Our Retreat and Funky Houses

Every year our PTA group goes on a retreat to Lake Logan in Waynesville, NC; this is our third year and it seems to get better each time. We usually go in January to fight the winter blues, but this year we were postponed because of snow. We were disappointed back then, but NOW, yes NOW it starts tomorrow. We arrive at 9:30, have coffee and donuts in the community room and claim our spot for the next 3 days. Being creatures of habit, we usually go the spot we were at the year before. We rent this big room during the day for sewing, talking, eating, doing "easy" aerobics, and other fun stuff. We have our meals cooked for us in the dining hall and rent a house where it's one big pajama party. We're always clammering for a no brainer type project so we can talk, eat, laugh and sew all at the same time! I've been wanting to do a "house" quilt for some time - silly houses that incorporate photos with fabric.  So here's a preview of a few of the little houses I've put together. This has been one of the silliest and most fun things I've done in a long time. This is one of the tinier houses - commercial fabric on roof combined with a photo I took of a door;  I do like the combination.

This next little house used the same commercial fabric in the main part of the house

and a picture of an opening became the "door" to the house.

A birdhouse in our yard has a great big rusty nail in the front

which will become a doorknob. This next little animal house (maybe a dog, maybe something more ferocious...) still needs a pair of eyes. It was made from a photo of the siding of a barn from my friend Dorts property.

and some wonderful textured cement for the roof.

All the photos were manipulated in Photoshop Elements. It was such fun using them in unconventional ways. So this is what I'll be sewing on while I'm eating, laughing and talking also. I have more blocks to share but will have to wait on those.

Have a wonderful week.