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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Retreat Day One

Hi Everyone,

(Oops, I started writing this yesterday and then I needed to charge my laptop and never finished and posted!)

I got back from my retreat late Sunday afternoon, and boy was it a great one!  There were 18 wonderful quilters in attendance and one couldn't ask for a group of more wonderful quilters.

This was at the same place as we had our last retreat (back in January when it was really, really cold)--the Beth Page Camp/Resort.  This time there was much more activity around the grounds--back in January it was just us.  The weather was pretty near perfect, aside from the thunderstorm that we had on Friday night.

My friend, Janice, and I  left home at 7 AM and arrived around 8:30.  We did not use GPS this time, thinking we surely would remember the way, but of course, we didn't!  I think we were the first car to arrive other than the ladies who organized the whole thing.  We unloaded all of our sewing stuff and carried it in.  (My husband took all of the seats out of my van, and we had the entire back loaded.  I should have gotten a picture.)

In no time, we got set up.  We are such creatures of habit that we took the same tables we had last time!


That is all my stuff in the front, and Janice at her table next to it.  I have just one question for all of you.  If you have ever gone to a retreat, has anyone attending ever run out of projects to work on? I think we all take way too much stuff!


My goal was to finish my Talkin Turkey quilt that I began with Bonnie Hunter.  I thought it was pretty ambitious, but it didn't stop me from bringing along a few other projects.  Day one was spent doing the string piecing.  I needed to cover over a hundred 5" squares (cut from a phone book) as well as 16 full sheets of printer paper.  




This was our snack table.  It was still pretty full when we finished on Sunday!  We sure didn't starve.


For some reason, I can't get my pictures from my phone to "right themselves," but after lunch we went for a walk along the dock and then around through the camp ground.  It was such pretty weather!

At this retreat, we provide our own breakfast and lunch in our cottages and they cook supper for us.  Thursday night was homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese.  It was yummy.

During the course of the day, I emptied three bobbins and nearly finished the fourth, but just before 10 pm, I finally finished all of the string piecing!  My machine was tired and so was I.  Stitching on paper foundations really dulls the needle.  I left the trimming for morning and we went back to our rooms for the night.

I'll tell you more next time!

JoAnne

9 comments:

  1. That's a lot of stringing for a day! But must have felt good - I like those kind of bobin days.

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  2. Sounds GREAT!! I don't like going on retreats because I always know I'll forget a couple of necessary items (ruler, rotary cutter, etc). And I get WAY more accomplished at home than at retreat! HA

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  3. ooooohh...looks like a wonderful retreat location! Yes, every retreat I've been to, I've brought more than I could possibly do...and so do my fellow retreaters. LOL Can't wait to see what you accomplished on Talkin' Turkey!

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  4. When I go on retreat, I usually take four or five projects. Once I get there I decide what project strikes my fancy to work on.

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  5. Looks like a wonderful place for a retreat. And no, no one ever finishes all that they bring.

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  6. Wonderful JoAnne!! You sure are making the most of your day! I am off to retreat in 10 days - cant wait!! I always end up taking way more than I can ever sew my way through but at least it means I have a back up plan if anything goes wrong with a project!

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  7. What a wonderful environment for your retreat... it looks very comfy and cozy, but with plenty of space for everyone! I have never run out of projects at a retreat... it would help if my fellow retreaters and I wouldn't stop at every quilt shop along the way to our destination! But NOT stopping to shop is out of the question!

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  8. I had been watching along on Instagram! Looks like you had a great time!! :)

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  9. That's a lot of string blocks to sew in one day! However, I'm sure it was more fun to do in the company of good friends and lots of snack food.

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