TAKE CLASSES WITH ME!

 Here is a quick look at where I will be teaching through the end of this year.

June 27, 2026--Lecture "A QUILTER'S LAST WILL AND TESTMENT--AKA YOUR KIDS DON'T WANT YOUR STUFF" Things we should be doing now to help our family when the inevitable happens

Colorado Quilting Council General Meeting, 10 am, St Phillip Lutheran Church, Littleton, CO

June 28, 2026--Workshop OH MY STARS! 9-4, Above and Beyond Sewing and Vacuum, Littleton CO 

See the guild website here: Colorado Quilting Council

OH MY STARS

September 29-October 4, 2026--FALL RETREATERS, Hilton Garden Inn, Livermore, CA

Early sew days are September 29-30, Classes October 1-2. 

I am teaching OH MY STARS October 1 and THE VILLAGE October 2. During the two Early Sew days I will be working on the 2027 Block of the Month FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE--see some of the amazing things you will learn in 2027. 

The Village

Alex Anderson will be a special attendee!

Contact Debbie Stephens by phone or email NOW to register:

October 20-21, 2026--Loose Threads Quilters, Spring City, PA. Tuesday October 20 is a full day workshop, still waiting to see which great class they pick. 

Wednesday October 21, Lecture "TIME MANAGEMENT FOR QUILTERS", 9:30 am.  First United Church of Christ, 145 Chestnut Street, Spring City, PA 19475

See the guild website here: Loose Threads Quilters

November 11-14, 2026  International Quilt Festival Houston. 

Wednesday November 11: Class OH MY STARS, 9-5:

Enrollment will open in mid-July: Quilt Festival Houston

LECTURES: 

Thursday November 12: HOW TO MAKE A WINNING QUILT, 11:30 am

 Friday November 13: TIME MANAGEMENT FOR QUILTERS, 4:30 pm

You can pay at the door for Lectures, no pre-enrollment required.

In 2027 there will be big changes: I am cutting back on travel. The plan is to teach at special events like EMPTY SPOOLS SEMINARS. Registration opened June 20, 2026 for the 2027 Sessions.

My class FULL CIRCLE filled quickly a few years ago when I taught it there. Don't miss what is likely to be your last opportunity to join me for this class.

FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 5, 2027:

Shows like HOUSTON, PADUCAH, and others like that are where I hope to concentrate my teaching time. And another few CRUISES are in the works. 

In 2027 I will be teaching/assisting Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson with the 2027 BOM: FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE. I am learning things as I make this quilt and you will too. It starts in January 2027; look for TIPS and HOW TO GET READY in November. THE QUILT SHOW with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims

The BIG NEWS is my JOYFUL JOURNEY RETREAT, #7, is back. MARCH 31-APRIL 4, 2027,  Red Rooster Retreat Center,  Crane Hill, AL. Not just a free sew retreat, this EVENT aims to build friendships, offer TEACHABLE MOMENTS, and make it worth your time to participate. Contact me directly for more information--or to be added to the waitlist--we are almost full. bbquiltmaker AT gmail--you know the rest. 

Locally, I hope to offer more classes here so I can sleep in my own bed and have more time to make my BUCKET LIST quilts.

I love teaching and hope to continue to share my knowledge with you.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

MY JOYFUL JOURNEY RETREAT #6

 After much preparation and planning, the recent Joyful Journey Retreat #6 is over. It was very successful, with 16 happy attendees, Wednesday to Sunday:

Red Rooster Retreat Center is in Crane Hill, AL, about an hour and a half from my home. Good GPS helps to find it:

You know you are there when you see the Red Rooster:

Here are the best things about a Retreat:

1. The FRIENDS--6 new quilters joined us this time and immediately felt welcome and part of the "Tribe". New friendships were formed. Old friendships were renewed.

2. The FOOD: any meal I don't have to plan, prepare, serve and clean up is a great meal to me. Just a few of the meals I indulged in:

At home, I might have one glass of wine a week. Here I drank the bottle--with a good bit of Sprite to offset the not-sweet-enough-for-me bottle I brought. No rotary cutting after imbibing...

The Menu board was fun to read in line for our meals

Chicken Broccoli Cheese in a delicious dough

Chicken Chimichanga with all the usual fixings for Mexican night

Breakfast--my favorite meal of any day

TRUTH: I came home up 8 pounds--thanks in part to dessert at every meal, which I rarely have. And I ate my weight in homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies that were worth every calorie--thanks, Kathy and Sue! It took 5 days at home, back on track, to get rid of those pounds.

I did power walk every day. The terrain is very hilly, and really steep in several places. An hour and a half of Hill Work, had me burning lots of calories. The day I did the most hill work my fitness app said I climbed 47 flights of stairs--most days it was 30 flights.

The first day was chilly so I was bundled up:

3. For me, the TEACHING. I want to spend my days teaching what I have learned as a quiltmaker over 40 years to those who want to learn. Most of the attendees opted to learn to make the Lone Star from the pattern Oh My Stars, completely optional. We spent the first full day on that and everyone got a star done:

My big one, 97" square, still working on the binding--Kris can attest it's heavy!

My small sample-- enough to learn the block. We also did an optional Tiny Star Swap, each of us got 60 stars to use as we choose later

Student Stars after day One--great job, everyone!

4. For everyone, the TIME AWAY from our usual daily duties to just be creative. The rest of the week everyone kept "pedal to the metal", getting projects done or farther along. Here are just a few of projects that we got to enjoy:

Suzie is working on English Paper Piecing, which she claims not to enjoy...

But she kept going--many of these little blocks were done. The book is Alice's Wonderland Sampler Quilt

Lori attended her first Retreat ever and was the first to hang a quilt over the rail--Two For One she started last year in a class I taught locally--I am teaching this next week in Austin TX and the week after at Empty Spools Seminar in CA

Cyndi's quilt inspired by Laurel Ridge just blows me away! 

Julie got her star done

Julie finished her version of Charming Sampler, the quilt I designed and taught at our FIRST retreat, March 2020. It has become one of my most popular workshops chosen by guilds all over

Julie really worked hard to get the first Quadrant of Full Circle done--this I taught to 6 willing "testers" at our Retreat in 2023. She is designing a lot of the arcs with a Pittsburgh theme--can you see the 3 Bridges that cross the 3 Rivers in Pittsburgh? Amazing work!

Glenda was the newest quilter. She chose to learn how to set in the star with Y seams when everyone else learned the "easy" way. 

Glenda also wanted to learn to bind a quilt herself. And so she did!

Janey, Suzie, Cheryl

Conna worked on a long time project--only borders left to go!

Sue made this for an Air Force Veteran--the rank insignia and the name tags are from the veteran's uniforms--sure to be a well-loved gift!

                                                 

I tried to get photos of everyone:

Cyndi, Kathy, Lori, Sue

Susan, Beverly, Suzie, Maureen

Lisa got her star done!

Cheryl was at our first Retreat in 2020 then family life stepped in. I was thrilled to have her back. Here is the photo we got this year and at the first retreat.  We have held up well!

The Over the Railing shot:

All in all, it was a great 5 days. Lots of laughter, learning and love. Plans for next year are fluid at the moment. These wonderful women will get first chance of signing up for the next Retreat. And the waitlist is growing for any spots that may open. Who wouldn't want to escape from the day-to-day to sew to your heart's content?!

Let's quilt.

Barbara

My Joyful Journey Retreat #5

 For 5 years I have hosted a Retreat at the Red Rooster Retreat Center in Crane Hill, AL. This year I missed it because my flight home from EMPTY SPOOLS SEMINAR was canceled due to weather. I got stuck for two extra nights in Dallas.

So the SECRET PLAN to have me surprise everyone by showing up unexpectedly was for naught. 

But it looks like they had a great time. These photos were shared with me. And we did FACETIME  a couple times. Enjoy!

Conna

One part of the room

Cyndi

Julie

Kathy--who makes everything run smoothly

The other part of the room

Pam's quilt, I think

Pick a Petal--definitely not Australian fabrics

Pick a Petal--bright

Sally telling Julie something important

Sally

Suzie

Kathy 

Suzie and Victoria

Victoria

First timer Sandy

Mandatory Group shot on the Stairs

First timer Suzanne

Janey

Sue 

First Timer Sandra  

Instead of the usual "20 Questions"  asked at meals, this year everyone was asked to provide a Tip, or great idea. Then they were added to the "What I Learned" board. AND someone is always listening, so there was a "What I Heard" section too:

What I Heard and What I Learned Board

Since I wasn't there, there are NO pictures of FOOD! Suffice it to say the food was great and everyone had plenty to eat, including goodies brought to share.

In September all those who attended this year get a week's advance notice to sign up for next year's amazing event: March 5-9, 2025. If there are openings after that, I start working my WAITLIST.  If you would like to be added to the Waitlist, just let me know. Several of these women have been at all 5 and wouldn't miss it. We had 3 newbies this year who have already said they want to come back. 

Who wouldn't want to spend 5 days with smart, funny, creative, happy women? And have all your meals provided too!! Makeup free zone, stay in pj's all day if you like. It's just the BEST!  So sorry I missed it.

Let's quilt.

Barbara