Quilts from this weekend's Spring Retreat just bloomed before our very eyes. The quilters all did a great job at piecing and sewing everything together, and the results are beautiful! Everyone really made Suzanne's design show beautifully. Here's a look at the finished quilt tops:
Batiks: Brights:
Pastels:
Once again, great job and big thanks to all the quilters who came out and quilted with us at the Spring Retreat! We can't wait to see how y'all plan to finish out your projects!
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Well, another of Suzanne's retreats has come and gone! This past weekend, quilters from all over Georgia--actually, from all over the United States!!!--joined together at the Gerorgia Baptist Conference Center in Norman Park, Georgia for another fun weekend of quilting. Because the 2009 Fall Retreat was such a success, Suzanne couldn't pass up the opportunity to host a Spring themed event.
This time around, just like Fall 2009, the Retreat weekend project was another surprise! Before they arrived, the only information quilters were given was the theme "Spring Brings a Garden of Quilts" and the colorways they had to choose from: Sunrise (pastels on white), Midday (brights on white), or Evening (batiks on black). Just like the retreats before this, Suzanne kept the entire project under wraps until her grand reveal at the retreat. And the grand reveal still kept a lot of secrets from the quilters! Of course, everyone was given all of the fabrics in their chosen colorway to complete the project. But the entire project was still a secret--Suzanne handed out the pattern and instructions one step at a time! So, this kept her secret going even longer. The quilters would see what they were making as they finished the project! Below, you can see the creative display of fabrics that was true to the theme of the weekend. Each colorway was rolled into a rose-shaped spiral and placed into a decorative tin flower pot. Once all the flower pot fabrics were revealed the sewing room was filled with the brightness of Spring, sounds of happy chirping from the elated quilters, and a cool Springtime breeze from their busy sewing machines.
Sunrise/Pastels: Midday/Brights:
Evening/Batiks:
Once the first round of instructions were handed out, fabrics were cut and sewn nonstop! Nonstop, that is, until it was time to take a break for more delicious food. There was also the Block Challenge to vote on. The Block Challenge was a fun extra project that the quilters worked on before they came for the weekend. Each quilter came to the retreat with a finished block and all blocks were displayed at the Retreat. Each quilter voted for his or her favorites: winner of best technique went to Jimmy Gainey and the other three awards most creative, most unusual, and most popular went to Sandy.
By the end of the weekend, everyone was full from the delicious meals served by the Conference Center Staff and happy with the quilts they had put together. Thanks to all who came to the 2010 Spring Retreat. It is because of our loyal and enthusiastic quilters that we can host such fun, eventful, and productive retreats for you all. We are already looking forward to our next retreat, believe it or not! The 2010 Fall Retreat will be held during the first weekend in November, the 5th, 6th, and 7th. Check our next eNewsletter for links to our 2010 Fall Retreat information.
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True to form, it's only two months into our 2010 Saturday Sampler and our quilters have already made this year's project a great success. We have great, full turn-outs at both our 9:30am gathering and our 10:30am gathering. Suzanne has been ordering new fabric collections, the girls have been cutting more kits, and the customers have been enjoying all of it. This month in our Saturday Sampler gathering, two quilters showed some beautiful finished pieces that had everyone inspired and committed to finishing their UFO's. The two quilts pictured below are from very opposite ends of the quilting spectrum. Are you prepared to be inspired?
Ms. Gwen Colson participated in 2008's Saturday Sampler, and she liked the blocks so much that she decided to create another quilt, in another colorway, in fabrics that she selected from Suzanne's. She used Suzanne's 2008 Saturday Sampler finishing pattern to make the basic layout of the quilt and added a feathered star to the center. What a beautiful result, Ms. Gwen! Everyone is so impressed with your vision for finishing these blocks in such a pretty and unique way.
And, as was mentioned above, here's the opposite end of the quilting spectrum: our very own Jennifer showed off a bright and contemporary paper piecing project. This was her very first finished quilt... can you believe that?!?? Jennifer made this quilt for one of ther three sons, who requested a bright orange, purple, turqouise, red, yellow, green, black, and white color palatte. Jennifer and her son sketched together on a sheet (or perhaps many sheets!) of graph paper to decide on this final design. She combined cuddle soft material, batiks, and traditional cotton fabrics to create the finished quilt, and she joked that her son insisted on sleeping under it at night before she could even sew the binding on! Great job, Jen!
As we like to remind you here frequently, we always welcome our quilters to share their finished quilts, works in progress, and even their inspirations and ideas. We can all learn from you as much as you can learn from us! It's always fun to look on and "Oooo" and "Ahhhh" at the beautiful quilts and sewing projects that you're creating!
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Applique [ap-li-kay] noun, verb, -qued, -queing. Noun - ornamentation, as a cutout design, that is sewn on to or otherwise applied to a piece of material. Verb - to apply a decorative feature to a piece of material. (Source: dictionary.com)
It's a fancy word, it's spelled in a funny way, and it sounds like it must be something extra special. Well, applique is just that! People choose to decorate all sorts of things using a similar technique that quilters use. Purses, quilts, blue jeans, jackets... just about anything at all can be appliqued with something to make it especially different or distinct.
Many quilters will make an entire quilt out of applique designs, and there is a giant supply of patterns to support that dedicated and awe-inspiring craft. Two of the more popular applique books around Suzanne's Quilt Shop are Elly Sienkiewicz's books, Elly Sienkiewicz Teaches You Beginning Baltimore Applique and Elly Sienkiewicz Teaches You Advanced Baltimore Applique. Another great reference for the history of applique, over 2,000 modern and traditional design ideas, and even 5 new quilt projects is Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Applique.
One example of a stunning masterpiece of applique handiwork was made by one of Suzanne's most loyal patrons. Linda Heirs brought a quilt for the Show & Tell segment of our January meeting of Saturday Sampler, and the room practically exploded with Ooooooos and Aaaaaaahs.
Not only does Ms. Linda make quilts as impressive as the one above, but she pieces them, puts them together, and quilts them all ENTIRELY BY HAND. No, we're not lying folks! Ms. Linda likes to surprise us here in the shop with her blocks as she is working on them individually, but we are still all blown away at the beautiful quilts once they're all put together and finished so beautifully. So, thank you, Ms. Linda, for sharing your quilting talents and adventures with us and all of our fellow quilters!
While Ms. Linda may make her grand applique quilts look easy, and while some of us may think it's a nearly impossible feat to accomplish, we still believe that anyone can dress up a quilt and create beautiful designs by using applique for embellishment. A few curly strips of material with a colorful block at the ends and you've got a scrolling vine of flowers. And scrolling vines are hard to come by if they're not appliqued onto the quilt! So, why not at least give it a try? A small project can start you out. Or, if you've tried applique before and loved your results, why not try something a bit more challenging? If you can't make up your mind about what project you want to get started on next, our latest eNewsletter (released and emailed out on Tuesday, March 2nd) highlights tons of applique quilting options. If you're not signed up to receive our eNewsletter each week, you can click here and scroll down a little bit to enter your email address and be automatically signed up! You'll see our weekly specials, sales, new products and kits, and even be automatically entered into a drawing to get free stuff!
Not sure how y'all are feeling out there, but we are all DEFINITELY ready for Spring to arrive. Rachel worked on making the newsletter pop with tropical prints to get you in the mood for Spring Break and a little bit of R&R fun in the sun. And when you stop by the shop you'll definitely notice the Spring-inspired mood Trisha and Dallas were in when they rearranged the front of the shop as well as the display windows. Suzanne has been ordering lots of new fun, bright, and cheerful collections of fabric--perfect to brighten our days and put a little Spring in our steps!
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