I’m back! I’m in utter chaos and exhausted, but I’m back and apologise for the blogging hiatus – yesterday I was rushing around all day getting life back on track and never made it anywhere near the computer!

There’s so much to tell that I hardly know where to start. But I will say that those of you who hummed and hawed and decided against coming to the FQ Retreat missed a real treat – and you have to come next year!! I apologise in advance to all those of you who didn’t go and are sick of reading about it!

It was a strange feeling heading off to the retreat because although I had never met any of the others attending, I really did feel that I was off on a jolly to catch up with my friends. That’s the joy of blogging I guess because we really did start off with a big lovefest of recognized faces with everyone studiously studying everyone else’s chests (name badges) and lots of hugging and shrieking. As you can see from this shot of the main hall we had lots of chances to hang out and get to know each other….and that’s probably what we spent most of our time doing!

We each got to take 4 classes spread over the two days. I started with Katy Jones’ Frame Purse class – which was great, but could have been a little longer. If you ever get a chance to take a class with the Ginger Monkey herself, do – she’s a delight and a super teacher….and I was fascinated by her tattoos!

Here’s what I made: (pretty cool, huh!)

I followed that with Wonky Log Cabins with John Adams and Freezer Paper Piecing with Kerry Green – in both of which I was so busy beavering away that I forgot to take any photos!

My final class was one that I was really looking forward to – Portholes with Lucie Summers. This is a technique I hadn’t seen before (why?) and although I had a vague idea what Lucie was up to, wasn’t quite sure and loved the overall effect. Here is Lucie (on the left) with her Portholes quilt, which won a first prize at the Festival of Quilts.

I loved this and had a real aha moment when I saw how it worked – it’s certainly a great way of making circles and I’m sure I’ll use it in the future!

The classes were really good, but were really only a small part of the whole – there was never a dull moment, with raffles (with zillions of amazing prizes), an iron man and a jelly roll challenge (neither of which I took part in – being somewhat of a lazy bum on such occasions….OK I confess, I just wanted more chatting time!), nice lunches, a sample swap ….where I think I lucked out, don’t you?,

an ugly fabric swap (where I actually ended up coming home with fabric that was even uglier than the stuff I took with me!), a trip to a quilt shop (Tikki in Kew) and two very nice dinners where I got to sit with the BritBee and Stitch Teasers and also the ex-pats who didn’t go right home at the end!

There were visits from Liberty, Oakshott Fabrics, and possibly the very best goodie bag ever too.

Ontop of all that there were also some really fabulous quilts around. How about this, belonging to Terri and made as part of the Brit Bee….

Or Cindy’s star quilt, which I honestly confess to having coveted intensely….

Best of all was meeting all my blogging friends – especially Quiltova who stayed at the B&B with me and who I really feel like I’ve known for years now (thanks Di for a fab weekend!). Susan, Claudia, Carol, Tanya, Moira, Elisabeth, Lush, Katy, Emily, Lucy, Sue, Linda, Leanne, Lynne, Nicky – and anyone else who I’ve accidentally left out – thank you so much for making it such a fabulous weekend….and Annabella, we missed you!

Congratulations to the FQ Team – Lynne, Brioni, Tascha, Katy and John for a hugely successful retreat – it was BRILLIANT – you did it! It was a winner! I’ll certainly be back next year!!

I will probably live to regret the title of this post – so if anybody unsavoury comes to visit I am telling you now, this is not the sort of site you think it is and you might well want to be on your way. Any smarmy, smutty or other unsuitable remarks will invoke the wrath of a middle aged lady. You don’t want to go there, you really don’t.

So.

Tomorrow is the day.

London and FQ Retreat here I come. I’ll be on the 9.30 plane out of Zürich heading for Heathrow.

My suitcase is almost packed. Unfortunately it is pretty much full and there are no clothes in it at all yet. Hence the naked lady.

I’m having great trouble deciding what to wear this weekend. Do I want to go for the serious don’t mess with me quilter look or the young, fun, creative and frivolous look? I seem to be a tad older than most of those attending, so frumpy is a definite no-no. Can I make my self look interesting and like the sort of person everyone wants to sit next to? As I’ve never met anyone who is going before I could really go for a whole new change of image. I could even be the cool lady in the corner looking mysterious! OK, that’s maybe stretching it a bit, but who knows….

Right now though I’ve got clean knickers and a nightie packed and that’s about it….

I’ve put all my class supplies in little bags although I’m missing one or two possibly critical items. Not one of my children trusts me enough to lend me a glue stick. Can you believe it? My son wavered a little and then told me that no, he’d rather not, he thought I’d probably be doing a LOT of gluing and then he’d get nothing back. I told him it wasn’t Blue Peter and I’d probably only need a touch or two now and then. He then suggested that I should borrow from a friend! Kids, you’ve got to love them haven’t you?!!

I’m not sure I’ve got all the right supplies and I’m sure I’ve signed up for the wrong classes as I thought I was bringing a sewing machine and then found out that mine was too heavy to take as hand luggage, so I shall be doing a wonky log cabin class without a machine among other things. Oh well, I’m used to going with the flow and I’m sure I’ll enjoy myself even if it doesn’t turn out to be a very productive weekend.

It’s all about the taking part isn’t it? Or is that the Olympics?

See you next week….or at the weekend those of you who are going to FQ…

I’ll have ideas fairly sprudeling out of me by then I’m sure (Can you say that in English? I think I may be anglicising German in all the excitement!)

Hope your weekend is as good as mine is going to be!

Helen

Only two days to go…in fact in two days time I’ll be sitting in the plane to London and the Fat Quarterly Retreat. This thought makes me so insanely happy that I almost can’t believe it’s true.

Having been away last weekend, coming home to slight chaos and lots to do, I’m all a bit at sixes and sevens. Thankfully I put supplies in jiffy bags for some of the classes last week – which I’m now really happy about, and my chocolate contribution and my swap notebooks are packed, but everything else….phah….not a clue….but by Friday morning I will be packed and I will be on the train and then the plane and then the train and then…..aaahhh…4 days in London doing what I want to do. AAAMMMMAAAAZING!

For those stopping by from the linky party who don’t know me, this is me…..

I’m a 48 year old English mother to 3 teenagers and wife of a zillion years to my rather nice Swiss husband. I’ve lived in Switzerland since 1991 and before that was in San Francisco, but deep in my heart of hearts I’ll always be a Geordie!

I have my own business and work as a translator and editor (German/English) part-time, do tons of sport, and sew to keep me sane. I started my first quilt at age 13 and quilting, knitting and sewing have been pretty much constants in my life ever since. I spend a lot of time just stroking my fabric stash and dreaming about living till I’m 200 to use it all up!

I won’t have met anyone coming to the retreat in the flesh before, but feel like I’m coming over to see friends – Quiltova is staying at a B&B with me and most of the girlies from the Stitch Tease bee will be there along with some lovely blog buddies.

Can’t wait till the weekend – see you there!

Helen

This morning finds me back in the hurley burley of family life, doing laundry, cleaning, taking the cat to the vet….you know what I mean….tackling the carnage after a long weekend when I wasn’t here keeping order as I went along…..

Mind you, it’s worth it because I got to spend the weekend here….

Chateau Gottrau, near Freiburg, Switzerland

I have to tell you that this is my dream house – 16th Century, lovingly renovated, fabulous garden with lovely little nooks to tuck yourself away in to read or doze in the sunshine. Ontop of which there was utterly fabulous vegetarian food, a lovely massage and warm, friendly hosts.

But….(you knew that was coming didn’t you?)

I have to be honest now and tell you that the yoga nearly did me in. I’ve taken yoga classes with this teacher for years and like her immensely, but I guess I had underestimated the effect the time out due to injury earlier this year and the extra kilos and well, frankly, my almost 49 years. We had several young keenies with us who were 20 years younger than me and capable of turning their bodies into pretzels – which as I’ve noticed before – tends to make my teacher up the difficulty of the classes…

Don’t ask. It was bad. I should probably have just given up and gone and sat in the garden as one friend did. I probably wouldn’t have felt so demoralized…..or so in pain. By the end I couldn’t even lie down without everything hurting!!!

Oh well, I shall chalk it up to experience and next year go into serious training before I embark on another yoga weekend.

Oh and if you’ve got a cool SFR 6 million going begging, Chateau Gottrau is up for sale. You could do a lot worse!

Helen

For the next couple of days I shall be here…

….doing a bit of this….

….and a little of that….

and I shall come home a new woman!

Helen