At-Home Retreat Days 1 and 2

I began my at-home retreat on Tuesday.  On Day 1 I finished Papillons de Paris and did my Stash Report.  Yesterday (Wednesday/Day 2) I didn't get a lot of quilting done.  I had lunch with my friend Kim S., after which I went fabric shopping for Piper's Polka Dots, a quilt for my soon-to-be-born granddaughter Piper, who will be here in less than a week.  Piper's bedroom is painted lime green.  Over that green there are big circles in dark pink.  I bought about a dozen lime green fat quarters and one-third yard pieces, which will make up the background of scrappy squares. I will echo the dark pink circles on the quilt, and I will pick up the pink fabric later.

Yesterday evening I watched my granddaughter Reghan, who will soon become a big sister, while my daughter-in-law Laurie (mom-to-be) and my son Robbie got some shopping done.  Reghan and I had a great time together, and after they all went home I sorted through a couple of bags of fabric.  Some of the fabric I kept for charity quilts, some will go to Project Linus, and some will be donated to a garage sale to benefit MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), a church group that Laurie belongs to.  Their sale is at the end of this month, and I have household items to donate, as well.  During the past couple of sales, Laurie has been a very active participant, but she's going to be just a little bit busy this year--with a newborn.

I did manage to get some sewing done last night.  I picked up where I left off during last year's retreat with the book Quilter's Playtime by Dianne S. Hire.  I had already completed three blocks, and had another pinned together--which I finished last night.

Tic Tac Toe Block - Finished Wednesday night

Quilter's Playtime Blocks so far

Left:  Hopscotch     Right:  Tic Tac Toe

So, today is Day 3.  I expect to get a lot of sewing done.  Next in the book is Pin the Tail on the Donkey.  I like to do seasonal wallhangings, and I've been wanting to do one for Cinco de Mayo (May 5).  I'd might as well do two things at once so Pin the Tail on the Donkey will be a Cinco de Mayo wallhanging.  I have a hot chili pepper fabric in my stash, which would be a great jumping off point for the project.  I probably have other related fabrics that could work as well.  We'll see what happens.