FQ All

'I'm going on a sewing retreat' conjures a picture which doesn't make sense to the people who know me and when I said it I got laughed at full in my face - every time!  A 'retreat' which suggest hippies at worst and certainly a weekend of contemplation and reflection was not really what the Fat Quarterly event was supposed to be, but rather a big stitchy jolly. Implausibly, it really did have that level of impact on me. I honestly learned an important lession in every session and lunch break.

Katy (a.k.a. Imagingermonkey) was teaching how to make clippy bags on Saturday morning
I had assumed that it would be a precision thing, and as I sat at an unfamiliar sewing machine (the kind and lovely Mandy set up her machine for me) I was terrified I might not be able to keep up, so I let my usual obsessive perfectionism go, ploughing on but scared that my mistakes would show up enormously... and I wasn't the only one. I went to lunch not my big bad self, but a mousey version. Partly down to the way hangovers work when you are over 30 sure... but still... peculiar for me.

The kind Fat Quarterly organisers though had spotted my anxiety and invited me to join them at lunch.  Brioni (Flossy Blossy) had the next set of revelations. It turns out that you can be a perfectionist who is undetered by fear! Better to have a go, fudge it and find your own way of doing things. Noone really knows what they're doing every step of the way. Ahhhh... *revelation no. 1*

After lunch back to Katy's bag group and we got to the glueing and finishing. Most of the questions asked by equally nervy quiltists 'just shove it in'.  But, um... 'what do Iii do?' 'just shove it in'. Ohhhh...! Brute force and persistence? Ahhhh... *revelation no. 2* 

Aneela Hoey (Comfort Stitching) had a huge and eager group to learn embroidery. She taught us how to do several kinds of stitches too. And it turns out the most important thing in successful embroidery isn't necessarily practice. It's 'patience'. With that word repeating in my head my French knot stitches worked and so did the others! Ahhh... *revelation no. 3*

So eager was I to practice my embroidery I accidentally got carried away and missed the evening event! Sewing and watching Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in the hotel also makes for a cracking nerd night for me though. (End result here)

Kerry (a.k.a. Very Berry Kerry) was teaching freezer paper piecing on the Sunday morning and John (a.k.a. Quilt Dad) was teaching wonky log cabins in the afternoon. Kerry was teaching a precise, fiddly and tidy technique and Quilt Dad a much more relaxed 'eyeball it' thing. Both of them explained their technique saying 'this is the way that I do it - but do what works for you'... and then I realised that EVERYONE had said that. Every session AND lunch!  Ahhh... Right so when I struggle and feel like I'm bodging a thing and doing it wrong, actually I'm just doing it my own way and that's fine too? *revelation  city*!

Arriving at the Fat Quarterly Retreat I was a bit scared,  I hadn't joined in on the swaps, I didn't have blog friends to hug, and even in a more mixed crowd than the usual old lady stitchery I still didn't exactly blend in. But I still left having learned a great deal, with new skills, having met some really lovely people, made some yummy things, with lots of free stuff and having learned some big life lessons too! I'm already putting it into practice.
Watch this space for completed-stuff-erama!

The Fat Quarterly Retreat 2012 made me braver! Roll on FQR2013.