A Snowy April in Iowa . . .

Yes, 5 more inches of the light white stuff last night & bad roads to go with it.  Will we ever see spring??

I have to say though that it was amazing how it just set down on top of every door handle & chair & table or anything outside during the storm.  It just piled it's 5 inches, then quit!  Ah, Mother Nature . . . she cannot be outdone!

 

Table Cozee II

       Back to quilting ---    Here's the little red Table Cozee of Cumberland Fabrics just bound & finished.  These are the little scallops shown at the recent retreat;  I finally decided that I like the smaller doubled scallops on each side of this one.  Use Darlene Zimmerman's Easy Scallop tool; it is easy indeed! 

And I found a new notion while shop hopping -- you probably already know about it; it holds all your bobbins neatly on a little tower & you can add sections to it for more & more bobbins.  The Stack 'n Store Bobbin Tower.  I've seen these in shops for awhile now, probably years, but I finally bought one & I really like it.  Takes up much less space next to my machine.

 

And while I'm talking about space, I have completely cleaned up & organized my working space just last week.  You know, when you need to cut a backing for a new project & you can't find any open space on your table.  You finally say, enough is enough, & clean off that table vowing you'll never let it get that bad again.  Well, then you move to another space & begin organizing there & around the room you go. 

Well, what a wonderful feeling to have open space once again! 

I think I won!

 Back to work!

Retreat Time ! Snow Time??

Yes, it's snow - about 4" we woke up to yesterday morning!  It's taking a long time to get around to spring here in Iowa.  But the moisture is good!

Well, at least bad weather did not interfere with our retreat trip.  We had an awesome trip up & back from Little Falls, MN, where the retreat was held at Lake Beauty Bible Camp.  The huge room where the quilters all gathered to sew was perfect with lots of space & carpeted side walls easy to pin blocks & quilts up so we could see what everyone was working on.  It was amazing how the wall changed daily, sometimes even by the hour, as the ladies worked on their projects.

There were about 60 quilters plus Sharon & I & Sue Herzberg from Quilt Cove in Eagan, the shop owner hostess.  Food was wonderful, all fixed by the camp, Lake Beauty Bible Camp.  The camp alone brought back wonderful memories of my bible camp days at Okoboji.

Many of the ladies come back to this camp for quilt retreats year after year.  The dining room fireplace was very impressive !

Digitals of most of the quilters are on my personal facebook page & Clothesline Quilts facebook page .  Join us there!

 

And here are some pictures of a few of the quilts from Show & Tell.  Sorry if I missed yours, but I could not take them fast enough.  These ladies know how to get quilts done & show them . . . just saying!  The first one is a large size
Bull Run by Tanya; isn't it awesome with the blue toile.



 As each of the quilts was shown, the owner walked up & talked about the quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To the Retreat . . . shops along the way

Before I show the retreat pictures, I must share some of the quilt shops along the way that Sharon & I stopped at - after all, it was a 5-hour drive north &, of course, we had to get out & stretch along the way.  Not our fault, if it happened to be right in front of a quilt shop every time!   Oh, & of course, I'll share the retreat, too; still catching up here at the farm.  The pictures are up on facebook already if you must see now.

Val Besser, Spinning Spools

Our first stop was in New Ulm where we found 2 shops - Spinning Spools Quilt Shop & The Thimble Box.  Both, lovely shops.  Val Besser, owner at Spinning Spools, was working on her Legacy Sampler which is her shop's Block of the Month this year.  I was so excited to see her so excited about the sampler that a group of us did for the Kansas City Designer Hop at the last spring market.  Isn't it wonderful - she said it's going together nicely.  BTW, that pattern is now available for sale.  You can call for patterns at 1-712-362-3022.



Brenda Seidl, The Thimble Box

Brenda Seidl from The Thimble Box offers a super large selection of panels; she also does patterns to complement the panels; patterns that are more than just adding borders to the panels. 

Look at the huge African violets she grows!

Gathering Friends, Deb, Kathy & Sue

Then we were on to Bird Island, home of Gathering Friends Quilt Shop, owner/designers, Deb Jacobs & Kathy Squibb.  What a lovely shop we found there, actually 3 shops in one with their own line of books & patterns, all the fabrics & notions, & a gift shop for dreaming.

Sue Sandgren on the right was employee of the day.  The quilts on the wall behind them are from their newest book.  Don't you just love their entrance!

On to Litchfield where we found DeAnn's Country Village Shoppe.  I found some children's fabrics there that will make beautiful little coloring bags & aprons.

Sharon was continuing her search for blacks & white/creams for a new project.

Apologizies, DeAnn; I must have missed taking a picture, but I sure love the pinks & purples I purchased at your shop!



On to Kimball - Gone To Pieces Quilt Shop - Owner Penny Callander is like a smile-in-every-aisle at her warm, quaint quilt shop.  So much inspiration & friendliness housed there & more pinks for coloring bags!




The last stop was at Avon, MN, where we found Aunt Annie's Quilts & Silks.  Owner Lucy Senstad was quick to show us what she does with hand dyes, discharge dyed fabrics & gelatin prints; something you don't find at every quilt shop.

A fabric grouping in yellow, black & white really caught my eye there; have not seen that fabric anywhere else.  That is why we need all the quilt shops we can have - everyone has her own selection which makes this shop hopping so much fun!