Summer School Was Cool
Sunday, August 1st, 2010Not cool as in weather because it was hot as blue blazes in Wisconsin, but cool as in a fantastic week of making new friends and sharing ideas with a terrific group of shopowners from various areas of the country, and as always fun activities and learning opportunities with Terry Atkinson. This is the second year Iāve attended Terryās shopowner retreat; after last year I didnāt think it could get any better, but she and Roseann outdid themselves again this year. I think my friend Patti, who owns Fabric Town in Apple Valley, MN, said it best when she described the week:
To just give you a quick insight to what we do at this retreat….. Laugh, Sew, Laugh, Laugh, Discuss, Laugh, Tease, Eat unbelievable meals prepared by a fabulous Chef, Laugh, Discuss, Sew, Sew, Sew, Laugh, Laugh and Eat again..
Terry always has creative challenges and thought-provoking round table discussions for us and it always amazes me at the āV-8 momentsā I have during our discussions. I suppose we tend to get ourselves into a particular mindset and it takes a fresh perspective to free us from the rutā¦those āI could have had a V-8 momentsā are a highlight of this retreat for me.
Sometimes I get to a point that all of my creativity seems to have been drained away by the daily mechanics of owning a quilt shop, and this summer retreat is the best way Iāve found to restore that creative well, and just have fun. We always test a couple of patterns for Terry and the quilt we did this time around was really funā¦sorry I canāt share my F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D (!!!) quilt top with you since the pattern is still in the design testing stage, but youāll see it as soon as Terry releases the pattern in a few months. Hereās just a tiny sneak peekā¦yes, itās black and white. Surprised?
Terry and Roseann always coordinate dinner themes with Jason, who cooks our fabulous meals for us, and our last night is a holiday celebration. This year it was Halloween, and this is the tablescape that greeted us at dinnertimeā¦
We were instructed to bring a Halloween gift for exchangeā¦something that reminded us of our childhood Halloween experiences. You can see that all the gifts were wrapped in fun Halloween fabrics and packages. Halloween as a child for me meant the school carnival so I filled my Halloween gift bag with little toys and candiesā¦a slinky, a fun pencil with a smiley face eraser, Pixie Stix, the little wax bottles filled with colored liquidā¦all stuff that weād come home with as prizes for playing the games at the school carnival. We also always had a cake walk at the carnival so I included my motherās recipe for Toasted Coconut Cake, which she always made to donate. It was an evening filled with laughter and funny memories as we all took turns telling our Halloween stories and sharing bits and pieces of our lives. I think we ended up sitting around the dinnertable for several hours, just sharing and laughing and having fun!
There were 18 of us at the retreat, and although several had to leave a bit early, there were a few diehards who didnāt want to leave and stayed until the absolute last second! Back row (L to R) Carol, owner of Batiks Etc. & Sew What Fabrics; yours truly
; Shelley, owner of The Quilted Forest; Cathy, owner of Wish Upon A Quilt; Joyce, owner of Quilting Adventures; Laura, owner of Cotton Patch Quilt Shop; Roseann, owner of Rosebudās Cottage. Front row (L to R) Kelly Ann, owner of Kelly Annās Quilting; Sue, owner of Gruberās Quilt Shop; Terry of Atkinson Designs, and Julie, owner of Keepsake Cottage Fabrics.
This is a wonderful group of women that I am happy to have as friends and colleagues. Be sure to check out their websites and blogs for inspiration!
Melisa



Julie
I dragged Lou Ann out of bed at the crack of dawn early Sunday morning for a whirlwind trip to Paducah with



The working water wheel is part of the settlement. See those icicles … brrr!Ā Wish we’d had more time here, but we had to keep moving – still lots to do!
A long day was capped off with a yummy dinner at Olive Garden. We had our hopes up that Pumpkin Cheesecake would still be on the menu, and our server confirmed that it was – yay! Unfortunately, he was misinformed so we had to settle for a Chocolate Something-Something-Something! Lou Ann had her eye on the last couple of bites of my piece, but I beat her to it!
Note to self – make sure you’re not reflected in the mirror while taking the picture!





Notice the little house and tree vignette in the empty clock frame below? Too cute!




















