for this post.

I will close this post with one of the inspirational messages stenciled onto the stair risers leading connecting the downstairs sewing area and the upstairs lounge and dining areas at the retreat.

Quilt Retreats

Quilt Retreat May 2016: The Tools & The Stories

May 22, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In my 4th and final post in the series of posts on the 4-day quilt retreat I attended at Sew N Go Quilt Retreats in Vancouver, WA, I want to share some of the new tools I got while at the retreat and a couple of the stories.

Naturally – “what happens in quilt retreat, stays in quilt retreat” – but I think my Quilt Sisters would be okay if I publicly shared a couple stories (maybe, ha!).

THE TOOLS

During quilt retreat I picked up a Martelli Round-a-Bout 17″ rotating cutting mat. Another quilter friend has one and I saw how wonderful it worked!

Screen Shot 2016-05-21 at 7.54.01 PM

In addition to the Martelli spinning cutting mat, I got a set of Bloc Loc Flying Geese rulers. I saw these demonstrated and one of my quilting sister had access to a wholesale set (they are usually fairly “spendy”if you buy them individually. If you would like to read more about Bloc Loc Rulers, check out their website: Flying Geese Square Up Rulers.

A very neat device I picked up during quilt retreat was the Electric Seam Ripper. Another quilter demonstrated this device and makes seam ripper a breeze (not that I would ever need any seam ripping, I never make sewing mistakes, ha!). A couple other quilt retreat attendees also purchased them and there was no stealth seam ripping at the retreat: we could hear the whir of the battery powered seam ripper motor whenever seam ripping was occurring!

Screen Shot 2016-05-21 at 7.54.26 PM

I thought a sewing light, was a sewing light, until a quilting friend introduced me to the Slimline Table Lamp. It provides full spectrum light for a daylight effect. I picked one up the day of the retreat and used it for the entire retreat. It is a pretty darn awesome light to have over your sewing machine! It also doubles as an imaginary device (see THE STORIES).

Screen Shot 2016-05-21 at 7.55.02 PM

THE STORIES

“I’ve Had the Time of My Life”

When quilters are quilting late into the evening, and “special beverages” have been involved throughout the evening, and the quilters are long-time friends, occasionally very silly things can happen.

Such a very silly thing happened on the Saturday night of the quilting retreat.

Another quilter, who had also purchased a Slimline Table Lamp for the retreat and I thought these lamps looked like microphones. We thought it would be fun to put on a “floor show” for the other quilters and the quilt retreat host.

My floor show partner located the main song from the movie Dirty Dancing – “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” and put it on her smart phone speaker. We stood up at our tables and began singing into our imaginary microphones, at the top of our lungs, a poorly ad libbed (but fairly hysterical) version of the song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”.

We even threw in a little dance during the instrumental interlude to the song. We nearly kept “straight faces” during our performance…nearly.

Our silliness was rewarded with laughter and applause. (Perhaps the other retreat attendees and hosts were just being polite and hoped we get “our meds adjusted” as soon as possible!).

Yes, to answer your question, photos were taken. They will not be shared. I do not even want to see them (smile).

“Adventures in Spanx”

Are you familiar with Spanx, the body shaping wear (shapewear) that squishes any “jiggling bits” into a smooth format (like a modern girdle)?

Well one of the quilters was preparing to attend an upcoming family wedding and wanted to find a special dress to wear. She told us the story of her first time putting on Spanx and proceeded to pantomime the whole experience.

She shared her story of going to a department store, finding the perfect dress and while trying on the dress, the sales clerk suggesting she enhance the look of the dress by wearing a full Spanx bodysuit underneath to flatten any “jiggling bits”.

My dear Quilt Sister, then proceeded to pantomime and explain the whole experience of slowly putting on full body Spanx for the first time and how the Spanx moves the “jiggling bits” around to places you never imagined them moving on your body, especially on a middle-aged body (placing the jiggling bits in odd places at first as you slowly wriggle into the bodysuit).

It was like a brilliant stand-up comedy show performance. I have not laughed that hard in a long time and worried that my bladder control might fail me at any moment. The whole room was filled with laughter and at least one quilter had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard!

Well that is it for posts on this quilt retreat. I am looking forward to the next time I reunite with all my Quilting Sisters!

Quilt Retreats

Quilt Retreat Weekend: The Projects

May 20, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This is post #3 about my recent 4-day quilt retreat long weekend at Sew N Go Retreat in Vancouver WA. See posts The Road to the Retreat and Sew N Go Quilt Retreat, in Pictures for more on this retreat.

Why do quilters go to quilt retreats? Yes of course to spend time with quilting friends or meeting new quilting friends. Quilters also attend retreat to relax; to see what others are working on and get new ideas; and to work on our BACKLOG of projects!

At a quilt retreat you have the opportunity to focus on getting those quilting projects D-O-N-E! (While not having to cook, clean, or even get dressed out of your PJs.)

Here is what some of the “busy bees” were working on during this year’s annual Sew N Go Retreat:

Tula Pink Would be Proud

Tula Pink is a very talented fabric designer and I had the opportunity to meet her at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 40th Anniversary celebration last summer (she is absolutely lovely in person). She has several publications but one of her most popular publication is Tula Pink’s City Sampler: 100 Modern Quilt Blocks.

Tula Pink.jpg — Photo credit: amazon.com

One of my Quilt Sisters at the retreat has been working (for many months) on a sampler of all 100 blocks! Below is a photo of initial block layout on the design wall at the quilt retreat (she is still deciding the final layout):

Here are a couple of my favorite blocks on the design wall:

What patience to complete 100 blocks for a sampler! I own this book, but I have not completed one block to date from this book (but I am now inspired to consider completing a block – ha!).

Study in Black and Gray

Another amazing quilt different Quilt Sister worked on quilt retreat weekend was a star block in black and gray flannels that had a 3-D effect due to the placement of the colors.

Here it is in progress:

Completed with the borders added (she is going to put beautiful special gray and black Minky fabric on back!):

The Mother of All Embroidery Machines

One quilter and her daughter worked on a major embroidery project with their fancy embroidery machine – an embroidered doll house for their great granddaughter/granddaughter! They had to make each panel separately and then assemble it into a house. They got 3 – 4 panels finished but unfortunately I only took a photo of one of the panels, darn!

The Machine!

One of the doll house sections (the courtyard):

Pretty amazing!

Other Wonderful Projects

I did not capture a photo of all the projects, but here are some of the other wonderful projects in progress or completed by other Quilt Sisters during quilt retreat weekend:

Tierney, Where are Your Projects?

Well…

I had good intentions. I brought 5 – 6 projects to quilt retreat including some vintage style beer label fabric coasters to work on for my tierneycreates Etsy shop. My stock of offerings in the tierneycreates Etsy shop is dwindling due to sales (which is good); due to being busy and stressed at my pay-the-bills healthcare job (and not wanting to face a sewing machine after a long day of work); and due to focusing my extra time on art quilting projects.

So I brought several projects related to items I wanted to make for the tierneycreates Etsy shop. I ended up making nine (9) sets of vintage style fabric beer coasters during the quilt retreat weekend.

What happened to those coasters? Well they never made it to the Etsy shop, all 9 sets were purchased by quilt retreat attendees and the quilt retreat owner to give as gifts or keep for their own home. I cannot complain – I made stuff and sold it at the retreat.

I call it “fleecing my friends”!

Here is a photo taken by a Quilt Sister’s husband after he got his coasters she brought back from the retreat:

Next post: Tools & Stories from Quilt Retreat

Quilt Retreats

Sew N Go Quilt Retreat, in Pictures

May 19, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

This week I am sharing experiences and photos from the 4-day quilt retreat I attended this past Thursday to Sunday at Sew N Go Quilt Retreat.

Yesterday in post #1 I focused on The Road to the Retreat. Today I am sharing photos from outside and inside the retreat.

The rest of the week I will share quilts and projects (in progress and completed) during the retreat; new tools from the retreat; and stories from the retreat (although “What happens at retreat, stays in retreat”, ha!).

Sew N Go Retreat: From the Outside

The Sew N Go Retreat, in Vancouver, WA (outside of Portland, OR) is located in a private and serene setting on a couple acres of land. There is a main house, a barn, and several cool outbuildings from the main house to include the Retreat Center.

The main house has many comfortable bedrooms for quilters (some are dormitory style with up to 4 beds in a room), several bathrooms, a large dining room area, and a cozy living room for hanging out and reading with a kitty to cuddle (optional) if you like.

The Retreat Center which has plenty of room for sewing; its own bathroom and kitchenette; and additional sleeping areas (in case you get sleepy while sewing, ha!).

The first two days of the retreat it was sunny and in the 70s in the Portland area. Of course I did not think of taking photos while it was sunny. I waited until it was a normal Portland rainy day to take photos on the 3rd day of retreat!

The main house where quilters sleep, shower, lounge in the cozy living room, and where meals are served

The property and the barn in the distance

Some of the outside seating areas (it was overcast when I took these photos)

10400255_464226527117949_3115082384993268744_n — The Retreat Center, Photo credit: Sew N Go Facebook page

Sew N Go Retreat: From the Inside

THE MAIN HOUSE (What a quilt retreat really looks like while quilters are staying there):

Abby the Quilt Retreat Kitty

I am ready to snuggle with any quilters that are interested. Come read your book on the sofa with me and these quilts!

THE RETREAT CENTER (What a quilt retreat center really looks like while quilters are making a mess working on projects in there!):

And…as I discussed in the post My New Quilt Retreat Gadget – the battle for power strip/surge protector outlet spots:

Look there are still some empty spots (but not for long…my table mate pulled out her other numerous electronic devices and that was it for the outlets!)

Postscript

One of the tierneycreates readers asked more about xeriscaping related to the post Tuesday…an update, in which I share photos of my xeriscaped (low water, native plant, no grass) front yard landscape.

I wanted to share a photo of a house I came across during my walk in my neighborhood which recently engaged in EXTREME XERISCAPING. They removed their front yard grass and all plants and replaced them with rocks.

Perhaps the correct term is “NON-SCAPING”!

Quilt Retreats, tierneytravels

The Road to the Retreat

May 18, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Last Thursday 5/12/16 I “hit the road” to Vancouver, Washington for a four-day annual quilt retreat with my ” Quilting Sisters” from California, Oregon and Washington. We gather at least once a year for a retreat, at Nancy’s Sew N Go Retreat.

This is post #1 of a series of posts about my quilt retreating experience!

ROAD TRIP!

Car loaded up with sewing machine, quilting paraphernalia, fabric and various projects, I got on the road early in the am on 5/16/16. Driving from Central Oregon to Vancouver Washington I found many “car buddies” along the way (see my post Repost: Road Trip for an explanation of “car buddies”).

My favorite “car buddies” were a brown Mercedes wagon and a gray Subaru that I followed for many miles on my road trip to the quilt retreat. If only they knew they had been my “car buddies” (they would have been very frightened by a wacky woman following them and making them her imaginary friends?!?!).

Music Time!

Solo road tripping is an opportunity to listen to wonderful music, rather loudly, and sing along at the top of your lungs! I had my iPhone with the “Tierney Mix” playlist loaded and hooked up to a FM transmitter that sent the music to my car radio. (Yes the classic 2001 Saturn 4-door sedans do not come with a jack for your iPhone or any modern amenities…).

The “Tierney Mix” is a very eclectic mix of music. Here is a sampling of 20 songs that played in order while I drove:

Third World Man – Steely Dan
Lovesick Blues – Hank Williams
Your Love is King – Sade
Annie’s Song – John Denver
How Soon is Now – The Smiths
Black is the Color – Nina Simone
How Deep is Your Love – The Bee Gees
Tom Sawyer – Rush
Tennessee Waltz – Patti Page
Don’t Break My Heart – UB40
Gravity – Jon Mayer
Heartbreaker – Pat Benatar
Okan Bale – Angelique Kidjo
Dancing Nancies – Dave Matthews Band
Chan Chan – Buena Vista Social Club
Nights in White Satin – The Moody Blues
Like a Star – Corinne Bailey Rae
Cozza Frenzy – Bassnectar
Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits
That’s the Way of the World – Earth Wind & Fire

As you can see my musical tastes are all over the place!

I am glad my “car buddies” and other vehicles could not hear me singing along!

The Road Trip Scenery

I know you are not supposed to be engaging in DWP (driving while photographing) but I assure you I only took photos while it was safe. Also there was some construction on Highway 26 (the road from Central Oregon to the Portland Oregon area) and I was stopped for awhile and took photos.

The landscape is filled with the Cascade Mountains, especially Mount Hood; lots of high desert brush; and endless farms. There is quite a climb in elevation from Central Oregon to the Portland Oregon area through the Mount Hood pass.

Mount Hood itself rises to 11,240 feet (Wikipedia) at its summit. The elevation from Central Oregon to the Mount Hood/Timberline Lodge region climbs from 3500+ feet above sea level to 6000+. Occasionally my ears “pop” on the drive from the change in elevation (but that does not stop me from continuing to sing at the top of my lungs).

It is a winding mountain road and in the winter some times it is not passable. I never drive from Central Oregon to the Portland area in the winter, though many Central Oregonians have family in Portland (and are originally from the Portland area) and drive to Portland for Thanksgiving or other “winter holidays”. Winter begins at the end of October or early November in the Mount Hood pass area due to the elevation!

Finally I arrived at Sew N Go Quilt Retreat!

NEXT POST: Sew N Go Retreating!

A Crafter's Life, Books, Music, Podcasts

Tuesday…an update

May 17, 2016July 17, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

The past five Mondays I hiked up or walked around Pilot Butte and shared my tale.

Sunday evening, 5/15/16, I returned from a four-day quilt retreat at Sew-N-Go Quilt Retreat with my longtime “Quilt Sisters” from Oregon, Washington and California. Monday I spent recovering from my drive and unpacking (unpacking did involve trying to figure out what to do with the new fabric and quilting tools I acquired while at the quilt retreat…other quilters are bad influences!).

So I skipped Pilot Butte on Monday. I am not sure if the 2 mile walk with Terry “the Quilting Husband” and the dogs made up for it, but at least I did something besides fondling my new fabric purchases.

I will share my adventures related to quilt retreating in my posts the rest of this week, but I wanted to follow up on last week’s post The Monday, Post “Yard Bark Mulching” in which I discussed “xeriscaping” (low water landscaping with native plants) and laying down endless bark mulch.

One of the tierneycreates blog readers asked to see photos and here they are:

Xeriscaped Front Yard (with fresh hemlock bark mulch)

Another example of a Central Oregon xeriscaped yard from my neighborhood (they used rocks instead of bark mulch):

Gratuitous flower photo: My lovely irises in bloom

If you want to read more about xeriscaping check out the online publication Introduction to Xeriscaping in the High Desert.

Postscript

As I mentioned, the rest of the week I will share stories and photos from the quilt retreat I attended.

Currently I listening to the audiobook – The Path: What Chinese Philosophers Can Teach Us About the Good Life by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh.

Parts of this book seem fairly esoteric, while other parts are deeply profound and very accessible. If you can be patient through some of the more scholarly sections (the author is a Harvard professor) you will be rewarded with timeless insights into human nature from ancient Chinese philosophers.

I feel I grow more enlightened by listening to this excellent audiobook.

The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others. – Mencius

the-path-9781476777832_lg — Photo credit: simonandschuster.com

Books, Music, Podcasts, Quilt Retreats

My New Quilt Retreat Gadget

May 6, 2016June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the Highly Opinionated Miniature Schnauzer’s blog page Schnauzer Snips for her latest musings.

Getting excited – less than a week until I join my long-time quilting friends group, The Jelly Rollers, at our Annual Quilt Retreat!

This time I am bringing a new gadget to the quilt retreat. No it is not a new rotary cutter, or special quilting ruler. It is a 4-Port USB charger!

At a quilt retreat it can be “battle for the outlets” and/or “battle for the surge protectors”.

You have a group of quilters with their sewing machines, their special sewing lights, their portable irons, and various other quilting related devices requiring electrical power. In addition to the sewing paraphernalia that requires a power source, quilters have their laptops, tablets, and smart phone all in need of charging.

Imagine a group of people, sitting in a pod (two or four tables connected) sharing just a couple surge protectors (also imagine me saying this in my best Rod Serling, Twilight Zone host voice…) – yes, you guessed it: Battle for the Outlets!

(Live on Pay-Per-View: See quilters viciously battle for power outlets – oh the carnage!)

What I have done in the past is alternate between charging my iPhone or iPad (you need your iPad of course at a Quilt Retreat for easy access to your online patterns, sharing photos, and of course having a moment of distraction from quilting with those addictive iPad games!).

Now with my new 4-Port USB charger – no more switching out. I also have a 2-port charger (I discovered this first before learning there was a 4-port USB charger option).

These nifty devices are available from various manufacturers but my 2-port and 4-port USB chargers are by iClever (I love the name)/Hisgadget, Inc. and you can find them reasonably priced online (I got mine through Amazon.com).

You can see on the 2-port charger I have already written my name (so there is no confusion at the quilt retreat in case another quilter has also discovered this wonderful device).

Bring on the quilt retreat fun!

Postscript

I finished Arianna Huffington’s wonderful audiobook – The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time. I am now inspired to get lots of healing sleep!

I did have a brief moment of panic on finishing the audiobook as I did not have another audiobook to start. However when I returned from my walk I had an e-mail from my local public library notifying me that the audiobook I have on hold, Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg was now available for download!

Yes! Loading up the iPhone with my next listen!

(I think my heart skips a beat in anticipation and happiness when I receive an e-mail from the library with title “Library Item Now Available”)

Studio, What's on the Design Wall

What’s On the Design Wall: Not What Should Be There…

May 23, 2015July 13, 2016 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Check out Sassy the highly opinionated miniature schnauzer’s blog on the page Schnauzer Snips for her latest thoughts and adventures.

This is the last of my series of posts on the 4-day quilting retreat I attended last weekend. In my post Getting Ready to “Retreat” I shared photos of the projects I was bringing to the quilting retreat to work on during the retreat.

So one would expect that they would see on my Design Wall a work in progress (or near completion) that I worked on during the retreat – right?

Nope.

What is on my Design Wall is what should not be on my design wall: a quilt I started at the retreat because someone else was working on it and I liked it! This is how new UFOs (unfinished objects) are born!

My Quilt Sister Barb was working on a pattern called Right on Target by A Quilter’s Dream (2013) at the retreat. It involved taking 2 1/2 inch strips from say a pre-cut jelly roll and making a quilt by essentially making one giant log cabin square-in-a-square block. I happened to have a Hoffman Bali Pop on me (a set of 40 pre-cut 2 1/2 inch coordinated batik fabric strips) which was perfect for this pattern. Next thing you know, I had abandoned what I was working on for the afternoon at the retreat and borrowed her pattern and started making the same quilt!

“Right on Target” quilt made by my Quilt Sister Barb at the Retreat

What is on my Design Wall now

Bali Pop of 2 1/2 inch strips pulled apart for quilt

Of course this only reinforces what I discussed in my post Creative Inspiration: What Others are Working On! I know I am not the only quilter to do this – there is something so engaging when you see a quilt in progress that is very appealing and the pattern is very easy!

What became of the projects that I brought to the retreat? Well the two UFOs in boxes (in the photos in the Getting Ready to “Retreat” post) I did not even touch (I guess I brought them as decoration for my assigned work table). Instead I worked on a log jam project (refer to my numerous posts on Log Jamming), started a new project as mentioned above, went on a quilt store shop hop, ate way too much naughty food, and in general goofed off and visited with quilt friends. My kind of retreat weekend!

Quilt Retreats, tierneytravels

Road Trip

May 20, 2015June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In my post Getting Ready to “Retreat” I shared my excitement on heading to a 4-day quilting retreat with my quilting friends from WA, OR, and CA. This next series of posts will be about that 4-day retreat.

ROAD TRIP

Last May I attend the Sew N Go Retreat in Vancouver, WA (outside of Portland, OR) for the first time. I live about 3 1/2 hours from Vancouver, WA and I drove to the retreat with a friend who was also attending. Last Thursday I returned to the retreat, and this time I drove alone.

I was bummed, at first, to drive alone this year to the retreat. All I could think was: “3 1/2 + hours in the car, not fun”. I was wrong. Road trips with friends are great, however it can be quite fun to go on a road trip alone!

My husband and I both have older cars (we are all about having paid off cars) and I borrowed my husband’s car, the newer car (which is only 10 years old instead of 14+ years old like my car). My husband teases me that soon my car can be registered as an “antique”, however I do not think there is much of an automobile collector’s market for classic 2001 Saturns (perhaps there is one person in Uruguay who dreams of owning a non luxury old Saturn).

One of the drawbacks with older cars is you do not have the cool technology you have with newer cars – like a built in jack for your iPhone to allow you play tunes through the car radio. I did have an old FM transmitter powered by the car jack (formerly known in the old days as “the cigarette lighter”) and once I found a FM radio channel not used by any station, I was able to transmit my tunes through the car radio!

Armed with a package of roasted almonds, a container of blueberries, water, a turkey sandwich (I was eating healthy on the way to the quilting retreat as I planned to make naughty food choices the next 4 days) and my iTunes mixes on my iPhone, I was ready for my road trip! There is something very relaxing about listening to music alone on a long drive.

Most of my drive was pretty scenic, even if it was overcast, as I journeyed through part of the Cascade Mountain range with little traffic on a Thursday morning. There were a couple moments of what I would call “pure bliss” where it was just me, the road and my tunes. I felt light and carefree and at peace with all around me. I promised myself on the drive not to think about any life worries or concerns; not think about work; and not try to plan my life (I tend to be an over-planner). I had decided to just be in the moment on my drive.

Car Buddies

Along the highway on my trip I would find “Car Buddies“. For more years then I remember I have always been into finding imaginary “Car Buddies” when on long drives. What are “Car Buddies”? Car Buddies are other cars that you follow for a long period of time. If you are on a one lane highway and a passing lane appears, you do not pass them, They are your buddy and you stay behind them maintaining a reasonable speed. The most appealing car buddies of course, are those who are going an acceptable speed! Sometimes if I have been with a car buddy for a long time on the road I get kind of sad for a moment when they take an exit that I am not taking. I always say aloud: “bye-bye car buddy, thanks and take care!” Yes I am weird. I have imaginary friendships and connections with other cars on the road.

Hey you never know when you are driving long distance, if I am behind you, making you my imaginary Car Buddy!

Road Trip!

Looking for a Car Buddy

Mountains!

A bonus to the peaceful and relaxing road trip was that I was headed to a fun weekend. However I did not want the road trip to end – as I got closer, I wished I had a further to drive!

A Crafter's Life

Justification!

May 18, 2015November 29, 2015 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

Just returned from a 4-day quilt retreat with my quilt sisters and I will blog more about that later. I am still unpacking and sorting out the damage from our mini quilt “shop hop” during our retreat.

I wanted to share this gem that the woman who ran the quilting retreat gave the attendees (a free handout from Ben Franklin Crafts):

10 Good Reasons for Buying Fabric

It insulates the closet where it is kept.
It is less expensive and more fun than psychiatric care.
A sudden increase in the boll weevil population might wipe out the cotton crop for the next 10 years.
I’m participating in a contest – the one who dies with most fabric wins!
Because I’m worth it!
It’s not immoral, illegal or fattening. It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul, and makes me feel good!
Buy it now, before your husband retires and goes with you on all your shopping expeditions.
It helps keep the economy going. It is our patriotic duty to protect the jobs of textile mill workers, and quilt shop staff with cute babies and grandchildren.
It keeps the dust off those previously empty spaces like the dining room table or the living room floor
It keeps without refrigeration, you don’t have to cook it to enjoy it, you never have to feed it, burp it, change it, wipe its nose, or walk it!

– Ben Franklin Crafts

New fabric purchases from the quilting retreat weekend…perhaps there are others…still sorting out…

My purchases are justified!

Quilt Retreats

Getting Ready to “Retreat”

May 10, 2015June 22, 2022 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

In my post Retreating is not necessarily “retreating” I discuss the pleasure of attending a quilting/crafting retreat with other crafters – whether they are old friends or new friends.

Well later this week I head to a 4-day quilting retreat with my quilting friends from California, Oregon, and Washington. I am very excited to see old friends and to be able to just relax and work on projects. Or just goof off visiting with my friends and pretend to work on projects!

Now it is decision time: what projects do I select to take to the retreat (whether I am planning to work on them or only pretend to work on them)?

I usually bring TOO MANY PROJECTS to quilting retreats! In my mind I am going to be so productive and get a backlog of projects done. In reality I might get 1/2 to 1 project done.

I think I am going to bring two projects pictured above – both are UFOs (quilters slang for “unfinished objects”).

Next decision: do I cut the fabric according to the pattern ahead of time and do I start some preliminary piecing; or just wait until I get to the retreat?

I have a couple days to figure this out. I also have a couple of days to psych myself up on how much stuff I will get done at the retreat.

Yes I am being delusional and it is time to be honest: I will bring these two projects with me to the retreat under the guise of planning to be productive. I might even unpack them at the retreat and lay out the fabric and the pattern and mention my strategy to get my piecing done. Then I will set out to wander around and see what others are working on*, catch up on my quilting friends lives, and lounge around and read some crafting magazines. That is the proper way to attend a quilting retreat.

*Refer to the post Creative Inspiration: What Others Are Working On! – I am easily distracted by the cool projects other quilters are working on…

Quality of Life, Quilt Retreats

Retreating is not necessarily “retreating”

March 7, 2015May 24, 2017 tierneycreates: a fusion of textiles and smiles

I am honored to be invited to teach a hand piecing/quilting/spiritual art class at the Women’s Relaxation Reiki Retreat in Finland, August 19-22, 2016 and I am working on developing Northern Lights (aka the aurora borealis) themed project options for the class since the Northern Lights will be in view during the retreat.

This will be a working retreat for me where I get to attend some classes and teach a couple of classes. I started thinking about the whole idea of going on a retreat/retreating and Quilting Retreats I have attended in the past (and those planned with my quilting friends in the near future) and this post shares my thoughts.

If you look up the word retreat in a dictionary you made find definitions like these below:

movement by soldiers away from an enemy because the enemy is winning or has won a battle
movement away from a place or situation especially because it is dangerous, unpleasant, etc.
the act of changing your opinion or position on something because it is unpopular

(Source – http://www.merriam-webster.com)

None of these definitions have anything to do with the type of retreats I enjoy! To retreat is commonly thought of as backing away and/or pulling into yourself. There are retreats such as spiritual based and meditation retreats where the purpose is to back away from your daily life and worries and to pull into yourself to gain perspective or spiritual enlightenment. I admire people who attend these type of purely inward focused retreats. However the type of retreats enjoy involve connecting with people.

I am so fortunate to have a wonderful group of quilting friends from various parts of the country. I met these women through quilting retreats and because we deeply connected, we continue to retreat together year after year. We even plan our own special group retreat where only our private group attends. Yes, I will admit it – sometimes I bring a couple projects to these retreats and do not get much quilt piecing done. However what are you going to most remember about a quilt retreat: 1) that you completed 5 projects; or 2) that you hung out with some amazing women and had many laughs?

It is magical to connect with a stranger at a retreat on other common ground beyond being a quilter. I am originally from New York and I have bonded with another quilter because she is also “a Yankee”.

If you are a quilter/crafter, I bet you could not imagine attending a quilting/crafting retreat in which you just “back away/pull into yourself”. I have met a couple people at quilting retreats who just wanted to focus on their projects and were not very social – however I am not sure they had as great a time as those that did not get as much done but had a blast connecting with other retreat attendees.

Besides connecting with fun people, the other wonderful parts of quilt retreating are a scenic peaceful location (I do love a retreat where you can go for a solitary walk in a pastoral location and take break from the group setting), impromptu outings to local quilt shops (with old or new quilt friends), and yummy food to enjoy (that I did not have to cook!)