Massage Practitioner for retreat

Dawn Hampton, a Massage Practitioner from Inner Harmony, Lancaster, Wisconsin, will be joining us at the 2009 Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend.

Dawn will be offering total body massages, pedicures and foot massage in her own private room. What a great way to relax after hours of sewing!

A byline on Dawn's business card: "Take great care of your inner self - you deserve it."

Retreat Projects

I received my Easy Bias-Covered Curves book and was immediately intrigued. All those fun curvy designs. Could they really be that easy?

Those of you who have been to past retreats sponsored by Quilts By Barb know that I usually make a nice BIG quilt. After reading through the book, I decided to make a series of small quilts so I could try lots of different designs and learn more about the techniques in the book.

So I opened the book to the first block pattern and came up with this design. It looks alot like the get started project using this block, but I made it lots bigger with less curves. It went together REALLY fast and I quilted it on my home machine, making simple curves with my walking foot. I haven't put a binding on it yet, and I'm still thinking about embellishing it. Maybe some fabric circles or some fibers.....So it's hanging on my design wall while I wait for it to tell me what's next.

And what I've learned already is that this technique is FUN!!! Making bias tape is quick and easy with the bias makers, and adds an extra design element to the curves. Even a beginner can easily succeed and your project will look much more difficult than it really is.

Now, on to the next project.....

Diane

Thanks and welcome to Kim!

I want to introduce you to Kim Lapacek. She is going to be helping me out with computer work and other odd jobs getting ready for my retreat. Many of you will remember Kim from previous retreats.

Kim and and Jared are part owners of Lapacek's Orchard, with Diane and Frank. Kim loves quilting and many other types of crafts. She hand dyes a lot of clothing items for young children and her hand made jewelry is beautiful. Check out Kim's Etsy site, Kim's Crafty Apple to see and purchase any of Kim's wares.

Welcome, Kim!

2008 retreat pictures

I finally did it!! The slideshow on the right hand side are action pictures from our 2008 Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend. The retreat was at Camp Wawbeek Easter Seals Camp in Wisconsin Dells. If you would like to see a larger picture of any picture, just click on it and it will be enlarged.

If you participated in the 2008 retreat and have pictures, I would love to add them. I have more pictures I will be adding shortly.

Happy quilting and hope to see you in Belmont in 2009!

Barb

2008 retreat pictures

You will see a slide show of pictures on the right hand side of my blog. Yes, they are labeled as 2008 Retreat BUT no, they are not from the retreat. I am working on it and hope to have this corrected soon. I am a quilter, not a computer guru!

Barb

Easy Bias-Covered Curves - Our project book for the weekend

We have selected the book Easy Bias-Covered Curves by Wendy Hill as our instruction book for the 2009 Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend. This book is published by CT Publishing and the following is their description about the book:

Free-Wheeling Fun with Easy-Sew Circles and Curves

• No curved-seam piecing, no raw edges, no stress!
• Fabric bias strips are the key to beautifully-finished curves
• Great for quilters at every level-beginners love the simple technique, and experienced quilters can design their own variations
• Match fabrics for a subtle look, or use contrasting bias for a vivid design element

These artful quilts are breathtaking to look at, and surprisingly easy to make! Fabric bias covers raw fabric edges in a quick, accurate technique. Wendy introduces simple blocks plus lots of variations and sample quilts. Detailed illustrations follow for a project quilt-or create your own.

If you would like to take a closer look as the inside of the book, click on Look Inside.

Diane Lapacek will be teaching from this book and has been working on samples. She is very excited about the technique and says she really enjoys it. She will be posting updates and pictures about the book and projects she has made from the book.

The Travel Center in Belmont, Wisconsin

I would like to introduce you to The Travel Center in Belmont, Wisconsin, the home of our 2009 Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend.

Pictured at left, is the conference center from the outside. This is where we will be sewing for the weekend.

It is connected to the Baymont Inn and Suites (right) where rooms will be available.

The cost for the rooms are:

Friday and Saturday evenings: $78.84 per night including tax

Sunday evening: $65.70 including tax

This price is good for one to four people per room. It also includes a continental breakfast in the morning.

Rooms may be booked by calling directly to the hotel at 608-762-6900. Mention that you are with the Quilts by Barb quilt retreat to receive these rates. If you have any problems, please either email me at Quiltsybarb@tds.net or call me at 608-994-2821 and I would be glad to help with your reservation.

This is a picture of the inside of the convention center where we will be quilting. I don't think it will be quite as tidy as in the picture, but you get the idea of the size. The room is very large; it was set up to serve 450 people when I viewed it, but it is still very warm and cozy.

This will be the perfect setting for a group of women quilting their hearts out!

All meals will be on your own for the 2009 Quilt Retreat.

The Travel Center does include a family restaurant just across the parking lot. The meals are very reasonable priced and the food is excellent. If you are staying at the hotel, don't forget the FREE continental breakfast which includes some hot food.

Belmont is small but there are a few other places to eat or get careout food. We will only be a few miles from Platteville where there are a number of dining choices as well as a Quilt Shop!! More about that in another post.

NOTE TO PAST RETREATERS: I will bring cookies from Ma's Bakery to share!!

Click here for more information on The Belmont Travel Center.

Click here for more information on the 2009 Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend and to register for the retreat.

New blog for Quilt Retreat Information

Greeting quilters and quilt retreaters,

I am starting this blog as a information source for Quilt Retreat Geataway Weekends that are hosted by Quilts by Barb. I plan to update this blog regularly with new information on both our upcoming 2009 Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekend and on our previous retreats from past years. I will be including lots of photos, so if you attended one of our retreats and would like a photo or any information included, please email me and I would love to have it.

Diane Lapacek, our teacher for the past seven years, will also be including updates. She is working right now on sample quilts for 2009 and will be including pictures and other information here for you to see.

Please feel free to add to the page with comments. I would like this blog to be a place where our retreat participants can touch base with one another. I will continue to have my regular Quilts by Barb blog on my webpage and will refer back and forth between the two.

Happy Quilting and hope to see you all in Belmont in 2009!

Barb