I have spent the last few days at a Quilt Retreat with my guild– fun and fun and sewing and fun!  After arriving on Friday afternoon, I emptied the car and realized that I had forgotten to grab my suitcase.  So, after setting up a bit of my stuff, I decided to go home and get my clothes.  Hey!  I remembered the important stuff:  Fabric, patterns, thread– why did I need clothes!!  ARGH!!

So, after returning to finish setting up my stuff, I chose a pattern and fabric and began to sew my first quilt of the weekend that has since been named “The Happy Quilt”.  It is from a pattern that I found on the internet using a “layer cake” (a precut stack of fabric) and I had to use my ruffler foot.  Boy, did that raise an eyebrow or two!

We had a potluck supper on Friday night and then on Saturday morning, the compound where we stayed began providing meals for us (breakfast, lunch and dinner through Sunday lunch).  My guild had exchanged names and we each had a Secret Sewing Sister for whom we gave presents and received presents.  On Sunday morning, we each revealed who we were giving presents to and then the people giving us our gifts identified themselves.  It was a great way to get to know each other and there was a definite spirit of friendship in the sewing rooms.

Sunday morning lead to several people packing up and by 5pm, we were 9 less but still sewing like crazy. By this time, I had finished the Happy Quilt, with the exception of borders, and had moved on to a second quilt that featured Gerber daisies in orange.  We had a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and chilis to which we each contributed a bit of money and shared in the set up and clean up.

I left a little after lunch on Sunday but it was with a heavy heart– I had gotten to know everyone so much more than I had for the previous two years that I had attended the guild meetings!  I had a whole new group of friends, it seemed.

And then, reality set in . . .

I’m back to looking for a job which appears to have thinned out even more while I was out for the weekend.  I’ll keep going, of course, and hope to find something soon!