Quilting Retreat--Day 4

I had an afternoon class today. 

It was a canvas sampler board.

Canvas fabric silk-screened with patterns to showcase your fun little hand crafts, fabrics, and stitcheries, stretched tight over a frame.

These are the class samples, not mine.

I'm doing mine in blacks, turquoises, with a hint of reds/pinks for Christine's room that we are getting ready to paint.

Look at all the FUN things you can use!

One lady in this class brought several of  her tatting and fine lace crochet small pieces and used them and her shuttles, pins, and supplies to create them and layered them over fabric and felt.  It was beautiful and so personal about her.  It will be a treasure on the walls of her home.

 Our teacher, Sandy Workman from Pine Needles at Gardner Village.

It was nice to finally put her face with her name and voice.  I order a lot online from them.

She is demonstrating how to make felt flowers.  Cute and work up very fast. You can use them to decorate or for pins/brooches, barretts, headbands.  She made two different kinds in 15 minutes or less.

These bracelets were simply darling.

And every item during this class doubles as quilt embellishments.

A two-fer class.

Well, my portion of the retreat is done.

I enjoyed it and learned a lot of new things.

I realized I just might be able to do this after all, and it's okay to be a novice.  My confidence increased.

Although April Mc. put it best:  When you're with about 75-100 Utah Mormon women who have been doing this their whole life, it's a bit humbling!

Here is some quilt 'eye candy'.

 This quilt is called Ferris Wheel.

It was a free gift to all on-site retreaters!  The entire kit.  And all the fabric was already cut!

The picture doesn't do it justice.  It is fun and gorgeous, if those two terms can co-exist.  I should say the pattern if fun, and the quilting is gorgeous.

 A beautiful 9 Patch.

...and of course, real candy, when you need to walk away and clear your head for a second.

(I got these last photos from Diary of a Quilter who was a retreater.)

I will consider going again.

I would want to be a full-time retreat participant.  The give-aways (entire quilt kits, special hand lotions for quilters, rotary cutter covers, charm bracelets with  new charms every day, picnics, pin-cushion exchange), drawings, parades, souvenirs, trunk shows, instruction and tips make it worth it.  I just can't wrap my head around having to pay for the hotel bill if I can stay at my own place.  The gal considered me a 'local'.  I explained to her that I will have driven 1600 miles and used 6 tanks of gas to attend, which-in my opinion-doesn't make me a 'local'.  Hope we can figure that out for next year.