Retreat Report

Years ago, my sister took her quilting group for a retreat at our family cabin, located in the Cascade Mountains, near Leavenworth, WA.  They enjoyed it so much it became a biannual tradition.

Here are a few pictures from our most recent episode.

With the forest fire problem this year, there was much concern about the air quality.  Most of us arrived in the dark on Thursday evening so we couldn't see the smoke in the air, but we could smell it.  Friday morning, it was quite obvious.

There were still beautiful colors to be seen. 

 Friday evening the air started to clear some and by Sunday morning it was almost normal.

Breakfasts and dinners are planned ahead and provided by volunteers.

We all had a good laugh however when, not knowing that homemade cinnamon rolls were being brought by Lynee, Dawn picked up these little minis.  We decided they were cinnamon roll seeds.  Both were yummy!  Guess how I know.

It may not look like it in this picture, but we decided that this was the most productive group ever.   

There were times when all three of these machines were in use simultaneously, and the floor became somewhat of a maze with several projects laid out here and there.  I didn't get pictures of everything but here are some highlights.

Ann started quilts for each of her girls.

The first one is this fun, scrappy snowball block.  Both will have a Raggedy Ann theme.

She hopes to get them done for their first birthday at the end of October.  We have no doubt that she will.  By the time I left on Sunday morning, she had the whole top together!

Dawn worked on a variety of projects.  She said she couldn't decide which to bring so she brought them all.

Her daughter, Jamie, started in on her first quilt.

Lynee blew us all away with her speed.  

This quilt top was just a stack of fabric when we got here Thursday night.  She didn't even have a pattern picked out yet. 

Her second project, a little wall hanging, was done on Saturday.  And by done, I mean:  designed, pieces cut, blocks sewn, blocks trimmed, blocks assembled, borders added, sandwiched, tied with the cutest little french knots, edges finished with hand buttonhole stitch.

Whew!  Sorry I didn't get a picture of the finished product!

Marita.  

We all felt so bad for her.  She came prepared to quilt this beautiful, soft pink top she had made.  She got it all marked and basted.  After stitching a section down the middle she checked the back and found some puckers too big to ignore.  Out came the seam ripper.  After a trip to the store for tape and extra careful pinning, she tried again.  Same problem!!  We decided it had something to do with the backing fabric. I haven't heard if she's found a solution yet.

Pamela got to the final stage of a 2-3 year project.  She became the owner of some antique Dresden Plate blocks and has been on a long journey to turn them into an amazing, hand sewn quilt.  Maybe she'll let me do a post about it when she's done.

Sharon started another coffee themed quilt, using up the last of some fabric she got a few years ago.  She sure got a lot of mileage out of that yardage!

As usual, the weekend included walks, talks, Leavenworth and laughing.

What's that, you ask?  My project?  Well, I think I'll save that for another post.