Crazy Retreat - er, Crazy Quilting Retreat

We had our 5th annual Crazy Quilting International Retreat in northern Utah last month.  I was the official organizer (since I am one of the owner/moderators of the group), and our hostess was my friend Bev Forsling, who lives in West Point, UT.  Her home is a large acreage with a barn (whose loft area is a glorious, light-filled sewing area).  Thirteen of us gathered there from Wednesday, September 12 - Sunday, September 16.

On Thursday morning, our first official outing was to visit two wonderful needlework stores in downtown historic Ogden. This first shop is called Shepherd’s Bush, and it is a refurbished building that is over a hundred years old.

Above:  Diane and Susan are looking at displays.  Below, Shannon is amazed at all the nooks and crannies filled with stitchy goodness.

From Shepherd’s Bush, we walked a couple city blocks to The Needlepoint Joint, a huge store with amazing threads, silk ribbons, yarns, and books of every needlework type. There were even foreign needlework books, and several ladies dropped a lot of coin there!  (no pictures though).

Back at the house that afternoon, Gerry Krueger, who served as our chef, share a laugh with Carol Kramer.

We celebrated Carol’s birthday with a YUMMY cake from Costco and a round of Happy Birthday!!  Isn’t Carol’s CQ vest lovely?  She made it herself.  

That night we had the Stash Dash.  The Fabric Fairy dropped off lots of goodies earlier, but did not make a special appearance this year as she has in the past.

This is Bev, our Hostess with the Mostest.

Susie Wolfe taught a color theory class to everyone in the barn on Friday.  And she generously shared gifts of color wheels, a workbook and acetate sheets (to view color values) with the students.

We went thrifting on Friday morning, and on Friday night we played a HILARIOUS game of “Who Am I?”   Similar to What’s My Line, everyone bluffed their way through secret facts given by other members.  Ask Connie about how she swooped down on a glider and killed the water mocasins (snakes) with a banjo!!

On Friday evening, we had another wonderful friend visit, Cat Baumgartner.  She is a friend of Gerry K’s and mine, a former member of CQI, and a super quilter with a great Etsy shop.

Below, students Diane, Connie and Shari are working on some of the flowers I taught in the flower class on Saturday.  We ruched, folded, gathered, sewed, and created several wonderful flowers that we can use in crazy quilting - or handbag decoration, brooches, etc.

Below:  Susan, Gayle, Shannon.

Susie Wolfe and Gayle Schipper

On Saturday evening, we had a crazy gift swap.  I am below showing the  box I won. It was handmade by Carol and contained 6 handmade fabric postcards and a wood-turned pen by her husband Woody.

Gerry Hookstra won a lovely vintage sewing basket. 

Bev (and Teddy, her cute doggie) sit with Susan on the couch.  

Carol was always laughing about something! What a great sense of humor!

Colleen hams it up for the camera while Carol and Bev look on.

This was my table at the vendor “mall”. 

Diane buys something from Connie.  This looks like a staged picture, but it’s not.

Colleen and Diane visited at my house for several days after the retreat, and this is a picture of them in the corn (at our community garden) with their tomatoes.

The official portrait, generously taken by Gene Hookstra, husband of Gerry Hookstra.   Gerry will be our hostess in Colorado next year.

Top - bottom, left to right:

Colleen Anderson, Gerry Hookstra

Connie Kalina and Carol Kramer

Gayle Schipper, Cathy Kizerian, Gerry Krueger

Susie Wolf and Shannon Corson

Diane Matheson, Bev Forsling, Susan Bonilla and Shari Jensen