Beaver Island Quilt Retreat Part 2 & Quiltmania

Some exciting news first!  We have a quilt in the latest special issue of Quiltmania!

 

 

 

Check at your local quilt store or newsstand, or find copies here.

 

I promised more about Beaver Island.  Each year I attend, I find it amazing as I look around the room at the end of the week at all of the quilts up on the walls for show and tell.  The scope and variety reflects each of their unique makers.  I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by such talented women!  I shared table space with my cohorts in quilting crime:  Beth, Lucy and Kathy S.  It became very apparent mid-retreat that you could not work at our table unless you were working in red and white!  Beth and Lucy had been to see the red and white “Infinite Variety” exhibit in New York in 2011 and were clearly inspired by what they saw.  Lucy started off with this wonderful piece:

 

 

Then after Beth finished this amazing quilt:

 

 

She started working on this stunning piece:

 

 

Kathy, inspired by Lucy’s quilt, started working on this cheery top, using some “floor scraps” (a twist on a BIQR tradition) and liberated squares.  I love the stripes!  Jan nicknamed it “Lucy in Disguise”!

 

 

The retreat was so much fun it should be illegal!

 

I stayed on an extra few days to visit with Joes and Isabeau who were arriving to attend week 5.  Here is the quilt that Isabeau brought for show and tell … all hand pieced!

 

 

Joes had brought a quilt with her (unfortunately my photo did not work out) that she made with fabrics from the Windham line “Josephine”.  The fabrics in that line are reproductions of fabrics from a family quilt that Joes’ mother has that dates back to the 1800’s.  I wish the picture had turned out!  We went travelling on the Monday to different quilt shops in the area.  It was a beautiful day to spend time with friends, with brilliant sun and vibrant leaves!

 

 

After days of wonderful visits with friends, amazing dinners, a great yoga class and another birthday celebrated, it was time to head home.  I had heard about the Sleeping Bear Dunes and decided to stop there on my way.  Later I learned that they have been named “The Most Beautiful Place In America” by Good Morning American.  And deservedly so.  As I came to the end of the path through the forest and reached the crest of the hill, this is what I saw … breathtaking.

 

 

The dunes rise 450 feet above the shore of Lake Michigan.  There is a sign here that warns visitors to watch their footing at the edge, not to descend and that there will be a charge for any rescues!  A local resident that I met there told me that the climb back up is next to impossible.   I decided at this point, that watching my footing of course, this was the only way to explore the area!

 

 

The Dunes stretch for 60 plus miles along the shore.

 

 

And somehow trees are managing to cling to the earth in this fragile and shifting environment.

 

 

 

 

It was magnificent and I definitely want to go back next year and explore more.

 

 

As I headed home, I couldn’t resist a few barn pictures!

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful week

 &

Happy Stitching!