What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 With a very HEAVY heart, I let you know that Fireside Retreat House will be sold this year. I received the bad news last night. NO!!!!!!!  I know they took a beating last year with so many cancellations because of COVID. Well, we did our best to keep them afloat and rented the house FIVE times at four nights each time. 

BUT - it wasn't enough, and with the sketchy year ahead of us, I'm sure they are anticipating a very sketchy year this coming year. Oh - this is terrible news. My heart goes out to Emma, who put ...

What's with the crazy weather? We had crazy rain for most of the day, and how about that wind? I don't think we had any issues at our house, but you can hear the house creaking in the wind, and those little bathroom vents flap like crazy!

The girls were thrilled to see me, and I managed to walk with each of them between the rain. I got lucky because this wasn't just rain - it was torrential rain driven by the wind. Fortunately, whenever the rain started, I was snuggled up with a quilt in my chair ...

 I can't believe how quickly the last four days have flown by. It's been so much fun, and a MUCH needed mental break. I can't thank the ladies enough for venturing out (safely) to enjoy this mini-vacation. 

But - it's not over yet. We still have today, although most of us will venture home shortly after lunch. And that's OK. I have a wee fire going this morning to take the chill out of the air of the sewing room. I've done well with the fire all week. It seems a bit reluctant this morning ...

 Well, all I can say is Halluleuyah!!!  The red and white blocks are DONE! But not without a couple of glitches. 

Here they are—the four blocks of Block Five. And yes - that one block doesn't have the best contrast - I'm over it. I had done very well with the cutting, except that I had forgotten to cut the white for one of the blocks. Hmm - I could wait until I got home; I could have gone to the quilt store today or borrowed from a friend. Ronda happened to have some white, so I got white from ...

I know that you've all experienced this. You think you're going to get project A done in a day. It's all cut out - how hard can it be? Well, I'm still working on the first small bag that I pulled from my projects box. With all the chatter and the side trips and the movie last night - I don't seem to be getting much done. 

However, I'm just laughing it off because, technically, this is a mini-vacation, and well - if I don't get a lot sewn, who really cares? Not me. I did ...

It's nice to get out and have a wee change of pace from our new normal. It's very subdued, and we're within our little bubble - just in case you think we're going rogue here!

It didn't take long to load up the car, but still, it's amazing how much stuff one needs to bring. This is everything I emptied from the car. All that remains in the car is an assortment of coats, hats, scarves, and mitts that I'll dig out as I need them. And honestly, there is only one container of ...

I love sewing retreats, but I also love getting home!!! 

I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done, but I did get enough done to make me happy. What made me even happier was getting to spend some time with my friends. Chatting, having a laugh or two, sharing ideas, hopes, fears, and all that stuff. Thanks to everyone for a wonderful time.

What's even better is that while I have work to do this week, there are no deadlines. I have one lecture to present via Zoom, so that will take a bit of prep, but ...

NOOOOO   - It's the last day of our sewing retreat. I feel like we just got here. I didn't get enough done!

Oh - who am I kidding. I'm perfectly happy with what I got done, even if it wasn't a lot. In a way, it was a lot. Sometimes you just need to get over a hump, and then the flood gates will open.

Because I sew so much or deal with sewing/quilting stuff at home almost all the time, it's nice to take a break from it and do something else. That something else ...

What a glorious day! The temperature was perfect for sitting on the deck, riding a bike, or going for a walk. It was also perfect for sewing; however, I didn't get much sewing done! But I'm on vacation, and I'm OK with that. I know that when I get home, I'll be sitting at the sewing machine, and so a little break is well deserved.

So first off, Ronda was messing with my new FitBit - the Versa 2. And guess what? I now see myself every time I look at my watch. Yep - that's my ...

It was another very successful day at Fireside Retreat. I may not be getting loads done in terms of quantity, but it's the mindset that's important.

Actually, I didn't even turn my sewing machine on until AFTER lunch. Shocking! I went for a bike ride in the morning. I was going to wait because it was only 11 degrees Celcius in the morning. But then Ronda was out on her bike and well - if she can be out, then so can I!

It was a glorious ride. I decided to try out the rail trail (Uhthoff Trail ...

I had a load of fun at the retreat. But I have to admit that it is great to be home! The girls, of course, was quite excited to see me and now time to get back to my routine. I have a load of things that have to be done this week, so it's going to be all hands on deck. Well - just my two hands, but I think you knew that!

Ooops -- I didn't find my flower photo this morning, but here are some fungi that I saw on my morning walk. I took a trip ...

Sadly, today is the last day here at Fireside Retreat. But who cares about that - it's what happened yesterday that counts.

There was no bike ride and minimal walking as we had a rainy day. No one complained about the rain. Everything has been so hot and dry around here that it was a pleasure to get the rain. I did go for a short walk after dinner, and it was nice to get out and stretch the legs. I did NOT make my 10K steps for the day, and I'm OK with that.

I do have another ...

Why does time pass so quickly when you're having fun? We still have one more full day, and then there's no reason to rush home tomorrow, so I should be able to get a lot more done.

I can see the bottom of the laundry basket, but that doesn't mean that I'll get everything finished. And remember that a couple of projects that are "done" while I'm here, are in fact, not done as I didn't have the thread for the applique and so on. But most of the stuff that went into the ...

Another day at Fireside Retreat and another hot day outside. Not so hot that we didn't sit out on the deck for quite a bit yesterday afternoon (in the shade of course) and not so hot that we didn't eat lunch and dinner in the screened-in porch. And not so hot that I didn't take a bike ride in the morning and then a walk in the evening. YES - we're totally crazy, but if you're just sitting around on the deck, the heat and humidity are not so bad.

The other saving grace with the ...

OK -- so I'm totally spoiled and totally loving it. But yes - we're back at Fireside Retreat. With the whole pandemic thing going on, we had to move some dates around, and well, this retreat and the last one ended up being very close to each other. Couldn't be helped and well - I don't care.

We're a much smaller group than usual, so we're all spaced out in the house, and loving the extra room.

I wasn't sure if I was going to get everything into the car. Not that I had a lot ...

Who turned up the heat? I don't mind the heat, and no, we still haven't turned on the air conditioning. We like the fresh air in the house, so some of the windows are wide open. A strategically placed fan or two, and we're good to go. We eat outside, and I was out in the gazebo in the afternoon for a well-deserved nap.

The key is to stay out of the sun. I walk with the dogs earlier in the day, and I went for my evening walk a bit later than usual. Everything was good ...

I didn't take a picture of the laundry basket for the retreat, but I did assemble all the bits to finish the Canada tote bag. They are safely tucked into a large plastic bag and in the laundry basket. I wish I could say that the laundry basket was my idea, but it's not! That belongs to Tish. She would go to our retreats with ONE laundry basket. None of this messy and overflowing bags of stuff. It might take a while for me to learn, but I do get it eventually!

There are some very exciting things ...

OK -- so I love the ladies on the retreat, but I think the walking thing has gotten a wee bit out of hand.

I like to get to bed early, but I've been going to bed a little bit later than usual, and since I'm sleeping on the main floor, I can sometimes (always) hear the noise that they make while they are sewing. That prevents me from going to sleep. Last night, some of them were geocaching and didn't get back until quite late, so I thought it was a good time to get to sleep ...

I'm trying to keep this sewing retreat low key! The last couple of months have been a challenge to everyone, and the fact of getting out is so nice. Sitting and chatting after dinner is something we do at our house all the time, but it's nice to expand that circle of people to chat with, and the topics are certainly more varied. However, it's interesting to note that COVID seems to the topic of conversation everywhere you go.

Thankfully, there is much more to talk about than COVID, and we're doing a great job in ...