Quilt Retreat

Annual Retreat… Yay!

Last weekend was the annual retreat for my quilt group.  I got there in the afternoon on Thursday and left on Sunday.  Despite having two full days and two partial days to sew, I am nowhere near caught up on projects. 

I had fun though!

So, let me talk about the trip….

I take a crap load of stuff to retreats.  

I’m an ARTIST… I may want something…. I need to take it ALL. 

Good thing we have both a minivan and a truck…. Maybe…..

Chris was racing over the weekend, in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Because of the long drive, he was trailering the race car and needed to have the truck to pull it…. Ok, truck is out.  Since the weather is cold, I don’t need AC in a car, so I decide I’m going to take the minivan.  Plenty of room in it.  Just Ana and I going.

I’ve managed to lose my key to the minivan.  This is not a monumental occasion.  I lose keys… a lot… there’s a reason there’s a keypad on our front door and that my primary vehicle has a sensor rather than needing to insert a key. 

Wednesday night, I leave a note on the kitchen table.  It says “van keys?”

Thursday morning, I get up, and the key elves have left a key to the van on top of my note.  I take the key and head out to the van.  Key in ignition… start…

“Click, click, click”

Yeah, about that.  The battery is totally dead.

So, I’m a capable woman, I can start the battery with another car, or the booster.  But, what if the battery is toast and this keeps happening?  Remember, this is the minivan that we’ve already replaced and are in the process of selling as a “running but needs attention” vehicle.  I don’t trust it.

I then take keys for both my Challenger and my Commuter car (Chrysler 200). 

·         Open 200 trunk

·         Stare

·         Open Challenger trunk

·         Stare

·         Repeat a couple times

Yea, despite mileage sucking on the Challenger, its trunk is much bigger.  Oh well, Amery isn’t that far.

Car Issues

I have to take a quick break here and detail some things with cars for my audience.

I respect cars.  I can handle a kick ass muscle car better than most women.  I can also drive a big truck, a motorcycle, stick shift, etc.  I routinely switch back and forth – even in winter – between rear wheel and front wheel drive.

However, I am a magnet for weird things with cars.  Cumulatively, I drive ¼ or less of the miles attributed to the household vehicles, yet things that cannot be controlled ALWAYS happen to me!

Let’s just go back a few years

·         Quilt Retreat in Rochester a few years ago:  Minivan – A/C compressor seizes and van is stopped dead in tracks.  Called AAA and rented a car to get home. 

·         Six months later, same quilt retreat facility:  My Sebring – Blew the engine completely.  That particular engine had a flaw, 55K miles and it went on me, six months short of warranty expiration and was replaced under warranty

·         Couple years ago, about 18 months after the first retreat, Florida trip:  Minivan – A/C compressor seizes again while I was driving.  Chris did 95% of the driving on that trip but it seizes on me.  Fixed at a shop in Iowa.

·         October 29, 2010, driving to Wisconsin Dells:  Minivan – dead deer in the road, I ran over it.  Significant mostly because of the next item….

·         October 29, 2011, driving back from a local “mini” quilting retreat:  Minivan – while driving on a major road, a deer runs into the side of the van.  Inner City!!

·         A couple weeks ago, driving to work:  Challenger – tire blowout.

So, it totally doesn’t surprise me that the van failed to start.  Me and cars are just a natural magnet for trouble.  Throw in the quilting element and it’s a disaster.

I had control over NONE of these things!!!

Which brings me to Google maps. 

Ana and I got to the center of Amery and plugged in the address for the retreat facility.  We took a turn.  The GPS (based on Google maps on Ana’s phone), told us to proceed 600 feet and turn right.

As the phone was telling us that – this is the view from the passenger’s side of the car.

Hitting the Road

After determining to utilize the Challenger for the trip, I proceeded to pack the trunk.  I figured that I should use the trunk, and anything of Ana’s could use the backseat.  She just doesn’t take as much as me.

I succeeded in getting everything into the trunk.  However, it was arranged as a jigsaw puzzle and it was necessary to reverse the order exactly.

Ana and I started with a nearly two hour lunch at Akita – our favorite all you can eat sushi place in Woodbury.  We then went to her place in River Falls and packed the backseat with her things.  I moved into the passenger seat and slept most of the way there. 

She claims I snore

I do NOT….

Food Products in Cheese Head Land

I wisely avoided the local quilt shops (I have way too much and we didn’t need anything else in the car!!), but we made two shopping trips to local places. 

On Thursday night we hit a local grocery store.  Here are a couple items of interest:

On Friday, we went into the nearest “big” town and to the Wal-Mart.  This is what amused us there:

And, one last point of humor… Or so I think so, but Ana wasn’t as amused… a heart shaped potato at dinner:

What I Did Over My Summer  Mid Autumn Break

I worked on a bunch of little things, and did some major organizing of my project box.  However, my big project was to catch up on my pieces for the Glacier Canyon quilt.  It’s a six month class and each month we do one “technique” and the blocks for that section.  I’m doing two of them:  One in beige/green/pink/purple batiks, and the other in blacks and whites.  I caught up on pieces for both, but I only brought the other pieces for the batik one.  Here’s a picture of the pieces laid out:

While I was off sewing, my hubby won Trophy Class on both days in Cedar Falls.  This is what my kitchen table looks like now.

The pumpkins were brought home from a farm when Chris, Brandie and I went and did harvest celebrating.  We did a corn maze, played in a corn pit, bounced in a pumpkin shaped bounce house and then headed to the field for a BIG pumpkin.  Here we are heading off!

Glass Work

As I write this, I’m sitting here with three cuts from tonight’s time at the studio.  One will require a Band-Aid for a few days.  Tomorrow is Open Torch at Potek Glass studio; let’s see how many more Band-Aids I can add to the mix!

When I was working in the studio tonight, Karen – the owner, looked at my latest piece and commented on my unique style.  She also stated how much she likes it, but I took the style comment much more to heart.  Many artists are mimics.  To truly have your own style is very hard to do and the best compliment that I think any artist can get!!!

I made another large (24 x 8 inch) piece in my style tonight.  I’ll post pictures of it when it’s fired.  Its and orange/red/yellow based piece.  I also made two smaller (about 6 x 8 inches) pieces.  One is purples and one is blues.  Both are meant to be desk display sizes.  If they turn out nicely, I’m going to buy some nice display stands.  The purple one is for me…. Obviously!

Etsy Store

I started an Etsy store!!!  I’ve only put my bigger glass pieces on it at this time.  It’s there mostly to let some people look at the bigger things.  I do, however, plan on taking pictures of jewelry and getting them up there soon.

The link is:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/FridayDesigns2012

Custom orders accepted!!!

New Style

After seeing some things on Pinterest, I tried my hand at working on a new style.  Here is a picture of one piece:

Now, let me describe this.  I put down a sheet of clear glass.  Then I sprinkled powdered glass on it, drew some lines in the powder, etc.  Next, I put pieces of different colors of glass on top, creating a second layer of solid glass – just in different colors.  Lastly, I decorated the top with frit, powder, stringers, etc.

The effect that I was going for – which is VERY hard to see in these pictures – is different textures between and on top of the glass – a 3D effect if you will.

Misc

·         12 inch striped plate with embellishments

·         10 inch layered squares, sushi plate shaped

·         Striped soap dish – just a fun little piece for my house

And that’s all she wrote…

Say goodnight Gracie……