Success!

As I mentioned before, I hosted a retreat this weekend in my home/studio. I was experimenting with a "style" of retreat, and I think it was a success!

We were very fortunate that a local group was having their quilt show this weekend, so Friday we took a road trip and headed there! This was probably one of my favorite pieces I saw there:

Of course shopping filled some of our time, I found the most delightful stencil at Blick Art:

 At Millend I was able to get some dupioni silks I've been wanted - at 50% off!

A stop at at The Sampler garnered me the green batiks I need. I was shocked to realize I had only teal grees and chartreuse greens in my stash - and a current project is demanding green-greens!

It doesn't hurt that we are starting to hit our peak leaf time here in Minnesota, and everything screams Autumn! right now:

My late nights were filled with crawling into bed exhausted but still wired with inspiration, so I would sketch until I simply could not sit up anymore:

In the end, two (almost three) Quilts of Valor tops were assembled, a table top finished and ready for quilting, multiple pattern designs were created, a new technique (still in the planning/video/print stages) was put together, new tools were experimented wiht, ideas came up and were written down and everyone went away from the weekend with new experiences and buzzing with inspiration, ideas and new goals!

 

One of the things I was very excited about was sharing information about portfolios. As a graphic designer, a portfolio was a given. As a fiber artist however, I had been lax about keeping one. So a big focus was on portfolios; construction, content, purpose and using them. This also entailed a half day devoted to photography of pieces for use in a portfolio.

I have had many people inquire about future retreats at The Fiber Nation, and I would me more than happy to host them! I am currently still working out the details that I will post in the near future. Until then, should you be interested you can email me at thefibernation@gmail.com with any questions or requests for retreats you may have. The studio/home is located in Eden Prairie, MN and is within 10 miles of the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. Accommodations are available for up to 6-8 people.