Sew South Recap

Holy cow, it's been almost a whole month since I went to Sew South! I quit my job on April 10, went to Sew South April 16-19, Mid Atlantic Mod the weekend after, and then started my new job April 27... so, needless to say, things have been in flux around here lately.

It was a rainy 6.5 hour drive from MD to NC!

Sew South is a quilting retreat hosted by Jennifer of Ellison Lane, held in Charlotte, NC. I was lucky enough to get a ticket this year, and I'm so glad I did!

I actually managed to pack a reasonable amount of projects. DCMQG represent! :)

The structure of Sew South is a little bit different than Mid-Atlantic Mod (2014 recap, 2015 recap coming soon!) After a longer-than-expected drive, I arrived right in time for the welcome reception. I had time to settle in between the reception and the opening of the sewing room at 8 pm, and boy did I need the down-time to get my stuff organized and to relax after the long drive.

The ballroom!

On Friday and Saturday mornings the sewing room opened at 8am, and there was a group workshop each day. In the afternoons and evenings there was free sewing time with various activities sprinkled in.

On Friday, the ladies from Sew South Sponsor, Dritz taught us how to make fabric covered rope bracelets.

My finished wallet that I use every day.

All the pretty wallets!

After the Dritz workshop, Jennifer walked us through constructing awesome wallets (yet-to-be-released pattern by Lindsey Rhodes).

On Saturday, Amy Gibson (from Stitchery Dickory Dock and the Craftsy BOM) came all the way from Colorado to talk to us about her new book, and teach us a nifty applique Drunkard's Path technique. I chose not to participate in the mini-quilt project, but it was so much fun to hear Amy speak, and to meet her in person, she's adorable!

My biggest achievement of the weekend was piecing the x-plus quilt top that I have been working on for years! All the ladies were so encouraging and the round of applause after the last seam was sewn was a reward in itself.

Jennifer had lots of other activities including Secret Sister (more later), a Fabric Basket swap, the Fat Quarter Game (based on LRC rules), get-to-know-you games, charity sewing for  and door prizes of course. I had so much fun I barely took any pictures, but you can see them all in the full recap.

my table-mates: Heather, Lori, Jonan, and me!

It was so amazing meeting old (internet) friends, and new. I was lucky enough to be at a table with Lori Hartman, Heather of The Sewing Loft, and Heather's mom, Jonan who was a riot!

My awesome Roomie and bee-mate, Laurel!

I roomed with my long-time #GraceCircle bee-mate Laurel (who was also my Secret Sister). I can't wait to go to Sew South again in the future. :)

Oh, and while I was in NC, I couldn't resist going out to the local BBQ joint, R&R Bar-B-Que... it was amazing!

best Hush Puppies I've ever had.