Over the Rainbow Quilt Retreat

Oh my gosh you guys!  I had such an amazing time at my retreat!  It was such a wonderful setting and has so much potential to make it whatever kind of retreat you want it to be.

Jacque and I had a fantastic drive up to Seattle from Portland.  We had a fairly early start (not too early because most shops didn't open until 10am, so we had time to get a workout and coffee in before we left).  Our first stop was not even far from our starting point.  We stopped at Sorella Farm Inc.  A darling little shop with a fabulous discount rack where I found a few very nice pieces.

We had a few stops along the way, one of the unexpected best stops was Momma Made It in Longview, WA.  The shop was not my usual taste in fabric.  They had a lot of Civil War prints and the place was very warm and cozy.  I could see any of these fabrics in a nice cabin with a wood stove with a cup of strong coffee or tea.  Isn't it amazing the images certain fabrics evoke?  The shop inspired me to change my Holiday Sweet Treat pattern for the 12 Days of Christmas in July from a bright wall hanging to a muted, rustic version and it turned out great!  You can see that HERE. The pattern for it will be coming soon in my Craftsy shop.

We did make a few more non-quilty stops along the way.  The Ewe and I shop had some fabulous wool for my newest addiction.  And the Sandstone Distillery in Tenino was one of our favorite stops. If you get the opportunity, I would definitely check them out.  The tour was fun, the people friendly, and the drinks were out of this world!

After taking our time getting there (obviously :) ), we arrived at the retreat just moments before dark.  We managed to get our car unloaded with barely enough light left in the sky.  But that is ok, because we were exhausted and didn't plan on sewing anything that night anyway. We introduced ourselves to the other small group that was there and they had decided to take the 2 smaller sewing rooms on the upper level.  Now, when I say small, I don't really mean small.  There was plenty of room for five of them to sew in one and have the connecting room to spread out, then there was another room across the hall for their ironing and cutting.  They also claimed the upstairs bedrooms and kitchen.  Which was fine with us this time around.  We had the lower level all to ourselves.  It included the HUGE sewing space that had small design boards at each table, plus a few larger ones around the room.  Lamps and tabletop outlets were at each table.  A large TV, cutting tables, ironing boards with comfort mats under your feet made this room a dream sewing space.

I can say I will absolutely be going to a retreat here again...and again...and again.  Anyone want to go with me?  :)

I can't believe I forgot to get a photo of the huge sewing room.

One of the many upstairs bedrooms.  So cute!

The main upstairs living area off the kitchen.

That same living area but from the upper level.

One of the smaller bedrooms.

A lower level room with all kinds of fabric for sale as well as some other things to buy/rent or just chill.

The downstairs room that we stayed in.

There will little spaces like this all over.  Great area for those phone calls or just some quiet time.  The shelf was full of quilting books and magazines.  There were board games around too.

A view of the two "smaller" sewing rooms. Great light.

View from the upper deck.

Lovely bathtub.