Mary Lou's Creativity Story Quilt Retreat + snow fall here + things to think about and ponder

Here the story goes into the middle of the quilt canvas....it is nice to set a color palette first...most students say they will never look at fabric the same way again.

We always swap fairy gifts at the retreat and these adorable birds were one of the gifts...mine is hanging right here above my computer. It is a happy and nice memory.

Every student gets a "real" tiara here (no plastic) and it adds alot of fun and even some beauty to the group....locals wonder what we are queens or Princess's of.....

The above saying is SO true and if you are one of those people whose sewing room is always in pristine condition and never messy maybe you need to let go and have some crazy fun...it IS messy but you can always clean it up!

It is snowing here like crazy and word has it there will be between 2 feet and three feet by the end of the week. Luckily if my plane can get out I will be in LA tomorrow. Phew. It IS pretty though and hey, wouldn't this bike picture do a great quilt???? I LOVE it.

This is just a little bit of snow...now the word snow is GONE deep in more snow

The above quote was something my Grandpa used to say all of the time and he loved to call a nap "a good snooze." It always seemed like when you took a nap up in Canada at his house it was a good thing as opposed to when you were home and had to.

I have been so crazy with creative thoughts lately and I should end this month with four new quilts. I am having so much fun and am trying some new free cutting techniques I am going to share for great quilts with cool things. The above lady is so cool and wouldn't she be great with free form cut things here and there and then quilting and lots of embellishments? OH how much fun!

The above is credited to Mark Twain but Proverbs in the Bible basically says the same thing.....I've had to learn this more than once in my life.....

The photos here are of girls who came to the retreat I host every year in Post Falls Idaho. For those that come early enough we meet the night before at a Mexican restaurant. This year for those that come early enough, we will go to Farm Chicks the awesome sale here in Spokane that everyone comes to from all over the world. THEN we will meet in Idaho at the Mexican restaurant. GREAT fun! And hey even more creativity because of the fabulous things you can find at Farm Chicks. Don't know about Farm Chicks? Then "Google" it and see what you don't want to miss on June 2nd. June 3rd we begin the story quilt class and get new patterns, ideas for free form cutting and tips on your stash and what might be missing there and good food with chef Tina and a visit to an awesome quilt shop that will stay oepn for just us!

Happy girls meeting the night before we begin the class in the well lit and wonderful JACC art center.

Just some photos from last year and smiles and "stuff" to show you an idea of what goes on....

As you can see I took photos at different stages of different quilts. Very fun since all of the borders are different as well as the stories that go inside.
It is the one thing a year where I am close to home and can bring fabrics that work, give away things I don't have to ship, I can bring calendars I have collected for ideas and all kinds of things to show students and get their inner artists out and inventing and having a great time. Hope you can join us!