Everyone Went on Vacation and Left Me Home Alone!

A Thimbleberries Table!

Well, not exactly, but it feels like it! Thank goodness for all you bloggers keeping me company.

I've mentioned before that I'm a member of an online Thimbleberries group, and Main Street Cotton Shop's yearly retreat began today. If you're a Thimbleberries fan, going to MSCS's retreat is a little like making an annual pilgrimage. I attended the retreat two years ago and had a blast! I know we talk about our "imaginary friends," but I actually got to meet many of our group members at that retreat, and I felt as though I had known them forever--they were all just what I thought they would be like.

MSCS is located downstairs from Lynette Jensen's Thimbleberries studio, and Lynette and some of her other designers, like Jean Lepper, teach the various classes. There are several "events" as well. This year they have a Mr. Halloween's Party (named after the Halloween fabric line) and all the attendees had to make aprons to wear. The year I attended, we were able to tour Lynette's house and studio one evening, and on another night, there was a harvest fair with lots of games and prizes. We also attended show-and-tell and got to see some of the upcoming Thimbleberries quilts and projects.

Our online group is awfully quiet right now since a number of the members have made the trek to Hutchinson, Minnesota, for this year's retreat. I'm particularly envious of Patty and Kristie, who arrived on Friday and have spent the last couple days visiting as many quilt shops as they could in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and any other neighboring states they could get to. Kristie, I think, is posting her experiences on her blog; at least I know she had a post there about her arrival in Minnesota.

Patty e-mailed our group and said her favorite shop so far was Primitive Gatherings in Menasha, Wisconsin. The owner of the shop, Lisa Bongean, is a quilt designer. If you read "Screen Door's" blog, then you'll be familiar with at least one of Bongean's patterns, Primitive Garden. Patty said that Bongean has bleached blonde hair with purple streaks--which really struck me as funny given her primitive/traditional leanings in her designs. Good for her, though! I think we need to break that stereotypical image of a quilter, don't you? Maybe I'll add purple streaks to my hair on my next Day of Beauty. I'm sure I can't look any worse!

Oh, and speaking of Thimbleberries, some of you commented on the fabrics and colors in the leaf quilt I'm working on--those are all Thimbleberries fabrics that I've collected over the years. I used some of my larger scrap pieces to make the blocks. My husband is a big fan of purple, but my decorating doesn't really lend itself to purple quilts, so this is a bit of a compromise with him in mind--there's purple there, but it's mixed in with other colors that DO belong in my home.

I have about half the leaf quilt quilted and ran out of my first spool of thread so I've ordered more--I'm not sure the remaining spool I have is enough to finish it. I think having it quilted by this weekend is "doable," assuming more thread arrives in time. Oh, and that's assuming my shoulders and arms don't give out--a very real possibility! Thank you all for visiting and leaving comments for me--I don't feel quite so lonely with so many other friends at the retreat, since I know you're there!