This past weekend, I had the pleasure of getting to go on a weekend retreat to Quilt Bliss. Renee @Quilts of a Feather told me about the retreat in June, and we signed up to attend together. Jasmine @Quilt Kisses was also able to attend on Saturday, and it was so delightful to deepen my relationships with both women.
Quilt Bliss: Timber Moose Lodge
The retreat is held at the Timber Moose Lodge outside of Heber City, Utah. It had snowed a few days prior to our arrival, and it made a beautiful backdrop for the retreat.
Quilt Bliss: Sunrise
It was glorious to watch the sunrise each morning and see the soft pink light first highlight the peaks of the mountain range.
Quilt Bliss: Views
Renee and I went for a walk around the property on Friday morning, and the brisk air and fresh mountain smells were a perfect compliment to the beautiful views around the property.
Prior to leaving for the retreat, I made a set of 6 hexie coasters to gift to Renee in her favorite quilting colors: teal and gray. Renee has gifted me so many lovely things over the course of our quilting friendship that I was inspired when I found the 5 minute hexie coaster tutorial last week. Each coaster is slightly different, which is a fun touch that I like to add to “sets” of things that I create.
Quilt Bliss: Friday Morning Relaxation
Renee and I both had free time on Friday morning while classes were being taught in the sewing space (we took the second morning of the same classes on Saturday). We thought that the light, views, and space in the tower could not be passed up. Renee spent some time working on a Mandela drawing, and I spend more time coloring. Then, Renee taught me a card game that she let me win a few times before stomping me. 😉
Quilt Bliss: Friday Morning Relaxation
I took secret sewing projects along with me, so you will have to trust me that I spent a lot of time Thursday night, Friday afternoon and evening (until after midnight), and Saturday afternoon making great progress.
Quilt Bliss: Saturday Morning Setup
Saturday morning I was so excited that Jasmine was able to set up right next to Renee and I prior to jumping in and taking the Quilt Story House pillow and sewing circles classes.
Quilt Bliss: Saturday Quilt Story House Pillows
I chose to make a house pillow using train fabrics to gift to my niece for Christmas. She is just over 2 years old and currently loves Thomas the Train, so I hope the pillow makes a good gift for her. Renee’s pillow is the bug pillow on the back left, and Jasmine made the sweet fairy tale castle pillow with the purple roof. I just love that she modified her “chimney” to be a castle turret.
During the sewing circles class, Jasmine shared a *fantastic* tip for removing paper from the back of fusible web. After ironing the fusible web to the wrong side of the fabric, instead of folding back the edge of your fabric to get your fingernail or sharp object (like a needle) under the edge of the backing paper, simply use a pin to lightly score the back of the paper in the middle of your shape. The paper will then have a nice slit for you to run your finger and gently remove the paper. This is amazing and will keep the edges of your fabric from warping!
I plan to take the pieced top from the sewing circles class and play with free motion quilting on my long arm and use it as a table runner. I do love blue! 🙂
Quilt Bliss: Jasmine, Yvonne, and Renee
I am so grateful to Pamela, Kristin, Anna, and all the other wonderful women who worked so hard to make Quilt Bliss an amazing retreat.
I cannot thank Renee enough for helping to turn my 9-10 hour car trip to and from Quilt Bliss into retreat of its own by riding with me for 6 of those hours and flying in and out of the Las Vegas airport. I am so glad we had all that time to talk and I can’t wait to get the opportunity to spend more time with her in the future.
We clearly had an amazing time! If you have not gifted yourself the gift of some time away, I cannot emphasize enough how valuable it is to be in a room full of extended quilting family. I just sat back and listened to the music of laughter and sewing machines on more than one occasion. The kindness, warmth, and generosity of the quilting community cannot be equaled, and I feel renewed with a sense of connection because of the retreat.
Looks like you all had a fabulous time!! SO wish I could have made the trip 🙁 I did end up having a very productive weekend though! haha How awesome that Jasmine was able to join for the day!
Looks like you had a wonderful time! Thank you for sharing with us. 🙂
What fun! I like the hexie coasters.
What a gorgeous retreat setting! I would love to spend a month sewing there! It sounds like you had a wonderful time Yvonne, and well worth the long drive. Friends, views and sewing…perfect!
I’m so envious…. I totally agree about the joy of sewing & quilting together with friends. So did you make reservations for next year?
Wow, it looks like you had such fun! I hope to one day be able to attend a quilting retreat.
Of course your niece will love the pillow–how adorable–and that train fabric is spot on! So glad you had such a fun retreat. It’s so easy to get stuck in a solo rut–and always such a surprise to me to remember how much I enjoy hanging out and laughing with like minded people 🙂
Quilty hugs all round . Lucky you to have had the opportunity to go to a quilt retreat with friends. Looks like a great time in fantastic surroundings
What a setting! I might not have gotten any sewing accomplished.
Sounds great and looks great on the pics as well 🙂
I’ve always wanted to take time away and do a quilting retreat! It sounds so relaxing, yet so invigorating at the same time. 🙂 Glad you had fun, it looks like a blast and is absolutely gorgeous.
It was an amazing time! I can hardly stop talking about it now that I’m home. I’m so glad I could join the two of you (and the other sweet women) for the day. My boys love the flying frog on my pink castle pillow, but I’m sure they would love your train pillow even more. 🙂 Your niece is sure to love it.
Yvonne, Thank you so much for sharing your glorious trip with us! I love the snow but hate the cold that goes with it. I really enjoyed reading your post and seeing all of the pictures! Have a wonderful creative day!
What a wonderful post. I’m glad you had such a wonderful enriching time in such a beautiful setting.
Looks fantastic – green with envy here! Great location and sewing fun with friends – what more could you ask for!
Looks like such a wonderful time! I can’t wait to go on my first quilt retreat 🙂 How wonderful to have company for part of your trip back and forth, being in an enclosed space is a great way to really get to know a person!!
I think I turned out fuzzy in nearly every photo of me, haha. Or blinking, I have several photos where I am blinking. I love Jasmine’s pillow, but Arden immediately adopted my buggy pillow as his own when I got home. It literally went from my suitcase to his bed without any discussion. I am definitely looking forward to our next retreat! I will look into stuff more tomorrow…
I’m so jealous!! I wish I weren’t so far away from all this wonderful retreat fun 🙁 It looks like you guys had a great time, and your train pillow is so cute for a Thomas loving kid! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of Jasmine, other than the one on the sidebar of her blog, so it was great to see a couple of more candid shots of her.
Wow! This is so wonderful Yvonne! My heart feels warm and fuzzy all over. So glad that the three of you had such a wonderful time of friendship and creativity! I bet you were just what the doctor ordered for each other!
I am glad that you had such an amazing time and that it was worth the mammoth journey to get there. That trip alone is dedication, even with Renée’s wonderful company on the way!
What are the ribbons pinned on your shirts for?
Sounds amazing – how cool to have time just to be creative and build friendships, and it definitely looks like you all had fun.
What an amazing location for a quilting retreat. It’s just breathtaking! And I can only imagine the fun and renewed sense of creativity that came with getting together with a group of quilters.
What a wonderful retreat venue – the light and the view look amazing (and the fireplace doesn’t hurt either!). Sounds like you experienced a nice balance between class time and secret sewing time, and what a bonus to be seated with friends!
Ahhh, what a wonderful experience. I would love to do something like that but I’m not convinced quilting retreats over here are quite the same – mainly I think they might have a much older clientele! But then it’s not something I’m likely to get to do for quite a number of years anyway so perhaps by then my age will match the rest of the people there!