Quilting Retreat

Long time, no post! Life has been busy for here - since my last post, I have been to Disneyland with my family, to our winter quilting retreat, and have celebrated Christmas!  I'll be posting more in the new year to keep people updated on the quilting bees I am in, so before that all starts, I wanted to update you all on the stuff I got done at our quilt retreat.

Our annual quilt retreat with our whole group is in September in Poulsbo, but we do a smaller one (6 of us instead of 8) in December as well. We normally go to Langley for our winter retreat, but had to move it to Poulsbo this year as Quilting by the Sea in Langley was closing. Luckily, someone bought the shop, so we can go back there again next winter!  Poulsbo is a great place to be in the fall, but all the walking makes it difficult in December.

Here are some of the projects I worked on:

Candy Garden - This is from a class I took with Sandy Bonsib. I love this one!


I put this little guy together from scraps from Candy Garden. I don't know if I like it, though. :| Oh well.


This was based of a challenge fabric our sewing group was given - the chocolate cakes and candies in the middle of the blocks.


This is the back I pieced for my Candy Candy quilt - it's at the quilter's now! :)


Tumbly Greens - I'm working on this charm quilt as a surprise gift for someone! So far, I have about 150-200 blocks cut out. I need to finish trimming them to size and count them. But yeah. That's a lot of blocks. I also own A LOT of green fabric. :)

vegas!

revolution, originally uploaded by fuzzirella.

I've been in Vegas this past weekend with friends for my friend Josh's birthday! Much fun has been had, and although I don't relish heading back to work tomorrow, I am ready to be at home again, I think. :)

But yes, much epic fun has ensued. :P

WIP: candy garden

candy garden, originally uploaded by Rachel-B.

This is my latest WIP, named Candy Garden, mostly because of my current obsession with bright colors that remind me of candy. :P

This quilt is from a class taken from Sandy Bonsib at Quiltworks NW in Bellevue. I am proud to call Sandy a friend - she is a great teacher and wonderful lady! I don't often take classes because they can be rather expensive, but I started this project (the reverse appliqued basket block in the center) at a picnic at Sandy's house, and once I saw the rest of the quilt, I knew I had to take the class!

I was hoping to find time to put this together during our quilting day last Saturday, but I ended up fussing with bindings and backs almost the whole time. Frustrating, but oh well! I'll probably keep this on hold until our little guild's winter retreat in December.

reader

thinking hard, originally uploaded by Rachel-B.

Ever since I found Goodreads.com last April, not only have I been
reading more, I've been reading higher quality stuff. Goodreads has
helped me with a number of issues I've had in the past:

1] I can keep track of what books I've read, and quickly remind myself
of what I liked and didn't like.
2] I can research and keep track of books I want to read, instead of
picking something at random and discarding it when I get bored.
3] I have been challenged to reach beyond my safety zone of chick
lit/fantasy/teen fare and have found some fantastic books that I love
reading.

In truth, I really believe I've rediscovered my love of reading. And
that makes me even more excited that some friends and I have recently
started a book club. Not only can I read more books, but I can talk
about them! With real live people! Our first meeting went really well,
I think, and I am excited to see how it continues to evolve.

That is all. :P