Re-treated and Re-newed

I’ve been on lots of quilting retreats with my quilty friends from the Dallas MQG since we all met in February 2010 (probably close to 12 by now?). I even went on two quilting retreats early this year and brought my baby along since he was still wee and quiet enough to let me sew. But since he started crawling, then cruising, and is now taking baby steps (only one or two at a time, then plop!), life has become a lot busier. Ben is awake more, and I have us scheduled in lots of activities each week (MOPS, The Little Gym, picnics at the Arboretum, story time at the library, and play dates). The social activities are good for both of us, but my “me” time has dwindled. I was ready for a retreat, baby-free.

A couple of weekends ago, I went to a favorite local quilt retreat – 1890s House. It’s close, cozy, charming, and clean. The owner is easy-going, and even though it’s in a suburb of Dallas just minutes away from all of the strip mall shopping and restaurants you could want, it feels like you are in the country. This is a photo of the house from the first time I went (on an officers’ retreat for the Dallas MQG)

Isn’t it pretty? This view is the back of the house. The sewing cottage is just off to the left. It’s nice to have the sleeping quarters so separate from the sewing space since many people stay up late sewing and some want to go to bed at a decent hour.

I worked on several projects:

• AB Belle Squared {from Piecing – Almost Complete to Quilting & Binding / my friend Michelle of Urban Spools is quilting this one for me on her long arm. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!}
• Flights of Fancy {from Still in Pieces to Piecing – Almost Complete / This is a kit (shown below) that I bought at an LQS in McKinney (Happiness is Quilting) and it was literally still in the bag a few weeks ago. My friend Angie‘s mom did the embroidery for me and she brought it to me this weekend. All I had to do was press, cut the embroidered blocks, make the large 4-patch blocks, and piece. This one just needs the borders and then it is going to Michelle for some custom quilting. I would never have gotten this done without Angie’s mom.}

• I finished all of the HSTs and squared them up for my Vintage Sheet HSTs Quilt {from Piecing – Lots to Go to Piecing – Almost Complete / My little pile of square-up trimmings is shown below. I just love those piles.}

• I haven’t shown many pictures of my Ruby Star Shining Improv quilt, but the top is now complete! It’s a reasonable size so I’ll probably quilt this myself. Maybe….I will at least get Michelle to baste it on the long arm for me.
• One of my big projects was pumping breastmilk, probably my most dreaded baby-related activity. If I had to work outside of the house, I do not think I would have made in these 10.5 months of nursing. But on retreat, I forgot the plug for the pump but THANKFULLY had the car charger plug. So I spent a lot of time inside the car on retreat. I took this photo on Sunday morning because the rain looked so pretty on the window. And let’s face it, there is not a whole lot to do when you are pumping. Thank goodness for iPhones.