Diablo Valley Quilters Retreat 2015

As a lot of you know, Selma Haley and I started the DVQ retreat back in 1997.  Each year since then new chairmen have made it bigger and better.  This year was no exception.   I look forward to it each year.  Specially now that I live so far away.

Just wanted to post a few pictures of what I worked on and others too.

My Winding Ways or Wheel of Mystery was begun in a John Flynn class I took at the Camarillo Quilters Association workshop.  I finished piecing it at the retreat.  During the workshop I had purchased a dye cut kit of Storm at Sea.  The finished quilt will measure 14 1/2" X 18".  Below you can see how tiny the pieces are.

Winding Ways

Pieces made at reatreat. Square are 1 5/8" finished

My projects at retreat.   

At home making "large" Sq in Sq.

Selma & I - 44 years of friendship

Selma's quilt

Quilt by Ellen Bill

Retreat Blocks

Ironing Table - How to make and cover

I received an old changing table from my daughter's sister-in-law.  Bruce took the top off and added wheels to the legs.   The wheels and the new top make it just the right height for me.

After research we found not all wood is created equal. :)  (It's the 4th of July tomorrow). Anyway - most of the "big board" time of ironing boards are made out of MDF.  It's a great composite material that doesn't warp.  Trouble is it is made with a type of glue that has formaldehyde in it.  When heat is applied the formaldehyde is released in the air.   Basically all press boards and composites use this type of glue.  After a period of time the formaldehyde will be gone.  But I have a granddaughter, and don't want anything in the air that may harm her.

Plywood uses glue by none containing formaldehyde.  The trouble with plywood is that it does warp.  And finding a perfectly flat piece at the local big supply store is nearly impossible.  We did find a large flat piece that was made out of strips of pine glued side by side.  It was back where they have small sheets of wood; rounds for table tops, etc.  Again it was made with wood glue without formaldehyde.  

Bruce cut it to the size I needed.  55 X 19.  This gives me room for a width of fabric plus a place for my iron to rest.

At Joann's Fabric I bought 2 yards of Insul-Bright.  It is a type of batting used to make pot holders or casserole carriers. Insulated again heat.   From Bo-Nash I ordered their IronSlide ironing board cover.  29 X 65.   Because I was using 2 layers of the Insul-Bright, I didn't get the cover that came with the foam pad.  I bought my first Bo-Nash cover over 10 years ago for my regular ironing board.  Trust me, 10 years is a long time for a cover to last specially as hard as I use them. I'm quite impressed with their product.


I cut 2 pieces the Insul-Bright to the the size of the top plus 1 inch.  This gave me just 1/2" overlap for the edges.  I did not want it the wrap around to the bottom, otherwise the cover with not stick to the underside of the top.  Cut away a square at the corner and the edges fold down without any bulk.  Use flat head thumb tacks to secure the corners.  I also used them every 5 inches or so to secure the Insul-Bright to the table.

Next, measure the how much over hang and and area you have under the table and add that to your top measurement.  I had lots of under surface at both ends of the table, but only about an inch on the short sides.  This was another reason I didn't want to wrap my Insul-bright around to the bottom of the table; I knew there wouldn't be enough surface to adhere the Bo-Nash.

You apply the Bo-Nash the same way you would apply a laminate surface.  Peeling back the protective plastic as you smooth down the cover.  I started at one short end; I peeled the plastic back and under itself with the sticky side up.  I pulled it down over the end and secured it to the under side of the table.  Once it was secure, I flipped the cover to the left and began peeling the plastic away as I smoothed the cover down.  To help smooth the cover down and smooth the creases out, I used my 24" ruler.
 
 

Two Years Later

Can't believe it's been over 2 years since we moved south.  As I'm typing this I'm sitting in the dining room of my house in Walnut Creek.   Tenants have moved out and we're going to sell the house.  Had several clients tell me they loved my house and would buy it if it ever came on the market.  Of course, I can't remember who you are now.  At the time I never dreamed of leaving my beautiful home.

It's been such a joy watching our little granddaughter, Molly, grow up.  She'll be 3 in just a few weeks.  So bright, beautiful and tall.  Obviously she gets the height from her father, not us short little Baileys. :)

Since we've been south I've been working on a pattern line rather than doing longarm quilting. Though my daughter has kept me busy quilting her quilts.  I'm working on the 3rd pattern design and hope to have them all ready for publishing by spring.  We're hoping to self publish and distribute. 

At PIQF last month I fell in love with 3/8" hexies.  Have absolutely no idea what I'm going to make with them, but the are so darn cute I can't stop making them.

MOVING

We are moving to Ventura, CA.  This way we can be close to our daughter and her family.  Work at The Quilting Co. will temporarily come to a halt.  We have lots of renovating to do, so  we'll probably be traveling back and forth for several months.  I'll let you all know when I'm up and running again.

I want to thank all my valued clients over the past 10 years.  I'm looking forward to meeting a whole new group of quilters in southern California. 

Will miss all my wonderful friends at Diablo Valley Quilters and the Guild of Quilters of Contra Costa County.  It's been a joy to be so involved with DVQ.  I hope my small contributions over the years have made a difference.

3-D Flying Geese

At the Diablo Valley Quilter's Guild meeting last night, our speaker was Colleen Granger.  She showed us how to make a 3-D Flying Geese unit.  Of course she was on stage and you could only see so much.  But I did find this site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Mu0C_QL8Y on the Internet. (Don't know what we ever did without it!).  Very cool.  And the terrific thing is, you can chain piece these puppies!  Imagine making a flying geese border in a third of the time and NOT having to trim anything because they come out perfect each time!

Sewing Room Finised!

Room is finished.  New hardwood floors and paint.  Annebelle likes her new room.  And so do I!  Pictures don't show it but I even have cove molding around the ceiling.  Looking pretty good.  Now we'll work on the living and pool table room.  It's all coming together nicely.

Face Lift - not ME, my Studio!

The Quilting Co. is getting a face lift.   Have new paint and new flooring!  It's looking good.  Can't finish painting the molding and getting everything put back into the studio.  Sure miss quilting everyday!

Thanks everyone for being patient while we get the work done.  See you all soon!