The email from Roseanne showed up in my inbox last Wednesday. Unfortunately, someone had become ill and had to back out at the last minute. Was anyone interested in taking her spot at the guild’s quilt retreat?
Deadlines were looming, I had a million tasks pressing. The work was stacked up high on my desk. But when I read the email that an opening had become available for the Rhineland Pfalz Quilt Guild’s biannual quilt retreat, I thought to myself, “I need to just pack up and get the heck out of Dodge for some quilting F-U-N this weekend.”
Hubby graciously jumped on board and told me to have a great time. No angst, no guilt. Just have a blast. So, that’s just what I did.
Well, the room looked like this:
And we did some of this:
And a whole lot of this:
And there was talking, and laughing, and cogitating about block settings….
and despite perhaps being a little too overstocked in some ways,
(....and no, this wasn't my machine...)
straight lines were being sewn.
....and no, Christine did not hurt her neck at the retreat from too much sewing....
And quilts were getting DONE.
RPQG President, and token male member of the guild, Gordon and his Cherry Churn Dash Quilt!
And we did more of this:
…with lots of silliness (and back rubs!) too!
But there was also lots of learning, tip sharing and trying new techniques:
Lisa learned how to make perfect Pineapples using my EZ Pineapple Log Cabin Ruler!
And everyone had a great time. Especially me!
A long day of sewing combined with a bundle of Honey Bun fabric strips and some chocolate create a case of the giggles.
Although when I slept a bit late on Saturday, there was a note waiting for me on my sewing machine from the early risers:
Ha Ha! So much for being an early bird.
Anyway…..just look at the results of the weekend!
Well done, Lisa. She is an EZ Pineapple Log Cabin Ruler convert now. Just look at those perfect pineapples!
And we even had a surprise guest appearance from Sally Jesse Raphael!
Well, not really. That’s just Carla with someone else’s glasses! But my goodness — the resemblance…. (love the microphone…) 🙂
And I even got a lot DONE. Like this little Pineapple quilt top made from a bundle of those Honey Bun strips for an upcoming workshop I’ll be teaching….
What a weekend. What FUN! It was just what I needed. I’m back home, feeling refreshed, already unpacked, and ready to get back to work now.
And I even came home with a precious gift from my friend, Birgit. She gave me this little quilting “angel” and I have hung her on my favorite rotary cutter as a reminder of how precious quilting friendships truly are.
The memories will last a long time. Thanks, everyone!
What a trip to see Roseanne is still there and to see Carla again! I don’t recognize anybody else. Glad you to see you really do have time to quilt for yourself. LOL
oh ,yes we had a good time !!!and thank you for sharing so many things with us !!!
my neck is still hurting but I have got so much energy from everybody that I didn’t clean my house on monday but quilted……quilted…..quilted…..
take care!!!!
Dear Christine — thank YOU for sharing your amazing talent for patchwork with all of US! You are a gifted artist, and have such a tremendous eye for color. I’m in awe of what you do with fabric and thread! I’m so glad you kept the momentum of that creative energy flowing and you spent the time quilting yesterday instead of cleaning. And I hope the pain in your neck gets better and better. Quilting is good therapy! God bless you –
Mary — It was truly a weekend well spent, but I used every moment to work on either projects for workshops I’ll be teaching or on quilts for the book!
I’m still quilting… and it’s Wednesday. Somebody stop me before I hurt myself and need one of those neck braces!
This retreat was one of the best if not the best. Kudos to Roseanne. Again. My stomach was sore from laughing so much. Besides creative talent, our guild has entertainers and actors!
OMG, I never noticed how ‘yellow’ that conference room is. Did you notice?
I hope that Nicola (booked out) is better and that we can all attend the next RPQG retreat in November!
Ilona;
Oh my goodness….as soon as I downloaded all the photos from my camera my first thought was…”why does every picture have such a ‘yellow’ haze look to it?” I never noticed the yellow while we were in the room but it sure shows up in the pictures! 🙂 Guess I should have adjusted the light settings on my camera. Live and learn!
What a wonderful way to multiply your collective talent & energy. The projects everyone did look beautiful, and now I’ve GOT to try the pineapple ruler.
Pat — Hang on to that thought! I have step-by-step samples all ready to demonstrate in Lancaster just how easy it is to use the Pineapple Ruler. Once you see the steps in person, you’ll “get it” and be ready to try it at home. No worries, no stress!
That looks like tons of fun. I’ve never been to a retreat (thank you M.S.) but this looks like something I’d really love. What great photos and I can tell y’all just had a great time.
Dear Karendianne — if you ever have the opportunity to go to a quilt retreat or even a small sewing gathering with friends, jump on the chance. It was tiring, yes, but more rejuvenating than anything and the creative energy was like a shot in the arm! I hope you’ll get the chance at some point — wish I could have you come here and sew with me. I know we’d have a ball! 🙂
I bet that you have had the time of your lives! When I stopped by to drop off my stuff, the entire place was echoing from laughter! May your quilting “angel” watch over your fingers every time you pick up that dangerous tool… LOL
I am so glad that everyone had such a great time! I had a blast myself and we are already booked for the 13-15 of November! The quilting craze continued after everyone left and I am with Ilona on the neck brace….I feel like the energizer rabbit on speed….high Pfaff speed that is! Thanks for coming Kimberly! Your ideas and bubbly personality really kept us rolling! You haven’t lost your touch! Keep up the great creative work!
Token male, Kimberly?! I’ve been quilting my fingers to the bone lately and that’s what I get… Oh well, I’ve been called much worse! It was a great weekend with everyone and I had a great time, as usual, with major kudos to Roseanne for organizing and running it for us. It is so nice to just go and sew, knowing that the food and room is taken care of. 0100 seemed to come so quickly Friday night, couldn’t have anything to do with the wine. It was great to finally meet you, Kimberly, and I will use your heart ruler to make a quilt for my 17 month old granddaughter, Maya Isabella. Take care…
Gordon! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog! Goodness, I truly misspoke myself. 😉 You are NOT just the “token male” — you are our guild’s FEARLESS LEADER! No one could have lead this group (or have handled all these crazy guild ladies) more brilliantly than you these past couple of years! I think you are just terrific, and I’m so glad I finally got to know you this past weekend. And you can quilt most of us under the table, you’re so talented. I loved seeing your quilts (I adore the Cherry Churn Dash — I think it needs to live at my house if your cherry lovin’ friend doesn’t get it!) and getting to know you better. And do send me a photo of the quilt you make for your granddaughter. I can’t wait to see what you do with HEARTS!
Dear Roseanne —
I’m SO tickled you “stopped by” my blog and left a comment! We all want to THANK YOU for putting the retreat together and for coordinating everything so well. It is a BIG job, and we were all blessed that you organized such a fantastic experience for us at Hambachtal. You arranged everything down to the tiniest detail so beautifully, and we all benefitted from it. Your energy is so contagious and I just love the photo of you (above) laughing! Although I’m sorry the gal had to miss the retreat because of her health, I’m delighted I was able to fill the open spot. It worked out, and I’m still feeling the benefits of having spent a great weekend among friends.
It was really great to leave my kids and husband at home and quilt uninterupted for a whole weekend. I am amazed at how much I accomplished. It was also really great to be in a room full of positive energy and people who have the same passion that I have. I really am enjoying getting to know everyone in the guild. Looking forward to the next retreat!
Christine E.
Christine E — I’m delighted you stopped by the blog and left a comment! I think you summed up beautifully everyone’s feelings about the retreat weekend. What a pleasure it was to leave daily routines (meals, dishes, laundry, etc.) behind and sew uninterupted for a couple of days. Weren’t the meals delicious? But more than the food and time for sewing, was the unbelievable creative energy that came from a room full of people sharing a common passion. I was truly inspired to see all the gorgeous creations. I’m glad to know you better, and hope to see you again soon!
What a whirlwind blast!! We really were “in the zone” at the retreat! Seeing so many tops completed and laughing so hard – what a rush. It was great to get to know you Kimberly. I hope to see you again soon. Cheers, Shelli
Shelli — You SAID it: we were IN THE ZONE! 🙂 It was so good to get to know you, too! You are one funny lady, and such FUN to be around!
Kimberly,
I was asked many times if I went on your blog already………no ,didn’t have a chance yet! I am glad that I am late getting on your blog….the comments from everybody were delightful and yes, Roseanne did a great job….again!!!!! The pictures were great and you can see on everybody’s face what a great time we were having. Yellow glow???????I thought it was supposed to be like that!! No wonder I look half way decent on the pictures LOL!!!! On Monday I slept until 1 pm….my recovering sleep for my laughing muscles…they were stil aching from this fabulous weekend!
Great time!
Hey, Carla (aka. Sally Jesse Raphael) — You were an absolute HOOT at the retreat and everyone loved being around you — the creative energy and fantastic fun just radiates from you! I’m so glad we got to be roommates, too. What a great time! I can hardly wait to have the chance to go to another retreat. Save me room in the bungalow and at the sewing table, girlfriend!
I know I am way late on responding to this, but just found the blog on Kimberly’s page. I am glad everyone had such a great time and wished I could have been there. I never did make it to a retreat while living in Germany. Well can you believe we have been back in the States a year now. It doesn’t seem possible. During this year there have been 3 retreats in the area and they have always fallen on my weekends to work darn it. Some day I will make it to a quilting retreat. Well are guild is getting ready for our quilt show here in a couple of weekends. Can’t wait for that and it is my weekend off yeepee. Take care and miss all the RPQG group. Oh yes and thanks Kimberly for sharing. I also just read the blog about Birgit. Way to go.
Dear Sheila;
It is NEVER too late to respond to a blog posting, and I’m delighted you stopped by and took the time to leave a comment! It would have been great fun to have you here.
Don’t give up — I’m sure one of the retreat weekends in your area will fall during a weekend when you don’t have other commitments!
I’ll be sure to pass your comments along to Birgit; she’ll be so tickled. We have an international star in our midst! 🙂
Hope you’ll stop back by and drop me a note again soon!