Did You Know That I Retired??

Well, I don't like to brag about all this free time I have, but...

Actually, what my retired friends have been telling me is true: it's hard to believe a retired person can be so busy! How did I ever get anything done when I was working?

At the end of May I completed 30 years of teaching high school English at CHS. That being a Friday, my dear GFs had a little shindig at a local eating establishment - one that featured a lovely patio for outdoor dining. We wore tiaras and boas; what a raucous group we were!

The tradition with this group of friends has been that the retiring friend gets a quilt made by the rest of us in ssshhh...s-e-c-r-e-t! After about 4 retirements, though, it was sorta' hard to keep that secret. We have used the same quilt pattern for every retirement quilt, and I suspect that we will continue to use it, as it is fun to see how totally different each retiree's quilt is from the others. We typically select fabrics based on the retiree's interests or color schemes.  One friend loves blue and white quilts, so naturally that was what we used for her quilt. Another decorates with a lot of Americana, so hers was red, white and blue. 

Here's what they made for me:

Once upon a time, I would only consider traditional fabrics and quilts. That all changed when I discovered they eye-popping intensity of Kaffe Fassett designs. I became an extreme fanatic. Isn't this a beauty?

Doing this in secret is quite an accomplishment. One or two will take the lead and cut fabrics for all the stars, then distribute to the rest. Generally,  individuals are assigned 2 stars to make by a given deadline, and then, somehow, the group schedules a secret sewing day for construction of the top. It works pretty well, actually.

The pattern is from Lynette Jensen's Thimbleberries book, North Bay Quilts. It is featured on the cover and is called Christmas Confetti. I ought to get all the other retired girls to bring their quilts on an outing so we can get pictures. The study in contrasts would be interesting.

Here's the label they signed and attached to the back. Isn't the swirly quilting a nice touch for this very lively quilt?