People from Idaho don't like to take the same route both directions when driving anywhere (I even take a different path home from the grocery store than I take going to the grocery store!) Lucky for me, Casper is just about dead center in Wyoming, lending itself to a perfect circular route.
Cheyenne
DH and I left home in time to make it to Cheyenne just a few minutes after the Sierra Trading Post opened. Visiting the outlet store was DH's reward for spending the week with 200 quilters! He found me a perfect gore-tex jacket to wear when I visit Japan in February.By the time we examined every clearance rack at the outlet, we were running out of time to hit four quilt shops before Quilt Wyoming registration closed. So we raced through The Quilted Corner (great selection of western-themed fabrics!) and Around the Block Quilt Shop (wish I lived close enough to take their Little Quilts class!).
Laramie
Then on to Laramie and two of my favorite stops when I'm driving to Idaho: Snowy River Quilts (hooray, I found the last piece of pink batik I needed for my class at QW2013!) and Quilt Essentials (ever-expanding selection of Civil War Reproductions).Quilt Wyoming
If you're traveling and don't know where to eat, ask at a quilt shop! We got a recommendation for our first night's meal in Casper from the ladies at the Quilt Wyoming registration -- J's Pub and Grill. I had my first hamburger in months, and it was worth every calorie!My Thursday class was taught by Kathleen Moorhead Johnson, whom I met at the Pueblo Quilt Expo in April. What a fun teacher! We worked on "Prairie Windmills." Notice I say "worked on," not "finished." Even with our pre-class homework, I only finished one block in class.
I love the colors of this Timeless Treasures Mocha Kiss batik collection, it reminds me of my favorite ice cream: Neapolitan. I love it so much, I may pretend this is whatever number is drawn for the August UFO challenge, just so I can finish it!
Friday's class was with Margaret Miller, of "AnglePlay" fame. Our instructions were to collect multiple fabrics in two colorways. I used a stripey fabric as my color inspiration.
The design we sewed is "Easy Pieces." Easy is right -- no templates, no drawing lines from corner to corner, minimal measuring.
Here is what my 16 completed blocks look like lined up in rows:
We had so much fun playing with the layout:
That looks better. These are just the "A" blocks, I won't sew any together until I finish the "B" blocks and see how they affect the layout. I think this could be addictive!
The planning committee for Quilt Wyoming 2013 really set a high standard for future quilt retreats. Every registered attendee won a door prize, plus there were giveaways at every meal! I won a six-month subscription to Alex Anderson and Ricky Tim's "The Quilt Show." (Report to follow when I get the big-screen computer back up and running!) The dorms at Casper College were so nice, we thought they were brand new. Next year, Quilt Wyoming will be in Cheyenne -- and I'll be there!
Casper
Casper may have a population of only 55,000 or so, but they have two quilt shops.DH checked them out for me while I was in class (and yes, he bought fabric!). He reported that the Kalico Kat Quilt Shop has a genuine "shop cat." Plus an excellent selection of quilt kits. I scored a Sullivan cutting mat for a really good price at Prism Quilt & Sew.We stayed over an extra night in Casper so we could hit the last three shops on the South Circle of the 2nd Annual Wyoming Quilt/Fabric Shop Hop.
Douglas
The drive from Casper to Douglas is kind of lonely -- but you know I like being able to "see them coming!" And you can see them coming for days on that stretch of I-25! If you enjoy hunting for treasure, The Prairie Stitcher is the shop for you. Yarn and fabric -- a little bit of everything.Lusk
Lusk is a small town, but Lickety Stitch Quilts has as good a selection as many of the larger shops in Colorado. Plus, I snatched up some Aneela Hooey Sherbet Pips on clearance (apparently there will be a need for several baby quilts amongst USS George Washington families this year!).Torrington
The Doll Factory in Torrington is the place to go if you have children or grandchildren in tow. While you're admiring a good selection of fabric and yarn, they can ooh and aah over all kinds of dolls and doll paraphernalia!I only visited nine of the 35 shops in the Wyoming statewide hop. But five of them were shops I'd never visited before. I think that's worth the trip, don't you?
I still have three more quilts to finish before the end of the month, so if the blog posts are a little "thin," you'll know why!
From the desk of your
