Quilt Retreat Fun ~ Sew & Tell - 3/29/26

I have just returned from the quilt retreat.  Several asked where it was held... It was held in the "Competitor's Housing" at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM.  The accommodations are nice.  There is a large space where the machines are set up and three different wings where you find the bathroom, kitchen and five 2-bed rooms.  They keep them clean and well maintained.  We use the facility during their "off season."  For this reason, I think there is a discount... the cost is $75 for two nights.

I'll get to the quilts that were made and the "quilt show" that was such a treat.  But first... Let's look at last week's feature.  Karen showed us her Hexie project - Jigsaw Puzzle.  I love the designs that can be made with such a small, simple piece!  It takes the "flower garden" block to a new level!  Be sure to visit her blog to show her some love.  You'll find an update on spring and her garden, as well as the hand-quilting on another hexagon project. :)

Back to the retreat... The project for the weekend was a pattern called "Ribbons."  It was fairly simple pattern.  The pieced squares with the narrow strips were done quickly... and then people were in need of a design wall for laying them out.  

We had only one design wall and it wasn't really shared very well.  Alas, I went to my room and laid it out on the floor Friday evening.

The corner pieces were trickly to get placed correctly without the design wall... I wasn't the only one that had to find the seam ripper multiple times. LOL!  That was when I decided it was time for sleep and I would deal with it in the morning with less distractions and interruptions. ;)

By the time breakfast was ready on Saturday I had the top together and ready for the borders.  There was lots of trimming needed before adding the border and for the diamond border.  A cutting station was set up in one of the kitchen areas where there was plenty of counter space for a large cutting mat and rulers.

The pieced diamond border was a time-consuming part of the quilt... I misread the pattern and only got seven units on each border.  The side borders were supposed to have nine.  Oh well... I considered it a design option. Hahaha.

I found out on Thursday that I was going to have a single room and was going to be required to pay for both beds... It doesn't seem quite fair.  But I decided to reach out to a young lady, 17 years old, and an excellent quilter, at the last minute.  She was free for the weekend, so I treated her to the weekend and had several opportunities to help her with her 4-H quilt project for fair.  

You can see her stack of pineapples on the floor at the bottom edge of the quilt in the photo above.  She had 42 blocks that she needed to finish.  All of the bodies were pieced and ready to be trimmed, and about 1/2 of the pineapple tops needed to be finished and trimmed.  She worked her way through the stack with great attention to matching seams and watching the trimming so that the points of the pineapple top wouldn't be cut off.

She had fun. I had fun. And the other ladies welcomed her and offered a great deal of praise for her work.  They are even open to having her attend again in the future... which really excited her. 💗

The show & tell portion of the day was inspiring... here are some pictures.  I have more stories... but what happens at quilt retreat stays at quilt retreat!  

It's time to kick off the Sew & Tell party.  But before you go... 

How often do you attend a quilt retreat each year?

Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you!

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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