Quilting Retreats Offer Lots of Opportunities to Produce (Friends and Quilts)!

 

Working on nametag hearts for 
Sitchers Etc. Summer Retreat!

Last Sunday, I promised to blog about our Stitchers Etc. annual quilting retreats and post additional photos from our group’s summer retreat. Well, here we are!

Me and my sidekick Elida!

After the struggle with a flat tire on set up day, I was very eager to get into the excitement and happiness of retreat! Friend Elida, who now lives in South Carolina but comes back to Huntsville for quilt retreats and to visit with her son, helped me with set up at Camp Maranatha on Wednesday. She stayed overnight at my Huntsville home and the two of us got up early Thursday and were out the door by 7:30 to get to Camp Maranatha before our fellow retreaters!

True to form, it wasn’t long before our retreaters began arriving. It was such a joy to have them in the house and setting up! 

Our Stitchers Etc. Quilting Room
 at Camp Maranatha.

Friends enjoying their quilting time.

Pat V. with the Bama bag
she made at retreat.

This was Pat V.’s first retreat since she broke her femur and smashed her knee last December. It was a blessing to have her back with us as she always brings lots of funny stories to share and her creativity is infectious! 

It was also fun to welcome a few first time retreaters – including Deborah and Sheree, who both have tried to attend previous retreats but had to cancel due to COVID; Teresa and Liz, who are both new to Stitchers; and Judi, a friend from my professional years who is also a quilter. 

Newcomers Sheree's and Deborah's first time
at a Stitcher's Retreat!

Newcomer Teresa at the ironing board
 with the tiny purse she made.

Newcomer Liz making star blocks.

Newcomer Judi with table mate Cindy.

The other surprises of this retreat include the chance to celebrate Cindy’s birthday on Saturday, and a special visitor, which I will get to later. 

Birthday Princess Cindy with a
few of her friends at retreat.

Besides those already mentioned, our retreaters included: Tamara, Janice, Pat K., Mary Ann M., Pam D., Pauline, Jane, Sharon, Renee, Eileen, Helen, Lisa, Maria, Sue and Cheryl. Here are their photos:

Tamara working on quilt blocks.

Janice back to work
after a walk in the heat.

Pat K. with an applique project.

Pam D. and Mary Ann M.
had fun being table mates.

Pauline and Jane enjoyed being table mates, too!

Sharon worked on her flower pot quilt
 from the Stitchers block swap.

 

Helen, Renee and Eileen socialize while sewing.

Lisa is happy to be at retreat.

Cheryl is very busy working
on her quilt.

Maria is following her directions.

Sue did a lot of
machine embroidery at retreat.

The whole retreat group! Stitchers Etc. Summer Retreat 2024.

Tons of quilt projects were worked on at retreat. It was fun to see them get completed. By Saturday, we were all feeling quite accomplished. So, it was a great time to stop for a minute and celebrate Cindy’s birthday, which fell on that very day. From now on, a new policy is if your birthday day is during retreat, it will be celebrated! We had a great time making the day special for our birthday princess, and we all got to eat birthday cake!

Retreaters outside to enjoy
 the stars at night.

Saturday night, at about 11:30, I was doing my usual rounds, checking to make sure the kitchen was clean, turning off lights not being used and taking out the garbage. Outside the kitchen door, there are three huge garbage bins. As usual, I propped the door open and took a big bag of garbage out to the bins. I knew the first bin was pretty full, so I walked past it to the second bin. As I proceeded, I saw the lid of the first bin open and close twice, very quickly. I jumped back and screamed, dropped my garbage bag, and ran back inside. I shut the door behind me and ran into the quilting room, and yelled across the room, “Elida! Elida! There is something in the garbage bin and I won’t go out there by myself. I’m scared!” Elida came running, followed by Renee. We opened the back door, and Elida went out to the bins while Renee and I watched from the door. She managed to open the lid and jump back. Out of the bin popped a raccoon! He scampered out and ran off. Elida put the garbage bag in the bin and got it shut, and the three of us went back inside, laughing and joking about the raccoon.

But that wasn’t all the excitement of Saturday night. As the evening went into the wee hours, I spied the remaining birthday cake on the table. I really wanted to have a little piece. I kept walking by it and looking at it. Finally, I said to no one in particular, “I really want a piece of this cake.” Helen said, “So do I!” That was enough encouragement for me to cut into the cake and distribute pieces to all those of us remaining in the quilting room. We finished off that cake! Thank you, Cindy, for having a birthday. 

Stitchers Etc. has two retreats a year – one in late winter/early spring and another in the summer. I want to encourage quilters to attend a quilting retreat. They really give you a sense of community within the quilt world, connect you with fellow quilt artists who can become life-long friends and provide you with tons of inspiration! And, an extra bonus, you get big chunks of time to work on those long lists of quilting projects that you are anxious to complete! In September, members of Heritage Quilters of Huntsville will start signing up for the HQH retreat, which is set for the last weekend in January at a new location – Camp Sumatanga, just south of Gadsden/Atalla. I will be among those signing up! Join me and other HQH members for a super fulfilling quilting retreat!

Also, quickly, I want to mention that I am very honored to once again serve on the HQH Board for the next couple of years. In August, we had our leadership transition meeting/member potluck dinner to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of the next. I transitioned out of a two-year stint as the guild’s 2nd VP-Programs while also serving as the Quilt Show 2024 Co-Chair, and I transitioned into my role as Quilt Show 2026 Co-Chair. What a wonderful group of quilters I get to serve with!

 

        

Hugs and Hope and Happy Quilting!
Kari