North Shore Quilt Retreat

Our destination is a cabin in the woods that overlooks one of the many interior Minnesota lakes. As you drive up the North Shore the wildflowers grow abundantly along the roadside with the vibrant blue of Lake Superior peeking through the birch trees inviting you to take a deep breath of the fragrant fresh air and just relax.

For me it calms my senses and opens up my mind to think creatively. The vastness of the lake, endless forest of every shade of green and to end the day, with clear skies the Milky Way and millions of stars are visible. It opens my mind to the idea that anything is possible. It is a big world out there and it inspires me to try new things especially when it comes to quilting and sewing. There is so much we tend to miss our hectic busy lives. This is a week to slow down, savor life, find inspiration and enjoy the process of creating.

Last year we picked some wildflowers along the driveway to the cabin and experimented with pounding the flowers between muslin. It was fun to see the shapes and color of these simple flowers forever imprinted in our art quilt along with the memories of our daily hikes. Here is a YouTube video from Globe Art Studio explaining the process of Flower Pounding on fabric.

On a particularly nice day I took advantage of the pleasant weather and the beautiful view to set up my machine to quilt on the deck. This experience took my love of sewing up a notch to be able to sew surrounded by nature. The spirit of the North Shore forever imbued within the fibers of this quilt I made for my daughter.

I actually started my quilting journey on a visit to the cabin in 2018. We planned a “Girls Trip” and I brought along a Charm Pack I had won at the recent Quilt Show featuring work from a guild in St. Louis. I also packed some fabric I had collected with a swimming/water theme with a project in mind for my son. Plans changed and with my sister's encouragement and a trip to the Quilt Corner in Beaver Bay for some additional fabric I made my very first quilt!

Which immediately led to a second quilt the same week! I was hooked! It was the perfect opportunity to learn with my sister available to help me as we could sew for hours without distractions. This definitely gave me a good foundation to build my quilting skills as I continued to try new patterns and expand my quilting interest.

Our retreat week includes very simple meals to maximize our time sewing. Since it is just the two of us it works out great. Our schedule varies depending on the weather. On the rainy days we are in full sewing mode and get very involved in our projects.

As avid quilters we are always in need of more fabric! It is fun to stop along the way and visit local quilt stores. We stopped at the Busy Bobbin in Rice Lake and bought some adorable baby fabric/panels. We always plan a day trip to Duluth to visit Hanna Johnson Fabrics to find fabric reflecting the theme of the North Shore and our new find McTavish Quilting Studio and Fabrics with a wonderful staff and a great modern fabric selection.

On our trip to Duluth we decided to have a picnic lunch at Enger Tower Park and luckily as a quilter I had my recent fabric purchase to use as an impromptu table cloth. There are so many ways to enjoy fabric in addition to making quilts. My plan is to use this fabric for a market bag to carry groceries.

Our most frequented Quilt Shop is the one closest to the cabin in Lutsen, 47 Degrees North Quilt Shop. Sylvia is very helpful and seems to always have whatever we need for our new project ideas. On one of our stops we were treated to a rare encounter with this beautiful Luna Moth, a symbol of new beginnings. With a quilter interpretation of … time to plan a new quilt or two with all this great fabric I found!

Speaking of new fabric, I found this Robert Kaufman plaid flannel paired with two panels to make a cozy winter quilt for a Christmas gift. This was a new level of fussy cutting for me to get each piece of plaid to line up the same.

On this retreat we planned to make a memory quilt using some of the plaid shirts from my dad. This Chandelier pattern was easy to cut and sew together in just two days. I used this blue Moda Fabric from Cotton Cuts as the background fabric. My sister chose to use white background, completely changing the look of the quilt top.

My most challenging quilt project that is in year three is the “Sister’s Quilt” (Posh Penelope) using the Sew Kind of Wonderful Quick Curve rulers. We each started our own quilt in 2020 and worked on it while we were in Minnesota each year. I have used an assortment of fabrics from all the different quilt shops along the way including Cotton Cuts fabric, representing my journey as I learn more about quilting. It was nice to have the time to focus and learn new skills as I worked on the blocks. I have about ten more blocks to complete to top. We hope to complete it in time for our guild show in March of 2023.

Overall we accomplished a lot! We had a great mix of buying fabric, cutting, sewing and enjoying the beautiful North Shore of Minnesota. This was a great chance to retreat from my everyday life and fill it with all of my favorite things, mainly revolving around quilting and the natural beauty that inspires me to create