A Week with Ricky and Hugo

Did I mention I love workshops? Oh, and retreats? Oh, and Colorado? Oh and Ricky Tims? Oh, and camping? Put them all together and this was how I spent a week in May of this year (2022).

I loaded up a couple of my Ricky Tims projects - Colorado Rhapsody, and the Portland Maine Lighthouse (each of these quilts will get their own post later), my sewing machine and sewing tackle box into Tilley - my new to me toy hauler (hauling a sewing machine, not motor cycles), and headed west for LaVeta Colorado where Ricky lives, creates, and holds his retreats.

I went on a retreat back in May 2019, which is when I started Colorado Rhapsody. At that time I didn't have a trailer, so I stayed at LaVeta Inn, a very nice, but pricey hotel. So on this trip, I decided to bring Tilley and camp in the local RV park - that way I could spend money on Ricky's hand dyed fabric instead of a hotel room and eating out.  A Quilter has her priorities!

My son AJ's birthday was on Sunday May 22, so I left bright and early on Monday, stayed in a church parking lot in Lamar, Colorado (thanks Harvest Host) and arrived in LaVeta by mid day on Tuesday. Except for some bumpy roads which resulted in one of Tilley's windows busting out, the trip was uneventful (no speeding tickets for me this time). 

The RV park was just a block from Ricky's retreat center, so I could actually walk. Did I walk? No, but I could have! I was able to pack lunches, cook breakfast and dinner, so I saved some money, which, of course, I spent on fabric and a new hat in LaVeta.

There were 6 of us quilters there, plus Ricky and Hugo, so we got lots of personal attention from Ricky (well, and Hugo too - he cooked a fabulous lunch for us one day, and kept the jokes and teasing going all week). Everyone worked on a different project, so we got to hear Ricky's guidance on multiple techniques. Several of us were working on the Rhapsody technique.

With Ricky's help, I finished designing, cutting, and ironing on a million applique shapes that illustrate Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, the Tree of Life, and the cardinal directions - all to represent Colorado in my 50 Quilts for 50 States project. Stitching these million shapes down has been my focus for the remainder of the summer and I'm only about 2/3 done. I heard Ricky when he said that you can have as many fiddly shapes as you want, but remember that you'll have to sew each one down. Somehow it didn't really register though.

After the designing and cutting was complete, I moved on to a
second quilt - Portland Maine Lighthouse. This quilt uses the Gridified Art Quilt technique that I learned in a online workshop I took with Ricky last summer. So I finished (well, started actually) foundation piecing the lighthouse tower and house, started the background blocks, and made some really good progress. I needed some addition sky fabric, so I couldn't complete it there, but almost! 

It was a productive week with some really great quilters who are now new friends. We had dinner at a couple of great local restaurants, visited the home of one of our local students, shared music, quilting ideas, stories, and basically bonded over the week. Here is some of their work - they are some talented artists!

I hope I can do this retreat on a semi-regular basis - maybe every couple of years. I learn so much about my creative process and various techniques. And of course LaVeta is beautiful!

Curious about Ricky Tims and his quilting, photography, and music? Check out this multi-talented man here, on his website.

A Top is Born - Finally

Due to the way I sew - multiple projects at a time, I don't finish tops very often. They are spread out over time. But this summer I have been concentrating on finishing a few quilts. The first finish is Spring Meadow.

I started this one at Quiltworx University in Tucson in 2019.  The process for Quiltworx University goes like this - everyone (about 50 quilters) does the same mixer. That means a pattern is broken down into 4 sections - center, first border, outer section and outer border. Then, for each section there are anywhere from 4 to 7 different options to choose from. So, even before fabric choices are applied, everyone's quilts will look different. The add fabric and you really have a terrific line up of wildly different quilts. The mixer for QU 2019 in Tucson was Prairie Star Mixer. 

I chose my layout options and fabrics on Quiltster, submitted it and like magic it was there, in a box waiting for me when I arrived.

Saul was a good sport and agreed to go with me to Tucson. It was held at Tanque Verde Ranch outside of Tucson, a beautiful desert property with Southwestern buildings and stately Saguaro cacti and colorful scrubs.  Oh, and did I mention, the food was delicious - Saul's favorite part.

In addition to lovely hours of sewing, we were treated to a trunkshow by Judy. We got to see a bunch of new projects coming out. I always look forward to this and I make a list of what I want to make next.

Fast forward 3 plus years: sweet Saul's passing, COVID, some more travels, and several quilts. In July of this year (2022) I went to Quilt Camp at the Quiltworx retreat and training center, spending 10 days working on Quiltworx quilts with other Quiltworx fans. 

I opened the tote with my Meadow Star project and my first thought was "What was I thinking when I used these colors? It looks like the Easter Bunny yacked up on the wall." But as I got all the pieces up on the design wall and began assembling it - especially when I added the Kaffe Collective Cabbage Rose fabric, it all came together.  Granted it wasn't my usual color palette, but I liked it.

Its 100 inches square and will cost a pretty penny to have it quilted. I've started saving! It feels so good to get one of the beautiful Judy Niemeyer quilts finished. Judy designs them  so they are not difficult, but they do take perseverance. Oh, and I started a new one while I was there, so my net Quiltworx project numbers didn't change.

 If you're interested in learning more about Judy and Quiltworx, let me know. I have an entire trunkshow dedicated to the beautiful Quiltworx quilts.

  

Cruising and Quilting - Does it Get Any Better Than This?

Me: We should go on a quilting cruise!

Friend: Yes we should. Here is a good one.

Enter COVID and everything got cancelled.

Friend: I think cruises are going again, want to go on this one to the Eastern Caribbean?

Me: Sure Do!

We booked through Dawn at quiltandcruise.com. The teacher is Annette Ornelas of Southwind Designs. The Quilt is cute. I buy the pattern and choose the fabrics, The excursions look good, we sign up for a couple. We wait, and wait. We get vaccinations. We get tested. It's a GO!!!!

I love cruises anyway, but a quilting cruise combines the best of all
worlds. The plan is to sew only on sea days, reserving port days for excursions. We boarded the hugest cruise ship I have ever seen in Fort Lauderdale - Royal Caribbean's the Allure of the Seas. After getting settled, we met in our sewing room on Deck3 and got to know our machines, Jenomes provided by Scott.

We we got to start on our projects the next day. Teacher Annette was amazing. She developed a very cool technique of inserting fabric between 2 other pieces of fabric and then after sewing and pressing, it looks like an elongated flying geese block. Except that it's dimensional and after piecing the rest of the block you are supposed to fold the points up and top stitch them. This results in the cutest little curved points.  Needless to say, I bought several of her patterns to take home. One especially would make a great class project.

Dawn set up a private trip to Caribelle batik factory for the day we were in St Kitts. The site was beautiful, nestled into a little valley, with gorgeous foliage of every size, shape, and color. 

We were able to use stamps dipped in wax to make our designs - I used turtles - and them dye them in purple or a deep indigo dye bath. It was wrapped up in bags and safely stowed until I got home to rinse the extra dye out. I had blue fingers for a day!

Of course we had the opportunity to shop in their store. I bought a poncho thingy that will look great with some brown leggings and a 4 yard piece of fabric that I intend to use as a backing for the quilt I made during the cruise.

The eight days went by way too fast. Some of the 38 quilters in the group finished their tops plus the bonus projects Annette gave us. I got a little over half done. I plan to work on it during a couple of upcoming retreats. 

So I'm back home, having to make my own bed, prepare my own food, no cute little towel animals waiting on my bed, no more rum punch under tropical canopies. I'm dressing in layers because it's 35 degrees outside. But I'm already planning my next cruise with Annette - next April. Saving my pennies.

Come cruise with me!