Why, hello there!

So, I guess it's been 5 months of Sundays since you last heard from me. And here I thought I was going to be able to get back to my regular Sunday posting. Well, what do they say? Best laid plans of mice and women! Thanks to everyone who has emailed me wondering if I was OK. I feel like Sally Field when she said "You LIKE me, you really LIKE me!" LOL!

Yes, everything is OK. As with everyone, I've had my shares of ups and downs over the last five months, and it was difficult to sit down and say what I wanted to say without saying anything at all. So, I didn't....say anything at all. Now, that period of my life is over, and without further ado I am back, and hopefully here to stay!

So what's been cooking? I'll start with the most recent things first and make my way backwards if I can't find anything else, OK?

I just came back from our Guild's second annual retreat that was held at Tall Oaks Retreat Center in Linwood, KS. This is a beautiful older facility that sits on 340 acres of Tall Oaks. The weather was gorgeous on the day we arrived, but then it rained, and rained, and rained, and rained, and then rained some more! It rained so hard that one of the 100' tall oaks fell down across the road, and into the parking lot where our cars were. No cars were damaged, though, thank heavens, and unfortunately luckily they got it all cleared away by the time we had to leave!

There were so very many projects completed and started while we were there, and it was so energizing to be with so many talented quilters. And just plain fun, too! We celebrated two birthdays with birthday cake, and we got to walk a few miles before it started raining.

I think this is the first night - the last one stitching - Donna who also got the most projects completed!

As usual, I took more projects than anyone could ever complete in just four days. I didn't want to run out of anything to do, right? A couple of the projects I took were made with Honeybun pre-cuts. I got the idea for these two quilts from Jenny from the Missouri Star Quilt Company who was recently at our guild as a program speaker. If you've never been at their website, or if you aren't signed up for the Daily Deal from them, OR if you've never watched one of their tutorials on YouTube, you are missing a wonderful experience. It's OK - go there now, but be sure to come back here to see more pictures of the quilts from retreat.

This is called Keyhole, and it's made with one Honeybun roll.

This is the pastel version.  

Both these quilts will be donation quilts for Juvenile Diabetes. They aren't finished yet, of course, because what you see in the blocks sticking out at the top and bottom will be cut in half and used to fill in the blank places. There will also be an "expansion" area with some appliqué on it. If you look on the Missouri Star Company's tutorial under "Keyhole Honeybun", you can see what I mean. BTW, I am showing off a pair of my socks in the last picture that everyone was laughing at.

Silliness after midnight

Have any of you made baskets with the wrapped clothesline? You can see my finished one, and I was determined to use up the last of the wrapped rope since I intend to NEVER make another! I love them, but I don't love making them! So....what you see here is my extreme frustration that I kept coiling the rope the wrong way EACH time I tried to make the basket. It didn't help that the center of each start happened to be a lighter color wrap than the outer part of the circle. Oh well.....LOL!!!

Our guild also does a mystery quilt each year. Guild Projects Coordinator, Nancy reveals her version here. Isn't it just beautiful?

She also worked with EQ to swap the blocks around to make a second look.  I believe this is Kaye's quilt.  I love it too!

Are you ready for another look of the same block? This is Mary Lou's classy version.

And the last one up again....is she working or sleeping?

So that's the highlights of the retreat.  Alas, it was over way too early and we made our way home.  The next day, bright and early I participated in a 5K that benefited Running Girls.  It was the second annual Diva Dash, and I made my best time ever!  I did it in 50 minutes, and for once, I wasn't in the last group.  We had timing chips, and there were still about 130 gals behind me AND they were ALL younger than yours truly.  I have another one scheduled for April, and I hope to make it in 45 minutes or less.  We'll see.....

At the Finish Line

Until next week (or maybe sooner?)...........