Fall Retreat 2020

Believe it or not, my fall retreat is the one thing that wasn't canceled this year! But before I got there, I took my mom up to the Traverse City, MI area for a long weekend away that I gifted her for Mother's day back in 2016! I am not sure how it took us 4 years to make the trip happen, but I am sure glad we got it in this year. 

Lake Michigan

We stayed in a perfect little cottage on Lake Bellaire and loved the view and the tranquility of it. We spent our 4 days there wandering around northwest Michigan, trying a few wines/ciders/beers, and did a little bit of shopping and a little bit of stitching.

A tower of wine for sampling

Overall, we felt pretty safe - there was one restaurant that was a little tight with people a little too close, but other than that, we always felt that there was enough room between us and others and we were impressed with the mask wearing throughout the area. It was a great time and now I want a lake house more than ever! 

The beautiful misty morning view of the lake

Beautiful sunset after dinner and a big storm on our last night in MI

On Wednesday morning, we packed up and headed south to Shipshewana for our annual quilt retreat. We were down significantly from our normal group of almost 100 quilters, which was nice as it made for lots of extra room in the sewing area and plenty of ability to social distance. We wore our masks when we left our tables/area, and were good about hand washing and sanitizer. However, the mask usage in the area was abysmal. Hardly anyone we saw was wearing a mask, including cooks, servers, and cashiers. It was disappointing to say the least, and then we held our breath for the next two weeks in hopes that we wouldn't come down with any symptoms. While we knew we'd done what we could to stay safe, we just thought there was more risk in that environment. 

The good news is that it meant we spent a little more time than usual in the sewing room. For the second year, the retreat started almost a day earlier - at 3pm Wednesday instead of 10am Thursday. I took full advantage of that time and got a lot done! Here are the things I worked on: 

A quick and easy pattern to get things started - this is called Layer Cake 4 hour throw and I used a layer cake from my stash - it is really busy and bright, but I think it will make a nice spring/early summer quilt for the couch and it matches the fabric that's in my House quilt that I hung up a few months ago. 

This quilt is for a baby boy who was born yesterday! Glad I got the top finished at retreat and I need to get down to my sewing room this weekend to find a back and get started on the quilting so I can deliver it soon. The pattern is called Preppy and it is by Andy at A Bright Corner. I enjoyed making this quilt with a fat quarter pack a beemate gave my when my son was little. I never did make him a quilt from it, but I think it will be great for this new baby boy.  

Next up was some cross-stitch finishing. It is something I'd have never brought to a retreat before this year, but I decided to spend a little time on my finishing, and I am happy to say that with these 5 pillows, I have now fully finished more items this year than any other year! All the items were stitched at least 2 or 3 years ago and I think one of them goes back to 2015! I think they all make great pillows and can't wait to display them during the different holidays. 

This is a busy bench, but it is the only picture that shows the project bags I made - with fabric purchased back in August, I finished three stitching bags and can't wait to get a few new projects in them ready to go! 

In addition to these projects, I worked on blocks for my son's quilt and also made a few paper pieced blocks. Our group was down to 4 quilters this year (we usually have 12+) but we all had a good time and are glad we went - especially glad now that we've passed the window for illness and are all healthy :)