October was really a great month. In addition to the weather finally cooling down and the leaves changing, I finished up a few longer-term stitching projects and went to another great retreat in Shipshewana, IN. The Threads of Mine retreats have been in Shipshewana for 16 years, and I've made it to 15 of them (just missed the second year, when I was helping run our guild quilt show). It's always a nice weekend to enjoy dedicated time for sewing and catch up with friends who I only see once a year.  Let's start with the quilting this time. Before I went to retreat, I had to finish two challenge projects for this year. Our group purchases fabric from the sale room at Lolly's, one of the two quilt shops in town, and everyone gets 1/2 yard. We have to make a project using that fabric. I picked the fabric this year, a pretty tulip print from Robin Pickens. I decided that it would make a great spring table runner and dug through my books until I found one that would work. I w...