Quilt Retreat 2016 - Colcha Fiesta!!

All of us with the mariachi band!! (Missing a few ladies who came later)

We had our 19th annual family Quilt Retreat last weekend. Every year me and my sisters get together with our daughters and daughter-in-laws for a weekend to quilt. We had a great turnout this year (about 32 quilters) and had such a fun time! The theme this year was Colcha Fiesta (Quilt Party)!

For the registration packet, we had mini piñatas stuffed with candy, mustaches, pencils, and the itinerary. There were festive cookies as they came in, and a special surprise -- a real live mariachi band!! We wanted the band to be playing to greet our family as they arrived, but most people were early (!) so we just had the band come and entertain us while we set up our sewing machines. It was the perfectly way to get the party started!

The Mariachi Band

Since my sister Margaret and I were in charge this year, the project we worked on was my Star Dance quilt pattern. We did an optional block exchange, so anyone who wanted to participate could bring their pre-cut squares to retreat and we cut the white background for them. We spent a few days sewing and then we had our exchange the last day. Everyone did their own thing, so we had table runners, wall hangings, and full-size quilts--all different and unique.  Not everyone participated in the exchange; some just brought their own fabric, some worked on their own projects and some just came to chat.

The first night of our retreat, we always have a trunk show where anyone can show off what they've worked on throughout the year. It's always fun to see what people have to share! We also taught mini classes throughout the retreat; a hexi class, carseat cover, backpack class, and a fun how-to-make-delicious-churros class!

Students in the hexi class

We played a few games throughout retreat, mostly so that everyone could get up and stretch and not be sitting at their machines for 3 days. We had a giant piñata filled with quilt notions and little spools of thread that had a number for the block exchange on it. Everyone had a fun time whacking it and getting their goodies when it broke open!

Before the exchange on Saturday, we were lucky enough to be able to go a quilt shop early before it opened and get focus fabric/inspiration for what colors we wanted to pick up at the exchange.  This was a fun treat! Thanks Thimbles and Threads!

The Block Exchange. So many beautiful colors!!

Because we've been doing this retreat for 19 years now, everyone is good at creating their own unique spin on our focus quilt. These are a few of the quilts that were created during retreat:

The original Star Dance quilt

And every once in a while we'll go out to eat at retreat. It's always fun to get out (to a place that can accommodate us!)