Late September/Early October NT in Wild @ Mountain House Quilt Retreat

WARNING:

Photo-heavy post!!!

Welcome to another edition of NT in the Wild!!  I'm here to share (a portion of) the memories from Margaret's Mountain House Retreat.  Memories, and the accomplishments of the OTHER quilters in attendance.  You might have seen Joy's progress over on her blog in this Tidy Up Tuesday post.

This retreat was a two-week affair with a revolving door.  Nimble Thimbles (and friends) were coming and going as their schedules allowed.  For the first week, there were five attendees.  This included Ruth S., Candy, and Gayle.  Of course, Margaret was there for the duration!  Britt and Joy arrived after the majority of them completed their stay.  :o((

Wave ONE, group picture:

Here is how the rest of the retreat progressed for the Nimble Thimbles and friends in attendance...

SATURDAY - Our hostess was busy working on a project:

Britt started out with an Open Wide Pouch by Noodlehead:

Kirsten settled in for a day of sewing:

Britt is happy with her first Open Wide bag:

Kirsten is working on a Pecking Order quilt for her son:

Whoops!  Some UN-sewing was required.  The porch made it easy:

Margaret decided to take a break on the porch swing:

What a beautiful view:

Wide Open Pouch number TWO for Britt:

Kirsten checks the game score in the ONLY spot in the house with cell phone service:

Below, a fellow retreat-er, Patty consults with Britt about border quilting options for this Holiday wall hanging:

Patty completed this Quilted Placemat during Week One...

... And applied borders to the adorable Snoopy Quilt:

Open Wide Pouch number THREE for Britt:

This is Margaret's current project:

Another of Patty's projects:

Patty won these Spoonflower prints at a Quilt Show:

She hopes to include the fabrics in the foreground (above) and may or may not incorporate the bunny (below) into the design:

Patty is thinking about adapting the pattern shown below:

Britt helps her see what that might look like:

Speaking of Britt, here she is with all FOUR of her Open Wide bags:

This is bag number FOUR:

Margaret is lining up her fabrics for a new Dash quilt:

Later, Britt used that space to lay out her Bonnie bits for her own interpretation of On Ringo Lake:

I thought you might like to see a close-up of Margaret's pattern:

Kirsten is giving her new bottle of Flatter (Smoothing Spray) and the iron a workout...

Just LOOK what a beautiful job it did on her version of Bonnie Hunter's Smith Mountain Morning:

(Waiting for...) Dinner on the porch:

Further productivity in the evening hours...

Kirsten cut pieces for the border of Seminole Mtn. Morning...

... As Britt pieced blocks for On Ringo Lake:

Margaret is in HST production mode...

Britt is making progress on her blocks...

... And Margaret is, too:

SUNDAY - Quilt Show!!

Wave TWO quilters, group photo, as we head off to the show:

Let the shopping begin!!

Oh, wait... We're here to see the quilts:

This was Joy's favorite quilt in the show:

We all went out separate ways, but I came across Patty...

... And Margaret at the Guild's Boutique:

Britt wandered around with me for a good bit of the time:

I found Kirsten at The Quilter's Gallery booth:

One of the sisters offered to take a picture with both of us in it:

We had a wonderful time at the Quilt Show and I promise to share MORE of the quilts next week.  Right now, we've got to go SEW!!!

Margaret's Dash quilt is coming along nicely:

Next up??  Her Kaleidoscope quilt with the additional fabric that she purchased at the Quilt Show:

It was another warm day...

SEW... Three quilters headed to the lake:

Before they went to go jump in the lake, the sewing room was reconfigured to accommodate the new arrivals:

Kirsten worked on some piecing while the others cooled off:

Smile, swimmers:

Kirsten is smiling because her units are turning out correctly:

Joy is making small HSTs from Kirsten's off-cuts and is looking forward to MORE from the fabrics purchased at the Quilt Show:

Joy pieced some PURPLE (it was still September) scraps:

The quilters are HUNGRY!!  Appetizers before dinner:

Everyone wave!  The party boat is passing by:

I was instructed to get a photo of the phones all lined up on the rail...  Whatever it takes to "get a few bars" of internet:

Once Dash is assembled, this is Margaret's NEXT project:

I believe that Margaret plans to have Debbie help with getting this Homespun QAYG project together for donation:

Britt's blocks on the design floor in an alternate setting:

Margaret shared this photo of a recently pieced quilt top:

MONDAY - Another busy day in paradise...

I thought you might like to see Margaret's handiwork throughout the common areas of the house...

Everyone is posted at the machines:

Including Britt, who couldn't be seen in the last photo:

I'm heading back to my machine after...

 ... Just one more photo:

Patty was the one person with sewing machine oil:

We're hoping that it helps Margaret's machine:

Quilters are busy all around the room...


With pressing:

With cutting:

Kirsten is speedily piecing, as her departure time looms...

... The photo below shows her success:

The unseasonably warm weather made the lake inviting:

I couldn't resist taking a shot of where the sky met the water:

Our exercise for the duration of the retreat:

What's this???

It's the great, gaping hole that was left as Kirsten packed for home, along with what may be a mechanical pencil belonging to her:

Such a glorious day:

Debbie's personal projects didn't work out, so she worked on finishing the binding on our group projects:

Britt laid out Blue and Green 4-Patch quilt:

As Joy was finalizing her fabric options and Kirsten helped with the shading:

A downpour...

Interrupted the swimmers...

Debbie displayed the now completed group Welcome wall hanging:

As the skies cleared, Joy's fabric placement continued:

SEW many 4-Patches, Britt:

Thank you to Margaret for the loan of your fancy tweezers!  They work SEW well at moving small pieces around:

What a peaceful place we are sewing in for this retreat:

After dinner, we were all back down in the sewing room...

Margaret prepared a label for the Welcome wall hanging...

... As Cathy added another column to her Harley commission:

Three of us worked on Quilted Bowl Cozies:

Here is Debbie with her completed Bowl Cozy:

Margaret is almost ready to start assembling her Dash quilt:

TUESDAY - Departure.  :o((

But...

Not before Britt and I got in some last minute sewing!

And not before the fog rolled in over the lake:

A very THICK blanket of fog:

With the binding and label attached, the Welcome wall hanging was ready to take its place just off the kitchen:

Cathy is getting close to having a completed quilt top:

We couldn't leave before Britt quilted up one last project:

Debbie is now working as Margaret's "Sewing Assistant" by churning out the next round of HSTs for the Dash quilt:

Quilting.  From the outside...

... And the inside of Britt's final retreat project:

Margaret looks pretty happy to have Debbie helping with Dash:

Debbie is pleased to have something to do:

Cathy is preparing her final row for stitching:

Britt is thrilled to have this basket ready for binding:

I'm pleased to have all the cutting done for my Ella donation:

Patty brought in fabric samples for a design consult:

I consulted with Britt about the layout for my Ella Donation quilt:

Dash is growing by leaps and bounds:

Soaking up the beauty of the lake as we pack up:

We spotted a lone kayaker on the lake:

One more blank space at the table and another soon to follow:

Cathy's Harley Commission is DONE!!  Here's the front...

... And the back, both sans border to be added at a later date:

Britt's Quilted Basket is finished.  Photographed on the porch...

... As well as, inside the sewing room:

Wave THREE, group photo, as half us head for home:

And then there were three...

... People and pumpkins:

We made a quick stop at the Scenic Overlook on the way out...

And got a selfie with the mountains in the background:

... And stopped at the Connestee Falls Park...

... For a quick walk to see the falls:

Britt and I got a selfie with the falls in the background, too:

What a wonderful time for sewing with friends and communing with nature surrounding us.  Thank you, again, Margaret!

Until next time...

RETREAT!!!