CQFA Retreat

The CQFA Retreat was back to its normal last weekend of January timeframe. I was so pleased to be able to attend again. I know I went in May, but the last couple of January retreats, I wasn’t able to attend. I love January and quiltmaking in January is the best.

Short description of the weekend: it was fabulous.

I drove down with Kathleen, after convincing her that joining CQFA and going on Retreat would be a good idea. She drove over the mountain in her giant truck, so we drove down to the retreat in style!

Hard at work
Hard at work

People trickled in throughout the day and by evening the room was full.

When we arrived, we were disappointed to find Rhonda unable to attend! She was suddenly taken ill. Since she organized everything, it was a big disappointment for her as well. She felt much better on Saturday so her husband drove her up and we were all thrilled to see her.

The Giant Pizzas
The Giant Pizzas

There isn’t a restaurant in the hotel, though they do have a continental-plus breakfast, so we had to go out for meals, though there were plenty of snacks available. Julie and I went to our traditional Mexican place on Friday night. Kathleen joined us. Some of the ladies decided to get pizza delivered and were shocked when two GIANT pizzas arrived.

These pizzas engendered much hilarity because of their 24″ size. The order taker was surprised, justifiably when we saw them, that the ladies were ordering two. Those pizzas fed people on and off throughout the weekend.

Much Work was Accomplished

My retreat workspace
My retreat workspace

I did not bring my design wall this time. The new one purports to be portable, but it is heavy and I didn’t feel like dragging it along. I wanted to quilt various projects that are piling up anyway.

Maureen helped me with my Peacock quilt and that is ready for me to piece and put together.

Maureen also finished her CQFA improv round robin piece that was made at a meeting last year.

Nancy came and went, working on her handwork and chatting with us all.

Angela worked on Reversible Box Totes and they were really great. She used some quilting cottons and some fabrics from FabMo as ’embellishments’.

Julie cut out a new king sized project using Kaffe Fassett fabrics that will be fantastic. You know I love the Philip Jacobs prints in the Kaffe Collective and many of her fabrics were designed by my man, Phil.

Rhonda's Zipper Pouch
Rhonda’s Zipper Pouch

Rhonda worked on nesting zipper bags that will be gifts. She used some Alison Glass fabrics, similar to the ones I used in Field Day Zipper.

Jennifer put the beginnings of a piece together for a show where the theme is ‘Turmoil’. It is made from purples and violets and I look forward to seeing it when it is finished.

Sue also made zipper pouches similar to those from the one of the first BAMQG retreats. She was also making gifts and brought her serger along to do the finishing.

Carol's quilt
Carol’s quilt

I was very pleased to get to know Carol, a new-ish member, better. We sat across from each other at dinner on Saturday and I found that we have similar ideas about quiltmaking classes. She brought the quilt (left) to finish the binding and the sleeve and was beavering away at it when I arrived. The front of the quilt was a big mystery as we could only see the back as she sewed on the binding. We were all stunned and thrilled when she showed us the front. It is gorgeous. Simple in a complex kind of way. It fits in very well with the group as well as ‘modern’ quiltmaking sensibilities. Kathleen, Gerre and I started talking to her about also attending BAMQG.

Gerre sat in the corner and worked on her gorgeous handwork.

Dolores, who normally sits in the corner, came out from her lair, sat across from Maureen and worked on a couple of pieces that are intended for upcoming shows. One included an amazing amount of turning under raw edges and was done in purples and violets.

Bron sat in Dolores’ corner and worked on a gift quilt made from squares and pinwheels. We had a group discussion about borders, pieced and plain as well as the size of the borders.

Jan came and she was working on some pieces for her job at Curiodyssey. I didn’t get a good look at them, I am ashamed to say.

Kathleen's City Sampler Blocks
Kathleen’s City Sampler Blocks

Kathleen worked on her City Sampler blocks and made some good progress, especially after Gerre helped her with the quarter inch foot.

All in all it was a very collegial and productive weekend. Kathleen pointed out that the group is very supportive, which I knew in my heart, but had never articulated. It is true!