Sunday, October 17, 2010

Northern Retreat



I just got back from my annual Fabric of Friendship retreat in Northern Michigan. Every fall thousands of people head north for a "color tour" to see the changing leaves. I missed the best color by a couple of weeks, but I wanted to show you a few pictures of the beautiful state of Michigan. I wouldn't live anywhere else.





The water is impossibly blue with the sunlight on it.










Okay, now back to sewing. I arrived late Friday night, and this is what I brought for a day and a half. It's less than usual. :)




So, you've probably been wondering what I've been working on while I've been blogging about quilt shows and symposiums and such. I've joined the girls over at Glorious Applique. It's a blog about people working on Kim McLean patterns, and after much resisting, I started the Roseville Album quilt. You can order the patterns, and the Kaffe Fassett fabrics Kim uses, at Glorious Color. The Kaffe fabrics are gorgeous, and I may use them in a future quilt, but for now, I'm a repro gal. I got the pattern last weekend, and got right to work. I got a banana box and put any fabrics I thought might work in it.





Then I traced the pattern onto a piece of red dot Pellon for an overlay. Someone on a quilt board suggested using it instead of vinyl, so I thought I'd try it out. I put a piece of white paper under it so you could see the pattern I traced.








Here's my first block laid out, minus the berries, which I'll pick out later. I've been slaving away at it this weekend, so engrossed I totally missed the Market Place we have at the retreat, even though it was in the other end of the room! I'm still not sure how I didn't hear anything going on.






Every time I ran across the Regency Dandy fabrics, I had to shield my eyes. They are so bright they are almost radioactive. After I started this quilt, I knew they would be PERFECT! Funny how a new project makes you see fabrics in a totally different light.






All for now.....Have a great week.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

What gorgeous pictures of Michigan. Love the houses! I lived in Michigan in the early 60's and remember the snow falls.

LOVE your applique! And of course the fabrics are delicious. It'll be so nice!

antique quilter said...

exacty I bought that line and gave it to my friend, well when I decided to make this quilt in repros I called her up and went shopping in her closets! we found it all and added it back to the baskets to make this quilt!
you will look at fabrics in a new way now. I have been on the hunt for bright repros ever since starting this quilt...oh and make sure you look for oranges :) not cheddar ORANGE!
Kathie

Nancy said...

Beautiful photos. Glad you enjoyed your trip. The block fabrics are terrific.

Beth said...

Lisa, your pictures of Michigan are a delight to behold! And such a wonderful feeling to be so engrossed in a project that everything else just melts away.

Beth

Frances Leate said...

Loved the photos of Michigan and as I am a house girl I absolutely loved these two photos. Have fun with the Roseville Album quilt and you are off to a really great start. Happy stitching!

Lee Prairie Designs said...

Love the houses and the beautiful pictures of Lake Michigan. Retreats are always fun!

The quaint Church picture is a delight! Thank you for sharing. Carolyn :)

Cheryl said...

Thank you for sharing the fall photos. Glorious homes! And so is your Glorious Applique. Love the bright fabrics.

Sheila said...

Your fabric choices are beautiful! Your photos of your home state are lovely. Sounds like your retreat was a great success.
Sheila H.

Quiltbenaco said...

Grazie per le bellissime foto del Michigan,
anche noi abitiamo vicino al lago, il Lago di Garda nel nord Italia, ma non abbiamo case così deliziose!
Ciao Domenica

Janet said...

Michigan looks like a beautiful place to be, the photos are wonderful, oh those houses! The Regency Dandy fabrics sure are out of the box, I have a collection of them waiting for the right time to use them.

Heirlooms by Ashton House said...

I enjoyed your photos of the glorious Northern Michigan landscape and charming homes. Those fabrics in your box will sure make a striking quilt. The Regency Dandy fabrics really brighten the block. Great choice!

Vivian said...

You shared the lovely photos of Michigan with obvious pride. Oh, how much I wish I lived in one of those gorgeous houses!
Whenever I find any Regency Dandy fabrics, I buy them immediately. They really do look like perfect ones for your project.

Quilt Station said...

Hi Lisa, wow you really do live in a beautiful part of the world, thanks for the photo's. I'm planning to get to the States in 2012 so gorgeous photo's keep me planning. Spotted some Smithsonian in your banana box and again on your new Roseville block...very gorgeous. I love retreats and try to get to at least one a year.
I'll keep my ear to the ground and hopefully will be able to do a workshop too when in the U.S.

Karen said...

I like the idea of the red dot pellon for an overlay. I have never heard of using that. I never liked the vinyl and quickly gave up using an overlay.

QuilterLaura said...

OOoh, lovely photos! They look like Petoskey to me. I am headed there Monday for a quilt retreat - can't wait!