Friday, April 14, 2017

A successful Retreat!

Back to the real world after a few lovely days on a quilting retreat hosted by Quilt Junction, held at the beautiful Elmhurst Inn in Ingersoll, Ontario.

The decision to go was definitely meant to be a one-time treat to myself....to go and relax, meet new quilting friends, be pampered in the Spa at the Inn and enjoy excellent cuisine. Well, I think this is now going to be a yearly thing! 

There were thirty of us set up in the Grand Ballroom, a beautiful large, bright room that was perfect for getting some sewing done....




Lana, our lovely hostess, had a booth set up just in case any of us had forgotten any essentials....or just needed a bit of retail therapy!




I was happy to start my Retreat with having lunch with my sister...of the four sisters she is the youngest and I am the oldest. We don't see each other very often so it was so special to get to spend an hour or so together...



I can't say enough about the food our group experienced during our stay....here is just a sample of our meals....



I wish I had taken a picture of this dish on the menu so I could remember what was in it and maybe try to replicate it. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back sometime!


I did manage to get some sewing done! I paced myself, since last time I spent too much time in a chair sewing resulted in being laid up with back problems for a couple of weeks. So...many breaks walking around looking at everyone else's inspiring work!

My main project was to complete my Happy Days quilt. After a rocky start things started to fall in place...



.....and.....it's done!!!!!......


My goal for April was to have this quilt top done. I am linking up with Elm Street Quilts for OMG-One Monthly Goal, April Finish!

I'll set aside some time this Summer to get it quilted up in time for the Fall Fair season. I had thought to do an edge-to-edge quilting design on it, but after seeing it laid out in full I now think a light custom job is in order. I love it!

Day 2....I wanted to get the next step complete in my version of Sandra Walker's sew-along, Freefall Spring Quilt-Along.  I had the prep-work done ahead of time and was happy to get them sewn together....all ready for the next step. It was fun, also, to learn a couple of slick techniques for these blocks....thanks, Sandra Walker! 



I want to keep on track with this sew-along since I think this may be a good entrant into this year's Fall Fair category that is celebrating Canada's Sesquicentennial! I am linking this post to Sandra's linky party at Musings of a Menopausal Melon. Check it out to see other quilters' take on Freefall!

My final project for the Retreat was to assemble my Nature's Neutrals. 

This was a quilt made of blocks from a group exchange. The blocks are 5" unfinished and we were to make 2 sets of eight blocks per month for two years. Each month we submitted our blocks and came away with sixteen different blocks. 

I did not want this quilt to wait years to be done, so it was on the list for this week.

Here it is...



I have kept a few blocks aside so I could make a decision at this point to see if the quilt needed to be wider or longer, etc. So, an hour of work sometime in the near future will see this one truly done! 

During our Retreat, Lana did a couple of demos and also showed us how to construct a little fabric "box" meant to put our odd bits of thread and snippets of fabric into...



Thanks, Lana....this will be put into my applique bag for the times I get together for stitching with friends!

All in all, a very successful Retreat....not to mention making new quilty friends. Can't wait 'til next year!

Today I am linking up with Busy Hands Quilts for Finished or Not Fridays, Koka Quilts for sew, stitch, snap, SHARE, and with Confessions of a Fabric Addict for Can I Get a Whoop-Whoop!.





15 comments:

  1. Looks like it was a wonderful and very productive week...Really love the Nature's Neutrals.

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  2. Sounds like you had a wonderful retreat and you got lots of sewing done too. I have a retreat coming up in 2 weeks. And yes, you can't sit there all day and sew or you will have back problems. You do that once and you never forget! I look forward to seeing how you quilt Happy Days and Natures Neutrals.

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  3. I've only been on one retreat and had a blast! It looks like you did too! Your quilt is gorgeous and I'm sure it feels amazing to have it finished!

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  4. What a great retreat! How fun to see your sister again. I get so happy and cheerful when I see your happy days quilt. Its so great!

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  5. I really love your 'happy days' quilt, so much to look at! Sounds like retreat was lots of fun, and a very productive time too. Thanks for linking up to 'sew stitch snap SHARE.'

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  6. Love your neutral squares quilt and your leaves are lovely too!

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  7. Love your FreeFalling blocks. I am making mine for our 150th as well.

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  8. Good effort at the retreat:)

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  9. I love all your quilt projects. Your Happy Days quilt is gorgeous! I really love your nature's neutral quilt top. Do you know the designers name and what magazine it came out of? I know it was a leaflet that was with one of the quilting magazines.

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  10. Great accomplishments this weekend Sandra! I LOVE seeing your first 8 blocks all done! So pretty. And that happy quilt? Hap-hap-HAPPY!!!! Thanks for linking up and for the shout-out AND for the slick tips you learned, yay! btw I looked up the retreat location and it is stunning. I would LOVE to go there one day. Glad you got some big/little sister time too. So important :-)

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  11. WOW I LOVE your Happy Days quilt! so pleased you are getting it custom quilted!

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  12. Great quilts! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.

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  13. Sounds like a great time! COngrats on finishing your One Monthly Goal!!!

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  14. You made amazing progress at retreat!
    I am going there for the first time in May with my sister... so excited!
    And congrats for meeting your goal so early in the month!

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