More horse quilts get finished and some new projects started, hmm imagine that...smile

We are working on our quilts with a date set for our Gallapalooza party, where we will roll out all the 12 quilts in their various stages of completion.

Here in Louisville, Kentucky, where we host the Super Bowl of Horse Racing every year on the first Saturday in May, there is a fund raiser called the Gallapalooza. Life size horses are painted and auctioned off to raise money for different causes.

Our group has so many horse quilts in the cue for completion that we've decided to have our own Gallapalooza party. Here we will display most of our quilts and have a party for the unveiling.

Besides our horses, some of the ladies are finishing up quilts that belong to granddaughters and our world traveler, Shirley, is working on the Serengeti quilt after being inspired by her recent trip there.

We are still working out the date, as people are traveling and we want everyone to attend that would like to be there, but, it's sometime in May.

A Dozen horse quilts were made at the retreat!

We had our retreat at Pieceful Haven. There were 4 that spent the night, but the rest, 8, made a long day of it. We had wonderful meals prepared and ate very well, as quilters are known to do. Maybe that's why cookbooks are such a successful fund raising option.

Shirley made a quilt with the horses on a darker background which gave her horse(s) an etherial look, running out of the mist sort of.

My daughter had a special request to use retro fabrics.

Most of the ladies used the batiks. One of our new members said she didn't know if she was a quilter. I said, if you finish this then you are a quilter. This pattern gives you a great opportunity for learning multiple things for quilting, on a smaller scale.

First and for most, to me is learning to use a design wall. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to stand back and get a perspective on your piece. At Pieceful Haven, the ladies had that opportunity, because design walls were all over it. It's one thing to be looking down and start cutting and placing your fabrics for the horse, it's another to stand back, at least 10 feet for working with your design. This is true for bed quilts as well as wall hangings.

The other thing that made this retreat such as huge success was the willingness of all to share their efforts, whether it was in the fabrics we put up on the tables for all to use, or the time and effort it took to cook or clean the dishes. As we all know, these retreats don't happen by magic and I thank all who helped make this such a great time of quilting with friends and finishing, or almost finishing our quilts is a super by product.

Head em up Move em out!

Anyone remember where that saying came from? Rowdy, Gil Favor? Ring a bell? Well we'll be getting our Rawhide on at our retreat as we finish our horses. This is a class that will be taught there. This last Tuesday we had a practice exercise, using Steam a Seam Lite 2 and an applique pressing sheet, which you can also use parchment paper.

The beauty of these products and having a great retreat facility like Pieceful Haven, is using one of the many design walls on the premises, you can cut, iron and stand back and examine. Examine what you might ask? Well, you can examine your horses and see if you like how it's coming together. You can peel off the fabric and it sticks again on the fabric. Then, you can peel it off again and you can move it and it sticks.

So, come to our retreat if you like or check out the pattern Race with the Wind for making the horses yourself. What I always say is patterns are guidelines and we can make them our own style or use the techniques we like. Because quilting is such a long term activity, that you better figure out what you enjoy in the craft and that will help you make it faster and more fun.