May Mester, Judy Neimeyer, and UFO'S!!

 Mark these dates on your 2022 calendar!!  

MAY 18 - 22, 2022!!

These are the dates of our quilt retreat that will be the first time in a while we have tried having a dual retreat. One building will be for 'Sit and Sew' UFO projects and the other will be featuring a Certified Judy Niemeyer instructor, Elsa Neubauer, for 3 full days of instruction! More on that in a minute.

One building will be our usual 'Bring your own projects' type of set up. You can bring out all of those UFO's that you started in 2020/2021 and work to finish a few. Or, you can start something new and exciting. Start sewing on Wednesday evening and sew until you leave Sunday after brunch!! You will be working independently but will have others with you that have many different levels of quilting skill from beginner to seasoned professional. You will be sewing in a sharing environment where if you need some help or an opinion they will be readily available.  We all learn so much from each other. Especially during retreat time. I will furnish your ironing surfaces and ample cutting surfaces. You will have a full 6 foot table to use all to yourself. 

The class for the Judy Niemeyer quilts will be a closed class where those attending will have the full attention of our Certified Instructor. She will not be available for those attending the UFO side of the retreat. 

I am looking forward to introducing the 'Frayed Knots' to Elsa Neubauer, Certified Instructor for Judy Niemeyer and Quiltworx. 

For 3 full days!!! That's right!! We will start our class on Thursday morning and you will have 6 hours of instruction each day!! That is on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!!! Your evenings can be used to work on your Niemeyer projects or something else that you might like to use to 'clear your brain'. The choice is yours. 

Elsa will guide us through the different techniques of many of the Quiltworx patterns. Those that you have had in project boxes that are partially finished, this is the time to pull them out and get excited about finishing them up. I know I have 2 or 3 that I need help 'finding' a starting point again. If you are new to these quilts, Elsa has a good number of 'beginner' quilts that she will be glad to use to introduce you to Judy's process of quiltmaking. 

I will furnish ample cutting and ironing areas for the group to use. You will have a full 6 foot table, so plenty of area to spread out and work. 

Here are just a couple of the recommended beginner projects. There will be more.

The whole weekend will be full of fun and laughter. Friends and fabric. Great Gravatt food and just an all around fantastic experience. 

In the evenings we will share stories and quilts that we have made. Everyone will get to meet and be with everyone else attending for the weekend. Elsa will present  a trunk show for all of us to enjoy. I'm sure I can come up with a surprise or maybe even 2.......as most of you know, you can never tell what I might come up with. 

And yes, there will be massage available. There are those of us that will really need some attention from our Licensed Massage Therapist. 

So, mark your calendars. Start planning what you will stitch on. Get your registrations in early. 

Once you have registered, Elsa will be available to assist in your choice of patterns for the Niemeyer group. We will also need to know, in advance, what pattern(s) you will be working on so that Elsa be up to date with instruction for those projects. 

Due to the need to plan patterns and fabrics for the Judy Niemeyer class, you will be allowed to register earlier than usual. Fees will be published by the first of November 2021 and we will start registration. The retreat fee for those taking the Judy Niemeyer class will be different than for those doing 'sit and sew'. This would make a great Christmas gift and I do sell gift certificates.

So, watch the facebook page. Check your email. Watch the blog!! If I don't have a current email address for you, send me your new one to 630p@bellsouth.net  (remove all of the spaces in the address). 

Please be aware that I will also be registering for November and February retreats at the same time, so things could get a little confusing. I'll do my best to keep all of this straight!

That's it for now. There will be more to come in the next few weeks. I am so excited to be able to offer this to everyone and I look forward to seeing some new 'Judy fanatics' becoming 'Frayed Knots'.