Nov 07 Retreat - Calico Hutch

One of the evil things about these retreats is that you are surrounded by Temptation, with a Capital T. Yes, yes, we go to the retreats to seek out inspiration and cameradery, to finish old projects and start new ones, but we also go for the Temptation. It's not just the tables filled with Snackies of all shapes and sizes, available every hour on demand. It's not just the magical toys that our fellow quilters have, that we simply must own also (Mary, how long can you stand to wait until you buy your Shape Cut?). The big T comes when the sponsoring quilt shops practically move the entire store to within 15 feet of where we are sewing.

The next 7 photos are quilts and other projects displayed by the Calico Hutch at the retreat. Notice the stacks of kits available for each one, the patterns to make your own, the STUFF to be had at the drop of a Visa card!! And no namby-pamby stuff either. The reason I refer to the Calico Hutch as "my" quilt shop (no, Carolyn did not pay me to say so) is because I usually feel compelled by some Greater Force to leave with a new project. Rare is the day that I can walk in to the shop, get the backing that I came for, and then leave without any additional purchases. Pish.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the reason that the Calico Hutch is doing such great business -- but it isn't my Visa card at all, no, the reason is that Carolyn is very, very good at finding the particular Temptation that attracts each one of us to her fabrics, and then having plenty of kits available at all times to assuage that desire to get just ... one ... more ... project!!

Thanks, Carolyn, for a GREAT retreat!!!!

- Sue

Nov 07 Retreat - Calico Hutch

A few of the northwoods-y themed items on display at the retreat. I love this stuff!

Nov 07 Retreat - Sue's Projects

The first day of the retreat, I cut my quilted Christmas Tree Skirt and put the binding on it, as well as the binding on Sharon's 1st quilt (see Sept 07 posts). I am really happy with the way it turned out, and now when the Christmas tree goes up this year (in 3 weeks!!), it will have the new tree skirt under it. (A big thanks to Marian Enabnit, my long-arm quilter, for doing her usual fabulous job -- love the stars sewn into the plaid border!)

The rest of Friday night and all of Saturday, I worked on a paper piecing project ... and I'm still only half-done! Here are a couple of photos of the blocks. I still need to make 15 more blocks before I can put things together and add borders.

On Sunday, I needed something a little less putzy to do. I made the dogs & bones pillowcase, and a scarf of very snuggly material (no photo), then started on a flannel lap quilt. By the time I packed up at 2pm, I had all of the rail fence blocks finished, and all the strip sets for the 9 patches.

Very productive weekend, and very satisfying.

Nov 07 Retreat - Mystery Quilt

This was the Mystery Quilt project from the 2006 retreat. Two of the Mystery Quilts for this retreat were shown at Show and Tell, but by then the battery on my camera had died, so I didn't get pictures of those.

Nov 07 Retreat - Quilts 2

Quilts from Saturday night's Show and Tell.

Nov 07 Retreat - Quilts 1

More quilts from Saturday night's Show and Tell.

Nov 07 Retreat - Log Cabins

Log cabin blocks are such a staple of quilting, and the blocks showed up in many quilts at the retreat. The all log cabin quilt was entirely paper-pieced, and the other is part of a block-of-the-month.

Nov 07 Retreat - Tiny 9 Patches

My seat mates at the retreat were Mary, Lori and Sue. Mary was working on finishing up her quilt of little-bitty 9 patches (shown laid out on the floor). Lori finished this same quilt, last year I think, and brought it for tonite's show-and-tell. Wow on both -- the pieces are only an inch in size!!

Nov 07 Retreat - Winter themes

With Christmas just around the corner, snowmen and tree skirts were a common theme. Here are just a few.

Nov 2007 Retreat by Calico Hutch

Today was Day 2 of the second annual Fall Quilting Retreat, hosted by the Calico Hutch Quilt Shop of Hayward, MN. This year's theme was "Viva Las Vegas." Last night we were visited by Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, who each sang a number before leaving the ballroom. Tonight, shop owner Carolyn Matson donned the "Tiny Tina Ballerina" costume and danced into the ballroom. After entertaining the crowd of 75+ quilters, she started spinning the Wheel of Fortune for door prizes. I was a lucky winner of a bright yellow bag and a very nifty pattern.

What happens to the quilts when we bring them home ...

Once I got home from the Sept 2007 retreat today, I hauled all of my quilting stuff back up to the sewing room. During the retreat, I put the binding on three lap-sized quilts that I made for snuggling under while watching TV, and made the Bears pillowcase to be used for the same purpose. So while I was hauling the rest of the piles upstairs, I tossed two of the lap quilts over the back of the sofa, and put the pillowcase on the pillow. Libby Jean immediately adopted these "new" items and has been sleeping there for the past 2 hours!

Sarah and Sharon, Sept 2007 - UPDATED!

This is the only work-in-progress photograph that I took during all 4 days! (I think we all have a tendency to be so busy at our sewing machines, that we never look up long enough to get out the camera unless somebody is announcing that they finished a project.) Although Sarah worked like a machine to get piles of blocks done, I never got a photo of them. Sharon was sitting at the machine next to me, Sarah is on the other side of Sharon, Carole's mom Sandy is in the left background, and Carole's sister Molly is in the middle background.

UPDATE: Sharon took some work-in-progress photos plus a picture of Sarah's blocks, so now I can add these to the blog! Thanks, Sharon!

Jari's projects, Sept 2007

Jari arrived at the September 2007 retreat with her Lady of the Lake quilt center all finished. She added the mitered borders, and the effect is beautiful. Jari also assembled the blocks of a "foldy" offset Log Cabin lap quilt -- that is a project I am going to have to try. Much of the retreat was spent creating one-of-a-kind handbags, and unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of any of them!

Jorjan's projects, Sept 2007

Jorjan came to the September 2007 retreat with some show-and-tell for us to see: a stunning Blooming Nine-Patch, a hand-pieced Grandmother's Flower Garden, and a Twisted Bargello. In between work on a Eureka quilt (purples and greens), she also worked on blocks for a Drunkard's Path.

Sue's projects, Sept 2007

I have been hauling around the fabric (already cut!!) for this Christmas Tree Skirt for about 5 retreats now. I started with this projects on the first day of the September 2007 retreat, and finished it on the second day. I also made a Bear pillowcase and put the bindings on a couple of other quilts and this wall hanging. I also finished the blocks for another lap-sized quilt. (The gorgeous purple-green blocks are Jorjan's.)