Fall Retreat 2011 - Part 3

I wanted to show my Southern Sewin' Sistahs that their friendships are special to me, so I made up these little goody bags with some homemade pattern weights.  I used the tutorial found here, but changed it up a little.  I found some flat washers at the local hardware store that were just a little larger.  I glued two of them together for the added weight and then glued them to a circle of batting of the same size.  These fit perfectly inside the yo-yo.

 

I made five pattern weights for each Sistah using some of my scraps in varying colors.  This is a great project while watching a movie!  I found quotes on friendship, printed them all up pretty-like on card stock and added them to the bags with bakers twine. 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope they get some good use of them and know how special they are loved! Pin It

Fall Retreat 2011- Part 2

We changed up our routine a little bit this past retreat.  Most of us came in on Thursday night this time, but unfortunately I couldn't.  I got there as soon as I could on Friday morning and the road trip was on!  All ten miles of it!  Turns out that there is a "little" quilt shop just down the road.  Literally.  This was  my seventh retreat to Mineola in four years and I never knew what fun was just around the corner!

Stitchin' Heaven is in Quitman, Texas.  Go to their website for all kinds of information - they have everything a quilter needs and retreats, classes, etc.  Ooooh, look at all that fabric!

 

 

 

 

They had another huge room with cutting tables and work tables.  Great space!

Afterward, we grabbed lunch at the Texas Tea Room and Grill.  Lots of fun things there from souveniers to boots, clothes, and jewelry!  I had the chicken and spinach crepe and fried okra which was quite tasty.

So if you ever get a chance to swing through Quitman, Texas, don't forget to check them out! Pin It

Fall Retreat 2011 - Part 1

Wow, where do I begin?  This is the first time in two weeks that I've been able to sit down to post about our fall sewing retreat.  I think I can speak for all of us Southern Sewin' Sistahs - we had a great time!  Here's a recap:

Brenda, Sherrie, Mary Lynn, Janice, and me.  We have lots of room to spread out all our machines and stuff - and we take advantage of every inch.  We get right to work fun!  And, this group of gals never ceases to amaze me with the lovely and creative things they sew.  I learn something from them every trip.  Some of their finished projects:

 

I L.O.V.E. this combination of fabric that Mary Lynn put together! 

  

Janice whipped up some matching doll dresses for her granddaughters.  And I got a pair of those cute little pants that were "messed up".  Pshhhhh.  My daughter thought they were awesome!

  

Janice's "Cuppycake" dresses she made for her grandaughters.

 Pajamas from Janice!

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And a sweet little coat that Sherrie sewed.

Brenda, how did I not get any photos of your projects?  Oh pooh.  I'm sorry!  She made the cutest little jacket that looked so difficult to me.

This was by far my most productive retreat.  I finished three top/skirt sets, a dress for my daughter, and a matching dress for her American Girl doll.  I was a happy lady!  The first one was made using Simplicity's #2171, Indygo Junction's Dolly Dress-up pattern, and Bari J's technique (or my attempt at it) from her book Inpsired to Sew.  I just love this book and can't wait to work on my daughter's quilt using some more of her techniques.

 

I made two sets of this little duo for my daughter and a friend of her's for "Twin Day" at school.  Big hit, big smiles.  I ended up making another shirt for a third friend and my daughter said, "I can't wait for the three of us to be twins!"  Love her.

 

And I finished this set for my daughter's best buddy.  I had promised a skirt with this sweet pink trim for some time and was glad to be able to hand it to her finally!  Can you tell I enjoyed the free-motion technique?  I'm hooked!

 

Of course, besides sewing... we eat ... and eat.  Some of Linda's southern good cookin':

 

Her puffy pancakes were to-die-for with fresh raspberries and blueberries, powdered sugar, and syrup.  She made my favorite - sausage bread, with a frittata and baked fruit.  I don't know how we ever get anything done. After her meals, I just want to go nap.  I'm stuffed and all warm and fuzzy!

In the next post, I'll tell you about a little field trip we took!  Thanks for coming by!

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Yay me!

 

Can you guess where I'm headed tomorrow?  

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Here I am!

Adoring fans have been emailing for days... "Mona, where are you?  What have you been up to?  We miss you!!!"  Okay, not really.  Just my cousin "Mimi" - Hey Cuz!

The days are a big blur.  Somewhere in between PTA meetings, baseball and soccer practices and games, and preparations for senior year (prom, prom dresses, graduation...), I did manage to sneak in a weekend with my favorite sewing buddies (Brenda, Janice, Mary Lynn, Nancy, and Sherrie), at our favorite retreat Southern Comfort.  We decided to call ourselves the "Southern Sewing Sisters"!

We sewed... and ate... and laughed... and sewed... and walked... and ate.  You get the idea.  And, we all went to the local Wal-Mart on a field trip!  Yes, the closest thing to a fabric shop in Mineola is Wal-Mart.  But, we did manage to find some cute fabric (well, duh!) and went back happy campers to sew some more.

Of course our hostess, Linda fed us well.  During Spring Break I came down with a nasty stomach bug early in the week and was determined to kick it before the retreat.  I didn't want to miss any of her cooking so I ate crackers for three days prior to going.  So when I finally got to eat, I felt like I had eaten twice as much!  But, I suffered through it!  

 

 

And, I did manage to get a few projects taken care of.  I know - you're thinking, "How in the world did you manage to sew if you were eating so much?"  I managed.  

I sewed an Easter dress for my youngest daughter - with a zipper!  Thanks Nancy!  It turned out really cute although in the photo it looks a little plain.  I was going to make a bolero jacket but didn't like the fabric I brought.  I did add some sparkly little jewels (thanks Mary Lynn!) to the bodice when I got home.  I plan to add a wide satin ribbon to it as well.

 

The next two projects were matching dresses (more "Fridas") for my daughter's best friend who turns five next month.  She is getting an American doll for her birthday.  Ssssshhhh, don't tell - its a secret!  I think she will be happy with them.

 

And, I sewed a little skirt to finish up the weekend.  I found all of the fabric on our field trip and made the skirt from scratch - my first pattern!  I was inspired by a cute little top that Mary Lynn made.  Ruffles, ruffles, ruffles.  I used my new ruffler to tackle that project.  So much faster than the other methods!

Scarves are all the rage so I brought a t-shirt and whipped up this cute scarf that I saw on DIY Dish.  Super fast, easy, and inexpensive.  Miss Janice was my lovely model, so she got to keep the scarf!  

Finally, we went to Kindergarten Round-Up tonight.  My daughter was so excited to go.  Of course, it is sad for me as she is the last to go to school.  And, very strange because I bought a prom dress for one daughter and signed the other up for kindergarten in one week.  Such opposite ends of the emotional spectrum!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend!

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