Friday, July 18, 2014

Retreat Wrap-up and a Little More


I’m back from retreat, and boy, what a fantastic 4 days that was!  It may have been my first “real” retreat, but I certainly hope that it will not be my last!  (While I was at retreat, I checked with the shop owner on future retreats … alas the November retreat is sold out and the February retreat is scheduled for the weekend of T#1’s 13th birthday.)

Retreat was held at a bed and breakfast out in the middle of nowhere, in corn country here in Illinois … about 2 1/2 hours from my house.  Literally, we were surrounded by corn fields and wooded hills … talk about secluded.  It was perfect!  The main building is a totally rehabbed old 1860’s farmhouse.
photo 1 (1)   
I was one of the earlier arrivals and promptly set up my work station.
photo 1 (6)

It wasn’t long before I started piecing log cabin blocks.  If I recall correctly, I have 24 blocks completed and 18 blocks needing the last round of light fabric.
photo 3 (1)(Forgive the crease … this was taken yesterday when I was unpacking, before I re-pressed the blocks … I wasn’t able to get the colors just right while at retreat).

The main sewing room was large, with plenty of room for all 13 of us.
Desktop4And 13 was a nice sized group … just small enough that we got to know each other pretty well.

I wasn’t able to complete my quilt top (??) but many others did have completed projects (some of which were started prior to retreat).
photo 1 (3)This is Anita’s quilt … she had a pattern but chose a different alternating block (the star blocks were part of the original pattern).

photo 2 (4)This is Ann’s quilt … her granddaughter’s kindergarten class drew pictures of their favorite Bible stories using permanent markers, which Ann then made into a quilt that will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for their school.

photo 2 (5)Here is Jeanne’s four patch posey … it took her 4 retreats to complete it (she worked on it only during retreats).

photo 3 (2)This is Debbie’s quilt for a friend … she’s a beginner quilter, but she really nailed matching up the strips.

photo 4 (1)This is Pam’s quilt … it’s a work in progress.

photo (1)
photo 4Here are a couple of quilts that Anita finished up … I love the thick and thin log cabin!

There were plenty of other quilts that I wish I’d thought to take pictures of … like Ann’s tessellating chickens, Linda’s baby quilts (for her grand who’s due in September), Linda’s T-shirt quilt (another Linda), Mona’s four patch posey … and others.

And as if that weren’t enough, they fed us … and fed us WELL.  All I can say is that if I ate like that every day, I’d weigh double what I do now!  Surprised smile  Need proof?  Look at what we had for dessert Tuesday evening.  Homemade coconut cream pie!
photo 1 (4)

The only downside to the retreat was my broken heart Tuesday evening at missing the Ts’ final meet.  When I signed up to attend, the first thing I checked was that there would be no meets during retreat.  Who knew that they would reschedule one of the rained-out meets for that week?  DH made sure that they knew that Nana was sad that she wasn’t able to be there … but my heart certainly was heavy Tuesday evening!  (And if we’d been closer than 2 1/2 hours away, I would have definitely spent Tuesday evening watching them swim!)
photo (3)Two of my favorite guys … prior to the start of the meet.

One thing I learned while at retreat was just how much time I waste online.  Confused smile  I was up and sewing by 7:00AM and ended my day at 9:00-10:00PM.  Other than checking in with my dad, DD, and DH via email, I really didn’t spend any time online.  It made me realize how much I could get done at home if I just spent less time online and more time with needle and thread … while I don’t intend to totally eliminate my time online (particularly blogging!!), I certainly plan to cut back considerably. 

I had to admit that my plan was to get home, unpack and relax.  But I changed my mind and tackled the backing for DD’s chevron quilt.  And as has been par for the course for that quilt, I had to do a fair amount of frog stitching … I cut and stitched the extra length to the wrong side … so the backing was extra long and still not wide enough.  <sigh>  I unstitched and lengthened the extra backing and stitched it to the correct side … and got it all pinned!  Today I’ll start the quilting!! 
photo (2)This was taken prior to pinning.

The gorgeous late-spring weather we’ve been enjoying is drawing to a close … it’ll be back into the 90’s by the first of next week. 

Now to get caught up (a little) online … and then time to get out my hoop and start quilting!!

Have a fabulous Friday!
Kathy

13 comments:

  1. So very happy that you had a great your retreat! I'll have to find out where you were. Maybe someday I could join you if it is my direction. Loved seeing the projects. Your chevron quilt looks great (even if it's been a bit of a pain to make!). Have a wonderful weekend. ~Jeanne

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  2. I'm so glad you had a nice time. It sounds like it was a perfect retreat for you. Sorry you had to miss the last meet. The chevron quilt is looking awesome! Last week I was relaxed and reading everyday, back at home I'm on my computer missing out on the adventures of reading. I just don't know how to pull away.
    Have a great weekend.

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  3. What a wonderful time. I love all of the quilts and the food looks fantastic too. Ouch! about how much you got done without being online. I have thought that many, many times too. But then well you know. :)
    I bet you are so glad to be home though.
    I am glad you are home.

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  4. What a beautiful place and I could definitely enjoy that coconut cream pie. Looks delicious.

    It really sounds like you had a wonderful retreat and got so much accomplished.

    I hope you have a wonderful weekend and get lots of quilting time.

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  5. Sounds like a great time! I spend way too much time online and really need to cut back. Enjoy the cool weather while it lasts.

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  6. Oh joy!!! Sounds (and looks) like you had a lovely time at your 1st retreat! I hope you put your name down for a potential place if anyone drops in November? The Chevron quilt is definitely worth the work you've put into it - gorgeous!!!

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  7. I too found once I came back from being away from the computer that I would spend less time online.. and I have! :) I have been busy on a new proect too! I am so happy you had fun at retread while your DH held down the extra cheering from his side at the swim meet! Have a great weekend stitching.. can't wait to see how you stitch the chevron quilt :) Kathi

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  8. Oh my! What a productive four days you experienced. I am sure you were missed by the Ts also. Good job on working through the chevron quilt issues. Maybe the retreat kept you motivated.

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  9. It sounds like you had a wonderful time a the retreat! Oh my! That pie just looked too good! Thanks for the quilt show too! Your chevron quilt is ready for quilting! Yea!! I am sure there were moments when you thought this day would never come!

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  10. Sounds like you had a great time at retreat. I have been trying to spend less time on line too! So hard, but I sure do get a whole lot more done. Looking forward to future pictures of your chevron quilt.

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  11. Sounds like such a great time and I bet you will have plenty of swim meets to go to in the future. I love the blue stripe quilt, it really caught my eye.

    Yes, I bet if I kept up with the time I spend on the computer it would scare me too death. :o))

    Happy rest of the weekend!

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  12. Sounds like a wonderful time there and I enjoyed seeing all of the various quilts ! :)

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  13. I'm so glad you had a great time at the retreat! The quilts in the photographs are beautiful, as is the house you stayed in :)

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