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!