FNSI, RSC, & Retreat

I've been off the grid this week due to the arrival of my best friend last Saturday. We left for retreat Sunday afternoon and spent some glorious girlfriend time. Sure wish I'd taken some pictures of my friend but I did get a picture of one of the three (?) wool applique projects Vickie completed while there.

Acorn pillow not quite finished here.
Buttermilk Basin design

Here's a picture of a sweet Christmas quilt sewn together by my friend, Amy. I'm not sure of the pattern name. Sorry about that.

Table buddy Sharon was in the Halloween mode. She finished this one:

And this one she had just about finished with the exception of two sides. She got it finished when she got home and sent me this picture.

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For the first time ever, we had a married couple sewing with us. Mike hasn't been quilting all that long but is he ever into it and he's always thinking of better ways. Here's the quilt he put together at retreat.

Obviously (probably) it's being held sideways so it didn't hang on the floor. Wouldn't it be perfect for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge?? Sorry, but again I don't know the name of the pattern. I'm sure I could get it for you if you want it though.

So what did I do? I made this adorable table mat that was a kit from Timeless Traditions by Norma Whaley. It was strip-cut and fabrics were already pre-matched so that made it easier to put together. However, pieces still had to be cut and sewn. This little mat finishes at 15".

The striped fabric in the top of the picture is the binding and the fabric that it is laying on is the backing. They were also included in the kit.

We left retreat Thursday morning and headed into St. Louis to Batiks Plus. Besides being an authorized Bernina dealer, they also have all sorts of Hoffman batiks and I knew Vickie would love it. I was not wrong especially since I'd given her a gift certificate for her retirement. Batiks Plus does an incredible business online because of all their batiks which includes ALL THE HOFFMAN 1895 FABRICS! You can visit HERE. We spent a little over three hours. So.Many.Batiks!

On Friday we decided to go to Itch'n to be Stitch'n in Staunton IL. This is another quilt shop that you should visit if ever in the St. Louis metro area. We shopped some more and had loads of fun there too.

During the evening hours we settled in for some handwork and rest. Vickie was working on a crocheted tablecloth and she made great progress there. I worked some more on my knitted socks. The pattern is Caramel Sauce by Joji Designs, which you can find on Ravelry. Here's where I am right now. Just a couple more rows and I'll be turning the heel. All the while I was also sewing with Wendy & friends during Friday Night Sew-In. You can see what all got accomplished HERE.

Vickie left this morning. I have a Zoom TAS (The Applique Society) meeting this afternoon with Janice Vaine. I'm looking forward to her trunk show. If you like applique, you really should join TAS. We get a lot of 1st rate teachers lined up to speak to us & teach classes. You can learn more HERE. I've already started the laundry and will finish up during the meeting. Then we take Gracie to the kennel because we (meaning Fred, Mom, & me) leave tomorrow for almost two weeks. We will be in NC visiting my brother and on to MD/VA to visit my son and daughter. Of course we'll also be seeing BRODY!

I'm letting you in on this because I'll be hit-or-miss for a while longer. In the meantime, have yourself a wonderful rest of October!

Linking up with Angela at SoScrappy and all the other RSC quilters HERE. Happy stitching!