Help me pick my Christmas present
 

Hubby asked what I would like for Christmas, which is really my anniversary (12/23, Christmas and my birthday 1/19) so I have a fairly large budget for travel and the retreat.

I have everything I want but I think I would like to go to a quilt retreat with a nationally known instructor. I am willing to stretch my horizons. I was thinking 3 days.

If you have taken a class from an instructor that you really liked, please share your experience.

Lucky tou I would ask my hubby for a 2 dollar bottle of bubble bath! LOL

You don't mention if time of year is important, so off the top of my head:

Empty Spools
http://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com/

Quilt Museum Workshops - Paducah
http://www.quiltmuseum.org/adult-workshops.html

Quilting by the Lake
http://www.quiltingbythelake.com/

Quilt Festival (Houston and other cities)
http://www.quilts.com/home/index.php
They also run a few Quilt Camps a year.

Ricky Tims runs his LaVeta retreats - I've heard rave reviews about that.
https://www.rickytims.com/retreats/retreat-info


AQS Paducah Show - class list not yet available (or any of their other shows)
http://aqsshows.com/AQSPaducah/

That's it for now. Oven timer is dinging.

Sharon Schamber Retreats
http://www.sharonschamber.com/Search...s.asp?Cat=1887

Art Quilt Tahoe
http://artquilttahoe.com/

All the above (and prior post) received great reviews from friends.
If I think of anymore, I'll post them.

Good luck choosing. ;-)

That list is PERFECT!! I see at least five classes on there. Thank you

I would go to Paducah Quilt Show for the four days. Sign up for classes, enjoy the quilts and meet quilters from all over the world. You'll love Paducah. Book your room now.

Lucky you! Any of the suggestions would certainly be great!

That would sure be MY choice!!

Lucky, lucky you. Let us know what you decide and then tell us all about it afterwards.

Paducah is great and I am going to Cincy with my GF's this spring.

I was looking for an immersion in one area. Spending a week with Ricky Tims almost one on one would intimidate me! Empty Spools sounds great but I dont have a whole week with travel time and cost. I thought thread play sounded interesting to explore, Ranae Merrill, Schamber, Karen Stone plus there was a class on curves.

So I have enough money to do both the Karen Stone in March AND the Sharon Schamber in July at the Paducah Museum seminars. Schamber is the one I really want to see since I dont FMQ. I have Merrill's book and might sign up for her online class.

Sounds like you have a plan!! Please don't forget to report back to us so we can all enjoy your trip.

I was lucky enough to go to Paducah last year. It's wonderful!

Definitely mine too!

My dream vacation...all right in Paducah! Someday!

Go to a Judy Neimeyer retreat! I can see from your avatar you are a fan.

I spent a week at this quilt camp in 2010: http://www.quilting-adventures.com/

I took a class with Marsha McCloskey. Everything about it was wonderful. Nice rooms, three meals a day, small class size, lots of individual instruction, and intense learning with the opportunity to quilt from dawn to the wee hours if you wanted.

What I learned was life changing. I hadn't finished a quilt before I took this camp. There were also quilt teachers taking the camp in the same classroom. We were all happy with the content of the camp. Many people make it their annual vacation. I'd love to go back again sometime.

Bonnie Hunter. You will learn so much from her classes.

Wow....what a decision!!! I'd do the cruise...maybe Ireland!!! Just saw that in a magazine and drooled so much had
to throw it away...

There is no experience that can compare with Empty Spools. You spend time with incredible teachers ar a place that is close to heaven as I've seen. You will not regret it!

If I had an offer like yours, I would want to take a class (or two) at the John C. Campbell Folk School in the North Carolina mountains. I have not been yet but it is a goal for me. And maybe your husband could go if he found a class he would like to take also? You can view a catalog on their website: https://www.folkschool.org// The surroundings are beautiful. Classes are offered throughout the year so you could go in whatever season you wish. The types of classes offered are so diverse that I cannot help but think that everyone could find one they would like to take. OK, just my opinion .... but now I am sad because I cannot go yet. Have fun wherever you chose to go.

does anyone know if there are quilt retreats on Long Island?

Ricki timms is coming to Rochester Michigan the first weekend in May. PM me if you would like more info. Also with him will be Alex Anderson and Libbey Lehman. I'm not sure where you are at in Illinois but the event is 2 1/2 days. Our guild I belong to is putting a group together and you get a cheaper price that way. Let me know.

You're not far from Paducah, so I agree with everyone else. Been there, and the classes are great. If you can take Sally Collins' workshop on Precision Machine Piecing, don't pass it up! It is, hands down, the most useful class I have ever taken. Get her book on the subject, too.

Hi seamstome - was just browsing through the Main section and I came across you "Help me"I noticed your picture under Super Member. It is just lovely. Could you tell me what the name of the pattern is and if it is finished in a circle. I'm looking for a pattern for a round table and thought that might work. Thanks. Marge

Follow up. I selected the Sharon Schamber workshop at the Quilt Museum in July. It was nothing like I thought it would be but it was very good. I thought it would be more hands on but it was more lecture and theory and so many practical hints. I really enjoyed it and I am still thinking about concepts that she talked about weeks later. Sharon is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge. Everything from how needles work and fabric grain to the dynamics of color and quilting in the visual aspect of the quilt. Plus the women in the room were very very talented. I could have just chatted with them the whole time and learned a lot. There were about 20 of us.

If you ever have a chance to take a workshop at the Museum, do it. They were very accommodating and the class room is wonderful. Plus it really was not that expensive. There was 20 hours of class time and it was 375 plus they gave you a goodie bag, munchies and you could spend as much time in the museum as you wanted while you were there.

I think I will opt for the same concept for Christmas/birthday this year.