French Lick Quilters' Retreat student work

Each year I do four, three day Quilters' Retreats at historic French Lick, Indiana. The quilters are housed in the famed, one hundred-plus years old French Lick Resort and Spa Hotel, and we used one of its meeting rooms for our quilting room. Day one finds us painting many yards of fabric, and when we return to work on day two, the fabrics are dry and everyone dives in on an extremely busy and full schedule of quilt making, Phil Beaver-style, of course. We scarcely come up for air and have a snack lunch of turkey, ham, roast chicken, chips, soft drinks, etc., without leaving the work room. I finish my work for the day with them at 4 pm, and return to my own home about four blocks up a very steep hill from the hotel. I live in a beautiful 1916 artist/craftsman, and the dining room table is set for all the quilters, my friend/helper Jim and me. I earlier prepared a sit-down dinner and put it on ice before the quilters arrived in French Lick. and at this time, I slide the prepared pans of food into my kitchen ovens, and return to the front porch of the grand hotel where I meet all the seminar quilters. I walk them up the hill to my home for my home-cooked dinner. We sit together at one, big, dining room table, and after desserts and coffee, they remain in their chairs while I do a slide lecture that mostly details human interest stories as they relate to my quilts and my own signature in the world of quilt making. At 9:30pm we are walking once again up the steep hill, two more blocks to my friend Jim's 1916 artist/craftsman home. He gives everyone a guided tour of his home that he's restoring back to its original beauty and design, and he's doing all this while living in it. We leave Jim's about 11:30pm, head back to the hotel and that concludes day two. Day three is more work on the quilt pieces by each participant, major lunch/brunch at noon, more work until mid-afternoon, and then we're off to a guided tour of the West Baden Dome. We leave the Dome about 4:30pm and everyone fires their engines, we tell each and all quilters good-bye, and the three day seminar is complete, happily and sadly. Many say I should rename these seminars "The Phil Beaver Experience," but, believe it or not, we accomplish much fabric painting and making quilts. I've included several photos of these quilters' work. No one finished their work with bound edges, but enough was achieved for impressive representation. These quilters gave it everything they had, and their work tells it all. You may click each photo for a larger and better view of each piece. Phil Beaver
Linda	Linda, detail	Precious	Precious, detail	Holly	Holly, detail
Teresa	Teresa, detail	Dottie	Dottie, detail	Susan	Susan, detail
Kathy	Kathy, detail	Lisa	Lisa, detail	Peggy	Peggy, detail
	The West Baden Hotel first appeared over 100 years ago, and featured the largest, unsupported dome in the world, and that fact remained until the construction of the Houston Astrodome. Many still refer to West Baden as "The Architectural Wonder of the World."
Two of the original spring houses still remain in the formal gardens.			The Hotel's atrium under the dome reaches well over 100 feet high and over 200 feet wide. Guest rooms total over 250 on six floor levels, and half look inward to the atrium, and half face outward to the gardens, the golf course, the forests, and miles of natural beauty.
Thanks, quilters, for a really great three days. Thanks for terrific work, thanks for contributing, and thanks for friendship Phil Beaver