Quilting Retreat!!

 Yep -- here I am at a quilt retreat. It's a small group (intentional) and is one of the most relaxing retreats because of that! Plus, it's an excellent opportunity to catch up with friends we rarely see. After getting all the morning stuff out, I loaded the car and was on my way. I think this is our third or perhaps fourth retreat that this small group has done. 

I always look at what I bring and think do I need all that, but I've cut way down on what I bring. OK - so I threw in a few too many projects - I'm ever the optimist. And let's not forget the Pony Express stuff. 

Ignoring the shoes on the floor—all of this stuff on the bench was from The Pony Express!! That's hilarious, but it's common for any retreat or gathering. Every time we meet anywhere, there's stuff that gets exchanged. I still have a couple of things at home that are waiting for a delivery, but my staging area is almost empty. I'll have to take a photo when I get home. 

Deliveries on The Pony Express

While I brought a lot of stuff, I'm going home with very little from The Pony Express, which is just the way I like it! 

I've already repacked my two project bags, and one of them will go back to the car. I didn't go super crazy, as I brought 8 projects, and two of those were thrown into the bag at the last minute! I know!!! I shouldn't have done that, but I did. I also brought my 365-day project and two bags of HST for trimming. 

This is what I'm working on. 

My modern quilt

This is a very modern quilt. Have you ever noticed that many modern quilts are made of grey, yellow, and black? Anyway, I had some fiddly bits to do yesterday, and that part is done, so the rest should go together pretty quickly. I hope to finish the top today. This quilt has been to several retreats, and it came back this time because I was missing some fabric at the last retreat.  

And I'm working on the 365-day quilt as my ender and leader. 

365-day quilt

I swear I had a small bag of half-square triangles to sew, but they needed to be pressed and trimmed. OK, I can do some of that while I'm here. I actually have two bags that need to be trimmed. 

Half-square triangles to trim

While I walked the girls in the morning before I left, I also went for two walks here. I have that aggressive goal to knock out of the park this year. I'm slightly behind, so there is little opportunity for slacking. 

Speaking of the morning walk, look at this. We've had some torrential rainfall in the last couple of days. So, what happened to the path in the forest? 

The rut on the path

That rut is getting deeper. 

Murphy surveying the damage

Not only that, but all the fill they put on the path and attempt to pack in just flows to the bottom and will block up the natural spring. You can see the gravel and sand off to the left. 

Lexi surveying the other bad area

There was never an issue for the first ten years we lived here. We started to have significant erosion when they started to mess with those little hills. I will have to write them and say -- create some metal channels in the hill to accommodate the water (like they do in Spain), or pave those hills, like the one small paved hill in that same forest. They have never had to maintain that. This is not rocket science we're talking bout. 

Of course, there was a rabbit under the gazebo and this time, Lexi came in with one leg, and her tummy was completely covered with mud! 

MOM - it's just mud!

It seems to be raining this morning, and I don't have any rain gear, so I'll be out walking this afternoon and this evening. 

On that note, I'm out of here. This morning, we're off to a quilt shop, and I need to get some major work done before I go!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!