From time to time, I disappear from home for a few days to go on a quilt retreat. The men folks in my life don't understand why a bunch of women would want to spend three days sewing until they are dead tired. The idea is to create something new. Sometimes, we learn a new skill or technique. Other times, we may make a mystery quilt which means we have no idea what it's going to look like, but we're there for the ride.
So, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak...
See the blur in red... that's me. We are all busy in various creative tasks, but there is a lot of chatter going on. This particular retreat has been held in Winston-Salem, NC (my home) by two wonderful women. Lisa and Karen run a business called Sew Sisters. After this retreat, we are ALL Sew Sisters. I've been to many retreats, but I've never been with a group of women who have become friends as quickly as this group. We have learned a lot, but we have become buddies.
Bonnie Hunter (queen of scrappy) and Mickey Depre (queen of hexies) have been our teachers. They are dynamic women. I wish I had a smidgen of their knowledge.
Here are some of my accomplishments. This is the pieced block that Bonnie taught us to make. This block contains 41 different pieces of fabric. Whew! There will be 9 of them in the finished quilt. (I have all 9 made at the end of the day. Yippee!)
This is my hexie bock that Mickey taught us to make. These hexies are unique because they are pieced. Before Mickey, most hexies were made from a solid piece of fabric. Mickey has kicked it up a notch by piecing fabric to make unique hexie blossoms.
The hexie blossoms are a lot of hand stitching. I have only one of these completed at the end of the day, but I have the pieces stitched to make the rest. It will be good handwork in front of the TV at night.
So the retreat ends tomorrow and we all go back home to our own lives. But those lives will be richer for our new friends with whom we will stay connected through Facebook, e-mail, blogs, Quiltville, and the Sew Sisters reunion.
