Retreats, Challenges, and Guest Bloggers...oh, my!

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, but I wanted to sneak in a quick blog post here before I'm off again. WOOSH seems to be the sound I hear most of.

This past weekend I was in Ogunquit with the UnTangled retreat with my friend, Sandy Steen Bartholomew. We had over 35 people at the retreat, and for a pilot program...it went well. We met a lot of really amazing artists, and I learned another language...Zentangles have their own language it seems.  The pic above is one I did towards the end of day 2. I worked mostly on blank copy paper - although Sandy was very generous in what she put in the supply kit...I was distracted with all the Left Brain details, and I didn't want to waste what I had in the bag. I'm practicing now. 

The Tanglers were happy that Sandy's new book, Fashionista arrived straight from the printer, so they got to enjoy it before almost anyone else could.

No sooner had I come back from that then I began to put the final touches on my second March 2012 retreat, the Red and White retreat.  If UnTangled was a large logistical undertaking - and it was! - this one has more the feeling of a girls weekend (with a quilt shop in the back yard). At this retreat, we'l l be working on my first quilt pattern - Lake Shore Magic - done after we got back from The Red and White Quilt Retreat.  We'll have more pics of that coming shortly. The funny thing is, most of the quilters are working the quilt in colors other than Red and White. It's a good thing that the pattern works up nicely in many colors.

Finally, who out there is a fan of the show Downton Abbey?  I know I became hooked on it beginning in season 2.  I've launched my first Online Challenge based on the show, which will be part of a fundraiser for Public Television.  Look for this icon to spot people who are working along in it - The Official name of the Challenge is "What Happens in the Abbey", and it has its' own Facebook page.

Announcing "What Happens at the Abbey" Challenge!

Good afternoon Quilters!  Happy end of February to you all.

I've decided to launch my first ever Quilt challenge - and I got the idea from something that I've seen pop up over and over again on blogs and on Facebook. It would appear that many of us are fans of  the PBS show "Downton Abbey". The show is off the air until the end of the year, but we can enjoy it by doing something we love the most. Putting our creative talents to work on a Challenge.

Looking for inspiration? Your piece could be as simple as a Double Irish Chain or as elaborate as the costumes that the ladies wear.  That's what I love about a challenge. The Challenge will last until Sept 30, 2012

I'm doing this with the idea that if we could get some of the quilts donated, we could use them as a fundraiser for PBS. I've spoken with the local affiliate here, and they would love to have some quilts with a DA theme for their online auction come winter. We will continue to have some discussions in the coming weeks.  A disclaimer here is that the Fundraiser would be to support local stations here, not the nationwide network; I'm hoping that this does not discourage you from playing along.  You do not have to donate to the fundraiser to participate!

The Challenge rules are simple...your piece needs to be a traditional 3 layer quilt structure, it must  relate to the show in some way, and your piece should not measure more than 18" per side when completed.

Please (when submitting pics of your piece) provide a brief description of how your piece relates to the show.   If you'd like to donate to the fundraiser, please leave me a comment and we'll get more information about it.

I'm actively soliciting sponsors and prizes, but for now this is enough to get started.  Let me know what you think, and if you'll be playing along.

I'll be putting up a page on my website with information about the Downton Abbey Challenge, and there is an event on Facebook that's marked as The Patchwork Pearl's Downton Abbey Challenge.

Happy February 13th....We have a GiveAway Winner...

Congratulations to Laura of Davinia Designs...she's the winner of the DVD set Why Quilts Matter by the Kentucky Quilt Project.  I hope that Laura has as much enjoyment in viewing the series as I have.  Look for our next GiveAway later on this spring.

I'm pleased to announce that I am teaching a class at this spring's A Quilter's Sampler in Nashua NH the weekend of May 10-11th at the Courtyard Mariott in Nashua. The course is entitled The Online Quilter, and if you want to know the latest and greatest in the world of Online quilters - including Pinterest! - come join me on Thursday night.  Here's the link to the information page for  A Quilter's Sampler

And back over to the EvaPaigeQuilt Design's Drop and Give me Twenty challenge...I made a lot of progress today; I'm most likely breaking out the Jewel-It tomorrow.

Saturday night musings...and a picture

So I just wanted to check in with you all, and welcome those new to the blog. I have picked up several followers, and the drawing will be held - as promised on the 13th.  I know you're all working your schedules areound me this week.

There's still time to get in on it, so share this amongst your friends.

Tonight's update of the DaGMT challenge proves that if I start earlier, I get more done.  Not to the standards of others working on this, but progress all the same.

Oops, sorry about the socks!

Since it's a challenge entry this is probably the last time you'll see it until it's been entered.  I'm pretty safe to say that this is the first "Art" quilt I've ever done....thank heavens it's behind me.  Getting dimension on this has been an experience....

Tomorrow I work on adding character to this nest...  g'night all...

Progress on the Challenge...

Just a note to login and say that I have finished tonight's work on the Drop and Give Me Twenty Challenge (now referred to in shorthand as DaGMT). I have learned that I am not the most productive person after 9 PM at night, but I am stubborn. Tonight's project - and I recognise that I've been jumping around a lot  - is continuing to work on the other Guild's challenge, the one that involves the stuffed/Trapunto eggs. I Finished that part, and tomorrow I move onto the really scary part...the dimensional part.  But for tonight, here's what I've got so far...

This is going to be interesting...so far, I've gotten far more done than I ever would have thought. Tomorrow, Machine quilting...

I found time in my day!

My friend Beth Helfter at EvaPaige Quilt Designs is running an online challenge this month, the Drop and Give me Twenty Challenge. It has nothing to do with exercise, but is her (unique) way of getting us to commit to doing something every day. The challenge is to spend 20 minutes per day working on something sewing related. I can tell you that running a business, it's sometimes too easy to focus on the computer and not the fabric. I know that I need to spend more time sewing and less time computng, so I took it on.

There are days it's a bit easier said than done; literally, day 1 of the challenge saw me sitting down at the sewing machine at 10PM. That's not my best time of day to be working on something, and I don't recommend it. However, I don't throw in the towel on day 1 on anything. Voila - with the help of the alarm on my cell phone...borders put on a mini-quilt.

Today was scheduled to be an early morning out the door to another meeting kind of day, but I figured out a way around it.  I created a handwork project by pre-cutting and pre-kitting something that I could bring with me. Definitely not something I do everyday, but it does go to the core of the challenge.  It was probably painful for my table mates to sit and watch me try to remember how to buttonhole manually (isn't there a button on the Horizon for that?), but I persevered.

There's a lot more handwork in my future this spring - more coming later on that.  You'll see more of this project later on.  Tomorrow is another early AM out the door day to a computer class, so who knows?

Come back and find out

We've gained several more blog followers recently, and I'm looking at a lot of names to be entered into the GiveAway for Why Quilts Matter.  To enter, like this blog - and pass it on.

Linda

Happy End of January Everyone!

Well, January has turned into a clean the studio, clean the room, set some goals, organize your day better kind of month for me, how about you?  Some really tangible progress to report, so here goes...

First off, the Blog GiveAway is going well, but there was an issue with the way it was being set up, so I've extended it to Feb 13th. Everyone who's already entered has a chance to share the news with Friends and Family (and Guilds) and to win the DVD.  I'll announce the winner here on February 14th.  To enter the GiveAway, follow or like the blog so you get my updates automatically.

The signups for the Un-Tangle Retreat at the Beachmere in Ogunquit are going really well, Sandy Steen Bartholomew and I are really excited about it.  I'm going to be learning a lot, and getting to know a lot of fabulous new friends and artists along the way.   If you've never tried to Tangle before, this is the time.

My website has now been mostly updated - you can see the current calendar and this blog all in one place. I'm very happy that this gives me a more cohesive look to the site, and there'll be more changes coming along the way.  Can you check it out and let me know what you think of it?  It's www.thepatchworkpearl.com.


How many of you have seen EvaPaige Quilt Design's February challenge, The Drop and Give me Twenty Challenge? No, it's not exercise, it's quilting - her take on what can you get done in 20 minutes a day. I signed up last week and I've been getting prepped for it since I did.  Do I get credit for banking days ahead of when I can't get to them?  If you want to see the details of the challenge, click on the button on the side of my blog, and see who's up to what.  I committed to trying...and I've already gotten some things done.  Take a look...

Note, this is my contribution to Beth's group project - and (me being me) this was actually one and a half 20 minute chunks.  It did lead to a fund discovery in my stash...how many of you have every gone stash diving and found something like this - wondering why did I only buy a FQ? Fun...Fun...

Let me know how your week is going...