Retreat memories...

It's been two weeks since I returned home from my mountain retreat. Let me share some of the highlights with you before I forget them all. This was such a relaxing, rejuvinating fun weekend. I learned new techniques, ate delicious meals(prepared by Brenda), enjoyed meeting and sewing with a bunch of fun ladies. What else could you ask for? This was the view from the front porch of the cabin. The weather was ideal. Cool, crisp, and you could smell the aroma of the pines all around you. I could feel a touch of fall in the air. Horray, my favorite time of year is near.

The Cox family cabin, this is where they hold the retreat every year. Bonnie and Brenda give up their week at the cabin so we have this beautiful place to meet. Thanks ladies for a great weekend. Are the recipes ready yet??

Thursday after everyones arrival we started right off with my trunk show. I got many compliments on all my quilts. They really liked "Shannon's Quilt", the raw edge dresden I created earlier this year.

The quilts just kept piling up on the floor as I showed them. I guess I can say I've been one busy bee over the last couple of years. And this isn't all of them. I couldn't take everything!

The newest bag ladies, these ladies were all in my Black Forest Bag class that I taught Saturday morning. Everyone completed their bags which makes me feel good that I did my job as a teacher. All except I forgot the chocolate! Look at their cute and rewarding smiles. Way to go ladies.

Machelle Preston from Cherry Tree Cottage here in Spanish Fork taught us how to Buggy Barn Friday night. Now this is something I have never learned in all my years of quilting. Wow what a challenge but now I can say I've done it. Now I just have 19 more to finish up to complete my quilt before Christmas. I can't say that I'm hooked but its something I've wanted to learn for a long time. I can now cross that off my list of things to learn. Mission acccomplished.

My very first Buggy Barn block. This method is kind of like putting a jig saw puzzle together!

They called us down from sewing at midnight! Yup, midnight and were still going strong. We had snacks and we played a fun get to know you game involving Skittles and a straw. Don't make me laugh or I'll spit in the bowl! Alot of fun.

And of course every quilter needs this. Flora Gillman brought us the chocolate bar to snack on during her class, the Honeycomb Quilt. Now that's my kind of teacher, one after my own heart.

This is Flora and myself in front of my Honeycomb quilt in progress. She had the neatest idea for a design wall. She had us bring a flannel backed tablecloth to design our pattern on. After we were done sewing on it for the weekend, we just rolled them up to transport our works of progress home to finish up. I had never even thought to use this in my own sewing room. See what I mean, you learn something new everytime you attend something like this. Thanks Flora for the great class and the chocolate!

Fridays trunk show was put on by Josephine. She has only been quilting for four years. You should see the amazing things this lady can do with fabric. Her quilts were just beautiful.

For one of the door prizes I threw in the sample Black Forest Bag. Everyone was just hoping their name would be picked. This is Gail, the lucky winner. Gail was my roomie and she came all the way from Georgia. She was so much fun to be around, always full of laughter.

Saturdays trunk show was to be put on by Flora but she had a little mishap with her car. Unfortately she locked her keys inside while loading some of her things. And guess where her quilts were? You got it.

In her trunk! So yes, literally we had a trunk show. She did show us a couple of quilts she was working on during the retreat that were still inside. The one pictured above is Jan Patek's Girl Gang club she teaches at Broadbents in Lehi. She is quilting it all by hand. Oh my!

Flora had no way of getting her car open, so she had to ride back down to Fairview on Sunday to get her car. She just laughed it off with all the rest of us. What we could see through the window of her car, her quilts look amazing. I won't look at another trunk show without thinking about cute little Flora!

This is all the fun loot I came home with. There were drawings all weekend for awesome things. I chose the 1/2 yard cuts of the Bate and Taylor fabric and then I picked out their Argyle with Style pattern to go along with it. I don't know when I'll get to it, but someday soon I hope.

This fun block I will use on the back of my Buggy Barn Hearts and Stars quilt. Brenda(Pie Plate Patterns) made it out of my scraps. Something fun and unique to remember the retreat by. Well the memories from this retreat will last for along time. I'm already looking ahead to next year's retreat. It's in the date book!