Monday, February 8th, another successful retreat

This was my 6th time to go to quilt retreat and every time I come home, I say it was the best one yet!!! We always go the day before and this year Celia and I decided to stay an extra day at the end. I never thought I would say it, but I am a little tired of sewing at this point. But, upon taking a serious inventory of active projects, things that need to be quilted and what I want to do, I better get at it if I want to start anything new. I spent quite a bit of time piecing this time and only saw two projects to a level of near completion. One of the things I worked on is a Bonnie Hunter scrappy quilt and the majority of Saturday was spent making 104-4 inch blocks. We adopted a new friend from guild this time and she fits right in with our silliness! Between sewing, laughing and eating, the weekend is very exhausting!!The fabulous group!! There were 6 in our group, 7 from Downer's Grove, (new friends for us) and 4 ladies that we have been with at retreat in the past. We all got along great, which makes for great times!

We shop hopped on the way up and back, which I always love.These are my purchases. The poinsettia fabric is for the backing for the Christmas quilt. I got it at 60% off and I finished the bolt!!
My "big" purchase was this thimble for hand quilting:
After using on Sunday night, I decided it was too big, so Celia and I stopped at Millhouse Quilts in Waunakee on the way home for me to exchange it for a smaller size.

On Saturday, Jenet, Celia and I took a break from sewing and went to Reedsburg to Quintessential Quilts. It has traditionally been the "destination" shop, but it has severely declined since we were last there. The shop samples are exactly the same as a year ago and there is absolutely no new fabric. So, to kill time while Jenet was shopping, Celia and I had an ugliest fabric contest in the "blue and green" room and Jenet was the judge. As you can plainly see from the picture, I definitely won!! I am reminding Celia of this every chance I can!!
I made this cute table topper for Valentine's day:Also, I pieced this top, which has quite a bit more hand work to do before it gets layered and quilted:
Some of the show and tell from the weekend:Pat and Marlene tend to make the same or similar quilts while at retreat. I got this pattern from them, because I love the scrappiness!!
Kathy, aka the General, got a ton done...she pieced two tops and quilted the above top for a wedding gift for next weekend.
Deb, aka the Admiral, pieced three tops which were all happy and bright!
Jenet, our first time, but not last time retreater worked on some little projects and showed this incredible Grandmother's Flower Garden that she has pieced from actual feed sacks that she bought at antique shops and flea markets. Enid worked on a very complicated Batik quilt the whole weekend and showed this cute snowman wall hanging.
Celia paper pieced this stunner! Aren't the colors incredible?
Ann only quilts at retreat and this king size quilt has been in progress for a year. She finished the top on Sunday morning. She is true artist.
Patsy has been able to give up the Saturday cooking to someone else, so she sat and sewed with us on Saturday. She made these cute aprons for her sister and her sister's niece.
Denise on the left is the owner of "The Quilt Basket" in Downer's Grove. She was so much fun and came up both mornings in some of the clothes that Patsy uses for decor. In the same spirit of silliness, I found these vintage hats and the five of us wore them on Sunday night. We also sang along with Celia's Ipod and some great 70's tunes.
Celia and I left on Monday morning and shopped on the way home, but were kind of ready to go. What a great time we had. Sunday night we made a fire and I brought my computer and we watched "Up". A great ending to a great time.