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My sister Holly and I were lucky enough to attend the first Makerie Sewing retreat this weekend. It was a lovely experience, both a privilege to meet and work with some of my crafting idols (Heather Jones, Cal Patch, Amy Butler and Jenny Hart) and to spend many days on vacation with my sister.

holly at chautauqua

We caught Chautauqua at a gorgeous time – it had just received a spring snow but was lovely and sunny. We stayed in a cottage on the property, which was a cozy space for a getaway.

I learned a lot from the weekend, and I would like to share those thoughts with you through a series of blog posts!

Modern quilter Heather Jones was the #1 reason why I wanted to attend the Makerie. Her clean designs and color sense have inspired my own view of fabric, quilting and other crafts. She taught an improv piecing class at the Makerie, where I learned how to free my mind around the lines and form of quilt blocks:

Heather Jones at the makerieWe worked on a mini quilt project with small scraps – smaller than I ever really imagined using in a project (let’s just say, it’s going to be hard to throw away scraps ever again).

The process of improv piecing helped loosen my strict sense of line and pattern in quilting. Freeing the mind like this provides greater creative breadth. I’m excited to play with my scraps much more to create new forms and combinations of color and pattern.

Moreso, Heather is a warm and kind person, and I truly enjoyed learning from her and then also working with her in Amy Butler’s color class (more on that in a later post). It was just so much fun to be a part of her community, even just for a weekend! Here are some fun photos us:

buffalo attacks

me and Heather

~ Kristina