Getting quilts done can be so exhilarating. If it's done, it means you get to move on to the next project. It means you'll want to go purchase new fabric for a future project. It means you can give it to someone special or use it yourself. I love this feeling.

So what could have been better than to give the guests at the Hen and Chicks quilt retreat that same feeling. Since the retreat was held just minutes from the APQS showroom in Des Moines, we simply moved a Millennium over to the hotel. A few tightened nuts and bolts and the guests were ready to "get 'er done." Because I was busy keeping the gals piecing and pampered in one room and the Millennium was in another room just across the hall, I needed a "personal trainer" for my guests. Who better to do the job than Dawn Cavanaugh, Director of Education at APQS. There's a reason she is in charge of teaching at APQS. Words like patient, calm, friendly, clear, creative, encouraging all come to mind. Not to mention that she's an award-winning quilter, too!

During the retreat it wasn't uncommon to see Dawn surrounded by a few eager students. As they came back into the other room there was often discussion about Dawn's lessons of design and the value of quilting.



Most of the guests had never laid hands on a long-arm quilting machine. So, Dawn started at the very beginning with each of them and allowed them to bask in the glory of finishing their own quilts. There was concentration and hard-work happening.



Upon completing a project and coming back into the piecing room, the newly taught long-arm quilter would be smiling from ear-to-ear. Energy was flowing. Happiness had been found. Here are just a few of the projects completed over the weekend.