I once had a boss who really disliked the term “retreat” as a way to describe time away with his executive team or the board for planning etc. Instead he preferred to refer to them as an “Advance Meeting” and I have to agree with him.
As quilters we love to attend retreats, but honestly who is actually retreating? Instead we find ourselves quilting from sun up to beyond sundown all while advancing our skills and friendships with those like minded quilters around us.
This past week I had the pleasure of spending it in what I would definitely call advance mode with 10 other talented quilters at the Quiltworx Training/Retreat Center in Kallispell, Montana literally quilting for 12 hours+ a day and learning foundation paper piecing techniques from Judy Niemeyer.
This retreat was part of the process for my Quiltworx Certification and I was excited to meet all the other attendees which even included Michael Davison of Michael Quilts! He and I talked shop about our own quilting businesses and the industry. It was just as fun to bounce ideas off of each other as it was to engage with those where were just there to quilt and have a good time. And let me tell you, we all had a good time! It was a bit of a rowdy bunch with a ready smile and lots of laughs.
If you have never been to a Quiltworx Retreat and you love making Judy Niemeyer quilts or even if you are just starting out on your journey, you seriously need to consider grabbing a spot. Oh and Montana is beautiful so come in a few days early or add a few on the end of your trip to explore everything we have to offer. Better yet, check out the new Quiltworx Camps where days to explore and adventure are built into the itinerary.
One of the things I love about spending a week with Judy is that you get to bring whatever Quiltworx pattern you want and so does everyone else. That means Judy demos all sorts of techniques throughout the week as the quilts are being made.
As a Certified Instructor in Training, I brought a quilt I recently colored for kits I wanted to offer using Jennifer Sampou’s Sky Ombre’ fabric collection. Star Anise is a limited edition pattern, but I had three copies and the kits sold out in a week and a half! So if you love how it turned out and want to make a quilt using this collection, I have a smaller kit for the Twinkle Star quilt available and two more quilts being colored with this color way and also in an autumn color way in progress. So stay tuned because this girl is in Advance Mode!
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