RETREAT Spells.....

Relax, Enjoy Time with friends, Reflect on ideas, and EAT.

L-R: Susan, Beth, Me, Kathy, Susan, Chris, Lorraine

Right after my last post, I flew to St. Louis to meet up with friends in Illinois where I used to live. The year I moved away was the 1st Annual Quilt Retreat and they have had one every year since that I have not been able to attend. There is a wonderful little quilt shop in Highland, Ill. named Rosemary's where you can sew and live amongst the bolts:) and this was my Christmas present from my husband. It is so relaxing and sort of lets you feel like you are getting away with something...
Susan and I kept the secret from the others for over 2 months which is quite the feat when you consider all the ways we could have let it slip...Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc.We all had projects we wanted to work on. Here you can see Kathy and our other Susan and the table is still relatively neat:) There was plenty of fabric and conversation to keep us busy late into the nights.
The table is starting to get a bit more creative looking as more fabric and ideas get tossed about. Now let's talk about the food....Italian, Chinese, and Mexican- ALL OUR FAVORITES and the restaurants are all within a 2 block walking distance when the weather allows.

Above is a sneak peek at one of the 2 designs I started working on while in Ill. This particular one is very abstract and so different from how I normally work. I chose familiar colors though to help me work through this and I find I am enjoying this new piece. Stay tuned for the finished wall quilt.

Retreats don't have to cost a lot of money with a little imagination and what you receive in return is priceless!

Thank you Friends.

Crystal Coast Quilt Show 2009

The quilt show was wonderful as usual. We had over 120 entries along with the Alzheimer's:Forgetting Piece by Piece exhibit. I conducted a bead demo on Friday and Saturday with positive turn out and sign ups for a September class.

This is 'Swarley' (long story for a goofy name). 'Swarley' didn't make it to Paducah this year but was juried into the Mancuso Mid Atlantic show in February and won an Honorable Mention at the guild show in the group quilt category. It is all hand appliqued and then long arm quilted by my friend Beth Denmon, Illinois.
This is 'UP UP UP' and my entry for the guild challenge. Our challenge this year was to correspond with the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Innitiative in size only. Requirements were that the piece not be bigger than 9" x 12" to fit a priority envelope, monochromatic, and have a theme of Journey.

I chose a photograph of a balloon from a festival we used to attend every September in St. Louis. As I watched every year I imagined the journeys the participants would have along their path. It won 2nd place for 'Most Unusual Journey' and will eventually be donated to the Alzheimers Innitiative.

Last but not least is 'Wonder Under the Waves' by the Beachrageous group of Susan Hinzman, Lynn Strausbach, Mary Henris, Robin Koehler, and Eileen Williams-respectively.

It really is stunning hanging all together and everyone was impressed.

Hope you enjoyed the mini quilt show.