I went to the Quilting Retreat....

...and all I did was finish my book.

Yep, no pretty quilts to show for it.

Sometimes just being around the pretty fabrics and all that creative energy is enough.

I had a great time.

My Newest Addition...

Last year, I shared the experiences that I had at the Devorah Quilting Kallah at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute. Things have been a little crazy since I came home, so I've yet to post a full report but...

Yesterday, after a stressful day, I arrived home to find my ***new Bernina sewing machine***!!!! (Okay, I am really excited. Oh, and it's not really new, it's actually 17 years old, but it's new for me.)

First I had to get it out of the box and unwrap all the bubble wrap. Then, of course, I had to try it in order to leave feedback on eBay - so it had to be tonight. {{{Deep breath}}}

Seriously, the woman who owned this machine was amazing - she kept every single item and they're all there. The manual is not as enlightening as I'd like (and uses the word "whilst") and I had to figure out how to thread the thing...which I got right - thanks, Mrs. Procise, my 7th grade home-ec teacher - and then it wouldn't sew...I knew that something was wrong, something simple, but I couldn't figure it out....finally I got it - the bobbin winder - and I was off...

Wow...it's so quiet. It sews like a dream. Tomorrow I will figure out more - like how to change the feet and how to play with the cool stitches and maybe even actually sew something!?

AND it has retractable cords.

See how easily impressed I am!? :-)

Moving from my sweet, lovable Kenmore to this fancy-shmancy Bernina is going to take some adjustment...but I'll manage!!!!

In case you were wondering, her name is Batya and she'll have her Brit Bat next week on the 8th day....okay, just kidding:-)

Creative Living...

(In case you're a regular reader (hi dad)...and have wondered where I've gotten to this week...here it is!)

Each year I am blessed to spend a long weekend with an amazing group of ladies at the Devorah Jewish Quilting Kallah* at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute.

We spend a whole weekend celebrating our creativity and our ability to be artists, in whatever capacity that is for each of us. Everyone brings their sewing machines, piles of fabric, thread, needles, beads, ribbons, rotary cutters, lamps...you name it. I definitely pack more for the quilting studio than I do to wear!

I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I was thinking of how to fully explain the event here on my blog. Why quilting? Why Jewish quilting? Most people expressed it this way: we have quilting friends, we have Jewish friends, but there aren't so many avenues to put them both together. This is an awesome opportunity for women to gather from all over and share both their faith and their art. And that is marvelous. The atmosphere is thick with creative juices and we manage to eat some pretty good ice cream too! We study, we sew, we sew, we pray, we talk and laugh and cry (and unfortunately, sew our fingers into the machines occasionally and end up at the ER!) and eat (and eat and eat), we walk and we talk and we sing and sometimes even dance. It's quite a remarkable group and a remarkable weekend.

So...here are some of my best shots from this weekend...

from our creativity exercise...collages...


piecing it all together...


my workspace...


our "studio"

For more best shots, go here...
What did you do this weekend?

*Kallah means gathering. Devorah, the character in the Bible also known as Deborah, means "bee", which is a very nice pun on the Quilting Bee....