Time Together
Because hubby and I spent so much time at the cottage this summer, I haven’t spent very much time with my buddies. So it was wonderful having a few days away with them at a different retreat centre. Last week we headed to Farmer’s Wife Retreat in Beaverton, ON for some much needed time together. Thanks to Laura and Renate for a lovely time there.
As usual we got quite a bit done…it’s always easy when there aren’t the multitude of distractions that we have when at home. We tend to get easy-peasy dinners that are just heated up so we can continue sewing. That’s not to say that snacks aren’t available when we need a little something. LOL.
Gail made the most adorable owl quilt for a friend’s new baby. The Little Owl Quilt by the Bound Company is so stinkin’ cute! Gail has made many animal quilts in the past and the recipients are always so happy to receive them…she does a lovely job. The other quilt that Gail completed the blocks for is Chatsworth from a class at Quilter’s Cupboard in Uxbridge, ON. And you can also see that she has used her beloved Tula Pink fabrics throughout.
Patti was a whirling dervish at retreat and managed to get a lot done. Not only that, but Marg actually taught her how to make a (gasp!) toiletry bag. I think it was a jolt to her system, but she actually ended up making 3. Do you think we may have brought her over to the “dark side” of bag making? LOL. Patti also bound a gorgeous embroidered snowman table topper called Let it Snow, and made a Christmas cushion cover for another embroidery piece that she did ahead of time. Whew! Hmmmm…I wonder what her favourite colours are?!
Marg worked on this beautiful quilt top (below left) that reminds me of the colours of sea glass. She also worked on Fab Five, a quilt that had huge blocks (below right). Marg was the lucky bidder of this full quilt kit at the Material Girls Retreat auction in September. When she took a break from her own projects, Marg made 5 or 6 pillowcases that were kitted up at the retreat to donate to the Comfy Cases program which gives pillowcases to children in hospital. She’s very charitable and does a lot of quilting for Quilts of Valour too.
Before we went to retreat I finally gave Patti the A Place For Everything 2.0 bag that I started last year so she could fill it with all her notions/supplies for retreat. Since I completed it at the cottage I am showing it there “in the wild”! It matches the wristlet bag I gave her at Springhouse in May. I found a great remnant of Detroit Red Wings fabric and made a quilted cushion cover for my hubby’s friend, Paul, who is a huge fan. A dent was made in the Bear’s Paw quilt blocks that I cut out at the cottage this summer. A lot of my time was spent working on charity quilts and Meals On Wheels placemats for my regular guild donations.
I hope you enjoyed seeing all the great things our group is creating. We retreat together at least 4 times a year and never get sick of each other! It’s a looooong time until March when we’re back at Retreat at the Farm. Hopefully, you too have a chance to get together with your own quilt buds on a regular basis for some fun, productive time together.
