Sweet Retreat

I want to share some photos of our annual "Seven Sisters" retreat this past weekend. I feel so fortunate to have these 6 women in my life. We all have different quilting styles and tastes which fit perfectly together in one fun filled weekend. This is our 4th time in this wonderful place, the Quilt Inn (check it out here) in Rangeley, Maine. The Inn is run by Carol and Dan Perkins who also own the Threads Galore quilt shop next door. I can't say enough about this wonderful location and facility. All I can say is if you are even thinking about a retreat in the Northeast, you MUST consider this wonderful place. Dan and Carol are open for their guests at "any" time during your stay. I know, doesn't that sound dangerous! You can get a good idea of the superb quilting room from my photos, but to see the bedrooms visit their site (here). Quilts on every bed! And, you can visit Dan's beautiful gardens and if you are lucky, you can get a sneak peak of the current (always award winning) quilt they are working on. Just a wonderful experience. O.k. Here are a few highlights of the weekend.

first, we pack the car

don't we all wish we had this view from our grocery store parking lot?

so, we are all in and starting to stitch 'til we drop. The two Karen's rev up their machines.

Charlotte show one of her 9 projects (yes, she was the winner of who brought the most projects)

Tina, Fotini and Kathy hard at work with Charlotte guarding her station in the background.

4 of us are following Barbara Brackman's Stars in a Time Warp. These are Karen M's stars.

These are Charlotte's. Don't you love the 9-patches in some of the centers?

and these are Tina's. Unfortunately, you can't see the ones on the board behind her. She is like a mad woman with these things! I also think she may be in second place for the amount of projects she brought (and WORKED on)!

We had some late night sewing and apparently some late night mischief as well. When I woke up on Saturday morning we all had these wonderful little fabric bowls at our places. Charlotte and the elves had been working until 3:00 in the morning to complete them by morning! Wow!

Months ago, as a joke, I had given Charlotte a bag of the trimming from when I square up my fabrics. She is always making something from nothing so I said, ha make something form this if you will, and lo and behold, she made the fabric rope from them and then these wonderful basket bowls. Amazing!

 She stitched so late into the morning that she misplaced her nightgown. She found it hanging by her place in the morning. Oh, those helpful elves!

Some late night stitching was not as successful as others. Kathy just didn't know when to stop so she just turned it into a "Y-patch"

Here is yet another of Charlotte's projects (I missed a few somehow, must have run out of power!)

Karen M whipped up a few small quilts. Aren't they beautiful?

Fotini is making this spectacular quilt for her 18th century bedroom. luscious! 

Karen B is busy cutting while Tina stitches and Fotini turns up the tunes.

as for me, I was the only one who didn't bring my machine! I brought my new potholder quilt and that was it. My goal was to get all the leaves basted to the background and by some miracle I made it! I still have a long way to go but I'm liking it so far.

So, I hope you all get a chance to visit this wonderful place. With all we accomplished we still found time for chatting and eating and swimming in the lake (I'll spare you those photos - ice out was only 3 weeks ago and it was a bit chilly to say the least!). Enjoy your quilting adventure today.