What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 Hello Everyone,

Last Sundy, August 24th, was set up day and the first day to quilt, quilt, quilt and get acquainted.

I had product out so the girls could shop.

There was a lot of chatting and quilting going on and then the machines were turned on and started humming across the room.

Halloween was in the air at Peggy's table.

Debra is putting her own spin on my Madrigal pattern.  It is going to be gorgeous! 

I have a little lecture area where I teach, and ...

Quilting Retreats, Lost Quilts, and Lessons Learned

I just got back from my annual retreat with my quilty friends. This year we spent the week at Box Car Quilts, and while I can’t show you what I worked on just yet (two secret samples for Market!), I thought I’d share one of my all-time favorite retreat stories instead. It happened three years ago, and it still makes me laugh every time I think about it.

The Year of the Smiley Face

That retreat was at Lisa Bongean’s  of Primitive Gathering’s retreat named The Gathering, and let ...

 Hello Everyone,

It's hard to know where to begin when reflecting on all the wonderful memories made at this week's retreat. Here's just a glimpse of the stunning projects and the incredible people gathered at Snowflake Lodge. This particular block is from my Bridle Path pattern, beautifully made by Deborah.

 Hello Everyone,

Here's another mini quilt show produced by the Sew'n Wild Oaks Quilters. This show is so good, I think I should charge admission.  Enjoy!

 Hello Everyone,

We had a great day Monday at the retreat.  Beautiful blue skies and no snow in the forecast.....only laughter, chatting, eating and lots of quilting.  Here are just a few pictures from the show and tell. There were ooooh's and aaaah's when Angie displayed her quilt.

 Hello Everyone,

 Hello Everyone,

My friend Sue took my Country Sampler pattern and truly made it her own with incredible creativity and skill.

 After attending my Patchwork Math class at the Independence Hall Guild in Arnold, CA, she put her mathematical expertise to work, enlarging the blocks from 9" to 12". 

She seamlessly blended elements of her own design with a block from my A Ribbon Runs Through It pattern, selecting the perfect fabrics to create a stunning ribbon effect encircling each block. 

Last weekend, I picked up her quilt from the talented machine quilter, Dianne Schweickert, in Livermore. I adore this ...

Three days and two nights of quilting!  I always bring more with me than I can possibly do while I am at a retreat but I like to have options in case I feel like changing projects.  However, by the time I left today, I only had one project that I did not touch.  Much was accomplished!  I started out slowly with a warm up projects.  I am making nine patch blocks for my Rainbow Scrap Challenge project this year.  March's colour is yellow.  They are a bit brighter than they appear in this picture.  The lighting in the ...

OK  -- that is so weird about the links. Something is happening that reverts them back to my blog. 

Let me try this one more time. 

Quiltcon Winners

If the link does not work, search for QuiltCon Winners 2025. The link will pop up. 

The same with the Dignity Sculpture. Google search that topic, and the link will pop up. 

I have no idea why the links are reverting back to the blog. If they don't work today, that's three days in a row that the link has been reverted back. Do you have any suggestions, my IT friends ...

 I'm so excited to share a wonderful opportunity with you! Mod Maker Zone (aka Catherine and I!) are hosting a creativity retreat....

Remix and Stitch Lab

Remix and Stitch lab will be a five day immersive retreat where together we will explore our creative voices and processes. There will be some sewing (improv quilting!), paper crafting, weaving and even improv comedy! 

We're so happy that mixed media artist, Dori Patrick, will be joining us as a workshop teacher. I know you'll love Dori! Every time I interact with her I feel like sunshine has entered the room ...

How does that saying go: "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans"? Well, sometimes SNOW happens too! The best laid plans, one for a retreat weekend with my quilting friends at a not-too-far-from-here state park, was preempted this past weekend for this forecasted snow event. Since the retreat was supposed to commence on Friday I jumped right in at home. Disappointed, but

How does that saying go: "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans"? Well, sometimes SNOW happens too! The best laid plans, one for a retreat weekend with my quilting friends at a not-too-far-from-here state park, was preempted this past weekend for this forecasted snow event. Since the retreat was supposed to commence on Friday I jumped right in at home. Disappointed, but

As of this morning, at 6 AM, I have not touched ONE project I brought with me. WOW—can you believe how well I packed? It was another very successful day, and I'm excited. However, I'm also learning (well, I know this) that having a plan is vital! 

In the past - long, long ago - I would flit from project to project. In my "new" life, I'm pretty good at sticking to one thing. I don't get distracted by what others are doing. I'm focused. There has to be a plan, or I will never get ...

I'm happy to report that my neck is feeling better. It's still sore, but it really only affects me when I first get up or when I put my head down, like on the pillow or lying on the floor to do my exercises. I just support my head, and all is good. 

YES - I've been stretching with the foam roller before bed, and I'm feeling much better. I've barely scratched the surface of what I will get into with the new exercise regime. I''m pretty excited about it. It's the bloating in ...

 Oh gosh—I just realized I'm eating my breakfast in front of my new laptop. That means there's going to be a mess of splashed milk! So I must be cautious!!! The bowl is moved off to the side! 

This is the most productive (knock on wood) retreat I've been to in a long, long time. I dug into the second bag of projects as I had finished everything in the first one, and I'll be taking that to the car later today. There is no sense in keeping all this crap in the house, and ...

It's an interesting retreat. Heck, all retreats are interesting, but they are always different. It's never the exact same group of people who attend. It's funny, as when I first started going to retreats almost 20 years ago, we were a set group of nine people, and we went together for years. Then things happened, and that group fell apart. Now, we have a larger group of people; it's never the same mix each time. That makes it interesting! 

How am I feeling? I'm pretty good. I'm realizing that I can't sit well ...

Late—I'm going to be late this morning. No, not because I was sleeping. Oh no—chatting! I accomplished stuff yesterday and actually accomplished what I planned. However, I did my fair share of chatting, and well, isn't that what a quilt retreat is all about? So I'm good with that!!!

I am still thrilled with what I'm accomplishing, and that's all that counts. So what did I get done? Have a look. 

I got all the flannel I brought sewn into squares. There are 107 squares measuring 6 1/2", so that's a ...

 Well, sorry I haven't blogged about 2023 travels yet.  I thought I better hit those before I worry about 2024.  I've had a lot this year and if I put them both together it would be a super long post.

My first big trip in 2023 was to Washington DC with Janice Minyard.  We went in April and we were fortunate enough to be there around the Cherry Blossom time (at least in time for the parade).  We did all the things you need to do in DC.  We toured the White House and visited a lot of ...

 I had a very productive weekend at the guild retreat last weekend.  It was glorious to have three full days to sew--meals provided and no dishes to do!  I added binding to two quilts that are gifts so I can't show those yet, but they are both hand stitched now and ready to gift.  I quilted the table runner I showed last week that will be for sale at our church bazaar next weekend and added the binding this week when I got home. I hope someone will like it enough to purchase it! I also worked on three ...