Sew, eat... repeat! And, a GIVEAWAY!!

Well, I'm back from another faaaaaahbulous sewing retreat.  Where do I begin?  I arrived early to get a good start and sewed until they booted me out on Sunday!  This was my third time and it was just as fun and productive as the last two.

I would like to say it is all about the sewing, but let's be honest, the food is to die for!  Linda can cook.  Not just anything, but everything!  We were fed breakfasts, brunches, snacks, and lunches, dinners and desserts.  We even had Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday night.  Take a look at a few of the tasty things she surprised us with.  Seriously, people just don't cook like that anymore!

 

Our hostess, Lorene is a wealth of sewing information and always happy to teach and share with everyone.  She brought lots of her great kits, sewing notions, books, and of course... FABRIC!  Uh huh.  So, I loaded up.  Hey, just trying to keep her from having to haul all that back home.  Glad to help, Lorene!

Lorene is making her way around the room to assist...

...and showing us a new technique!

Here's a quick shot of our work room.  Again, hardly "work".  More like a play room for grown-ups.  Eleven of us were sewing like crazy and so many cute projects came about.  I've never heard so many "ooooh's" and "aaaaaah's" except at a baby shower!  And, they were all worthy of praise.

Lots of "hands on" stuff!  We also had fun testing out the new Simplicity Bias Tape Maker and Rotary Cutter.  "It won't mash!"  But, that's a whole other post.  Eh hem.

I worked on several projects.  The first one to tackle was the Natty Jacket and Vest pattern from Chelsea of Pink Fig Patterns.  I loved this little pattern and it went together quite nicely.  I even learned how to free-motion quilt!!  Yes, I did!  I'm gonna quilt up a storm now!  It is hard to even see the quilting, so I'll post better pictures on Flickr soon.  The best part of all - my daughter loved it!

Then I worked on the new Juliet Top pattern also from Pink Fig.  Cute, cute. It came out so sweet, but it didn't begin to fit my daughter!  I just knew something was wrong with the pattern - it couldn't have been MY sewing!  Wrong.  I checked the pattern and realized that I forgot to cut the back piece on the fold.  Duh.  I had to email Chelsea and tell her what I had done and reassure her that her pattern was indeed, just fine!  So, after I "adjust" the back, I will take a photo or two.  I started a few little skirts and appliqued tops for my daughter and her bff.... still WIP.  Stay tuned.

Okay, so the REAL reason for going to the retreat isn't really the sewing or eating, it is for the FUN we all have while sewing and eating!  All but three ladies were at the last retreat so getting to see them again was great.  And I really enjoyed meeting three new friends.  This is Betty and Mollie - my two favorite sisters. Well, they aren't my sisters, but I wish they were!  Aren't they dolls?  I sat across from them and just enjoyed listening to them talk back and forth, and help one another. 

This is "JisJis" as her grandkids call her.  She was undoubtedly voted "best dressed" of the group.  And she's always this happy, even on four hours of sleep!

Ladies, I am thankful to have met you and I'm already looking forward to the next retreat with the SewItUp Sisters!

Guess what?  My first GIVEAWAY!!!  Yeah!  I will post the details in a few days and hope you'll come back to check it out.  In the meantime, my friend, Harriet has started her own blog, Seed Thoughts -  on gracious manners and creative inspiration.  She's done a beautiful job and I can't wait to see what she has in store.

Take care,

Mona