Retreat Activities

 Sewing and shopping and talking and dreaming. That sums up the 3 days we've been here at quilt retreat. The venue is called Needles n' Pines in Nelsonville, Ohio, and our group has been here three times now. We have plans for two more shorter retreats later this year, and will sign up for this full-week event again next April. The accommodations are fantastically convenient and comfortable - we are so at home in every way.

My Featherweight is set up and serving up some satisfying stitching! I feel as though we have all been very productive. Let's see some of our sewing. I am showing just a bit of the action here, for I know there will be many finishes by week's end. I'll share those then, of course.

Susan is in a quilt guild and is catching up on her Block of the Month blocks for a sew-along that they sponsor. 

Becky showed us her tiny bowtie blocks - these measure 2.5" - the quilt they will go into is called Bowtie Block Quilt, a 2016 pattern by Lisa Bongean. Becky will need 1,512 bowties to make this quilt. WHOA!!

Mae-Lynne Makers Studio is the local quilt shop and they work so nicely with the retreat managers. Quilt campers are offered a discount for shopping and, of course, we always take advantage of this perk!

The owners are in the process of redecorating and reorganizing, but we certainly found plenty to buy. We will come again in August, and should see a brand new store.

Susan's shopping included buying fabric to make a pillow case for a nursing home patient she knows. This will brighten "Bootsie's" room for Easter, won't it? Susan had this whipped up in no time after our shopping outing.

As you know, I've been making Great Granny Blocks from my scraps, but (believe it or not) I'd run out of suitable colors for the "look" I have been going for, so I shopped for additions to my Grannies. You see some of them pinned up under the blocks. All the dark blues are new, and two of the pinks are new.

Jan, one of our campers, gifted everyone with 3-yard quilt kits. The books are by Donna Robertson, a designer/author who has a whole series created around making a quilt with just three yards of fabric. What a great gift, and several of us made ours - they are easy enough to be done in a day. 

This is Becky's 3-yard quilt, minus its borders. She has made the design choice to add an extra narrow border and will have to buy just a bit more fabric (making it more than 3 yards, obviously). 

Susan's 3-yard quilt.

My 3-yard quilt.

 

We have had more productivity but I've not taken time to organize the pictures and prepare them for use here on the blog. I've been sewing! 

It's been a great week so far. I'll be back soon to wrap things up.

Happy Quilting, Friends!