Gwen Marston on Lopez Island

I've just returned from four days with Gwen Marston and friends on Lopez Island, Washington.

This was one of several workshops I've taken from her.  

She never fails to be witty, good natured, helpful, talented and SO much fun.  

This retreat was all about making medallion quilts.
Here's Gwen with the flimsy I made during the first two days.

This is the start of one I worked on the last two days.

Photo by Sharon Risedorph, shown with permission from Roderick Kiracofe.

The inspiration is this quilt in Roderick Kiracofe's book, QUILTS, at Blurb.com.

It's made between 1950-1975 in New Orleans by an African American quilt maker.

  

Here's Gwen showing the book, while everyone took notes about how to order it.

If you like quirky quilts like I do, you're going to want this book!

The retreat took place at this historic one room school house, set in an idyllic field. 

One day, I heard a "baa" and looked out the door to find a herd of sheep passing by!  

If you look closely, you can see a black border collie working the herd.

Our hosts were two lovely women who did everything to make sure we were all relaxed and happy.  

One has a great little quilt shop on the island.  Isn't this a fun sign?

Each day started and ended with a ferry ride from and to a friend's place on a nearby island.

And a drive past driftwood sculpture.

One morning I spotted these deer outside my bedroom window.

The last night, we all made a scarecrow for our friend's garden.  

Ah, the island life!

Sharon and Anita were also at the retreat.  It was a real treat to sew with them.  

Check their posts for photos of the participants' quilts and thoughts from Gwen.