Retreat!

We had a retreat weekend and there is lots to show!  Even if it was freeze-the-hairs-in-your-nose-cold we were graced with brilliantly sunny blue skies and a full moon.  There were ten of us, almost evenly divided between knitters and quilters. As always we were coddled and fed well by the inn keepers. No cooking (by us), beds with mile high blankets and pillows,  inch thick towels, love all around us.  All we have to do when we get there is stitch and drink our wine and maybe eat a piece or two of chocolate.  How wonderful!

 This is Sally's quilt.  She spent the weekend machine quilting it.  She said she just wanted to use up scraps...I'll show you the rest of the quilt another time, but notice those squares and the corners all meeting up where they should.  Sally liks itsy bitsy piecing and these squares are less than an inch. Smaller than my thumb nail.   And I bite my nails.

 Barb likes thread. She has a thread stash.  Oh, yes, she does. More on very talented Barb later.  She needs a whole page to herself.

 We had hats being made, boot socks, baby blankets

 Meet Mary.  This is her first time at our retreat and she wanted us to know if we needed something ripped out, she was ready.

 

The knitters kept Linda busy with her thread winder upper thing.  Linda graciously wound everyone's skeins, which just love to tangle themselves, into balls.  It took seconds.

Friend Marilyn was trying to make a Storm at Sea block but the pattern wasn't right, the templates didn't fit and not meeting her points was frustrating her.  You all know quilters like to make a point!

So very talented and kind Barb drafted the pattern onto paper and then she and Sally taught her how to paper piece.  Friend Marilyn has been quilting for 100 years but she never paper pieced before.  With this method she made her points!

There is more to show but I'm saving it.  I spent the weekend working on the round for the round robin we're doing with our Germany friends so I can't show it to you.  But I did finish it, Elke!