March RSC blocks and another finish from 2024

 March is almost over and although I finished these blocks about a week ago, I haven't had time to post. March's color for the RSC is yellow. I made 5 yellow traditional blocks to join January and February's blocks. 

And 5 yellow improv blocks to join January and February's blocks.

I'm enjoying making these blocks and it is fun to see the difference between the traditional and improv of basically the same block.

I'm linking to Scrap Happy Saturday @Soscrappy

In my last blog post, I wrote about my Wish Upon a Star quilt that was started at the @craftymonkies retreat last summer. Another of the quilts that I started there was my Citrus quilt. At the retreat, Nicholas Ball taught a class called Fruits and Vegetables. If you don't know about Nicholas Ball, he is a improv extraordinaire! I went into the class with the idea that I would make a grapefruit with the possibility of adding additional citrus fruits later. I left the retreat with this completed block.

Once I got home and started on the orange, lemon, and lime blocks, I realized that the grapefruit should be the largest fruit but it wasn't. So I carefully unpicked the peel, the pith and then added a section and increase the size of the current sections. I then added back the pith and the peel. This is the final grapefruit block.

Here are the 4 citrus fruits together.

I straight line quilted this piece vertically about 1/4" apart but I used citrus colored threads to out line the word citrus. 

Citrus finished at 31" x 31" and was completed in October 2024.

I'm linking to Finished or Not Friday over @Alyciaquilts

The Summer has come and gone - Where have I been and what have I been up to?

 Wow! I have been absent for way too long! It has been a very busy season year for us! I will break my updates into smaller segments to not overwhelm anyone including myself!

Our youngest daughter got engaged way back in May 2022. They wanted to finish up her Pharmacy residencies before the wedding which would end in June 2024. The wedding date was set for October 12, 2024! All the planning started!

On Mother's Day 2024, our oldest daughter and her husband announced to us that they were expecting their first baby, due in November 2024. We are so excited!

I had previously signed up for my first @Craftymonkies quilt retreat in Lancaster, PA for June 2024. We drove to PA and my husband camped while I was at the retreat! It was the best experience! The teachers were fabulous - 2 from the UK and 2 for the USA. Rachel, the owner of @Craftymonkies is incredible and the best host!

Day 1 was the Amish Day! It included learning about the Amish, visiting Amish stores, fabric shopping, and visiting an Amish family for dinner! 

Day 2-3

The first day of classes were taught by the 2 UK teachers - the amazing and talented @NicholasBall from @quiltsfromtheattic and @SarahHibbert from @quiltscornerstone!

Nicolas taught improv Fruits and Vegetables and Sarah taught Collage to Quilt! I have not fully completed these pieces yet but this is what I finished in class.

My plan is to make the bottom left collage into a quilt and to make several more citrus fruit (orange, lime, and lemon) to go along with my grapefruit!

(Rachel, Nicholas and Sarah in one of the classrooms)

The 2nd day of classes were taught by the 2 US teachers - @victoriavanderlaan 

and @jenniepickett from @cloverandviolet

Both amazing and talented!

Victoria taught her method of textile scrap art. We arranged scraps, stitched them together then stretched them over an 8" canvas frame.

(Victoria vanderlaan teaching)

(Victoria and myself with the piece I created) 

Jennie Pickett taught a bag that she designed for the retreat - The Agnes Bag. It was a bit challenging for me as I am not a bag maker. I am pretty proud that I did actually finish it (with a zipper closure!) 

(Jennie and myself with the bag I made!)

(Several of the pieces and bags made on the 2nd day of classes!)

I made several new friends at the retreat!

Here are just a couple:

(my roommate, Susan...we were put together by Rachel)

(Elizabeth, a fellow quilter from the suburbs of Chicago)

Rachel and myself - I adore this lady!

So if you haven't heard of @Craftymonkies, you should head over to the website or search for craftymonkies on Instagram. There are live zoom classes with teachers from all over the world, video recordings to purchase and watch on your own, and of coarse, the retreats offered. I personally love the platform and have taken the classes in all forms! ❤️

That's Part 1 of my busy, busy summer! How was your summer?