RETREAT IN TENNESSEE--RAFFLES/CONTESTS/DRAWINGS

I recently attended a quilt retreat put on by Pickin' Up the Pieces Quilt Guild from Memphis. This is my third entry about the retreat so far. There is one more after this one.

Lots of raffles, contests, and drawings were available. Retreat participants were able to purchase tickets for a variety of raffles. A Bernina sewing machine and a Thimbleberries gift basket valued at $250 were two of the items being raffled off.

Ana is in this picture (on the right) because she won SO many times that she decided to award her Thimbleberries prize to someone else. (She won a table runner, the Thimbleberries drawing, the layer cake drawing, and was awarded a prize at the pajama party for her Halloween pjs.) Everyone encouraged Ana to purchase a lottery ticket!

Each participant was asked to bring 10-10" layer cake fabric pieces. Names were put into a drawing for these fabrics. Another drawing winner was chosen from those who guessed the number of dog biscuits in a jar. Bidding on silent auction items went on throughout the retreat.

Ana won the layer cakes and a pattern book.

Silent auction items were located in a room adjacent to the dining room.

The retreat committee also sent information about "Opportunity Blocks" to retreat participants--participation optional. Two blocks were selected--a star block and a log cabin block. The focus fabric and instructions were mailed before the retreat. Completed blocks had to be mailed back by May 1 so retreat committee members could make the blocks into finished quilted items--a table runner and two quilts. Each person that turned in a block received an opportunity ticket at the retreat. Additional tickets were available for purchase. The drawing was held on Sunday.

Ana won an "Opportunity Block" table runner.

We could also participate in a Star-Quilt Challenge. The requirements (sent by mail to each retreat participant) were that the quilt must be square and measure between 20" - 24" in size. It must have three stars on the front of the quilt (each star made using a different technique and each star being a different size). The winner was selected by the retreat participants.

 The award went to the third quilt from the left. The surprised winner is shown (with her prize) below.

Check back for Day 3 activities.