Quilting retreats are so much fun—if you’ve never been, I urge you to go.  Soon.  As soon as possible.  Right now.  Go.  You can read this when you get back.

I went to a retreat this past weekend, and it is simply a not-to-be-missed experience.  Being in a room with a dozen or so other like-minded souls, you learn so very much, and you get a ton of sewing done.  (Okay, maybe not a literal ton…)  You also get to wander around and look at everyone else’s creations; meet some amazing people and have engaging conversations; sew around the clock or take frequent breaks for napping, wandering the beautiful grounds, napping, Facebooking, and napping; and eat.  Man, do you eat!  Besides the meals provided at the venue, we had a snack table set up, and there was chocolate for days on that table…along with trail mix, fruit, baked goods, assorted chips, gummy bears (okay, I brought those—I’m totally addicted to Jelly Belly UnBEARably Hot Cinnamon gummy bears), a cheese ball, and later on, a meat-and-cheese tray.  No one went hungry at this retreat.

Oh, the picture above?  That’s the quilt top I started at the retreat—it went from two jelly rolls to a still-needs-borders quilt top in about three days (I spent one day attending a quilt show and shopping, naturally).  The pattern came from Missouri Star Quilt Company; the jelly rolls were in my stash and I forgot to look to see which fabric line or manufacturer they came from.

Here’s how I spent my weekend–

First, cut the jelly rolls into measured strips:

Second, make a lot of half-square triangles (HSTs):

Third, make your first block, using your measured strips and HSTs:

And fourth, check to make sure your first two blocks look okay together:

Then repeat….over and over….until you have thirty-six blocks.  Trim your blocks, then spend about an hour-and-a-half laying them out, picking them up, rearranging them, mixing and matching, until you get them “just so.”  Then sew them together, and the center of your quilt top is done! The quilt will also have a narrow white border and a wider patterned border using one of the fabrics seen in the quilt. (I haven’t done this part yet, even though I’ve been home for days. Life gets in the way sometimes, you know?) I’ll use another matching fabric for the backing, then it’s ready for quilting and binding. It’s a rewarding hobby.

Retreats aren’t rocket science (although math is involved). They’re not world peace (although no wars broke out while I was there). They’re probably not even life-changing (although you’ll probably make lifelong friends while you’re there). But they are definitely fun, and educational, and sociable, and a good way to spend a few days. Try it….you’ll like it.