A Mighty Woman With A Torch

When we finished a quilt top up at Rae Ann's cabin there was great celebration.

You just have to love these ladies and their great sense of humor.

Suzann became the Statue of Liberty reciting:

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land.

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand,

A mighty woman with a torch..."

(Yes, she knew it word for word!)

With an entire week at our machines, we did get a lot done. Our friendships were strengthened, and I learned so much from each lady.

Jackie is one of the kindest women I have ever met. She is a busy mom, who teaches music to the young children at church, and also works in the office of an elementary school.
As Rae Ann's neighbor, she has been to the cabin many times over the years.

Jackie took squares she received in a block exchange and sewed them around a pre-printed panel.

The panel served as a guide for wool applique and stitchery. Isn't that a great idea?

And it was so fun to spend a week with my girlfriend Judi, who you have seen a lot on my posts. She just got through putting on a wedding for her daughter, and wasn't sure if she had the time or energy to join us. How fortunate we felt that she could come! We call her "Doctor Judi" who teaches us so much about women's health and nutrition. We all felt like little sponges, wanting to soak up everything she had to say.

Judi worked on a fall applique quilt.

Here is what Susann's quilt really looked like when finished.

Susann is the comedian of the group. She kept us laughing and laughing.

I'm telling you, anytime I have a sad moment, I will be bringing back the Statue of Liberty image in my mind, complete with cute Susann trying to be serious as she recited her poem.

Beautiful Christmas fabrics.

Another finished quilt by Susann.

When I got back to St. George, the temperature was 106 degrees.

I am going through major withdrawals, wishing I was back in Wyoming with the ladies taking our evening walks...

...seeing the stunning landscape of Star Valley....

with lilac trees in full bloom...

...and missing those spectacular sunsets each evening.

Thank you again Rae Ann for inviting me along.

Lori Holt

All those days up at Rae Ann's cabin, I had the privilege of sitting next to Lori (Bee In My Bonnet) as we sewed away.

I don't even know where to begin to explain all the wonderful traits and abilities of this amazing woman.
Focused. Organized. Lori brought 5 projects to work on up to the cabin and yes, completed all 5.
I stand in awe.

Hilarious.
And can this girl sing! At night as we were doing the dishes after dinner, Lori and Rae Ann would grab a spoon and DO WAH the most entertaining melodies, complete with choreographed moves.

I think they should to take their show on the road.

Even Susann got in on the action!
I laughed so hard I had tears running down my cheeks.

It was wonderful to sit next to Lori as a designer and learn how she started her career, where she gains her inspiration and what is coming up next.

For this retreat she focused on pulling from her stash.

This quilt was made from snippets and turnovers.

You can read more details on Lori's blog HERE.

A new pattern will be coming out soon. I can't show you any more than this, so make sure to follow Lori's posts.

Lori also have us a tutorial on Dresden plates.

Lori loves vintage. These fabrics were pulled from the new Flower Sugar line by Lucien.

One of Lori's organizational tips is to use a design board by her machine. As she makes a block, the parts are assembled right then and there. The design board can be easily transported to the ironing board when needed.
*Lori makes her design boards in various sizes. They are made with a piece of foam core as base, with batting on top. (She uses warm and natural that has been hot-glued around the edges).

Part of another new pattern soon to be released.

Lori participated in a charm square swap, where she received 400 squares.

She cut 800 corners, and chain stitched an assembly line for hours and hours.

But, before we headed home, she had a completed quilt.

One of the fun things was this gave us time to share stories of our family and growing up years.

Lori was raised in the farming community of Herriman and is one of 10 children. Their family is very close, and they still spend most of their free time with their parents, grandparents and siblings.

Lori, it was a delight to be able to spend so much time together and to learn from you.

You are truly the dearest of friends.

It's Always More Than Quilting

We arrived home last night from the quilt retreat at Rae Ann's cabin in Star Valley, Wyoming.
Now that I have Internet connection, I will share with you in the next few days some of the "going-on's" from our time together.

When ever I attend a quilt retreat, it's always more than the quilting.
This was such a relaxing time. Rae Ann's cabin provides a place to read a book on the deck, or take a nap.

Each evening we witnessed the most spectacular sunsets.

Time together with girlfriends sooths the soul.

We brought little gifts for each other.

Judi is modeling the apron that Susann made for each of us to wear while we worked.

Every gift was special and from the heart.

Look at this cute pincushion made by Lori. She will be providing a tutorial soon over on her blog Bee In My Bonnet.

We took turns cooking.

Judi shared with us tips on nutrition and healthy eating. Her food was delish!

She promised to post recipes on her blog Live Well With Judi.

Of course, since this was a quilt retreat, we had to include a snack table complete with chocolate.

Even though we brought with us more projects than a cat has fleas, we ran into town for a little fabric shopping.

The little communities of Thayne and Afton may be small, but they have their priorities straight.

Even the hardware store had a quilting section.

And we couldn't make a trip into Afton without stopping at our favorite restaurant Rocky Mountain Seafood, where they fly in fresh fish every day.

Who would have guessed you would find such amazing seafood in the middle of Wyoming?

The fish tacos were double yum.

Of course, we had plenty of time for quilting. Rae Ann provided a design wall for each of us, where she pinned flannel backed table cloths to the walls. I'll be showing our projects in the next few posts.

Yes,We Are Here

We arrived Monday in beautiful Star Valley Wyoming at the most wonderful quilt retreat hosted by our dear friend Rae Ann (Cutie Pinwheel)

Rae Ann's cabin is located in the mountains, and we have not had Internet connection, so I've not been able to post until we drove into town this afternoon.

Jackie, me, Judi, Rae Ann, Lori, Susann

What a delightful time I have had with the most dearest of ladies. We have quilted, laughed, eaten too much food, and had a perfect week.

Rae Ann's cabin is located in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth.

In the evenings we have taken long walks among the green, green hills.

Horses met us along the paths.

This area is like an Eden and a Shangrala.

We have our machines set up in Rae Ann's family room, and have gotten quite a bit of quilting done.

I will show you some of our projects in future posts.

Isn't Rae Ann the cutest thing? She has been the most generous and gracious host.

Thank you Rae Ann!

Bags Are Packed

My bags are packed.
I leave this morning for beautiful Star Valley, Wyoming to spend a week up at Rae Ann's cabin.

There will be 6 of us quilting away non stop.
With very limited Internet access, I'm not sure how much I will be able to post while I am gone.
I will take a lot of pictures and share with you as much as I can.

One of the organizational techniques I have learned from Lori Holt is to have everything cut out first, with each quilt placed in it's own container.

I have 3 quilts ready to go, and my crochet project in tow.

What do you think are the chances I will complete everything packed?

Happy Father's Day

Thank you to all the men who have sacrificed so much in honor of children.

I've always known that men and women parent very differently.
In the long run, what matters most is getting the job done.

HOW TO DIAPER A BABY by Jimmy Piersal in 1968(*from the day before disposable diapers)
"Spread the diaper in the position of the diamond with you at the bat. Then fold second base down to home and set the baby on the pitcher's mound. Put first base and third base together, bring up home plate and pin the three together. Of course, in case of rain, you gotta call the game and start all over again."