October 2, 2007

• MY NEW QUILTING FRIENDS ...

   

  One of the nice things I've been able to enjoy since returning to the States has been the fellowship of some wonderful ladies ... fellow quilters. I joined the Granbury Quilt Guild a few months ago and have had the pleasure of spending some great time with other old ladies such as myself (and even some younger ones), sewing and creating. There is something bonding about being creative with friends ... and it's a lot of fun too.

  Last weekend, I joined about 20 other women from the Quilt Guild for a quilter's retreat outside of Waco. That's about 2 hours from here. We got there on Thursday afternoon (after we had stopped to do some fabric shopping and eat lunch) ... and we sewed and laughed and ate (a lot) until we left on Sunday afternoon. We did venture into to town one afternoon with a few other women to hit the area quilt stores .. also fun, though a bit damaging to the pocketbook.

  The more seasoned retreat go-ers had all kinds of projects ready to produce when they arrived, so we got to watch many beautiful creations come together over the few days we were together. Everybody was so encouraging and complimentary to each other, not to mention helpful. A little elf came one night and finished a spot that Tricia had been struggling with and we often found little goodies on our sewing tables when we returned from lunch or supper. I made a new friend who I lovingly came to refer to as my 'color consultant' by the end of the weekend. My ONE project was a sampler quilt (which I found out was not the easiest project to bring to retreat). Monica helped me with fabric selection and just general encouragement to keep me going when I was sure I wouldn't finish before the weekend was over.

  Here is a picture that Jamie took of me with my finished quilt top ... 4 days of sewing and very little sleep ... you might notice the lack of make-up and the bags under my eyes. The square that looks like a sunflower was a gift from Monica ... a friendship block to remember her by. Now to add borders, backing, binding .. and quilting. The word 'finished' may be a little premature, I'm thinking ~ smile.

  

  All in all, I fared okay ... had a few achy back muscles from sitting all weekend and a few achy facial muscles from laughing so much.

  We're already making plans for next year ... I guess I better rest up.

   

  • 7:31 pm
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