Retreat sewing project.....

Most of our time in the Amish area of PA was spent (as you have already seen) shopping the fabulous fabric shops in that area. BUT....we decided to have a sewing challenge. We were each to buy two fat quarters and then use my GO! cutter (which I'd brought with me) and those fat quarters to make something small....a candle mat....small table topper...pillow cover, etc. and cut the pieces with my GO! cutter and the dies I had there with me. I got up early the morning of our sewing day and doodled a few designs that could be made with the dies I had there. Oddly enough, three of the five of us chose the same design. (Of course, everyone could have designed their own, but two of them liked one of the designs I'd "doodled" and two did designs of their own.) Everyone loved the speed and accuracy of the GO! cutter! Here are photos of each gal's work. (Sorry that there are safety pins in many of them and batting sticking out....but they weren't yet quilted when I took the pictures.) You really need to double click on each photo to be able to appreciate the fabric choices!

Linda's (which is now a 16" pillow cover...gift for her daughter, I believe, as her daughter loves snowmen). Silly Linda was hiding here!
Prue's....which will be used in her new house (she is moving in another 10 days). Hers is also a pillow cover.Sherry's.....which looked super after quilting but I didn't get another photo of it. It is another pillow cover!Kathy's...not sewn together all the way here yet....but she tells me it is now finished and hers is a pillow cover, also.And mine....at first to be a candle mat but now will be a pillow cover, too. Notice the star point that looks like it's cut off (on the left). It actually is not cut off, but the red flower part of the yellow fabric SO closely matches the red background fabric that it just blends together at first glance. However, when you see it in person, it actually looks like the little flower is appliqued in place at the end of the point.....kind of neat-looking and you can see that if you double click on the photo. I didn't get as much of mine done that day as I was helping with the GO! cutter.....but I love the fabrics I chose and will finish it this weekend and buy a pillow form to "stuff" in this cover very soon and will enjoy this colorful addition to the pillows on my living room sofa.We had fun sewing together on this rainy day and then went out for a nice dinner together as it was our last night there. We have already booked a rental house for the same week next year. Yippee!!!! (A different house...owned by the same people.....but closer to two of the fabric stores......hmmmmmmmmm.....might be dangerous!!!)