Quilt Bliss Retreat

 

Hey All! I usually don't get excited about the onset of winter but this retreat has me longing for cold winter nights and it's barely August! Have you heard of the Quilt Bliss retreat? Well you should check it out! I'm going and SO SHOULD YOU!

It's being held at the gorgeous Timber Moose Lodge in Heber, UT. This place is Ah! Maze! Ing!

It is so big and spacious. Plenty of room for sewing the night away and relaxing the whole time.

 

This retreat is being sponsored and hosted by the Utah County Modern Quilt Group and has so much to offer. So many different roomes and rates to fit your needs. not to mention the cost of meals, classes and lectures is all included. And you should see the teacher list! All of your favorites will be there.

 

 

I've chosen to stay in these fun queen size bunk beds. I love the whole Slumber Party vibe!

 

I wanted to share this awesome space with you because I've had a few inquiries lately about the next Cabin Fever quilt retreat. After trying to hash out all the details and finalize the dates I realized it just wasn't going to work out this year. The first one was so much fun to plan and I had a great time- it all fell into place. But this go around it just wasn't 'working', you know!? So I decided to bag the whole idea and jump aboard this retreat so I could sit back, relax, and sew.

 

So, if you were holding out for Cabin Fever, come along and join me at Quilt Bliss. It's sure to be a party!

 

For more info. visit QUILT BLISS

Westwood Acres

Last night I participated in a folding party for my friend Amanda. You see, Amanda has a little Etsy shop that is bursting with the best fabrics collections out there.

Folding fabric isn't hard work. The worst part is trying to keep my drool from pooling up and staining the fabric. She carries so much fabric goodness that it's hard to not buy it all.

Some of her bundles include:

 

Lush Uptown by Erin Michaels

 

Full Moon Lagoon by Mo Bedell

(I took some of this home with me :)

 

 

Nordika by Jeni Baker

 

 

Amanda's store has bundles in Fat Eights, Fat Quarters and even Half Yards.

In addition to the newest and cutest fabric collections out, Amanda has an amazing knack for putting together fabrics for exclusive bundles in her shop.

 

Among the best are: 

 

 

Inside Voices 5- Summer Camp Edition

(featuring a little TECHNICOLOR :)

 

 

and In the Navy- a gorgeous collection of the best navy prints out there!

 

 

I don't have the space to list everything here so go check out her shop

WESTWOOD ACRES

 

You won't be sorry you did.

(or maybe you will if you buy too much, but don't blame me :)

 

HAPPY SEWING!

 

My Week in Pictures

This has been the busiest week of summer vacation so far. We've been running around here and there and everywhere. Here's a re-cap of my week.

 

 

My kids started swimming lessons. Do you know how hard it is to take pics of your kids from far away (so they're not embarrassed) with your cell phone? They're doing so well. I'm so proud of them.

 

 

It's been SO HOT! But it gives me time to work on my tan. See those legs? I've got to do something before August. :o)

 

 

Managed to come home from lessons on Thursday and realized I'd left my house keys at home. Long story. Preston decided to take a nap on the lawn while we waited for the hubs to come and rescue us. Thankfully he only works 10 min. away.

 

 

On weds. the hubs and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. Last years pic will have to do since I'd left my phone with Preston while we were gone.

 

We had a fabulous day. July 24th is a state holiday in Utah (Pioneer Day) so the hubs had the day off. Thanks to some awesome friends who took our kids swimming and to a fireworks show we had the afternoon and evening to ourselves. We had a nice lunch, went shopping at the outlets, took in a movie (White House Down- such a good movie. 100 times better than we thought it would be), and then we headed up to SLC for dinner.

 

I have been dying to take the hubs to Settebello's for at least a year. (Excuse the poor quality photo from the hubs phone) Delicious, authentic Italian pizza. SO GOOD!  If you have one near you and haven't tried- GO! And if you don't have a location near you, come visit me and I'll take you. :o)

 

To was dentist visit day. Two youngest kids had all sorts of work done. It wasn't exciting enough to take any pics.

 

In case you're wondering, I did sneak in a little sewing. I'll show you some of that next week.

 

HAPPY SEWING!

 

On the Design Wall

I love the look of pixelated quilts in one color family. So my mind started turning to different shapes. What if I did triangles?

 

How many quilts can you say you've made using only ONE fabric!?

 

 

Like any great idea I couldn't get it out of my mind until I did something about it. I raced to my LQS (The Corn Wagon) and bought the last yard in a half of VandCo's ombre solid in pink. (Find some here!)

 

I cut 5" strips and then used the 60* mark on my ruler to cut triangles. Then I started sewing them together in rows. It finished (still unfinished) at 47" x 35 1/2". I didn't plan a size- just sewed what I had. It will make a nice baby quilt. With a couple of yards you can have a decent sized quilt.

 

Since I was just messing around and didn't want too much waste I even pieced from of the triangles. I made sure that all of the seams were in the same direction. I'm to OCD to have them turning every which way. But as I type this I started thinking that 2 halves in different shades would add a fun interest. Hmmm...I might have to order a couple yards and make another. :o)

 

 

 BTW- My camera is back in action. I finally managed to get one of these guys when I was at the store AND remembered I needed it. There was lots of remembering and lots of visits to the store but somehow they didn't always come together. :o)  It reads the CF card from my camera so I can actually take pics.

 

The only down side is that I have to take the CF card out of my camera which can (and has) resulted in forgetting it. Case in point: our family reunion last weekend. I probably took close to 30 pix and when I went to check back through my camera realized the card wasn't in so the pix weren't saved. Gah! Live and learn. :o)

 

 

What's on your design wall?

#Tula100 QAL

I'm over at Sew Sweetness posting blocks 25, 26, and 27. Head over that way to see me tip and trick for blocks this week.

 

 

HAPPY SEWING!

Fabric Fun

I'm guest posting today over at Michael Miller Fabrics blog MAKING IT FUN! Go check it out and find a little something for you, too!

Samples for Sale

It's come to my attention (thanks to the hubs for pointing it out several times) that quilts are taking over my house. Yes, it's true. Apparently you can have too many quilts.

So I've gone through the stacks and bins and picked out a few that I've decided to part with.

Season's Greetings

 

Ring Toss

 

Smitten

 

Shades of Grey

 

Counting on Christmas



Pep Rally

Paintchip Placemats

 

 Help me prove to the hubs that I can part with a few of these.

You can check out any of the quilts in my Etsy shop.

 

 

CAMPING!

I wouldn't necessarily call myself a diva, but camping is NOT my thing. I've managed to have enough excuses to get me out of it for the last several years (the kids are too little or I won't sleep in a tent) But when my husband inherited a trailer from his parents I was out of options.

 

 

 I decided that my kids need to have lots of different experiences and camping with their Mom should be one of them (They've been with the hubs many times). I put my big girl pants on and we set out on an adventure.

 

 

This handsome guy was out tour guide. He was taking us to his favorite fishing spot. In my agreement to come along it was decided that I would be along for the ride- he would take care of everything including meals. :o)

 

 

Unfortunately it was a little too hot and strenuous for our car to take. We had to stop a few times on the way up the mountains and let the transmission cool off. It wasn't too bad actually. I made the best of it. We even did a little exploring while we were stopped. Another time we had dinner in the trailer.

 

 

We finally got to our camping spot and it was gorgeous. I love taking pics of my feet in different places and this is me completely out of my element. And to prove I actually was there. :o)

 

 

Gates lake is a GORGEOUS place. There were a few other people down fishing but I couldn't resist getting a pic.

 

 

 I mentioned this is a favorite place of the hubs. Apparently on a previous trip with the kids they left their mark on a fallen tree.  

 

 

  Chillen in the trailer with my "Midger".  Love that kid!

 

 

Here's the hubs getting all the poles ready so we could go fishing. Looking at those kids listening intently to all his instructions. That doesn't happen often so I'm glad I got a picture.

 

 

While the hubs and my older son set out in the kayak, "Midger" led the girl and I on a nature hike along the lake to the far end where the fishing is best. Unfortunately a storm was blowing in so by the time we got to the other side of the lake the wind was blowing too hard against us to cast out into the lake. Oh and the bugs were INSANE. So many mosquitoes. Blech!

 

 

Breakfast day two. Instant oatmeal and fruit. It was DELISH! I had a lesson to prepare to teach to the women at church the next day so I let the fam go off and fish while I stayed behind to study. It was so peaceful just sitting in the breeze listening to the rustle of the leaves in the trees.

 

 

The girl learned knife safety from her brothers and Dad while we were there. Every minute she could grab we would find her outside working her walking stick.

 

 

The hubs and "Midger" out in the kayak.

 

 

When it was finally time to leave we said a quick prayer that it would rain and cool off the temp down in the valley so we wouldn't have car trouble on the way home. Boy did it rain! I snapped this pic just before it started pouring.

 

 

 One more pic of our mountain paradise. I surprised myself and had a great time. In fact, I'm already looking forward to going back. :o)

Fabric Goodness

I just added Fat Quarter bundles of TECHNICOLOR to my Etsy shop. I have limited quantities available so get them while their hot!

I also listed some TEXTING charm packs. Again, only a few available so if you want one, don't wait too long. :o)