Quilt Retreat

Back at the beginning of summer (why do all my blog posts start with “way back six months ago”?!?), I was invited on a weekend quilting retreat in Van Alstyne, TX. I’ve never been on a quilting retreat before, so I was super excited. So excited, in fact, that I brought five different projects with me to work on.

I can get all those done in three days, right?

On the way there, my friend Ava and I stopped in McKinney at two quilt shops. First stop was Happiness is Quilting. They always have the most beautiful things. Look at this super gorgeous quilt.

It is pieced but then has wool felt appliqué in the blocks and in the border. Really stunning – this photo does not do it justice.

We also stopped at Quilt Asylum, and I picked up a few FQs for using in my Marcelle Medallion. All my favorites – Lizzy House, Anna Maria Horner, Tula Pink, Alison Glass, Carolyn Friedlander, etc. I maybe went a little crazy.

The Alford Inn, where the retreat was held is a great place. They have room to sleep about 16 people, I think, and plenty of room for sewing. I had my crap spread out over two tables, I think. Of course being a quilt shop and a retreat space, they had some beautiful quilts on the walls. This quilt was fun to see. A woman I used to work with made this quilt and I absolutely fell in love with it and bought the pattern for it. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for probably 10 years. I think I need to get it out, don’t you?

And I loved the straight line quilting on this one.

Anyway, here’s a look at my “area”. My main focus was my Kiss Kiss quilt. It’s been languishing far too long and I really wanted to get the top finished. It’s been so long since I’ve worked on it, just getting the blocks out made me happy.

And the fun thing about a retreat in a quilt shop? You can shop the whole weekend! I could have gone really crazy, but I restrained myself (after the FQ extravaganza!). But, they had a big metal washtub full of clearance fabrics. And look at the treasures I found in there…

Tula Pink Nest flannels! Such a score! No idea what I will do with them – but I certainly couldn’t leave them there!!!

On Saturday afternoon, we took a little road trip to another quilt shop – Kaleidoscope Quilt Shop in Whitesboro, Texas. They had some fun things to drool over!