Flashback to November 11-13

TRIANGLE MODERN QUILT GUILD RETREAT
Blockade Runner, Wrightsville Beach NC, November 11-13, 2011

While I have attended many quilt workshops and once the NC Quilt Symposium, it had been years and years since attending any kind of retreat let alone a quilt retreat.  With a year of house selling behind us and waiting for realtors to call I had decided the moment this retreat was announced that I would be there; after months of heavy house sorting this was to be MY time to have fun.  Fun in this case defined as a super-sewing weekend to catch up on much of the work that has been stored and stuffed in various hiding places.

Off to Wrightsville Beach I went - my first time in Wilmington or for than matter the first time in ten years that I had been east of I-95!


Harbor side sunset view



The first evening the sunset was magnificent - looking west from a harbor side view on the fifth floor, the nearly empty marina and calm waters fronted the last glow of the day. Somehow the place seemed quite comfortable to me, reminenscient of local harbors during our time in New Jersey.  Only this was warm, mid-seventies during the day and a week into November already. After getting setup Friday afternoon I was able to sew until nearly nine o'clock that evening, and had the sore back to prove it.



The Robert E. Lee Ballroom was the ground-zero for more than a dozen quilters who brought machines, cutting mats, fabric bundles, cutting equipment and loads of ideas. For a brief lunch time walk I headed towards the sandy beach - getting a beautiful sunny day to and a bit of an ocean breeze.

Boardwalk to the Atlantic



Noticing as I do (don't all quilters?), any pattern that could become patchwork, this mosaic across the lower half of the outdoor pool bar (accessible but closed for the season). The gridded C-wave pattern makes a perfect border, I scaled it to a 1" grid but the patch size could easily be enlarged to any desired size. See the Google docs for: Google doc for WAVE patch pattern

There was no set agenda for the retreat, everyone just worked on whatever project they brought with but I had offered a couple of ideas as my work has recently been focused on used-dryer sheets. As previously worked out two patterns, one for a tweaky four-point star and the other for the diagonal-string pieced diamonds used for table runners and placemats. Click on: Google doc for TMQG Retreat Star & Diamonds


Wave border pattern


Getting all the work done I wanted to accomplish was impossible but I did finish some critical work on the blue-orange-TG table runner as reported yesterday. Work will continue on other projects over the holiday season as time allows and as we are taking the house off the market until the new year begins.

So, for the next 40-50 days, I sew and sew and sew!
bbf

OREGON COAST

Cool, damp, cloudy and wet. That was our welcome to Oregon, landing in Portland and driving out to Oceanside to a large, 5-bedroom house with spectacular ocean views. Joining us on this summer retreat are Doug and Jen celebrating twenty years of marriage, Michael celebrating graduation from college, David keeping track of iTunes and the newly weds (about two years), Jane and Paul. This is the first time Paul has joined our family get to gathers and is proving to be adept at find crab fishing sites.

Doug's mastery of soup making was exercised on night one with split pea soup and again night two for the thickest, richest Cioppino stew replete with crab, shrimp, clams and a thick aromatic broth. Total Yum. Night three was time for Ahi tuna on skewers with pineapple slices grilled on the outdoor gas grill. Think of Hawaii, only thirty degrees cooler!

Packing for this trip was impossible. N.W. Missouri was 90 degrees and total humidity, while Oregon is far cooler. The upside is that I now have a new waterproof windbreaker with an Oregon Coast insignia. Found the jacket at the Tillamook Cheese Factory gift shop after a self-guided tour overlooking their production line. Just like Chaplin's "Modern Times," the line of cheese blocks just keep coming and coming as slicing, weighing and packing take place. Getting a taste of Tillamook Cheese Curds was a newfound experience.

Just what I needed each morning to warm up and stretch was my twenty minute slimnastic routine, getting Jane to join me in the workout was a bonus. Where are my warmer yoga pants when I need them?

Wednesday we found another production line, the Pacific Oyster Company of Bay City, Oregon where a dozen shuckers were busy filling two-gallon buckets in preparation for canning. At the storefront counter we tasted creamy New England chowder while Jane and Paul got a bucket of steamer clams. Needless to say we are in seafood heaven.

Chowder lunch followed a vigorous morning on the Tillamook Bay peninsula walking about two miles through sand dunes to inspect driftwood. This morning after making oatmeal and kitchen duties, we will head north to Seaside to allow Dave some playtime and then to Cannon Beach where lunch will be anywhere that has crab salads or something steamed.

Tomorrow is our big celebration day - getting the Jimmy Buffet-style shirts ready for all of us to get "wild & crazy." This as if the family needs anymore 'crazy' to enjoy the coast. What we wish now is to spend as much time with Jane, Paul, Michael and Dave before they leave Sunday evening to return to Eugene, while Ed and I spend another two days with Doug and Jen. Then it will be time to return to North Carolina.

Off to the coastal drive....stay tuned. bbf