Belated FQR or Fashion Anxiety Society!

I had a wonderful time at the Fat Quarter Retreat last weekend My I have meant to blog this for soooo long!! It has been 3 weekends since I had such a lovely time.
Anyhoo, as this is predominantly a record for me, here goes!

I was so nervous about attending the retreat, I nearly talked myself out of going. If it had not been for my Darling Prince I would have been at home cursing myself for wasting money. As it was I had a major fashion crisis on the morning and went through 3 outfits, did some grooming (read eyebrow/moustache stuff) & coloured my hair before I left the house!! This gave Claudia a good laugh when I mentioned I probably still had blue ears!! Smurf's anyone?

I should not have worried as everyone was absolutely lovely & I finally met some of my "imaginary friends" (as they are referred to around here) especially Helen who was just as lovely in person as she is on her blog
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Funnily as the weekend wore on I discovered I was not the only one who was nervous & worried that no one would want to play. This effected young & old alike & I came away pondering the whys of this situation. No answers yet but I have been thinking deeply on this & some other issues that arose for me from the weekend. Talk about the ghosts of childhoods past, phew!

The organisers did an excellent job & I have to say a big shout out to the crew; Lily, Tascha, Brioni, John & Katy. Also to the helpers Lu & Mandy. I & many others can't wait till next year & I suspect it will sell out very quickly.

So what did I do on my weekend? Well I made 2 things that I have found mindbogglingly difficult to get my head around but have been on my sewing bucket list for what seems like forever.
Katy showed us how to construct a frame/clip purse & Claudia taught us how to construct a zippered pouch. I have already decided to make tons more frame purses but I think the zip pouch may be my one & only. Let's just say that despite fabulous instruction from Claudia, I found it a little confusing but I do intend to have another go at my own pace with the pictures in front of me, so never say never?

I found the weekend very relaxed, a great pace & the projects managable without feeling pressured to complete something. Mind you, I did finish both purses & could have made more if I chose to but I decided that chatting & meeting people was a better idea & this was just fine with everyone. It was a very relaxing weekend & a great chance to get to know people in person.

Sitting around having dinner after a trip to Waitrose was great fun & led to some hysterical conversations. My fave was hearing one of the tutors describing her "catchers mitt" method for stealth pooping!! My god it is a wonder any of us EVER leave the house!! I was seriously in danger of falling on the floor with split sides!!

Anyway here are some pretty pictures of some quilts that were made as part of the several challenges for the weekend. I am sorry but I have no idea who made what but you may find that info on another blogger who attended.

These were the Iron Man Challenge entries. Great fun was had by all who entered.

These are a couple of show & tell quilts. Really lovely work.

Trash, in the green shirt. Was great to find a fellow Aussie & enjoy a similar sense of humour.

Loads of time for chatting & getting to know one another.

These quilts were part of the session on shapes as a basis for a design challenge. Loads of fun & a great starting point for a top.

Some medallion centres or possible for placemats??

Some of the uglies - some of them came home with me to be put into tops for Linus quilts. Photos to come.

I had a great weekend, thanks to all concerned. See you all next year.

Doing what I love (even when I have to be pushed!)

Lush x