Thursday @ the retreat!

Ah….Kelli and I made it home and scrambling around here to get ready for the next leg of the quilt retreat.  We live about a half hour from Oelwein where the retreat is being held.  We stayed over in the hotel last night buy tonight, I needed to be home and touch base.  I enjoy getting a chance to get away but for me the little escape home is really something I need.  Besides wanting to see Hubby and Ruby I also needed to pack my goodies that we’ll have for sale at the vendor show.

By the way….before I get onto the blog post about today, I wanted to tell you all that we do have a special Facebook group that the retreaters are posting in.  If you want to join and see even more retreat related tidbits, check that group out here.

Now for today’s happenings….

As I said, Kelli and I stayed overnight.  The hotel is only a few blocks away from the Lou Ann’s Quilt Garden and Retreat where the fun was happening.   Kelli is a slow riser.  Me, I’m an evening shower-er and hit the ground in the morning ready to go.  I didn’t feel like waiting around for her so I left to go see and the ladies.  Kelli brought Bonnie a little later.

The short building is the quilt shop and the building to the left is the retreat center.  It doesn’t look big, but is actually a nice size.  29 of us are sewing and 27 are staying in the rooms upstairs.

Lou Ann rolled out the welcome with Bonnie’s last mystery quilt hanging in the window.

Can you see all the action happening as I’m peeking in the window.

On tap for today was Moth in the Window.  This was the first quilt that I fell in love with from Bonnie Hunter’s book Addicted to Scraps.

Everyone was really busy already.  Judy was working on pieces for her Points of Interest quilt that Kelli and I will be teaching to the group on Saturday.

This was free sew time and the ladies were getting excited for Bonnie’s arrival!

We have a great group here.  Some are faces that were here last time we held a retreat…some were new.

It’s fun to see all the notions and even the shirts that the ladies wear.  Above, Jill and Jill are in the pink shirts had super cute shirts designed especially for the occasion showing their road trip to get here.

We loved Heather’s shirt that was quilting related too.  Oh..and check out Anne’s scrappy version of Jared Takes a Wife.  We almost didn’t recognize it as that quilt as we had never seen it scrappy.

These three ladies are all ladies I’ve known the longest.  Linda I met years ago when she was retreating at Country Threads.  JoAnne,  Kelli and I met when we went to a Bonnie Hunter retreat in Storm Lake, Iowa.  Debbie hosted Kelli and I when we spoke at their guild in Muscatine, Iowa.  It is so fun to see them all again.

At class…Bonnie gathers the group and gives them tips and instructions.  Then sends them off to sew and practice the things she talks about.  From there Bonnie walks around visiting and chatting, and checking on how people are doing.  If anyone needs more helps, she helps.  Then after a bit she moves on to the next step.  It’s VERY common that people only get a block or two done the entire time of the class.  Between chatting, teaching sessions, and working slowly to put the tips to practice, it’s a slow go.

Of course Bonnie enticed everyone with her treasure trove of goodies.

…and here’s the food that’s free for all.

Kelli and I wanted to be at the retreat and sew but didn’t want to be in the way of the retreaters.  We wanted them to have plenty of space….we wanted them to have access to things without having to wait very much so we tried to hang out in out the way places.  Kelli didn’t have her quilt cut out so she hung out in the kitchen area and cut….

Me, I sat in my chair and worked on my Spider Web blocks.  If I worked on them, I could finger press and not have to get up and walk around….I didn’t need the iron or cutting station much either.  I could still listen in on Bonnie’s instructions but stayed in the back ground so everyone could see.

Kelli and I got taken away a couple times.  It’s really hard when McDonald’s is so close and I love Caramel Iced Coffee.

Thursday was a fun day….we are looking forward to tomorrow.

One more thing, you can check out Bonnie’s post in the morning.  She took all the show and share pictures and will be sharing them on her blog.  Kelli and I missed show and share, or at least most of it.  We had walked down to the Dollar General store to purchase a couple of irons for the Friday group.  The day had turned sunny and we didn’t think a thing about it, but as we were leaving the store, it started to rain.  We stood under the awning waiting for the rain to stop….it didn’t and didn’t.  Finally Kelli came up with the idea of going back inside and purchasing an umbrella.  We were late for show and share but we did make it back!!

…dry and all in one piece.

We can’t wait to see Friday’s adventures bring.