Scenes from Quilting Weekend

This past weekend my guild had its annual retreat at the Pallotine Center in far North County. The sisters see that we are fed and the dishes cleaned up so all we need to do is snack, sleep and sew. Which we did for about 36-40 hours. This year's quilt project, taught by our past president, Teajuana, was called "Trip Around the Scrap Basket." It was a wonderfully striking design and most of the quilters who took the class finished their tops before the weekend was over. I was one who elected to "do my own thing" (see previous post) but I enjoyed seeing the fantastic results.
The retreat started on Friday evening, and we had the chance to make a useful tote bag with the guild emblem quilted on it. Some people then worked on their own projects late into the night. I know I fell in bed about 2 a.m. Bright the next morning, after breakfast, we were getting ready to sew all day again. Here are Norma, Sarah, Lenore and Karen checking their bobbins, tension, and other settings, while the day outside is warmer and sunnier than usual.

We are arranged in tables of four, and my very compatible sewing mates are Valerie, Joan and Christine. Everyone is already busy and you can see by how neat the area is around my humble Kenmore that I haven't really started yet.

I wasn't able to get photos of everyone's projects at Show & Tell on Sunday afternoon, but here is Valerie with her completed project--random nine-patches make a throw quilt to decorate a special room in her home. It was her first retreat and she had a great time.

By Saturday afternoon I needed a walk and the day was mild enough. Here is a view of the retreat center from the east side. One sign of coming spring I noted was a field full of mole hills. If the moles are active, there must be food for them near the surface, which means the ground is thawing, which means...plants coming up?

This view is on the opposite side of the building. Guest rooms are on the top floor, and mine is the second from the left on this trip. The wing to the right houses a large gymnasium (floor is great for laying out quilts) and the lower level houses the swimming pool (which we did not rent--too expensive.) I had hoped to walk the new outdoor labyrinth that has been installed, but it still had snow and ice on it.

One of the joys of mealtime at Pallotine is looking out the dining room windows and watching the birds and wildlife, as well as the two horses in the pasture. The grounds cover more than 180 acres that are an oasis in the midst of housing developments. The bit of rural life that is preserved is one reason I treasure this place. Debbie got acquainted with one of the horses; this is supposed to be the one that doesn't like to bite.

I arrived home on Sunday afternoon a little bleary (went to bed at midnight on Saturday) but very satisfied with the progress I had made on the projects I took with me, and happy to have had the chance to get to know several of my quilting friends better. And I didn't lose my shirt in the (fabric strip) poker game, but hey, what happens on retreat stays at retreat...right?