Time To Sew

I spent the weekend sewing, non-stop. (Except to eat!) The setting for our retreat was lovely, at the Montreat Conference Center located in Black Mountain, approximately twenty minutes from Asheville, NC. We had full use of the Reynolds Lodge, a one story building that sleeps thirty; it has a huge kitchen and workspace facility all under one roof, there were twenty of us. My goal was to piece a Stack and Whack quilt top from fabrics accumulated for almost a year for this specific project. There's a story behind this particular undertaking, and my burning desire to get it done! When we lived in Puerto Rico I received a gift of a cross-stitch snowman from Quiltkeemosabe. I have always been meaning to turn it into a pillow but hadn't found what I considered to be the 'just-right' backing fabric, and so, it has languished in a drawer. Last summer I spotted an Alexander Henry fabric at my LQS, Quiltkeemosabe was with me at the time. We both knew it was the perfect fabric to complete my pillow. The LQS owner expressed her dislike for the chosen fabric, which both surprised me and challenged me at the same time. I assured her that I could turn this fabric into something wonderful! She countered my enthusiasm with her own skepticism. Well, I love a challenge as much as anyone; now I had something to prove. Game on. My purchase escalated from enough for a pillow to all the fabric remaining on the bolt! I'm sure she's forgotten all about it by now. I can not wait to appear with this top to witness her reaction! I've found a perfect stencil to mark it for machine quilting, too. This "flimsy" won't remain a UFO now that it's pieced... I'm on a mission! Follow the photos below from the inspirational cross-stitch through the fabric and subsequent quilt top, ending with a detail shot. I've already paid my deposit for the Fall retreat... new goals, new projects; luckily there's no danger of running out of either one. Life is Good!