PTA RETREAT REPORT

Our 3rd annual January PTA retreat was canceled TWICE due to bad weather......but of course we rescheduled......and I've just returned from 3 fun filled, productive days.

It's held at a retreat center in the mountains near Canton, NC. Peaceful and beautiful.

We rent a large home plus a huge sewing room in the administrative lodge. They cater to several quilt groups, therefore....one is treated with quilts on display everywhere. What better back drop can hungry quilters have for their workroom snack table!?!

They provide coffee/tea and all the fixings.......

and this amazingly thoughtful touch......coolers of ice for chilled water. One gets very thirsty with all the gabbing we do.

The meals are excellent.......we waltz in......dine.....and waltz out.......no dishes to do...... This is Heaven!!

Here's a section of our work space. The first year, 3 of us made this pod unit to make it easier to pool our conversation type fabric to make baby quilts. We work well side by side so we've continued our table arrangement.

This is my space....I took control of a podium to hold my pre-cut strings that I used for my project this year.

Today most of us spent a very frustrating 30 mins. looking for my thread clips that vanished. The obvious place to look was the the floor, food table, then the iron station.....it was ridiculous....we couldn't find it anywhere....including the trash cans. Then, after Mary B. lent me hers to use......sure enough, they turned up. I found the clip stuck in the channel on the wrong side of my rotary cutter. What a hoot.....

Because we have lots of breaks, several demos, and general disruptions that are typical at these events......finishing a project is a rarity. String piecing.....even with pre-cut strings took much longer than I expected. I pressed as I pieced which meant getting up constantly before adding the next strings. I worked two blocks at a time to lessen the trek back and forth....but it was still time consuming. I rationalized that as exercise to balance all the extra calories I consumed. No worries......I'll make a few block now and again and soon it will be completed and I'll share a photo when it is.

More to come......