Spring Retreat Recap!

Spring Party Retreat 2015 was a wild and crazy good time!

Our members really "let their hair down" ... they were caught dancing on chairs ...

... rolling around on floors ...

... and strutting their stuff on the counter top!  There was a whole lot of nonsense funsense happening!  We worked in a bit of quilting as well!  This is a long post, but you'll be inspired by all that our members accomplished during our party retreat!

Angela began by making progress ...

... on her Lucky Stars quilt!

She opened a new jelly roll ...

... is using a new pattern ...

...and enjoying great results!

Terry was busy corralling her Blue Ridge Beauty units and turning them into blocks.

Next she began working on a quilt themed, paper piecing project!  We were all inspired by the blocks!

She nearly has them all finished, and we are sew looking forward to how she will arrange them!

Gladah was unable to stay the entire weekend, but accomplished a lot while with us!

She wowed us with her charm square and jelly roll quilt!  All in batiks!  Beautiful!

"I Spy Sally" arrived at retreat with a stack of hexagons a mile high!  Each one fussy cut!  No joking!

She then sewed a million small triangles onto each one!  No kidding!

The results were stunning!  No exaggeration!

We all stopped by and played a bit of "I Spy" while she pieced her rows together!  An amazing project for her young children (and us guild members) to play with!

Diane was busy working on a Top Secret project that cannot be revealed at this time!  Here, she is finishing the binding!  She used her many talents to complete this very important quilt ... you all will just have to stay tuned!

She also made great progress on her stunning Pineapple quilt!  It just sparkles!

Marianne came with a list of what she wanted to accomplish ... and did it!

She recently finished the April installment of Fat Quarter Shop's BOM!  Super cute pup in a basket!

These blocks are sashed and ready to be quilted ... cannot look at this quilt without smiling!

Marianne pieced this batik maple leaf top this weekend ... the colors of fall are so beautiful any time of the year!

On her next quilt, she was using a line of fabric called "Norwegian Woods" (something like that), it was so cute!  We would just get the giggles looking at it!

Too stinkin' cute ... the hedgehog just melted our hearts!  Sew fun!

She finished piecing this top too!  It is whimsical and wonderful!

Darlene was busy making a marvelous modification on a "Alaskan Postcard" wall quilt.  She fussy cut and pieced together (doing all her own math, no pattern for this project) a wall quilt using an Alaska themed fabric.

When she showed it to her husband, he mentioned that there wasn't a block depicting Cordova.  Darlene came up with a solution ... she found a picture of Cordova on the internet ...

... added lettering that matched the preprinted fabric and printed it on fabric!  Genius!  We were all very impressed!

We knew her next project was a serious one when she pulled out a suitcase stuffed with fabric!  Too fun!

She began cutting out a new project ... a Hunter's Star!  We are all looking forward to seeing it evolve, it is going to be amazing!

Aside from dancing on the chair, Sam was very busy!  She made a baby quilt!

And then moved on to a star themed quilt with tiny points!  She stacks them all on top of her machine ... table space is at a premium during retreat.

  Shannon arrived with all her Jillily applique' pieces glued down.  She immediately warmed up her machine and it began to buzz like a busy bee!

By mid afternoon on Saturday the applique' was done!  What an accomplishment!

By early evening the borders were on ... with stunning results!  It is  beautiful!

On Sunday, she moved forward with a Mariner's Compass paper pieced project ... once again, her results are stunning!

Kathleen was busy all weekend piecing string blocks!  She is a treasure and the Queen of Scrap Quilts!  She has taught and inspired us all over the years!

Look at those grins!  She and Jackie look like they're plotting some type of quilting mischief!  Too fun!

Jackie was busy working on a chevron table runner!

Sew graphic ... the intended recipient will treasure it!

Kay recently returned from a vacation in Hawaii ... it was great to hear about the quilt shop she visited while there!

She shared this beautiful quilt kit that she purchased.  It will be fun to watch her progress.

Like Jackie, Kay also made a black and white table runner.  We all love the contemporary look it has!

Her primary focus this weekend was the units necessary for her Cathedral Stars quilt!

She made a lot of progress ... we all fell in love with it ... it is gorgeous!

Denna was busy working on her second quilt ... she did a lot of  cutting, ironing ...

... and piecing!

All her effort resulted in 18 finished blocks!  She is over half done!

Marcela came to retreat on a mission ... her focus was clear!

She designed this quilt on graph paper and before long she had it cut and laid out!

The results are amazing!  We are all looking forward to seeing it finished ... just beautiful!

Valerie shared a couple on inspiring projects!  All the blocks and most of the borders are fused in place on her McKenna Ryan quilt!

And this Country Threads table topper is completely finished!  Both projects are beautiful!

She recently joined Kim Diehl's What Nots Club!  She spent the weekend working on one of those small quilts.

Small is no exaggeration ...

... Valerie and Jackie have a bit of a competition concerning tiny piecing.  Too fun!

By the end of retreat, she had 14 blocks pieced.  Each is 4 inches square!  Beautiful!

Eventually Neva moved from the floor and was able to find counter space!  Too funny ... her rolling around like that!

She came to the retreat with the ambitious goal of preparing three stained glass wall quilts!

Stained glass quilts are so labor intensive ... Neva stuck with it!

This guild blogger had to leave a bit early before Neva had finished the third one, so she sent in this photo!  Watching a fellow guild member reach her goals inspires all of us!

Tory began the weekend by machine quilting her cheerful table runner!

She sewed the binding on ... only handwork left on this project!

We blinked and before we knew it she was piecing a new project!

It turned out lovely!  Not sure we can refer to her as a beginner much longer ... she has accomplished so much!

Meet Amber!  New member and new quilter!

She designed and pieced this pillow top before she even knew what a 1/4 inch seam was!  This girl has lots of talent!

Members helped her learn how to apply the binding and her pillow is finished!  All it needs is a pillow form!

Next she mastered that 1/4 inch seam and pieced together this feather block!  Welcome Amber!  We're so happy you've joined in!

Susie makes everything fun!  And shares that lighthearted attitude with everyone!

We all celebrated with her when she finished this beautiful version of Jill Finley's quilt!  Susie is Shannon's mother ... gosh the fun they have while they accomplish sew much!  What a wonderful team!

This second project was also getting borders ... such fun to finish things up!

Whew!  A long post celebrating the accomplishments of many members!  Sew much inspiration packaged up in one weekend!  And there is more to come ... stay tuned!