Girlfriends Retreat

Posted on August 17, 2015 by prairiemoonquilts in Travels

This past weekend I was invited to a retreat with some friends at Sew Sweet Quilt Shop’s fabulous retreat center.

You know I’m not one to say NO to a retreat, so Linda stopped by to pick me up, and off we went!

There were 14 of us there, and more food than I’ve seen at retreats with 30 people! We could have survived a one-month siege. And with the quilt shop right next door and all . . . well, I think we would have been set!

No matter — in just the little time we had from Friday evening through Sunday afternoon, these girls put out the work, I tell you! I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a retreat where so many quilt tops were finished in only one weekend.

Here’s a bit of show and tell for you. You’re gonna love all this eye candy!

Alice showed a quilt she designed and made for our friend, Jo. Jo requested that Alice make her a quilt using colors and a style that Alice would normally use. Isn’t this fabulous? It’s got machine embroidery, machine applique, and some fabulous piecing on it. And Alice’s signature black background. I’m really in love with that lime green border. It’s still a top right now, but Alice is designing some fancy custom quilting to go on it that will make it even more fabulous. That Jo is a lucky gal!

Alice

Pat finished this quilt top. She made it in reds and greens to serve as a Christmas quilt because she thought the pattern looked like garland. It does!

Pat1

Linda recently had this quilt quilted by Bev Jones at Sew Sweet. Yes, they machine quilt for customers, in case you didn’t know. It’s a quilt made from blocks that her mother embroidered. Linda set them together into this quilt, and it will belong to her sister.

Linda1

Linda also finished her Mr. Bones quilt top. This was made from a pattern called “Ticket Strips” by Sew Many Creations. Jessica VanDenburgh is the designer behind that name, and I got to meet her at the last Quilt Market. It felt like we were instant friends — she’s awesome — and she probably doesn’t even remember me!

Linda2

Linda also finished her rooster quilt, started with a most wonderful rooster panel:

Linda3

Andrea finished this little quilt top:

Andrea1

And her mother, Marlene, finished this Christmas Rail Fence top. It’s gonna make a wonderful Christmas table topper — so elegant!

Marlene

Andrea also made this little flowery quilt top. This is one happy little quilt:

Andrea2

Sandy made this adorable baby quilt out of Riley Blake cowboy fabrics, from several of Samantha Walker’s various collections:

Sandy1

And she made two of these Christmas banners from panels she bought at SPOOL when she was in Chattanooga last fall:

Sandy2

Sandy also made this lovely house quilt. This is her second one of these. Her daughter loved the first one so much, she had to make a second one!

Sandy3

Cathy finished the signature quilt from her daughter’s wedding. Notice how the blocks form the cross design. A treasure for her daughter, indeed!

CathyP1

Cathy also finished this Disappearing Hourglass quilt top, from a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial, which you can find HERE:

CathyP

Maria also made a quilt from a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial. This one is called Disappearing Pinwheel Three, and you can find the tutorial HERE:

Maria

Erin made a darling little soft book about monkeys. So cute!

Erin

Lynn showed her row quilt. Can you tell she lives in Kansas?

Lynn1

Lynn was also working on this quilt. She says it still needs borders, etc., but I liked it this way, too!

Lynn2

Barb made this very happy scrappy quilt from flannel selvages. I LOVE this quilt!

Barb

Saturday night, we celebrated Pat’s 70th birthday:

Patscake

Complete with a huge blow-up birthday cake! Too funny!

blowupcake

And we got a group shot of all of us together during the party. We all look pretty happy!

GirlfriendsRetreat

We had a fabulous time, eating, sewing, eating, laughing, sewing, eating, laughing, sewing, and eating! A great weekend!

What?! You want quotes, you say?

Well, naturally, it just so happens that I have some for you. You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?

Here they are — enjoy!

“Who needs Tylenol? A little shot o’ Fireball Whiskey, and it’s all good!”

“I don’t usually sweat through my shorts.”

“I sucked my margarita down too fast.”

“I hear your voice in my head a lot.”

“They won’t let me quilt in prison!”

“I need another inch.”
“I’ve heard that before!”

“I’d like to write an article on how to make mistakes and come out smellin’ like a rose!”

“I don’t know what quilters would do without ziplock bags.”

“I waste nothing!”

“Does your pillow get hot at night?”
“Oh, my whole bed gets hot!”

“Do you clean house naked?”
“No. I wear a French maid outfit . . . with my cowboy boots.”

“Barb doesn’t mind being labeled. She labels everything!”

12 responses to “Girlfriends Retreat”

  1. Andrea O'Brien says:

    So. Much. Fun! It was an incredible weekend, and we couldn’t stop talking about our excitement for the next time!!

  2. Scarlett says:

    Looks like a good time was had by all!

  3. Linda Kowalski says:

    I had a great time…enjoyed my marathon sewing to get my partial projects done.

  4. Alice says:

    It was an absolute blast!!!! Can’t wait to do it again next year!!!!

  5. Janet Smith says:

    Love the quotes and the quilts, too. Looks like a really good time. Can’t wait until our next retreat. What’s the name of this club, maybe I should join before the next retreat. LOL

  6. Michele says:

    Lucky you! Looks like it was a wonderful weekend…

  7. Thanks for the sweet slide show, the quilts are all beautiful, but I really love the black one! Great quotes as usual…sounds like a fun bunch 🙂

  8. Susan says:

    Where’s your project??? This looks like a great group of women, and what a location! SPOOL is one of my favorite shops, too.

  9. randy says:

    okay treading lightly….. where is what oyu worked on this week end?

  10. Kathy says:

    Wow. What a great time. Love the finished tops.

  11. Carole S. says:

    Love your quotes, as usual, and all the projects look absolutely great. All I have to add is that if that’s Pat in the photo, I sure hope I look that good when I’m 70, and they can keep the cake and the party, cuz I’ll be happy enough.

    You girls know how to throw a retreat!

  12. Cindy says:

    Looks like a lot of fun!

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