Chip and Dale Designs

                                                  Spring Retreat

  Well it appears I have survived another quilt retreat with my girls. What a wonderful weekend we all had! I find it interesting that this time I was wayyyyy less productive than I usually am, but I had the best time ever! I made myself not be glued to my machine, and visited, ate, drank and laughed myself silly.  And not necessarily in that order.

 

And thank you Brooke, for staying out of the hospital this time! Now I won’t have to kick your ass when I see you in June.

  Terry was kind enough to chauffer me up the hill to our retreat. The first plan was to stop at the casino that I discovered that had Coney Dogs! Now, those of you who have never had a Coney Island coney dog in Pottsville, PA have no idea what you are missing. I knew this dog would not be the same, but I had to try it anyway. It was not bad! There was not enough grease in it, but it worked!

 

   Of course we had to play a bit on the machines before we left and headed to the house. I, of course, won nothing. Terry did ok, however, and off we went.

   We arrived at the house and got all unloaded, then we all headed back down the hill to dinner. We decided this year we would all eat at a buffet for the first night so we all would have a chance to visit. Well, due to some crack ass law we could not take our 4 month old guest retreater to dinner at the one casino, so we walked across the street to another. I know he looked pretty shifty in that stroller and all, but good lord. Screw you Monarch- there are plenty of buffets that will have us! Bastards.

   Now- it is time to party!

Beerguaritas!

CHEESECAKE!
 

                                                                                
   Sometimes we bring little treats for each other- here is what I brought. I saw these little mug mats on Pinterest and thought they were cute. I was able to use parts of a lone star I screwed up. Glad I saved the pieces!

   The next day we started to sew. And some finished their projects that day as well.  Showoffs! I confess- I had some of my blocks pre-cut before we got there. Here is the start of the quilt show-

My Triple Barn Store
 

 

Terry's Triple Barn Star

 

   A few of us ordered these shirts a few weeks before retreat. Unfortunately Judy’s came in the wrong size and they did not get the new one shipped in time. Of course she got it the day after we got home!

  

  That night was wine and movie night for some of us. Serial Mom cracks me up every time! The prank phone calls are the best. If you have not seen it I highly recommend it. It does have some foul language in it, but if you are reading this blog that should not surprise you.

                       

    We were lucky enough to have 4 generations joining us for this retreat- Kayden was a lovely special guest. He had a great time! And we all did not enjoy holding him at all - Just kidding!

Me and Kayden
 

 

Terry and Kayden
 

 

    Saturday the machines were humming- and in between the snacking of the homemade hummus- thank you BOB- We did get some work done.

Randi finished up this charming little quilt-

 

Roxanne was finishing up this sweet chevron top-

 

  Susie, one of our resident fabric designers completed this bag using her fabric. We love it!

 

Val and Randi worked on their bargello tops and got them all done. Boy- it was amazing watching these come together! We were all amazed!

This is Vals-

Here is Randi’s-

     I did manage to get a jean quilt top done for a certain someone. He probably does not read my blog so I will post this picture but I will leave his name out on the off chance he sees this. Holy crap is it heavy! It came out to be 72” x 96”. What in the hell was I thinking? I hope it will keep him warm on those cold Pennsylvania nights.

 

   Rae got this beautiful butterfly top done- such lovely colors!

 

  Jan made this wonderful little Betty Boop top for her mom- so fun!

 

   Michele was a busy beaver as well when she wasn’t working on that big bottle of wine. Is that a pussy willow, Dottie?? She made this sweet little dress for her daughter and this awesome top from Missouri Star.

 

  A few of the gals stayed up late a/k/a after 10 pm haha and Rae taught those night owls how to make these great zipper bags- so fun!

 

 Laurie brought this wonderful quilt that just came back from the quilter. She did hand applique on it as well. It was lovely!

 

    She was also working on a top from Hell. She got a kit and all the fabric was not there. We hate when that happens! I think sometimes fabric companies design these patterns but never make the quilts to test the actual pattern. Dumbasses. She did call the company where she bought the kit and they are working with her to get her the fabric she needs.

  Terry made this lovely blue and brown top from a kit she purchased. This fabric is so much fun! Love the dots!

  LUCY made this great bag- we all wanted it when she was done! She is our other resident fabric designer and has such an eye for color. I have learned so much from her and Susie- and they are so willing to share their knowledge. Thank you guys! (Ignore the bitch in the polka dot pj's- looks like the beergaritas ran out!)

 

   Susie was also working on this applique top- her machine applique is amazing!

 

  Terry showed off her mystery quilt that she organized on our Quilters and Sewers Only Facebook Page - isn’t it lovely?

 

Randi also was putting binding on this lovely- I adore cardinals. She is lucky she made it home with this quilt!

 LUCY brought this beauty to bind. It is a special gift for a wonderful event coming up. Eileen quilted it for her- isn’t it something?

 

   There were several other projects going on- I promised to be better this year at getting pictures but I am still lacking a bunch. I know Judy was busy all weekend and I only have one picture of a quilt she finished. It is a Quilt of Valor. Judy is prolific making these quilts. We are truly humbled by her dedication and support of this organization. Please go here http://www.qovf.org/ to learn about this wonderful organization.

    Here is pic of Judy in her apocalypse shirt after she got home- isn’t she adorable?

 

  We had beautiful weather and we did manage to get some walking in although it was quite breezy. I had to do something to work off that wine and cookies and cream chocolate! We had a most wonderful time with each other as usual. Thank you for the laughs my dear friends. Can’t wait til September! Love you all!