I have been so busy the last couple of weeks. First of all this happened…
My King Quilter Long Arm arrived in about seven boxes. My wonderful friends, Shelle and Janet, offered to come over on the Sunday before we left on the Retreat and help me put it together. Both of these ladies know so much and are so generous with their time and knowledge. For the price of a large pizza and two bottles of wine, they gave me six hours of their time on a Sunday afternoon and we got her together. I still have to sew a channel on my leaders (because I’m using the Red Snappers), but then she will be ready to load and I’ll be ready to take her for a spin.
Let me tell you, the Retreat was awesome! First here’s some background on it. When the High Point Quilt Guild formed in 2012, one of the first things the group decided was that we needed a few days to get together and just quilt. We didn’t want to worry about meals. We wanted to be able to stay overnight, and we didn’t want to have to drive hours to get to the location. Haw River State Park fit the bill nicely. It was close, it had lodge rooms, and it provided meals. So in October 2012 we had our first “Drop Everything and Just Quilt!” Retreat. And we’ve been going back every year since. We’ve expanded the Retreat from three days to four and now we allow non-guild members to also attend.
It’s four days of talking, laughing, eating, and quilting (not necessarily in that order) with a wonderful group of women. I would like to encourage you to find a group to quilt with. I belong to five groups – two are guilds and the other three are bees. While there is great pleasure in working on our art alone (it frees the mind, reduces stress, allows you to use a different part of the brain), there is also great fellowship among quilters. We support each other, inspire each other, pray for each other, and on occasion – when necessary – tell each other the hard truth. I have honestly learned as much about life as I have about quilting with the women I surround myself with.
Here are some pictures of the beautiful things that were made…
I promise to have more on color next week. Meanwhile, I’m still unpacking…
Love and Stitches,
Sherri and Sam
