Quilt retreat near chicago

A trip to the Double Dutch Manor quilt retreat a couple of weeks ago for Paige was exactly what she needed to refresh her creative spirit.

Double Dutch was a terrific hostess. They provide all of your meals, so no cleanup. You can just get right back to your sewing!

Located just 50 miles outside of Chicago and near major highways, makes it easily reachable for people coming from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
They have the cutest rooms too! I love the blue one, called Old Dutch.

And plenty to do in the area too. The local quilt shop, Prairie Stitches Quilt Shoppe in Oswego, gave out $25 gift cards. Because every quilter needs more fabric, right?!

Paige finished up several projects, including a couple of Sophie Bags.
I actually thought of stealing this one when I photographed it. I’m in love!

What did she spend her $25.00 gift card on? Zippers! And what did she make with those zippers?
Diddy Bags

Wendy worked on a few baby blankets & napkins using our tutorial.

Friends, food and sewing projects. What more could she ask for!

I did not attend the weekend of fun but I did manage to accomplish a few things.

I made this handy dandy bunk bed caddy. I really thought a kid would like it since they usually just toss all of the toys under the bed. This is beneficial for mom and child! I used Riley Blake’s Geekly Chic Records. But I had to wonder…does a nine year old even know what a record is? Lol! We are down to the last yard of the record fabric. So get yours while you can!

Mine was inspired by a tutorial found here. I added fusible interfacing to all the parts and didn’t bind mine but instead turned in the sides and top stitched.

Finally a project to use my buttonhole attachment for! Look for a buttonhole tutorial coming soon….

A Minky Blankie for a Build A Bear using our tutorial. Easy peasy! I had planned on making ‘Minty’s‘ clothes too, but happily found out that the newborn size at Target fits just right and at only about $8/outfit!

And I made Daisy a new dog harness. Cause she chewed through her last one darn it! But even though she did that, it still lasted longer than the one I had bought at Petsmart.

I’ve been making the harness and leashes since she was a pup. The hardware is a much better quality than the store bought ones and I can customize them for each holiday if I wanted. They take about an hour to make. Pretty simple. The only hard part is sewing around the hardware.