I’ve been involved in the planning of two different events recently and have some pictures for you, so you can see what’s been going on!

First, there was a series of quilt retreats in the Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska areas, Hancock Fabrics Demonstrator Carol Prettyman and Mary Ourecky hosted these. The quilt made at the retreats was a Tennessee Waltz quilt, and over 120 women made this quilt up at the various retreats. One more retreat in the Minnesota area is planned for this quilt (see event schedule for information). As you can see from the pictures, everyone had a lot of fun working on their projects, and they took home a beautiful quilt top at the end!

I’ve always enjoyed being involved in quilt retreats, they are a great way to get three days of intense teaching as well as a chance to make new friends that share the same love of sewing. (Not to mention the joy of getting away from all those other excuses that keep us from quilting!) Some of the retreats I’ve been involved with have a ‘core’ group of participants that return year after year – and they look forward to seeing faces from past retreats.

Sewing Machines Everywhere!

Quick Break then back to work!

Finished Project – Job Well Done Ladies!

The next event was in Nebraska, at the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island. I attended this event with Mary Ourecky, another Hancock Fabrics Demonstrator. This was our fourth year at this event, and we had a great time with the participants there.

We had several great models on display. The first photo shows several quilts: (starting at the left) is the quilt from the book Turning Twenty Around the Block (Hancock’s has a fabric kit for this quilt), next is Turning Twenty made from fat quarters, the next quilt was made using the fancy frame ruler from June Tailor to make the scalloped edge (see closeup of this quilt further down) and the 4th quilt was from the book “7-day Quilts” the name of the quilt is “Let’s Play Ball” I made it with space fabric instead. The next photo is a quilt made from fat quarters from the store’s Fat Quarter Singles program. The quilt pattern is called Rose Trellis.

We took some great new fabrics with us such as this 60 inch fabric called “Angel Micro Solid”. It’s soft and fun to touch – would make a great backing for a baby quilt (I suggest using a tiny bit of quilt basting spray to hold it together while quilting).

We had a great day demonstrating some tools – this is Mary with the Clover Yo-Yo Maker.

We also taught about some of the different types of quilts and how you could use something like the June Tailor scallop ruler to dress up a quilt edging and make it unique to you.

All in all, it was a lot of fun to help with planning these events. But of course it’s even more fun to attend, and I’ve always loved being able to teach – so the Museum trip was a lot of fun for me. If you’re interested in some of the other upcoming events I’ll be involved in, check out my events calendar at the top of the blog.

Sheila Reinke, Heart of Sewing
Sheila