Last fall at the Anna Lena retreat, Mary and Robin had a stack of really fun blocks that they had gotten in a block swap.

Once the blocks started going up on the wall, they drew a lot of attention.  That led to a conversation about block swaps, and before you could say “Crossroads to Jericho” we decided we would do a block swap at our next retreat!

Robin and Mary’s blocks were so striking yet so simple that we decided to do this block for our first swap.  You might want to organize a swap with your friends, too!

Blocks finish at 8-1/2″. Here are the fabric requirements for each block.

Black: 5) 2-1/2” squares

Four different bright prints: 1) 2-1/2” squares of each and 1) 5-1/2” squares of each cut once diagonally.

When you cut your large square diagonally, you will end up with two triangles.  You only need one per color per block, so set half aside for another block.

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Lay out your squares to form a nine-patch with the black in the middle and on the corners.

Match the triangles to their companion prints.  I love how this forms an arrow.

Once you have the nine-patch sewn together, line it up with one of the triangles as shown below.  Make sure an equal amount of fabric is visible on each side then stitch.  I like to do opposite sides first, press, then do the remaining sides.  On the nine-patches, I press toward the dark.  On the triangles, I press toward the triangle.

Voila!  Your finished block.

If you set the blocks straight, the black forms a chain through the bright arrows.

If you set the blocks on point, the nine-patch is more visible.

Every swap needs a few rules.  Below are ours.  The last one is the most important!

Your pieced block should measure slightly more than 9”.  There’s a little wiggle room here, so blocks can be trimmed to 9”.  If your block is smaller than 9”, it isn’t acceptable.  Either restitch with slightly smaller seams or make another one to swap.

Don’t trim your blocks.  Let the person receiving them do the trimming.

The black can be a solid black, or a black-on-black print, but be sure it “reads” black from a distance.

Bright means bright, clear colors.  Nothing muddy!

You may make all your blocks the same, or use lots of different blacks and brights.

Have fun!

 

Well, this is the final installment.  All I can say, is there was a lot of creativity in that room.  I love hosting the retreats.  I get so inspired by everyone!

This is Karen’s millennium quilt.  It has 2000 DIFFERENT fabrics in it.  Wow!

She also brought this applique sampler for show-and-tell.

I like the setting for this Redwork she did.

I thought maybe she brought this Thirties row quilt for me, but, alas, it wasn’t so.

She did a great demo on her favorite way to make circles for applique.  Turns out, it’s the same method I used for the Lollipops, like on the quilt in the background!  That’s one of the great thing about retreats, we’re always learning from each other!

Robin has a new grandson, and she made this quilt for him.  The motorcycle is an accurate depiction of the one his daddy has!

She also used the Bow Tie Block challenge to make him this matching quilt.

Robin and her mom, Mary, showed off the quilts they’d each made from a block swap they’re involved in.

 

These are Mary’s blocks from this years swap.  I think we may have to do this next year!

Mary also made this adorable Halloween table topper…

…and this pretty fall table runner.

She got a pillowcase finished…

…and started making a Bears Outside My Window quilt!

Connie did the Bow Tie Challenge, too.  I love her Hugs and Kisses setting.

At retreat she made 57 Halloween treat bags for her grandkids’ schoolmates.  Wow!

My sister, Sally, was there scrapbooking.  For our boutique, she brought 25 Christmas wreaths that she had made.

Even Josie, who’s on the Falls Creek Staff, brought show-and-tell to share.

I think these snowmen are fabulous!

I showed my Dress Up Time quilt…

…and my Christmas Memories quilt, which I was working on at the last retreat.

But I was happiest about getting this top all put together!

Retreats are wonderful.  We had mothers and daughters, mothers and daughters-in-law, sisters and lots and lots of friends.  I can’t wait for March when we get to do it all again.

Pat P3, also known as Nana Pat, brought this pretty quilt for her show and tell.  I love how the checkerboard sashing is repeated in the border!

Mary’s favorite animal is the buffalo, so this is the perfect quilt for her.

She made this yummy batik top during the retreat.

Mary took Robin’s 1″ challenge.

Looks like she’s getting a good start!

Penny brought this beautiful cross quilt for show-and-tell.

She was working on another one during retreat.

While recuperating from surgery, she made this yo-yo table runner.  There are 78 yo-yo’s in it.  Can you imagine making enough for a bed quilt!?!

Penny and Nana Pat were both working on Hunter’s Star quilts.  I can’t remember if this is Pat’s or Penny’s!

This one is definitely Penny’s.  She did half blocks around the outside to make the start the center of every block.

Penny was also working on a layout for her split nine-patch.

Anna had several sampler projects that she brought to put together, including this pretty one.

She was framing these blocks to make them all the same size.  Smart trick!

Phyllis brought this wonderful wall hanging for show-and-tell…

…as well as this City Pavement quilt.

Barbara’s neighbor bought this quilt at a garage sale for $5.00!

During retreat, Barbara made my Center Piece Table Runner.

And from some scraps she made a bookmark!  Very clever!

Laraine showed this charming button-on-wool piece that she’d made.

She’s also made these wool hearts.

I kinda like this photo of me!

For show-and-tell, Stephanie brought this great Bear’s Paw.

During the retreat she put her Lollipop quilt top together.  This is one of my designs, and it’s so fun to see someone making things I’ve designed.

She’ll be ready for Halloween with this charming wall hanging.

During retreat, she was experimenting with the Hunter’s Star ruler…

…and got this all put together!

She also made this adorable cat block, appropriately called “Stalker.”

At the last retreat, Judy started this wall hanging, and she brought it back finished for show-and-tell.  It should help chase away the winter blues!

She also got this Halloween table runner together during the retreat.

And how about this adorable, seasonal wall hanging.  I think these blocks are just the cutest I’ve seen in a long time.

One more post, and we’ll be caught up with retreat!

 

Pat P1 (We had three Becky P’s) made this great batik quilt.  Every time I looked up, she was pressing strips.  Now I know why!

She brought this jacket she made for show-and-tell.

Her sister, Becky L, was working on this quilt at the last retreat.  It’s so nice to get to see them finished.

And look at the interesting back she has on it.

At retreat she made this quilt top.  I love the bear tracks.  Once the border is on, she will applique a bear there!

Sharon brought this row-by-row quilt for show-and-tell.

She knew about the Summer Bow Tie Challenge, so brought this to show, too.  I love the asymmetrical setting.

She also brought this adorable Christmas Redwork.

Robin is always challenging everyone to do 1″ square scrap quilts, so this was a perfect show-and-tell.  Every print, both the light and dark, are florals!

Another pretty quilt from Sharon.

She did a great mitered border demonstration for us!

Diana is ready for Halloween!

She got this pieced at retreat.

Love the needlework and shading in this piece.

I did the Lemoyne Star demo…

…and Dianna whipped out this little sampler with two 12″ and three 4″ Lemoyne stars.  It’s really that easy–and no set in seams!

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Julie made this pretty log cabin.

Pat P2 wore a jacket that she made with batik blocks.

I don’t know which came first, this quilt or the jacket!

Don’t you love the color combination in this Chain quilt?

Still more to come!

More great show-and-tell.  This is Patti’s Double Wedding Ring.

This Colorwash Cross was her project at the last retreat.

This time she was working with these great batiks.

Marsha was making a pretty pastel quilt for her granddaughter’s big girl bed!

Rosemarie had several Hmong embroideries that she had finished.

This nativity was charming!

She did a lot of embellishment on this one.

This pretty quilt is hers, too.

As is this black, white and red one.

Annie was duly proud of this quilt.

Here’s the back.  She did a quilt-as-you-go technique.

During the retreat she was working on this Friendship Star with a Twisted Ribbon border.

And this was the second car quilt she had on the design wall!

Pat T. (not to be confused with Patti or the other three Pats that were there!) made this sampler from shop hop blocks.

She also made two pillow covers to match.

I love the sweet embroidery in the center of this one.

For show-and-tell she brought her Crossroads quilt.

She also got this top put together during the retreat.

I believe this train pillowcase is for her grandson, who has a basement full of trains.

Sue brought a beautiful Twelve Step Program quilt from my book, Bundles of Fun.  I think this is the most frequently made quilt from the book!

She also brought this Checkerboard quilt that she’d made, but I heard a rumor that someone else tried to claim it, perhaps two someones!

Isn’t this soft and pretty.  I don’t know the pattern name, but it’s lovely!

Sue’s niece is going off to college, and Sue is making a quilt for her in her favorite colors–pink and orange.

I have to tell you, in high school, my bedroom was pink and orange.  I’m so old, it’s popular again!

This is Julie, and, yes, she’s wiping away a tear.  Julie is just learning to quilt—from her mom!  They came to a retreat a year ago, and again to this one.  Carol did all the embroidery for this quilt, and Julie has pieced all the blocks.  When she got up to show-and-tell this quilt, she got quite emotional, telling us all how much she treasures the time she spent with her mom on this.  It was very touching, and Julie wasn’t the only one wiping away tears.

This is Julie’s mom, Carol, and her fabulous row quilt.

Carol also made this sweet doll and doll quilt for her granddaughter.

This quilt has a wonderful story, too.  These blocks were made by Carol’s mother in the 1930′s.  One day she brought them to a Redwork Club meeting in my studio to ask how she should put them together.  Before long, we had a setting figured out, but we also could see that these block designs and the fabulous prints used to make them would be a great fabric line.  My Dear Dorothy collection was born that day!  Carol is doing a beautiful job of hand quilting her quilt and is almost finished.

Julie also had this quilt for show-and-tell.

This is Teresa with a fabulously frilly bag she made.

Kristy was making this quilt for her sister, who is facing some health issues.

By the next day, she had the top finished!

Then she was working on these blocks.

Barbara made this great sampler quilt.

Roberta is a first time sewer and made this adorable Santa wall hanging.

Her mom-in-law was there, too, and made this quilt top from my new Dolly Dear collection.  She has four granddaughters who will be getting one of these!

She brought a Twister for show-and-tell.  It started out similar to the quilt on the right.  After being cut by the Twister Ruler, you sew up your new blocks and get the quilt on the left!

Mary Disilva made this Christmas row quilt…

…and this wonderful medallion sampler.

Kathy was showing her patriotic side with this flag wall hanging.

She also showed us this great bag that she stitched up in less than an hour.  It’s the same technique as used in my Ditty Bag.

I love this Log Cabin that Lonna made.  Hmm.  Lonna emailed to say this isn’t hers.  Will someone claim it, please?

She also made this sampler.

She turning this amazing Hmong embroidered block into a wall hanging.

And she was working on these indigo and cheddar blocks.

More tomorrow!

 

 

There were 50 of us at Falls Creek Retreat Center for our retreat last weekend, and everyone was very productive.  I have lots and lots of photos to share, and will break them down into six posts.  Here goes!

Evelyn brought her Postcards from Hawaii quilt that she started at a previous retreat.

She put this top together…

…and gave us a tutorial on how she did it.  Thanks, Evelyn!

She was extremely productive at retreat.  If you’re counting how many tops she completed, this is #2.

#3.

#4.

#5.

#6.

#7.

And #8!  Amazing!  I should have given her a prize for getting the most accomplished.

Quynh brought two quilts for show-and-tell.  This one…

…and this one.

She also pieced a strippy quilt.  It may look like solids, but it’s actually tiny gingham fabric!  Very cute.

Chara joined us for the first time and brought this pretty quilt for show-and-tell.

She finished this top made with a combination of fabrics, including linen.

Can you spot the expectant mother?

This is Melissa who had embellished some adorable onsies.

She also completed two tops while she was there.  These adorable houses…

…and this great batik one.  I was just at her blog and she’s posted some retreat photos, too!

I was so touched when Sarah brought a quilt that she had made from my book, Fat Quarter Fun! I love how it turned out!

She also got this log cabin top put together at retreat…

…and was working on these blocks.  The pattern is designed by my friend Michelle and the fabric is by my sista-friend, Monica!

Kirstie’s show and tell was this great old Grandmother’s Flower Garden.  The story is even greater than the quilt.  After a car was abandoned at her husband’s business for two years, he was going to have it crushed.  Before he did, he opened the trunk and found this in there!  Good thing he knew enough to call his wife!

Kirstie got this wonderful star quilt top together.

So, that’s a start!

 

Here’s the last of the show-and-tell from our retreat.

This is Sue showing off the Desert Nine Patch.  She bought the kit at the retreat last fall.

She got this Crossroads quilt done from start to finish this time.

Pat was working on this Bargello during the retreat.  It was great fun to watch its progress on the design wall.

This is one of the quilts she brought for show-and-tell.

Here’s another.

She went way outside most quilters’ comfort zone with this quilt made from all kinds of great fabrics.

With this quilt she did a matching pillow case.

Sarah finished a UFO–this graphic Boston Commons.

This is the quilt Sarah did at the last retreat–all finished now.

She needed a refresher course on how to use the Hunter’s Star ruler.  I’d say she has it figured out!

I hope Bob doesn’t see this John Deere quilt Vicky made.

She was on a roll with this pattern…

…and it looks great with all her fabric choices.

Here’s a BQ she did.

She had just finished this owl quilt.

She did the Out of the Darkness block of the month.

This quilt of Evelyn’s is another one that was fun to watch as it progressed.

She’s started sample blocks out of these fabrics.  So pretty.

Josie is part of the staff at Falls Creek.  Last year she brought a quilt to share with us, and I thought she had done the same this year.  As it turns out, she just “borrowed” this from Nana Pat for the first night of show-and-tell…

…and this one from Robin for the second night!

All in all, it was a great retreat.  Thanks to everyone who came and shared.

There really is a water fall at Falls Creek Retreat Center.  But first, a few other pictures from the four day retreat there.

I’m lucky enough to live in a place where we frequently see herds of elk, many of the women who came to my quilting retreat are “city girls.”  Just a few miles from the retreat center, Karen R and my sister, Sally, spotted this herd of elk.  If you look closely, you’ll see there are 33 of them–lots of babies in the herd.  Sally’s a city girl now, but she grew up here and has seen lots of elk in her day.  Karen, however, is a true city girl, and she was thrilled.  This was her first elk sighting.  Actually, I have to admit that no matter how many times I see them, I still get excited every time.

Driving in, I was greeted by these cows.  They didn’t look very happy that I was disturbing their slumber!  In fact, when I stopped to take this photo, I’m pretty sure the cow in front said, “Move it along, babe!”  Actually, this are was settled by Swiss farmers in the late 1800′s and there is still a lot of dairying going on.

The flowering cherries at the entrance were just starting to open their flowers for us.

I’m so glad the old bridge is still there, and even gladder that we don’t have to drive across it!

The crick is right there to greet you when you enter the property.

And that other wonderful sign of spring–daffodils.

I love this time of year when you can still see “through” the woods.  It won’t be long and everything will be leafed out and you won’t be able to.

The creek flows pretty fast just outside the building where we were sewing.

We followed it for a ways on our way up to the falls.  Last year, when we were there in October, there were lots of salmon returning to spawn.  I thought we might see some smolts heading out to sea, but no luck.

The creek takes a lot of bends and turns.

Then we left it for a bit as we entered the big meadow.

I love that you can still see the old growth stumps.

These are my favorites, the triple trunk trees.

There are two of them clearly visible from the path.

In the meadow there is this tiny cabin.

Next time I must ask how old it is.

I love the pair of log chairs on the porch…

…and the dinner bell!

After leaving the meadow, we began to climb toward the falls.  This isn’t the main falls, yet.

This is the main falls!

From the top, you can see the big, initial drop-off.

The sound is amazing.

All who went agreed it was worth the trip!

More photos of quilts from the talented ladies who came to Spring Retreat!

Patti made this pretty floral quilt.

And also this star with log cabin blocks.  It’s gorgeous!

She was working on the colorwash cross–and it was giving her fits.  But, she persevered!

Susan brought this cute chicken wall hanging for show-and-tell.

Pat finished up this signature quilt while at retreat.

And she made this lovely BQ3.

I got my Christmas Memories blocks set and the pattern written.

And made this donation quilt with the strips from my Quilt Trim Ruler demo.

Marsha was making this for her granddaughter.  I know she’ll love it!

She was also working on the split stars–another UFO nearly finished!

Joyce lives at the beach and brought this nautical quilt for show-and-tell.

She also had this rag quilt in progress.

Don’t you love her sorting method?!?

Pat brought a lot of embellished bags for show-and-tell…

…as well as this quilt with circles.  I’m going to do a circle quilt someday!

Becky made a Twelve Step Program quilt from my book Fat Quarter Fun.  Don’t you love my subtle ad!

She was also working on the wonderful Friendship Star variation…

…and this pretty pinwheel quilt.

We had two scrapbookers at the retreat.  This is my sister, Sally.

She had done a book about her Christmas decorations–which are amazing!

I think this is her Sweden album.

Karen was our other scrapbooker.

She had several books to share.

My favorite was the one with her son’s birthday parties.

Ann brought a stack of Dresden Plate blocks.

She spent most of the weekend working on this cute frog quilt.

Judy was making this quilt to replicate a family one that is worn out.

She’s using vintage fabrics from the family, so this will really be an heirloom.

More to come…..