A little information for you about the retreat. We are in a three-story house overlooking the west shore of Flathead Lake, the largest lake in Montana. The first floor has the sewing room, converted from the garage of the original house. The tables that Shannon, Debbie, and I are working at are closest to the french doors that have a great view of the lake. We also are close to the driveway where every morning and evening bunnies and deer may come to check out what we've been doing during the day.
The second or main floor has the large bedroom that the four of us share along with the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The third floor holds the master bedroom and master bath. The view is really beautiful from each of the floors in the building, with the best one, probably, from the master suite. There are sleeping accommodations for ten students, and another two students who sleep off-site can attend, but 12 is the maximum.
Our meals are taken in the dining room or from the deck outside the kitchen/dining area with this view of the lake. The view from the dining room is beautiful. And, can you imagine having your meals on top of this quilt? This is the table cover on the dining table. They don't seem to care if we spill on it - it's washable.
Our day starts between 8:30-9:30 for breakfast. Judy usually arrives around 9:30 am, and we start working with her. Time is spent in her sewing room, off the main sewing room, where she does demonstrations and shares tips and tricks to working with her patterns. It's amazing to see how quickly she can put something together that I've struggled with, but now have more knowledge on what to do to make it easier! Then, she works with each of us on our project. Everyone is working on different projects, from wedding rings to spike quilts. As she approaches our projects, she shares tips on each one, so everyone stops and gathers around so we can all benefit from any problems she is solving or tips she is sharing. It's a very easy environment, and Judy makes it very easy to talk to about our problems with each quilt. No prima dona here!
Lunch is usually served around noon, then we are back in the sewing room for more demos and sewing. Judy usually leaves around 3:00-3:30 and we are on our own for the rest of the day. Dinner is around 6:30, then we are free to sew or whatever we feel like doing. The menus for the week are posted for us and we are free to go off-site if something is being served that we aren't interested in having. The four of us took advantage of that on Thursday night as they were serving pizza and we were ready for a change. John joined us for dinner that night and we all had a good time. We went to a Mexican food restaurant near the retreat, and can truthfully say that it was not anything like what we have at home. We're about ready for a fix with the "real" stuff.
Here is our sewing area with projects on the design walls. I had decided to rent a machine as I was back and forth regarding flying up and coming in the RV and wasn't sure I'd be able to bring my own machine. This gave me an opportunity to sew for a week on a Bernina and I can honestly say that I'm happy with my Viking! These are lovely machines, but don't have some of the features that I rely on heavily. Plus, I don't think I'll ever get used to using the knee lift. It's never in the right spot on the machine for me. I noticed that Judy sews with her left foot and uses her right knee on the knee lift, so maybe that's how it works, but I've never been comfortable using my left foot on the foot pedal. Something to think about, though, as my Janome has a knee lift.
Monday afternoon, Judy took us to the training center where they are training new certified instructors and certified shop owners. It is a brand new building (they used to train the CIs in the retreat house where we are) with bedrooms, a kitchen/dining area, and large training room.
There is a breezeway and the main office for her company and the shipping center is across from the training center. We took a tour of the offices and met all of the people working there, then were able to wander through the shipping center to pull patterns and other supplies to carry back to the retreat center.
One of the areas of the building is where they create new quilts and test the patterns. There is a long-arm machine there and lots and lots of fabric. Judy is now designing fabric lines and we got to see some fabrics that will be released to the public over the next six months or so. Did you know that it takes almost two years for a fabric line to go from original design to the sales floor? Amazing.
On our way back, we stopped at one of the quilt shops. I had picked up a new pattern at Judy's warehouse and needed fabric for it, and this was a great place to shop. Plus, we got a discount as we were with Judy. I'll have time on Friday to get this one cut and started as I felt sure that I'd have the Pepperdish done by then - and, I was right!
I worked all week on my Pepperdish project and finished the last machine sewing on it on Thursday night. Judy brought me some appliqué pieces that she had started to go onto another quilt that are built with the same templates as this quilt pattern uses. This will allow me to see what mine will look like when completed. I put the pieces on the top half of the quilt and what a change it made! It was sort of ho-hum until the appliqué was added. Then, oh, my - what a change.
I decided I'd wait until I get home to prepare the appliqué pieces as I want to pull more fabrics from my scrap stash. If you look closely at the appliqué pieces, you'll see that all of them are very different from the fabrics in the quilt and really make it look more lively. I'll pull all of the paper off on the trip home and be ready to start the finish work on it as soon as I get it home. Judy shared her new method of preparing appliqué with us and it should be much easier. I practiced her method of sewing using a minuscule zigzag, but don't think I'll do it this way. Hand appliqué is more my thing, after all.
Tuesday and Wednesday were the same schedule, with sewing and lectures/demos during the morning and afternoon hours and no side trips. Wednesday evening, Judel (Judy's daughter) came to retreat to demonstrate a new computer program they have been working on in Quilster. This program will also be available on our smart phones and iPads. It will allow us to customize our quilts made from Judy's patterns. If you have a pattern with a 12-inch square block in it, for example, you will be able to select from a number of different options to fill that block, then click on a button to order that new block for your quilt. Quiltworx will pull the paper templates for that block and ship them to you within a few days. We won't be locked into just one look when making her patterns, but will have a lot of flexibility. It will also allow for scanning fabric to preview what your quilt will look like with different color ways. The program will be available on a subscription basis, so we'll see how that will work.
Thursday was more of the same schedule, then Friday was a "free sewing" day. All of the attendees decided to exchange contact information so we can keep up with each other and our projects. We had a great group of quilters and it was fun to watch the various projects come to life on the walls.
By the time dinner was over on Friday night, I felt a strong desire to go back to the RV with John. I was just done - you know what I mean, I'm sure. I'd had a great time with everyone, but it was time to go. I called John and arranged for him to pick me up within the hour and went to pack up. Next time I do this, I'll plan to bring an empty tote because my "stuff" had grown beyond what I had brought. Plus, it was packed differently, so things will have to be unpacked and repacked when I get to the RV.
Hugs all around and my retreat experience was over. This retreat had been planned since late in 2014, and I can say that it was everything and more that I hoped for here. I'd encourage anyone who might be thinking about it to just set aside your dollars and plan to attend. The four of us have already decided that we're coming back in two years.
I got the Flowers for My Wedding Ring quilt pattern and think that's what I'll bring with me to work on. Time to start collecting fabrics for it now!
Check out time for the retreat was early Saturday morning. Jan was flying home early, and Shannon and Debbie were going to Glacier National Park for some hiking before Debbie flew home on Sunday. Shannon has plans to visit her grandchildren and parents on the way home. Good travels to each of you, my friends. It was great sewing with you!
Our day starts between 8:30-9:30 for breakfast. Judy usually arrives around 9:30 am, and we start working with her. Time is spent in her sewing room, off the main sewing room, where she does demonstrations and shares tips and tricks to working with her patterns. It's amazing to see how quickly she can put something together that I've struggled with, but now have more knowledge on what to do to make it easier! Then, she works with each of us on our project. Everyone is working on different projects, from wedding rings to spike quilts. As she approaches our projects, she shares tips on each one, so everyone stops and gathers around so we can all benefit from any problems she is solving or tips she is sharing. It's a very easy environment, and Judy makes it very easy to talk to about our problems with each quilt. No prima dona here!
Lunch is usually served around noon, then we are back in the sewing room for more demos and sewing. Judy usually leaves around 3:00-3:30 and we are on our own for the rest of the day. Dinner is around 6:30, then we are free to sew or whatever we feel like doing. The menus for the week are posted for us and we are free to go off-site if something is being served that we aren't interested in having. The four of us took advantage of that on Thursday night as they were serving pizza and we were ready for a change. John joined us for dinner that night and we all had a good time. We went to a Mexican food restaurant near the retreat, and can truthfully say that it was not anything like what we have at home. We're about ready for a fix with the "real" stuff.
Here is our sewing area with projects on the design walls. I had decided to rent a machine as I was back and forth regarding flying up and coming in the RV and wasn't sure I'd be able to bring my own machine. This gave me an opportunity to sew for a week on a Bernina and I can honestly say that I'm happy with my Viking! These are lovely machines, but don't have some of the features that I rely on heavily. Plus, I don't think I'll ever get used to using the knee lift. It's never in the right spot on the machine for me. I noticed that Judy sews with her left foot and uses her right knee on the knee lift, so maybe that's how it works, but I've never been comfortable using my left foot on the foot pedal. Something to think about, though, as my Janome has a knee lift.
Monday afternoon, Judy took us to the training center where they are training new certified instructors and certified shop owners. It is a brand new building (they used to train the CIs in the retreat house where we are) with bedrooms, a kitchen/dining area, and large training room.
There is a breezeway and the main office for her company and the shipping center is across from the training center. We took a tour of the offices and met all of the people working there, then were able to wander through the shipping center to pull patterns and other supplies to carry back to the retreat center.
One of the areas of the building is where they create new quilts and test the patterns. There is a long-arm machine there and lots and lots of fabric. Judy is now designing fabric lines and we got to see some fabrics that will be released to the public over the next six months or so. Did you know that it takes almost two years for a fabric line to go from original design to the sales floor? Amazing.
On our way back, we stopped at one of the quilt shops. I had picked up a new pattern at Judy's warehouse and needed fabric for it, and this was a great place to shop. Plus, we got a discount as we were with Judy. I'll have time on Friday to get this one cut and started as I felt sure that I'd have the Pepperdish done by then - and, I was right! 
I worked all week on my Pepperdish project and finished the last machine sewing on it on Thursday night. Judy brought me some appliqué pieces that she had started to go onto another quilt that are built with the same templates as this quilt pattern uses. This will allow me to see what mine will look like when completed. I put the pieces on the top half of the quilt and what a change it made! It was sort of ho-hum until the appliqué was added. Then, oh, my - what a change. I decided I'd wait until I get home to prepare the appliqué pieces as I want to pull more fabrics from my scrap stash. If you look closely at the appliqué pieces, you'll see that all of them are very different from the fabrics in the quilt and really make it look more lively. I'll pull all of the paper off on the trip home and be ready to start the finish work on it as soon as I get it home. Judy shared her new method of preparing appliqué with us and it should be much easier. I practiced her method of sewing using a minuscule zigzag, but don't think I'll do it this way. Hand appliqué is more my thing, after all.
Tuesday and Wednesday were the same schedule, with sewing and lectures/demos during the morning and afternoon hours and no side trips. Wednesday evening, Judel (Judy's daughter) came to retreat to demonstrate a new computer program they have been working on in Quilster. This program will also be available on our smart phones and iPads. It will allow us to customize our quilts made from Judy's patterns. If you have a pattern with a 12-inch square block in it, for example, you will be able to select from a number of different options to fill that block, then click on a button to order that new block for your quilt. Quiltworx will pull the paper templates for that block and ship them to you within a few days. We won't be locked into just one look when making her patterns, but will have a lot of flexibility. It will also allow for scanning fabric to preview what your quilt will look like with different color ways. The program will be available on a subscription basis, so we'll see how that will work.
Thursday was more of the same schedule, then Friday was a "free sewing" day. All of the attendees decided to exchange contact information so we can keep up with each other and our projects. We had a great group of quilters and it was fun to watch the various projects come to life on the walls.
By the time dinner was over on Friday night, I felt a strong desire to go back to the RV with John. I was just done - you know what I mean, I'm sure. I'd had a great time with everyone, but it was time to go. I called John and arranged for him to pick me up within the hour and went to pack up. Next time I do this, I'll plan to bring an empty tote because my "stuff" had grown beyond what I had brought. Plus, it was packed differently, so things will have to be unpacked and repacked when I get to the RV.
Hugs all around and my retreat experience was over. This retreat had been planned since late in 2014, and I can say that it was everything and more that I hoped for here. I'd encourage anyone who might be thinking about it to just set aside your dollars and plan to attend. The four of us have already decided that we're coming back in two years. I got the Flowers for My Wedding Ring quilt pattern and think that's what I'll bring with me to work on. Time to start collecting fabrics for it now!
Check out time for the retreat was early Saturday morning. Jan was flying home early, and Shannon and Debbie were going to Glacier National Park for some hiking before Debbie flew home on Sunday. Shannon has plans to visit her grandchildren and parents on the way home. Good travels to each of you, my friends. It was great sewing with you!
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