Postcards from Canada

It has been a busy couple of weeks since we had the Sisters Quilt Retreat and I have finally found a few minutes to tell about it. We had a great time! Lots of time to talk and laugh and quilt and knit and shop hop and sight see and......well you get the picture. The time just flew by and each day brought something fun and new to do. Gayle and I drove up on Saturday, July 19th, her birthday. We thought the 12 hours would really drag but because we really don't get to see each other very often we talked the whole way and before we knew it we were pulling in Kaye's driveway in Lethbridge. We were so excited to be together! Kaye had our rooms ready and even had a mint on our pillows! We each had our own room (thanks Eric!) and I felt so pampered.

On monday the Retreat officially began and we each presented our projects. We decided when we would work on each of them and planned out the week. Kaye had some great ideas on places to see. I was so happy we were together and that I could have a whole week of sisters and quilting that I was up for anything and everything!

There is so much to tell that I have decided to tell about one project per blog and post a picture of the finished project.

My project was quilted postcards. I thought it would be fun to send some postcards home from Canada. This is something that has been popular for a few years and I never really thought I would ever do them but I felt like this was a good opportunity to try them. I bought a couple of books and even practiced a little. I was surprised at how easy they really are. According to the books you can really send them in the mail if they are only 1/8 inch thick. They suggest that you have them hand canceled at the Post Office. We forgot to do that on the two we mailed but they made it home just fine. The hard part was deciding what fabric to take so that we had a variety of things to choose from. I took a LOT of fabric and had to endure some good natured teasing about it but I think it was fun to have many choices. Here are some pics.

This is the practice postcard I made at home. You can't see them very well but there is a crystal on each of the bows.

This is the postcard Kaye made for our mom. Really cute buttons! We didn't mail this one because of the buttons. We just brought it home and gave it to her.

I made this one for my daughter Emily and mailed it from Canada. It arrived in the mail with Vanessa's about ten days after I mailed it. She performed in the Wizard of Oz at her high school this year.

I made this for my daughter Vanessa and mailed it from Canada also. She has a cat named Pre.

This is the back of Vanessa's postcard. You can see where it went through the machine and the postage was canceled. Cool!

Gayle made a couple of really cute postcards for her granddaughters and started some others for her grandsons. Kaye made a really pretty one for her daughter's friend that took care of their house and garden when they came to Utah.

I'm so glad we decided to do this and made it happen. I know it will become one of my fondest memories. Thanks for all of your hard work, Kaye, and for hosting the First Annual Sisters Quilt Retreat! I hope we can do it again next year.