Hita's Whimsy: I never know when inspiration is going to get me!

I was invited to join a mini retreat at the beginning of Feb. Some of my quilting friends wanted a couple extra nights to set up sewing machines and enjoy undisturbed sewing before the Mississippi Quilter's Association (MQA) Spring Gathering.

The usual plan at a retreat is to take a project or several projects and the goal is to have considerable progress, perhaps even finished tops, by the end. I took a few projects. I had to finish up Define Good. It just needed a bit more hand quilting. I didn't think to take the binding fabric with me. Once the quilting was done and the quilt trimmed I couldn't continue further until returning home.

hahah, my next pic is from March 2018. I'm embarrassed to show my design wall three projects deep. The burgundy quilt top sitting on the little design board on the floor is pretty much done now. I'm deciding what kind of borders I want to finish with. I'm leaning towards a simple 10" wide burgundy. Then to decide how to quilt it... that's probably what is stopping progress, if I'm being honest. (However, the small design board now holds christmas blocks made with the X block template... just to let you know that I didn't really clear the area. 🤔)

The first layer on the wall design wall is my Wonky Block Fractured quilt. Progress has been halted because I took on other stuff this year. It's a project that needs undivided attention. Thirteen more wonky blocks that require special fabric choices to make it LOOK like I just randomly threw everything together. I'll admit I'm kind of intimidated to continue.

The middle project is what I took with me to the mini retreat. It's a top that was inspired from.... did you guess?.. yes, Pinterest! It was a pin from Amy Friend's blog - During Quiet Time. The quilt pattern is Interlock in modern patchwork, That link takes you to her blog if you want to the pattern. I drafted my own.

However, I never dug this project out of the bag at the mini retreat.

I also took with me a tote bag full of crumbs. Crumbs are the tiny pieces some quilters usually throw into the wastebasket. My quilting friends have given me many crumbs over the last couple years. My sewing room is getting over run by them. So as a mini retreat project I thought I would organize a bunch by trimming/cutting them up for my scrap system.

I found that most of the crumb pieces were already too small to trim for the scrap system. So I started piecing them into 2.5" crumb blocks. It's very relaxing to mindlessly put two pieces of fabric together and sew.

However, it seems mindless sewing wasn't going to last for long. I put together one flying geese block just for the fun of it. I couldn't bear to trim it down to the 2.5" measurement. And it grew into a wonky flying geese strip about 6.5" long.

One of my quilting friends, Judy Stokes, is a flying geese enthusiast. I walked over to her sewing station to show her my work. Next to her was Brenda Crownover's sewing station. Brenda does exquisite needleturn applique and hand quilting. She made a needlecase to carry some of her smaller quilting supplies. That needlecase became my inspiration! (I'm going to try to remember to get a picture of it and edit it in here later.)

My flying geese strip was close enough to the width of her needlecase.

Once I had a purpose, there was no stopping! This looks like a pile of mess, yet there is a method here that was working well for me and it was all coming together lightspeed!

Ok, sitting behind my sewing machine IS a pile of mess. There is a "too small" for me. The pieced rectangle will not be thrown but the rest of it made it's way to the garbage bin.

My friend Ebba Kellum gave me a piece of batting so I could continue with the quilting. And I finished my needle case the next day!! It's a beautiful reminder of the mini retreat at Lake Tiak O'Khata, MS with my wonderful friends!