It's a MIRACLE!

I had packed most things in the car the night before, so there was very little to pack in the morning. The girls and the boy were NOT happy to see me packing. They knew that there would be NO walks this week. Oh dear, I'd bring them if I could, but it's impossible. They'll survive, as DH is there to put them out. I'm sure they all love that arrangement. 

The roads were good, which is quite different from two years ago! We couldn't even get out of the driveway on the way to retreat that day. The snow was so deep. Let's just say there's a bit of mud this time. 

I unpacked everything, but it was a bit before I got myself organized to sew. It takes time to catch up with people I haven't seen in a while. 

There was a glimmer of hope that the sun would come out, but we had pretty good cloud coverage when we arrived at the retreat. HOWEVER -- a miracle happened, the clouds disappeared completely (or almost), and look!!!

The sun!!!!

Yes -- the sun came out, and it was a glorious day. It's incredible how different you feel when the sun is out. Why is that? I think the temperature was only zero, but the heat of the sun soon had stuff melting and thawing, and when I went for my walk in the afternoon, let's just say that my black running shoes are no longer black -  more like black with a thin coat of mud. I brought the rain boots, but who needs rain boots! 

These shoes are almost done anyway - I'm hanging onto them because I don't want to wear new shoes in the messy weather. And I prefer to walk in running shoes, not boots. All is good. 

And the clouds stayed away for a significant part of the day, so we saw a spectacular sunset. 

A sunset!!! 

I tried to be good and only brought one container of projects. And I started on the first project, which was my Heartfelt Sampler. I still needed to complete the homework for December. Yikes -- it's time to get caught up as the class finishes in April! 

These are the broken dishes quilt blocks. We had to make 15 of those, so that was a lot of half-square triangles to make and trim. But all 15 are done. 

15 Broken Dishes blocks

Then, it was time to work on the Hourglass blocks. Only eight of these in total, and two were already made. 

Hourglass blocks

But they got done, and it was time to move to the third and last block assigned in December. The flying geese. We only needed 18 of these; however, each block consisted of two flying geese, so I had to make 36 units. That process seemed to go on forever. I prepped all this while on the Virtual Retreat call over the weekend! 

Imagine my surprise when I spotted this. 

A gold thread

Yep -- that's another GOLD thread. I suppose I'll continue to find them forever. But I get a chuckle every time one pops up unexpectedly. 

It was getting late, and I was trying to finish those flying geese blocks, but it was going slower than I wanted. Then I realized I had prepped TEN additional flying geese, which helped a lot. I managed to get all the units together before heading to bed last night. 

The flying geese units are made

There is one room at Retreat at the Farm that several people have said is cold. I decided to take that room, so to be prepped, I grabbed a quilt to help keep me toasty. This is my Wanderer's Wife, and it looks cheery on the bed. While I wasn't cold, and there were loads of blankets on the bed, I didn't take it off until about 10 minutes before it was time to get up! 

My Wanderer's Wife quilt

It's not that the room was cold because I found it OK, but I like a LOT of weight when I sleep, so it all worked out!!! I had a fantastic sleep, and I'm ready to go today!

I brought my new "tidy" skills with me to the retreat. This was my station last night before shutting things down. 

Let's keep the clutter away!

I'll only bring out one project (OK - so there are two on my table), and when I'm finished, I'll put that one away and get out the next one. With all the stuff that gets traded back and forth at a retreat and the homework I've already done, I already have one bag ready to return to the car! Yeah, it makes less to put in the car at the end of the retreat. 

I've been up for a few hours this morning, and the flying geese are DONE!!! 

The flying geese blocks

And here are all my blocks for the Heartfelt Sampler. I still need to prep the January homework, and now I also have to work on February. That's for next week! 

Heartfelt Sampler

I'm now working on my homework for my UFO project. I was supposed to make eight log cabin blocks, but I only cut four for some reason! DARN!!! So I'll have to do that when I get home. I'm working on the curved piecing border and have one of three seams done. 

I have a couple more homework projects to work on, and then I get to work on something "new." I brought two UFOs with me, hoping to finish at least one. 

I can't tell you how fun it is to be at retreat and not have anything "urgent" to work on, although I got an e-mail asking me when I would get a project to them. Shoot - I thought it was due in February. Thankfully, it's small, and I'm planning this week, although can you believe that one person has ALL the supplies I need to do this project! But I will plan and then use my supplies from home. I want to add some sewing machine techniques, and I only have a machine with a few techniques with me. 

If you ever get to go to a quilt retreat - you must go. It's so neat to be away with like-minded people. We eat well but do not overindulge (that took years of "training"). Whether you want to be with the group, nap, or walk is up to you! And most of us at this retreat get a room to ourselves! You can't beat that!

Be sure to check out QUILTsocial this week. I had fun playing with the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3, and some very cool things are coming! Be sure to check it out!!!! That link is for yesterday. 

Well, I'm off to finish my last two curved piecing seams, and then I can move to the next project. I can't wait to start that one - NOT!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!