Material Girls Retreat 2024

Oh, it was soooooo good getting back to Elim Lodge for the Material Girls Retreat 2 weeks ago. Last year I had to miss it because I had pneumonia…that really sucked because I love going to this annual retreat. Many of the people there are, not only the usual suspects in my regular group, but many of my fellow guild members also attend. And, of course, there are some ladies that I only see once a year at this specific retreat. It’s wonderful renewing friendships at mealtimes or as we wander the room admiring each other’s work. Clearly, the ladies in the above photo won the Best Dressed award with their matching machine embroidered “Stitchers” t-shirts. So fun!

Donna C and Holly paying for their purchases with Sandra

An added treat was that Sandra of Appleseed Quiltworks in Lindsay, Ontario, came to retreat again with some wonderful panels, notions and completed bag samples to show us all. She even had a presentation about how cork is harvested in Portugal. She recently took a trip there and was able to see the process in person. Many people have started sewing with cork in bags, wallets and other items as it sews beautifully. My friend, Trudie, made me a gorgeous set of embroidered coasters using cork as the base. I have yet to try it myself, but one day I’ll have to incorporate it into one of my own bags.

As usual, it was amazing seeing the huge variety of projects that everyone worked on. Have I got some eye candy for you!!!

Donna S made this lovely turquoise and white quilt from a free pattern, Anita’s Arrowhead, by the Quilt Company. Her colour choices are so fresh and inviting and the border frames it beautifully. Pam was working on this wonderful Circle the Square pattern from the May/June 2022 edition of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting Magazine. It’s a great pattern for showing off some large scale prints and also learning about partial seams. The white background allows the prints to really stand out. Lynn put together this stunning Block of the Month quilt that was issued by Jean Humpage. I particularly like the pinwheel chain design in the border and her colour choices are wonderful.

Charlene and Nancy sat together and worked on a couple of wonderful projects. Charlene’s Viewpoint, designed by Patti Carey, was made from the most gorgeous colours (you can see them well organized on her table below). The panel is framed with a striking chevron border that enhances the panel making it really stand out. Nancy’s Whimsical Medallion, taken from Annie’s Big Block Book, highlights a stunning floral print with graphic pieced borders…so beautiful. Sue and Leona’s machines were chugging away all weekend working on the cutest machine embroidery/applique pattern, Mixed Mutts by Lunchbox Quilts. They were getting really creative with colour and print combinations and each dog was cuter than the last…it was hard to pick a favourite.

Holly finished up her lovely Wistful quilt top by Villa Rosa Designs using a great mix of Winter/Christmas fabrics. This is one of those patterns that works so well with any colour combination. As a matter of fact, the Twisted Stitchers had this quilt as one of the raffle quilts for their last quilt show. Kate put together the blocks for this stunning machine embroidered Feathered Star quilt by HoopSisters. The dark background really allows the brightly coloured stars to stand out. In between working with her sister, Diane, to keep us all entertained and well taken care of, Doreen was actually able to put this quilt top together. Her Maple Cabin quilt incorporates all the beautiful colours of our wonderful Canadian autumn.

This retreat is so near and dear to our hearts that we were saddened to hear that after 14 years of organizing and running this special retreat that Diane and Doreen decided to retire from doing so. As you can imagine, we were sorry to hear that, but in the next thought so thankful that they had done it for so long and made each and every retreat so memorable. Each year they made something special for each of the attendees, surprised us with little gifts at our sewing machines while we were at meals, and organized many games and lively auctions. You ladies have no idea how much it was appreciated by each and every one of us there.

They said that if anyone else wanted to continue with the Material Girls tradition to let them know and they would pass the torch. We were all thrilled when Donna C said she would step up and do it, with a few of us offering to help out. It’s amazing that the tradition can continue with our new head honcho…thanks, Donna! Maybe now Diane and Doreen can come as regular attendees and actually get some sewing done! We can’t wait for next year with this amazing group of women.

*** It is with great sadness that we learned of the sudden passing of our fellow Material Girl, Fran (shown in the photo at the top of the page), only a few days after returning home from this retreat. We will miss her terribly.

RIP Fran

1954-2024

Community, PersonalSharon GalnaOctober 5, 2024retreat, quilters retreat, quilt retreat, quilting2 Comments