The Quilt Retreat Post...Finally!

So, sometime ago, V mentioned that she was planning a retreat in Minnesota with a group of other blogging quilters. My little ears perked up. Oh, that sounded like an awful lot of fun. Holy Toledo! I had now idea just how much fun.

What a group of gals! Talk about talented and prolific! I mean, there is V herself, who whips up unique quilts at an alarming rate. There's Shelly, who posts stash reports on the hundreds (I am not kidding, hundreds) of yards of fabric she goes through in a year. (Stay posted on her site for the patriotic quilt she was madly sewing while we were there!) And Amanda, well everyone knows how much that girl sews! That's just on the prolific end! How this slow poke got invited to the big dance is still a mystery, but what a ball it was! We sewed and sewed and laughed and laughed, saw the quilt show, and then sewed some more. And the best part? It was the same weekend as my birthday! I haven't had a birthday this fun in YEARS!!!

Now, let's talk about birthday generosity. These gals gave me the loveliest quilty things, even a few from ladies I was meeting for the very first time. What sweetness!

This is the little quilt from V that looks awesome in my living room.

(Don't you love the quilting stitches?)

Here's a bit of Amy Butler fabric from Rene' (one of the nicest gals ever), shot cotton solids from Toni and Doris (a joy to watch as a powerful creative team and as truly supportive friends) and the Hmong applique blocks I treated myself to for my birthday. Can't wait to play with all this fun fabric!

Then, the quilting genius Shelly (yep, we had two Shelly's there) let me decimate raid her batik stash looking for a few extra blues and purples for my borders. I may have gotten more than a little carried away and she was nice enough to just say "Happy Birthday!", not "Get out of there crazy lady!"

Add to the mix Terry (who found the most fabulous Halloween fabric ever and I hope to see in NYC one of these days), Mary (who had the loveliest old Featherweight, calm presence and beautiful spiderweb quilt -- you can check it out on her banner) and Heather (who couldn't stay, but left the biggest box of fabric to share), and you have a quilting fiesta extraordinare.

Birthday + new friends + quilting? Man, I'd do it all again next year, without a doubt! (Yes, Miss Amanda, I'd even go running...or at least jogging...for short spurts...if there are no low hanging signs.)

p.s. Don't you love how Amanda's completed the red theme of her quilt?