Biloxi

This is a long post with lots of photos.
The trip down was eventful around Houston when we ran into a detour that was not marked ahead of time. 
Thankfully Judy, the navigator, got us back on track with only a half-hour extra added to our trip.

WE stopped in Layfette, LA and spent the night. 

the view out our window was not very nice, but 

I like the quilting design on the carpet. :)

We didn't have to be in Biloxi, MS until 3pm, so we went to a couple of quilt shops.

The first one was decorated with lots of flamingos.

I loved that quilt.

I didn't get pictures of the second store, but they were lots nicer than the first one.

We ate at a Mediterranean Restaurant next door to the quilt shop.

One to Biloxi, MS to the White House Hotel.

The sunset was beautiful 

  

Our first event was a mixer where we were supposed to wear hats.

 More flamingos

Sewing machines were provided by Janome.
I sewed on the 9450.

My sewing mates were at the table with me.

It was a big room with 59 of us there.

I won a FQ door prize and bought some of the fabric to help with a border.

Janome representatives had us try the stitches on the Janome 9450 and we made a ruler bag. 

The stitches were lots of fun to play with.

The first day of class was with Kimberly Einmo.

I finished all her blocks by going back in the evening.

I love the colors.

Kimberly put her small top together like this.

The beach is beautiful, so here are some photos of the area.

Sunset from the patio near where we were sewing.

The second day was with Charlotte Angotti.

The pieces were smaller and I only got one of the two sets done.

 As I was putting them on the design wall, I noticed this little fishy had fin troubles. :( 

I bought another kit from Charlotte called ocean waves. 

These are the pieces for the second block. 

This is Charlotte's small quilt put together.

A view from the White House Hotel.

The staff was amazing at this hotel.

It was a small staff, but whatever you needed, they made the best effort to get it for you and quickly.

Beautiful property and beautiful people. 

Rain was in the forecast, so we decided to go to the beach quickly in the morning.

It started to rain as we got back to the hotel.

The third day was with Karen K. Stone.

She had us take the gradated fabric and take out the middle tone so our blocks would pop.

These little log cabins finish to 6 inches.

I finished 2 and have the rest of block A started.

My brain was overwhelmed by the third day, so I'm happy to have finished these. 

Karen's little quilt is amazing. 

We had to get out photos with the teachers. 

 

If you notice the position of Karen's black stripe and Kimberly's arm and Charlotte's black patch...

we had so much fun looking at Kimberly's bendy arm or her being a little tea pot. :)

If you ever get to go on a progressive retreat, GO!

The BIG Reveal!

What happens at a progressive retreat?

Three teachers, three different designs.

They each make 4 sets of blocks.

They trade with each other.

They each make a quilt with their own blocks.

They each take the blocks made by the other two and put them into a combination quilt.

They don't know what each other are doing, so the reveal is for them too.

There was one...

Then there were two.... 

Then there were three gorgeous quilts. 

Made by these three ladies. 

Our trip home was uneventful and made in one day.

We each had something to take care of and it was best to make the long trip.

I had a blast with a wonderful group of ladies.

Thank you all for a great retreat.