Scenes from a quilt retreat

May 6, 2024

Last week, I attended the JK Quilts Spring Retreat at The Riverside Hotel in Boise, Idaho. I had a ball! This marks my second retreat with the JK Quilts girls and as usual, I came home with a lot of swag. The retreat was a combination of BYO projects with daily mini projects led by shop staff. It was a chance to learn about new products like iron-on EPP templates that dissolve in water (see tea towel project above) and try-out newer versions of items like the add-a-quarter rulers I already own for paper piecing.

Many of the retreat attendees were local, but some came from Southern California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. We did a mini-quilt exchange (see quilt photos above bottom right) – mine went to Southern California. It was a stash quilt using a free tutorial I found online. I think it turned out really cute. Tip: paper gift bags for wine bottles work well for wrapping mini-quilts, too! 🙂

Retreats are always about swapping tips and tricks. A fellow attendee shared her secrets for making a DIY ironing table to take to retreats. It’s made using a $12 folding wooden TV tray from the big box store! I found some videos to reference on YouTube. It shouldn’t be too difficult and will make a nice addition to sew days and retreats where I travel by car.

At the retreat, I focused primarily on sewing my own projects. I was able to complete ALL the pieced blocks for my 2024 Middle Georgia Shop Hop quilt, plus the four main blocks for a Christmas themed quilt using the Layer Cake Shake pattern from FQS. Three retreat projects were presented: a tea toweI with EPP hexies, a table runner and a small FPP flower quilt. I made one of each unit for the FPP project and prepped all my hexies for the tea towel while at the retreat. The table runner is a very simple design. I’ll be able to complete all three projects at home.

Hubs and I had such a nice time in Boise. We were able to spend time together and do things we each like to do. Will I return in October for the fall retreat? If I lived closer to Boise, I certainly would!

Instead, I’ll take a closer look at retreats offered by ATL area quilt shops and some quilt retreat groups I follow online. Of particular interest is the fact that Sew Sew Studio recently opened a second location in Duluth (northeast ATL suburbs). Their Bogart/Athens location is fabulous and I frequently stop in whenever I go see my parents. Fingers crossed they offer the same type of events at the Duluth location, including retreats!

Which sewing machine to take to my upcoming retreat?

April 28, 2024

This is my current dilemma. I’m flying, so I’m limited to machines that will fit in my Travelpro underseat rolling tote. Here are my options:
1) Singer Featherweight
2) Elna STAR (similar to Janome Jem 720)

Option 1: The quilt shop organizing the retreat sells and services Featherweights. I will be in good hands should anything go wrong with my machine during the retreat. I’ve also been wanting to switch out the tension assembly for one with a numbered tension dial. They could take care of that for me and giver the machine a once-over at the same time. Sewing space is limited (4′ wide), so having the built-in wider bed means I won’t have to carry a separate acrylic extension table.

Opton 2: This is my usual machine for sew-ins, classes and retreats, especially when I need more than a straight-stitch capability. It travels well and does exactly what I need it to do. The only drawback is that full throttle is a mere 650 spm. It’s fine for applique and most piecing. For long strips when you want to sew fast, it’s akin to driving a moped instead of a motorcycle. I’ll also have bring the small acrylic extension table.

I checked with the retreat organizer. The staff are bringing their personal FWs to the retreat. No retreat projects require any zigzag stitch capability. I’m taking a FQS Layer Cake Shake kit made from leftover 10″ Christmas squares and the 2024 Middle Georgia Shop Hop blocks + the FPP center block to work on at the retreat. No zigzag stitches required. I’ll be perfectly fine with my Featherweight!

Our final spring semester enrichment class

April 23, 2024

The last Monday of April marks our final Monday enrichment classes for this semester. As it was when I taught in public schools, the last day is always bittersweet. I’ve really enjoyed my part-time gig and spending time with the kids and staff. But I look forward to having Mondays to call my own for the next four months! I did agree to return for fall semester; however, I’ll be doing literacy activities with a geography theme this time around. There will still be storytime with plenty of hands-on activities. Arts & crafts activities will be fewer with more emphasis on social studies skills like maps, globes, cultures and countries.

Here’s what we’re reading and doing next Monday with supervision provided by Sadie:

The stories:
Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems. (K-1)
After the fall by Dan Santat (all)
On account of the gum by Adam Rex. (all)
Are we there yet? by Dan Santat (2-5)

The activities:
Kindergarten & 1st:
Bunny craft from Simple Everyday Mom

Second – Fifth Grades:
Would You Rather Game? (selected questions from Great Wolf Lodge)
Create Your Own Travel Scene (adapted from LB Kids pdf activity created for Are we there yet?)

The goal is to keep things simple for our last day. I’ll pick up our books from the library tomorrow and my printables are already downloaded.

Sometime in May, I’ll go through my craft/instructional supplies and see what I might need to buy for fall semester. Glue sticks and kid scissors for sure!

Will I run into you at the back-to-school supply sales in July?