Retreat Ramblings Part 1

There is no way one blog post can do justice to all the fun I had at the quilt retreat!!!  Forgive me, but I'll probably be talking about this for some time to come ;-)  The weekend was full of laughter and sewing.

I flew into Minneapolis the day before the retreat.  I experienced my first tornado evacuation while staying at the local Hampton Inn in St. Cloud.  No worries, I met some lovely quilters who were in town for the quilt show.  Everyone was so nice, but they all seemed to think it strange that I would travel all the way from Orlando to sew with ladies I had never met....except on the internet!!! ;-)

It didn't seem strange to me, and I didn't hesitate to book my ticket once I received the call from Victoria.  I have been nervous and excited about this trip ever since...not to mention extremely intimidated by the "guest list"...especially when I learned we were to bring something for show and tell.  I needn't have worried {although I still did} as this group of ladies is not only talented, but also warm, welcoming and a whole bunch of fun!  Thank you, thank you, thank you for including me!!!!!!

Show and Tell was something else!  I had seen some of the quilts on blog posts before, but pictures online are nothing compared to seeing them in real life!!!  I got to see Victoria's Kitchen Sink quilt and Shelly's Leaves quilt for example.  Incredible!!!  I took loads of pictures, but I would rather you see the quilts on the creators' blogs so I won't show them here.  {The first thing I did when I got home was become a Follower of each of my new friend's blog, if I wasn't already one.}  The above picture is from the Minneapolis Quilt Show. We zipped through the show quickly in order to get back to sewing.  Seeing these ladies at work was another treat.  Talk about your creative process.  If only I could have captured some of that and brought it back with me ;-)  I did come home feeling motivated and inspired though!  

Shelly sewed on my right side.  We had to stick together as we were the only southerners ;-)  It was nice to hear phrases such as "Do What?" "I'm fixing to" and "My Granny" among other familiar sayings that I haven't heard in a while.  It was great seeing some of the collaborative work Shelly and Victoria have done.  They gave us a sneak peek at their latest project which is truly breathtaking!  

Terri sewed on my left side and is from one of those "I" states as Shelly puts it ;-)  I had a great time getting to know Terri.  She whipped up two quilt tops and a ton of pinwheel blocks over the weekend!  Another thing you may not know about this group is that they are very well read.  There was a lot of book recommendations and book reviews going on in between sewing.  Anyone make a master list?  

Heather was only able to join us for a little while.  I was happy for the opportunity to meet her and personally say thank you for her giveaway I had won during the Cross Country Christmas blog Hop.  She is so sweet and left a huge box of fabric for us all to go through.  I tried not to be greedy, but it was hard to resist ;-)

Andrea celebrated HER birthday during the retreat by giving US goodies....New York City fat quarters and yummy Jacques Torres chocolate!

Here's the room that I bunked in.  Andrea and Amanda were my roomies.  Not only did I learn a lot from the other women while I was there, I also learned something about myself...something I didn't know...something I'd rather not know....I snore!  Sorry girls...I didn't believe my husband ;-)

I have so much more to share about the retreat, but I think this post is long enough ;-)  In the meantime, go see if the others have posted their thoughts and pictures on the retreat yet:  Andrea, Amanda, Doris, Mary, Shelly P, Shelly S, Terri, Toni and Victoria.

Have an amazing day!!!