Mary Lou Weidman's Out of the Box Retreat was held in Post Falls Idaho last week. The first evening we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Here are Molly and Mary Lou toasting their Margaritas.Note the multiple instructions to Push the door to exit...after those drinks you need the directions!

The artwork in the restaurant was lovely. I have a soft spot for Calla Lilies.

This piece was just lovely.

The next day started with show and tell of some of Mary Lou's quilts.

We saw some quilts that have been published a a peek view at some newer ones.

The new ones I can't show you but they are great.

Seeing the quilts in person you see details that are missed in books. The quilt below won't load correctly so please turn your head to enjoy it.

Here is everyone gathered around Mary Lou as she shows us how to make one of her hoochy mama blocks. Techniques from these blocks help you with her style of quilting.

The blocks with the yellow background I made several years ago during another workshop. The flower and bee were the first of the new block from this workshop.

Mary Lou's friend Laurie Latta made this quilt for Mary Lou's Flower Power book. I love the little buttercups at the bottom of the quilt.

Sally who was visiting from California celebrated her birthday with us. Wendy made a "cake of cream puffs" with a candle on top for Sally to blow out!

The cake stand is just adorable, it comes in 3 pieces.

After our first day of sewing we made a field trip to Bear Paw Quilts in Coeur d'Alene where many bolts of fabric were cut.

Several of us shopped from other people's selections, it made for an interesting process. The two gals waiting on us did a wonderful job.

Thanks goodness I didn't have to restock the shelves after we were done. Penny surprised Mary Lou with these lovely coloured glass bottles for her bottle trees.

Here is Mary Lou's new New Mexico quilt inspired by her visit this year. The details are amazing!

Mary has taken several classes with Mary Lou at Asilomar and here are some pictures of the quilt she is working on. It will be spectacular when it is done.

I love the snail and the frog on it. Mary has two sons that I'm sure will treasure this quilt.

The clothesline with the birds sitting on top will be very cute.

This is Pebble who owns Orange Bee Quilt Shop in California.

Penny lives just outside of Vancouver Washington.

Kathy helps Mary Lou with her website orders and was lots of fun this weekend. She was our go-for gal and sat and stitched along with us.

Sally was another of the Southern California gals.

Here is Mary from California whose quilt in progress was shown above. Notice that many of the gals have tiaras on from Mary Lou

A busy workroom with pedals to the medal we are in the basement with lots of great natural light.

Lots of creativity buzzing around the room

Mary Lou sharing some new knowledge with a brand new quilter. We had two new quilters in our group.

Molly and Mary have both taken several classes from Mary Lou.

Molly's completed quilt top that she put together at the retreat.

Doesn't this bird have wonderful feathers?

Slowly over the weekend my blocks became more.

Here are some exterior pictures of the Jacklin Art Centre. The original church built in the late 1890's.

From a different angle.

Inside looking through one of the lovely arched windows.

One of the lovely stained glass windows found inside.

Two birds having a serious conversation.

A bird with a cheddar background.

Several birds, stars and monkey wrench blocks.

A bird checking out the housing in the neighbourhood.

A very tall robin made by me.

A bird with tail feathers that are 3-d and it's potential housing.

Two very interesting long legged birds. I love the curled headfeather on the right one.

A dragonfly I made.

Molly, Mary Lou and me infront of my blocks.

Bear Paw Quilts in Coeur d'Alene from the outside.

Bear paw prints leading to the door.

A view from the second story of the shop.

This guy is the mascot of Coeur d'Alene.

Driving back along I-90 I stoped in Ritzville and found this shop.

Isn't this building interesting with the witch hat roof?

This is Wildflower Quilt Shop and Liquor Store; one shop stopping for him and her!

Isn't this an interesting old sign?

The skies heading towards Snoqualmie Pass started to look very threatening.

This was snow falling on the pass ahead.

I also encountered some rain and hail on the drive home. At times the wind was gusting up to 60 m.p.h.!

This tree always amazes me each time I see it. This year I parked around the corner and walked up and took a few closer pictures of it from below.

While in Pacific Grove we dropped in at Back Porch Quilts and enjoyed looking around the shop. Then it was back on the road where we stopped in Moss Landing at Phil's Fish Market and shared a crab and shrimp quesadilla for lunch.

Along the cliff drive in Santa Cruz I spotted this Pelican mail box, what a whimsical design it is.

We watched the waves crashing in along the cliffs for while.

You might be able to spot the fisher people on the ledge just above the cave. I wonder what they were able to catch?

Back on the road and we continued along driving through San Francisco and then spent the night in Santa Rosa.

In Eureka Scottie Dog Quilts was closed but we did find Ocean Wave Quilt shop on V Street just off 101 in a converted house. They had some felted wool, but their prices were quite expensive.

We spent the night in Crescent City where we found a little Mexican Restaurant called Perlita's, mom tried the chicken enchilada and I had a chicken mole burrito. Both were great and the prices very good. Lots of locals in the shop including the high school teacher of one of the women working there!

Unfortunately I forgot to check my camera battery and have no pictures for 24 hours.

Back into Oregon where our first stop was Country Keepsakes in Brookings, a nice little shop I've not been to before, she has been open for 22 years.

Next stop was Quilter's Quarters in Port Orford, always a favourite shop of mine.

In Bandon by the Sea we stopped at Forget Me Knots quilt shop. It is a lovely large shop with lots of choices, they encourage you to bring your own bag and will credit you towards their rewards program by giving you 2 points if you don't use a bag!

They recommended Two Loons cafe for lunch which was very enjoyable. Took a few pictures with mom's camera of some wind chimes and banners in the village centre.

In Coos Bay we dropped into Threads That Bind Quilt shop that had a backing sale on. Too bad I didn't need any.

Farther north we stopped in Florence first at Joy of Quilting and their new consignment/art gallery shop called Gigi Mo's Quilt Gallery. They had some lovely pieces on display.

Farther along the road we went into Wenz-daze [pronounced Wednesday's] Quilt Shop. It was formerly known as Jody's Quilt Shop; the new shop is quite large with an extensive collection of flannels and has a long arm quilt machine in it.

At Ruth's Fabrics in Walport I found a cute little mini iron that decided to come home with me courtesy of my mom. Great for small projects and workshops.

We arrived in Newport for the night to find that Quilter's Cove was closed already; but it was our first stop of the next morning. They appear to be downsizing their shop but it is still a large friendly store.

In Depoe Bay we sat and watched some of the waves crashing onto the shore. They day was grey and rainy, but enjoyable to watch the waves for awhile.

In Lincoln City we walked through one of their large antique malls for a bit of a break and then headed to B.J.'s Fabrics in Cloverdale. There were two cars already there and there were about a dozen women in this little shop! There is only one shopkeeper and by the time she finished cutting their fabric she looked exhausted. They are part of a larger group staying in Tillamook and exploring the quilt shops along the coast.

We bypassed Jane's Fabrics thinking they would all be there and went to the Tillamook Creamery for an ice cream cone and found them there instead!

These skunk cabbage were in B.J.'s garden, they looked so pretty with the rain falling on them.

We decided to continue north to Canon Beach and have a late lunch at Crabby Sue's. It seems each time we get there it is closed for the day, well this time it was permanently closed! Their wonderful bronze of the child with a kite was gone. We went into Centre Diamond and found that several businesses in town had closed over the winter.

We left the coast and headed towards Portland where we spent the night in Beaverton.

The next morning we went into Fabric Depot before heading back into Washington State.

In Castle Rock we went to Quilt Nest Quilt Shop and then had a good lunch at Hatties.

Driving up the I-5 we found Sister's Fabrics in Chehalis. What a large selection of English paper pieces and 1930's style fabrics. I don't think I've seen so many in one spot. They advertise they carry over 10,000 bolts of fabric.

Next stop was Quilter's Junction in Centralia before continuing up to Fife for the night.

The next morning we stopped briefly at the Outlet Mall at Exit 200 before going to Aunt Mary's Quilt Shop in Smokey Point.

Then a quick visit to Trader Joe's in Bellingham and then back across the border and home.

We left Santa Barbara and drove into Buellton and had breakfast at Mother Hubbards, this large Aloe plant was outside. They estimate is is over 30 years old. The blossoms on it are very interesting. In Arroyo Grande we stopped in at the Quilt Attic, it has a new owner and he seems to be changing the attitude of the shop. I liked the welcome banner outside his shop.

At Pismo Beach we stopped in at Quilting Cousins and then went for a walk along the beach. It was interesting to see the green hills at this time of year, usually everything is very brown when we visit.

It was very windy, people had large umbrellas up to try and block the wind while others were flying kites.

All along the way you could see California poppies in bloom. In Atascadero we stopped at Sew Fun, but missed Quilter's Cupboard. Onto San Luis Obispo where we found the second location of Betty's Fabrics, the other store is larger.

This time we chose not to go out to Morro Bay and The Cotton Ball quilt shop.

These calla lilies were so graceful in their appearance. There are many to be seen along the way.

In Paso Robles we found Wine Country Quilts and The Quiltery. Both are great shops and due for a return visit on another trip.

We made our way out to the coast and Pacific Grove where we went into Tessuti Zoo, check out the neat chair with a fish sitting on it. They have some amazing gift items to enjoy, definitely a lot of eye candy.

We went for a drive along the beach and found some deer feeding by the Asilomar Retreat centre gate as sunset neared.

We stopped for a dinner at Fishwife, their seafood combo fettuccine Alfredo was yummy.

We found this lovely park and sat and enjoyed some of the sunset, the trees along the coast are some of the most interesting windswept shapes you will ever see.