Sunday, November 05, 2006

Retreat Preparation

One more work week until my guild's retreat! This retreat is extra special to me because I'm going to meet a long time internet friend in person for the first time. I met Ann-Sewsalot playing internet games, on Pogo. We've tried to think back, but can't remember if we first met in one of the Solitaire games or in Poppit (a strategy game where you pop matching sets of balloons till there's -hopefully- no balloons left) and we also can't remember exactly how long it's been. Our best guesstimate is 4 to 5 years ago.

Ann first talked me into getting EQ5, and was there for me when I was constantly asking questions about how-do-I-get-it-to ... ? She pushed me to enter the EQ monthly virtual design challenges and we had a lot of fun sending blocks and ideas back and forth. I found out her neighbor M. is a long-arm quilter, and that's where I send all my bed size quilts to be done. Last year, after our November retreat, Ann started talking about how fun it'd be if she came to the retreat, sometime... so this year Ann and M. joined my guild, long distance, then registered for the retreat a couple of months ago... now we're down to the wire - just a few days left to go!

M. is going to be driving down to Tennessee with Ann this Friday, (deer hunting season begins Friday also, their husbands will both be busy) and I'll get to meet them for the first time face to face! I'm so excited! As long as I've been online, I've never met anyone 'for real' that I first met virtually. I'm such a wimp. What if they hate me on sight? What if our personalities clash? What if I find out that Ann not only quilts beautifully but also ... spits tobacco, or some other weird habit we've just never talked about during our hours and years of chatting? :D

Anyway, all nervousness aside, here's what I worked on this weekend. Our guild does a challenge block as part of the retreat. They pass out an 8" square of fabric, and we're all challenged to make a block using at least a square inch of that fabric. Here's what I came up with:



The challenge fabric was the light khaki color that I used as a background. They let us buy additional squares of it for 25¢ if we needed to, and I did! I'd picked three different colors of blue to use, and ended up using this shade beacuse it more closely matches the little bit of blue in the challenge fabric. Now I wish I'd used the darker blue for more contrast, but... too late now! It still needs to be pressed one more time. The block is called 'Children Take Wing' and it's from Quilter's Cache. I redrew it in EQ because I wanted that center square to be one piece, not 4 triangles. My version goes together like a square-in-a-square, her version was a 4-patch.

Now I'm pre-cutting squares for the Friday night class we're taking. More on that later!

15 comments:

Hedgehog said...

Cool block! Have fun meeting your friends! (That sounds funny, doesn't it!)

Helen said...

Hi Forest Jane

I'm the lady from New Zealand who commented about your success in having an EQ design published on the back of the new EQ6 box. You left a comment on on our blog "After the Party" about the quilt we are making for the Human Rights Challenge at our National Quilt Symposium here in NZ in Jan 2007. I sent you an email, but didn't get a reply. Maybe your acoount thought it was spam. So I'm trying to contact you again. First of all, thank you for your lovely comments about our quilt. The quilt is now finished apart from a hanging sleeve and we are waiting to hear at the end of November if it will be accepted.

The second thing I would like to ask you is if I can make your design for "Starry Night"? I am prepared to pay you in some way if you will give me permission to make it. I hope I am not offending you by asking. I thought it was a really lovely design. It really appealed to me.

I really enjoy reading the Maverick Quilters blogs. I usually set aside one night a week to catch up on what everyone is doing. I hope your guild retreat goes really well. Please email me back on helenmpedersen@gmail.com I would love tohear from you.



cheers
Helen

Cynthia said...

hope you enjoy your retreat and meeting up with your online friend.

Love the fabrics you have used for the Children Take Wing block.

Ali Honey said...

Sounds like your're going to have fun. Enjoy !

Gail said...

Hope you have a wonderful time. I've met a number of people from the internet now, and each has been a terrific person, have fun and stop worrying.

Anonymous said...

Neat block! Have a great time at the retreat!

Finn said...

Hi Jane, what a neat thing to get to hook up with a fellow cardplayer and blogger!! I'm sure you gals will have a great time and a million laughs. I've hardly ever met a quilter I didn't like..*VBS*
Your block looks great, and I really like the center as one piece vs. triangles. Good choice! Keep quilting, Hugs, Finn

PS.. I think you asked me how many of those windmill(b.dishes) blocks I had? Not nearly enought to make a quilt..LOL, but sometimes it only takes one block to get my juices flowing.c The quilt that they were left from was made by friend Betsy way back in the late 80's or early 90's...*VBS* Almost vintage.

Kim West said...

Have a great time at retreat! The block looks great

just jenn said...

You have been a busy woman! ;) Those triangles look amazing! I just wish that I could do a HST much less a nice perky one like you have done.

Pam said...

Oh you are going to have so much fun meeting face to face with your pals! I have traveled from Oregon to Florida to meet a group of gals I was once on a list with. I have also met gals in California, Washington, Idaho and Colorado. If Linda doesn't get to come to Oregon next year I am thinking I will be headed to Alabama in 2008!

Hanne said...

Enjoy your retreat :-)
Your block looks great.

Ann said...

JANE JANE JANE...... first of all, what happens at retreat does NOT stay at retreat, you showed pictures last year! Secondly, as you said, we have "known" one another for 4-5 years, so I KNOW you are a beautiful person. What the package looks like means nothing to me, so don't count on my making the tires squal just because of what you look like. I am not exactly the skinny glamour girl type myself. Not even close. So, put your doubts aside and be ready for a quiltin' good time this weekend! I will warn you, I do laugh a lot!

Quilts And Pieces said...

Oh how fun! Have a wonderful time with M and Ann! I love your challenge fabric block - that is beautiful!

And watch out, it isn't the spitting tobabcco you should worry about - it is that evil 3rd eye! :)

Darcie said...

You will all have the time of your lives! And pleasepleaseplease take lots of pictures! I always think that I'm too busy to stop sewing and snap some pics...and then am so disappointed after the weekend has passed that I did not take enough.

Can't wait to hear all about it!!! Hurray for good friends!

Judy said...

Sounds like great fun!! I didn't know you could join a guild long distance like that, but what a great solution!!

You gals will have loads of fun I am sure of it!!

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