GCGSW #7 - the Weekend in Pictures

This was the first time EVERYONE came on Friday, and it was glorious! First because I normally go there and do a marathon cleaning session by myself, eating a solitary dinner on the porch and anxiously awaiting everyone Saturday morning. This time I cleaned the weekend before. Second is that everybody packs tons of stuff and we haul it inside with a couple of trips (or more in some cases), then load it right back up 24 hours later, which I've always thought was somewhat unsatisfactory. Thirdly, it's been frozen pizza in the past on Friday night, but with the whole entourage came a real dinner - Heidi's lasagna rollups!

And Nancy brought the most interesting cookies from Whole Foods, I believe - yum!

This was Edith's breakfast burrito, equally yummy! Did I mention that I've gained 5 pounds recently somehow?

The group has grown to 10 now, though Katrina couldn't make it, so we had to share cutting space...

and add another sewing station, which worked out well.

And between Yaffa and Trinh I think there were 4 machines, might've been 5.

Now this is Yaffa's multi-year project that she finally finished and brought to show off. There were multiple attempts to steal it, but I think she still went home with it.

Our newbie this year is Stephanie, who has never sewn in her life but is set on making an Alabama Chanin floor length skirt with corset top. I'm trying to finish that second hand-painted sock, and unknit as much as I knit, but progress was eventually made.

Lunch break was Becky's delicious shrimp and grits - mmmm, gouda grits.

Another shot of the sweatshop.

Nancy poses with her tablecloth made from fabric from 2 different countries, if I remember correctly - very exotic, like Nancy!

Robbie shows off her bathing suit coverup she whipped together from vintage lace napkins and tablecloths - clever!

Saturday afternoon snack break with deviled eggs topped with caviar - what?!

And the charcuterie and cheese trays were amazing. I must admit that I fell down as a hostess and didn't realize we were out of rum. Katrina is our usual bartender and would've never let that happen!

Edith made something like 8 or 9 prayer veils...

plus used a knitting machine type thing...

to whip out this beautiful wrap.

Trinh made several baby bibs and tried out her embroidery skills.

Ummmm, some type of yoga maneuver after Heidi's white chicken chili...don't quite remember what that was about.

I successfully put together Trinh's bagel and lox bar for Sunday breakfast, even safely slicing tomatoes and onions with nary an injury!

I call this Fashionable Jesus - another bathing suit coverup. (She's going to Jamaica soon.)

Heidi actually knitted this slipper several times then took it back to the starting point each time to try and get it to meet up with the sole.

It'll be actual wearable footwear when she finishes!

Yaffa created this bedskirt, which involved a lot of math based on her mumblings at the ironing board and sewing machine, but what a payoff!

Becky, always one of our most prolific sewers, did this entire shirt from cutting to sleeve gathers with the only thing lacking being the hem.

And this is part of Stehanie's corset. She finished a whole piece with stitching and clipping out the centers - fabulous!

This was a serious Saturday snack break observing the rain and wind.

Heidi always lightens things up!

This is just to remind me of our setup, and next time we'll set up 2 machines to the left so Robbie may have to share with Katrina. Should work out fine.

I'll leave you with a post-GCGSW shot. Becky played with single-crocheting this design on a T-shirt using dissolvable stabilizer before she packed up Sunday, and it turned out great!

Thanks to all these awesome women for the food and the friendship, and it still blows my mind that this was our 7th time doing this. Ooh, plus special shoutout to Becky for reading my last post and gifting me ANOTHER pair of fabulous embroidery scissors PLUS a yarn cutter pendant that I can wear like a necklace next time I'm knitting or sewing on a plane in Belize. I shall never be project-less again!