Yes, I know I'm spoiled

I unpacked my suitcase after returning from a wonderful vacation being pampered at my sisters and immediately repacked it for a 4 day Quilt Retreat.  I'll share a picture of the finished quilt we made together from my last post, but first let me show you the progress I made on my niece's wedding quilt.

The pattern is Chain+Link from Quilty Magazine by Elizabeth (don't call me betsy)  It is available on Craftsy and on her blog.  The blocks are large so I took advantage of the nice big design wall to get this shot.  Notice the bald spot on the top row?  Oops, mis-cut.

Thank goodness we were a short drive to Hart's because I packed all the teal, aqua and yellow fabric and completely spaced out on bringing the background yardage.  Kona Snow to the rescue. The wedding isn't until June but I'm on a roll so I'll call this my April ALYoF goal. 

There wasn't much sleep to be had, yet I brought my Kaffe cross because it seemed only right to come with a quilt to the retreat.   I also dusted off my umbrella but we really only had one full day of rain on Saturday.

The dining hall was a short walk across the bridge and I took this picture on my way to dinner - I love the inviting glow of the workroom nestled cozy in the redwoods.

Sunny skies when it was time to pack up on Sunday so no worries about how to keep my machine dry and get it safely to my car. 

Usually I bring a billion options but this time it was just TWO projects: the wedding quilt to start and this Houndstooth to finish (my March ALYoF goal).  

I managed to piece the back and baste it Thursday morning before leaving for the retreat and did all the quilting and trimming before going to bed at 2am that night.  The binding was attached the next morning so I thought it was a slam dunk but as you can see from the clips still on when I showed it at our guild meeting, I'm still hand-stitching.

Not only that, but my 2014 FAL Q1 Goal yielded one finish out of four.   Linking up to the Finish Party with my pillow. I've been busy and I've been productive - just not on the projects I thought.

Allowing an impromptu project to detour goals is just fine with me.  Especially when the result is a great collaborative time and beautiful gift.  My sister's friend really loved it.  

Rainbow Twist

We were inspired by this quilt made by Sanda at the 2013 SBAMQG Retreat.  Working from several bundles of FQs and using the extra blocks the back was quite the time consuming challenge.  

One of my favorite design elements of the quilt is the binding where I paired the block fabrics along the edges to emphasize the rainbow layout.  Totally doing that again :) 

I know the calendar says a March recap mosaic is in order as well as a 2014 FAL Q2 mosaic, but for now - I need a nap. Linking up Rainbow Twist to Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday. 

Really Random Rainbow

Double Rainbow

On the topic of Rainbows - I was driving to my small group when I spotted a double rainbow in the sky.  Finding parking in Capitola Village isn't always easy and I was hoping it wouldn't disappear before I could pull over.  You would have thought it was a UFO in the sky the way we all scrambled.  Linking up to Really Random Thursday at Live a Colorful Life.