Sewing Retreat at My Home

Four years ago, before Covid, I decided that I wanted to do a Sewing Retreat in my home every year, like an annual event.  March is a good time to have one, it's not too cold, and yet not nice enough for people to be out in their own yards.  

This is the second "annual" Sewing Retreat, with three years in between the first and the second.  

I invited some of the ladies who come to my sewing class and some of my friends that love to sew and quilt.  For two days, from 10-4:00 pm, we chatted, laughed, exchanged ideas, sewed and ate together!

Here's a pic of me finishing up the table runner for my niece.  I was able to work on a couple of UFO's and get them done.

Each of the ladies sewed a current project or finished up an older one.  I loved seeing how different the projects are that everyone was working on.

Everything from baby quilts to block of the month quilts and more!  One of my friends even brought over her old Singer featherweight that comes in its own box to sew with.

Each person brings their own lunch and then we take a break to all eat together.  

It was a great weekend.  One of the ladies asked if I could do it once a month.  If only they knew, it's pretty much what I do here all the time.  LOL

I look forward to our sewing retreat next year!
 

My Fall Sewing Retreat

Not only do I go on a Quilting Retreat in the winter, but also in the fall.  Ah, I love fall.  My friends and I went out on a walk during our retreat time and the landscape was amazing.

It was such a beautiful weekend!  The weather was just perfect and the trees were in full fall color. 

I do have to say, here in upstate NY the fall is such a great time of year!  (I'm not sure about what comes next- a very long winter, but I do love fall.)

Here is a pic of the outside of our hotel rooms first thing in the morning.  :)

On the inside, I was working on several different quilting projects.  Although our retreat is 4 days, I never get enough done!  There are just so many projects to make.

I started working on the Rainbow Quilt last winter.  This weekend I sewed some borders on it and got it ready for the backing and quilting.

I added a light gray border to it and I love how it makes the rainbow colors all stand out. 

This weekend I started this colorful quilt made from a jelly roll.  I saw the picture in a book and tried to get the whole quilt put together in a couple of days.  After sewing the strips together, I wasn't sure if I liked how it turned out.  (Don't you hate that?)

But now that I have it at home, I put a teal colored border on it and like it a lot better. I hope to finish it soon to give to a friend who is moving away.  She likes bright colors.

This is an adaptation of Pat Sloan's "Oh, my Stars" quilt pattern.  I picked up the fabrics last fall at the Houston Quilt Show and cut them into squares to make a quilt for one of my sons.  Last year I made him an afghan in these same colors, so I'm making the quilt to match.

It's ready for a backing.  I'm hoping to finish it for Christmas.  Wish me luck!