October Retreat

This past week/weekend we ten gathered again for our retreat.  This was our ninth October at this Inn and for some of us, almost our 16th year together for an October weekend.  There isn't much  structure to this weekend, even though we added a day so we'd be together for almost 5 days, we just gather to reconnect, stitch and enjoy the ambiance and care from our innkeepers. 
They give us luxury rooms, sumptuous meals, and 130 acres to wander if we need to stretch and enjoy a walk. 

 Our work room in full swing.  I'm the only one who doesn't bring a sewing machine so my regular seat is in the far left corner of this picture, situated between two windows.  It's just about the only place I can be for the light I need.

 Thankfully, the weather cooperated for happy hour on the porch.  We solve the problems of the world out here. A glass or two of wine makes experts of any of us!

 This is Marcia, one of the three owners.  She isn't the chef but the chef put her on grilling duty for our Saturday night supper of grilled chicken

 Usually someone volunteers to teach a project.  We don't have a defined instructor come in and work with us, instead, it's one of us raising our hands and saying we will show how to do something.  This time, Barb offered to demonstrate these little pouch bags.

 Joyce holds her first attempt but ended up making maybe 5 or 6 of them?  She makes things during this weekend to sell at her church craft sale and she added these little bags to her donation.

 Otherwise, we work on our own projects, talk, eat, sleep and stitch and some of us take a walk or two.  This year, because we added a day and discovered a quilt store very nearby we had an outing one day.

 Show and tell is Saturday night and this year there was a lot to show.  I'll showcase some  but not all.

 Each year after dinner on Saturday night we play a couple of games of LCR (Left, Center, Right) and for one of the games we use themed fat quarters as currency.  Someone wins 30 fat quarters and they are charged with bringing something the next year that they made from their new stash.  Last fall Joyce won the batiks and they couldn't have gone to a better person.  Joyce is the only one of us who lives in batik world. Some of us use them but not exclusively like Joyce does.  She brought the tuffet she made

 

 and this wall hanging.  She got good mileage out of that new stash!

Everyday after lunch I took a solitary walk through the woods in the back.  This is a view of the "complex" from one of the walks.  It wasn't until Saturday night that I was told there are bear living in the woods.  I took a different path everytime I went and there was one time I definitely thought I could be in the company of some critters.  I never saw a bear or a cougar or even a racoon, but I was far enough back to have not been surprised.  I did ask the innkeepers on Saturday night if seeing something was a possibility.  "Oh, yes," Pat said, "their neighbor recently was treed by a bear back in there."  Well. Ok!

For me, the retreat is 50/50 being with my quilting friends and just being at this Inn.  It has now become so familiar and the innkeepers so welcoming and generous every year it feels like coming home.