Fall Retreat – Winslow, Arkansas

How I love to go to retreat. I seem to get more work done there than at home. Ok, so its not really work. . . its fun to finish projects, start new ones and pal around with my quilting buddies. It gets my creative juices flowing. Here are a few of the projects I did at retreat.

1. This round robin is a project i procrastinated on and finally finished. Someone else was supposed to complete this border and didn’t have time, so I took over the task. I had the whole thing together, and realized it didn’t fit perfectly, so I took it all out, remade it, and just as I was to put it back together I got distracted and never touched it again for a year! (really red face for being so bad!) At least this time the outer border fits and I gave her enough of the purple fabric to do the binding.
2. In addition to finishing my Sweet Pea table runner, I started on my March Daffodil table runner. It really is going to be bright and cheerful. Here is sneak peak of some of the blocks. These daffodil blocks dance down the middle of the quilt. Don’t you love the rick rack for the trumpet ruffles? hehe
3. Then I had fun playing with the Easy Striped Table Runner pattern by Karen Montgomery (see Timeless Treasures website for the pattern). Wow, do these ever make up quick. Here are a few of the tops I whipped up with this pattern:

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I also purchased an incredible basket from the art co-op across the street from the place where we stay. And the view from the windows of our retreat is spectacular. My pictures are through a screen but you can still see the incredible Arkansas Boston Mountains.Now that I am back to Kansas, and the cold, wind, and rain. . . I so wish I was back in the sunshine and warm weather of Arkansas. So, what have you been up to?

Home From Retreat

What fun it is to go to a 5 day retreat! A group of friends from my online quilting group, SewManySwaps, attend a retreat twice a year in Winslow, Arkansas. We have been going since 2002 and it feels more like family than friends each fall and spring when we make the short trek from Kansas to the beautiful Boston Mountains in the Arkansas Ozarks. The scenery is spectacular, our hosts at Sky View Lodge are welcoming and wonderful, and the time with friends oh so precious.

I was able to finish this Merry Go Round Quilt in sweet baby fabrics. Shhhh, don't tell, but this will be a baby gift for my Nephew Corey and his wife Jeniffer who are expecting any day now! Wow, I better get it quilted this weekend! I was so pleased to get my color wheel quilt finished while at retreat. It came out just as I hoped it would. What a challenge it was to find just the right fabrics for each hue, tint, shade, and tone. I ripped out the whole center wheel and replaced it with darker tints, as the first set I had were too pale. I used those 12 tints to make piping around each of the dark shades in the outer ring, making the grayed tones between them really show up.

The outer border has the 3-D effect I was hoping for, altho the dark green is a bit darker than I had hoped. But now it is ready for quilting and I am looking forward to having it completed in time for a quild presentation I am giving this month at the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild in Lawrence, KS on "Color for Quilters." I am going to bind it with a fabulous multi-color stripe cut on the bias.

This wonderful version of my Midnight Posie Block of the Month Quilt was completed by my amazing editor and pattern tester Kathi! Of course she always puts her own spin on the colors and block placements, which I think is great. She also found a major error in one of the later block patterns which I have now fixed. . . yippeee. My sincerest gratitude to her for finding and fixing all my errors. Well, really there was only one, which is pretty amazing. Not that I made a mistake, but that I made only one! (cheesy grin!)

I finished this set of indigo and white blocks for a block swap I am participating in. They really came out nice and were a lot of fun to make. I still have another set to make and then off they go.

I do so love going to retreat! It charges my creative batteries and refuels my soul. I hope each of you have the opportunity to attend a sewing or quilting retreat as often as you are able to go. It will do you so much good. Oh, and get a massage while you are at it. Our wonderful masseuse gave me a "hot rock" massage while I was at retreat. AHHHhhhhh, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

I am working on my next 2 patterns that will be published this summer. I will provide a sneak peak soon, when I get the tops done. Hope you are having a wonderful spring. My daffodils are blooming!! How about yours? Would love to hear what you are up to. Please post a comment and share your spring projects!