Brazos House Retreat - Let's Sew

I have been blessed with an invitation to a quilting retreat.  Allison gave me this opportunity a few months ago and I jumped on it without thinking twice and shared it with Jen who also said yes.  The day is finally here and I am thrilled.

Driving in a torrential downpour while all the projects I hope to accomplish running through my mind makes me thankful for modern conveniences such as GPS.  I am able to just mindlessly follow along once I am out of the city.  The trip goes quick - even with the storms and I am soon at my destination - the Brazos River Retreat.  Oh yay -- I cannot tell you how excited I am and have been for the weekend to arrive.  I have never attended a retreat before and do have a small amount of apprehension, but the excitement is much stronger.

I arrive and am greeted by a large dog who seems thrilled that I am here.  Within moments, Deb and LouJane welcome me as well and I start the process of unloading the car to set up.  Since I am early, I am told to go upstairs and select the room I would like for Jen and myself.  Well, alrighty then.  Off I go and am soon rewarded with a cute little corner room at the end of the hallway that has a great view.  Nice.  (And no, for some bizarre reason I didn't take any pictures of the room -- I know -- someone slap me.)  I set up my station and quickly work the ends into my spool doilies in order to start sharing them with those who have already arrived.  For those who are not here yet, they will be greeted by a sight similar to this:  (some gifts arrived later, but I did say "similar")

With the sounds of donkeys braying and chickens cackling, the other ladies start to arrive and the hustle and bustle begins.  We all pitch in to help each other empty their cars and within no time, the hum of sewing machines can be heard throughout the room.  It is magic to my ears.  I am not the only one with a vintage lady - the entire group of tables behind me have them as well.  Yay!  Mary Lou has even brought a handcrank that I would do most anything for.  Someday.

It is nice to see Allison and Janet from Bonnie's classes and to make new acquaintances as well.  Hopefully, those will turn into friends before this is over.  The center has set up six foot tables, lamps, drink/garbage holders, and comfortable chairs for each of us.  It is amazing and I have room to put out both Annie (my 301A) and Barbara (my 221) as well as space to work.  I am lovin' it.  Now let's get to work.  I have an entire quilt to build and I am not even finished cutting out the blocks.

It does not take long for the rains reach us here as well.  We are soon blessed - yes blessed as this is Texas and we need every single drop of rain that we can get - with a magnificent storm.  Allison and Deb take advantage of this opportunity to smell the fresh air and do a little visiting in the porch swing.

The storm lasts quite awhile and soon we have waterfalls coming from the roof.  The temperature drops about 20 degrees and oh the air smells so delicious.  Breathe it in - it's heaven.  My sweet little car is certainly having her share of showers today.  The only problem is that she doesn't seem to get as clean as she does when Mister takes his sponges to her.

This is a wonderful group of ladies and we have laughter to the point of tears right off the bat.  Most of us do not have cell phone coverage here and are unable to connect to the internet either (construction error by crew) so the few who do have coverage are graciously letting others use their phones to get messages back to hubbies that we have arrived safely.  However, not all messages go quite the way they are intended.  Denise texts Deb's husband that she has arrived okay and starts getting really silly messages back.  Thinking that she is being played with, she plays along and is soon receiving VERY interesting texts.  We are all laughing and then someone suggests that she check to make sure she had the right number.  Oops -- nope.  More laughter until the tears are flowing.

We meet Kay, the owner, as she arrives to prepare our dinner.  The smells coming from the kitchen are divine and I do not realize how hungry I am until now.  Jen arrives just as dinner is being served so she joins us and is introduced to everyone.  After a delicious dinner, which ends with chocolate cake, ice cream, and chocolate sauce, Deb suggests that each person tell a bit about themselves so that we can get to know each other better.  This is such a great idea as it takes about 2 hours and we laugh ourselves silly.  I will never, ever forget Wendy's presentation and her "serger" noise.  Wonderful!  Oh, and Carolyn's fabric packing idea to keep the size of her stash to herself for a bit longer.  I can so relate to that.  And Valerie -- dear Valerie -- it doesn't matter what she says -- we are all enthralled with her accent.  She is so educated and hearing of her adventures leaves me in a state of a bit of envy.  I am already so comfortable with this group.  When the group breaks up, I help Jen bring her things in and settle in to bind Ryan's quilt.  I DID finish 93 blocks today.  Yes!  Jen heads off to correct papers from her class so that she can forget about them for the weekend.  The night runs late and I do not finish until around midnight, but I have another one in the "finished" column.  It is time for some sleep.

Friday, I am awakened by the donkey and shortly thereafter the roosters start in.  I guess it is time to rise and shine.  We have a continental breakfast downstairs and everyone takes the time to get to know each other better by sitting in a different spot than the night before.  Conversation is top-notch and I already feel as though I have known these ladies for a long time.  It is wonderful.  It's time to get to work as I have told myself that I will not stop today until I have this top completed AND a back to go with it.  Binding made would be lovely as well.  Gotta start sewing.

Allison, Valerie, and Carolyn decide to go into Granbury and visit the quilt shop there.  They return with a sewing machine as well as some fabric.  Wonderful.  Valerie is now the proud owner of a vintage Necchi - complete with ALL accessories.  She is off the wall excited. (Where is my camera?)

The day passes with a wonderful lunch and dinner to break it up and conversation to keep everyone laughing and giggling along the way.  The evening laughter centers around Jen as Bekah has been texting one-liners to her boyfriend and doesn't realize that her mom can see what she is doing.  Carolyn latches onto one of the lines and texts it to her husband.  "Did you have Lucky Charms for breakfast because you are 'magically delicious.'"  Apparently it elicits a surprising comment back from him because she is all red and won't share the contents.  From that moment on, "lucky charms" shows up in other conversations as well.  I just keep sewing and with some help from Janet, settle on the finished look for my top.  The back and binding both are completed and it is 1:30 as I climb the stairs for some sleep.

Saturday - We have sunshine!  I take a few minutes to explore the grounds and love it.  All the sounds of a farm with the beauty of a river view.  Who could ask for more in a retreat spot?  Take a walk with me and enjoy as I do.

I look back as I am walking away from the center.

This is where I am heading.  The little blue building is a wonderful two-story playhouse.

I take a slight left and am on my way to the river but come to a firepit first.  Oh how fun for a family reunion.

There is a rock overlook to the river --- doesn't this just look heavenly?

I'd like to sit here with my sweetie and enjoy a cool drink while watching the river.  Ahhh.

And THIS is what we would see.

After a relaxing stay, I head back up to the center and pass the firepit again.

Off to the left, I spot the horse pasture and go to say hello.

Coming back up to the front of the building

Ah - refreshing.  Jen wants to run into town for some thread so I get ready as well and while waiting, I grab a few pictures of the ladies at work.

Everyone is busy, busy but there is always time to stop and share a few words with someone else.  The camaraderie is heartwarming.

My camera has been hiding for the ta-da moments so I find a few of them that are lying around and try to make a memory for myself.  I really need to do better - cross your fingers that it doesn't keep hiding from me.

As Jen and I head into town, we pass a meadow filled with wildflowers.  I wish it looked as beautiful in these pictures as it does in real life, but oh well.  Mister always tells me that our eyes are better than any camera.

Our trip in town is interesting.  First stop is the quilt shop - no black floss/no match on her applique thread.  Drat.  Second stop is Michael's - score on the floss/no thread.  Third stop is WalMart - still no thread.  Jen says she thinks this is the first time she has ever walked out of a WalMart without buying a single thing.  We arrive back at the center just as lunch is served.  Good, cos I am starving.  This three meal a day stuff is getting habit forming.  After lunch - it is time to get to work.  I laid out my Celtic Solstice blocks first thing this morning and am ready to put them together.  It turns out I am only 2 blocks short of making 2 queen tops instead of a king.  Yes!  That is the plan now.

My spot in the room is right near one of the doors and as I am sewing, I spot movement on the porch out of the corner of my eye.  The guinea hens have come to visit.  Must take a picture.  NOW the camera quits hiding.  As I enter the porch, they retreat but I am able to catch one right below me.  Fun.

The room is just bustling with activity and many projects are coming along nicely.  Janet has been working on a store sample for Fabric Fanatics.  The pattern has been giving her total fits, BUT look at how beautiful her color choices and piecing are.  I am in love with this one.  The store is going to kit it up and if I come upon some lost money in a gutter, I plan to take advantage of it.  Wow.

Wendy is my table mate and she has had coffee today.  To use her own words, she is "all wired up" and full of energy while telling stories.  She has been busy working on a raw edge applique quilt that I am so sad I don't have a picture of.  What is my problem?

The abilities in this room amaze me.  I know there are over 100 years of experience in here and I can only hope to attain the level that they have.  I am just a baby in a room of giants.

Suddenly there is a flurry of activity at the door beside me.  The chickens are busy outside and Valerie, Mary Lou, and Allison are the voices of them.  "Wait for me."  "I want some too."  "Don't eat it all."  It's feeding time and so naturally we must have narrators.  I think this was the moment that inspired Mary Lou to make a mini chicken quilt -- which I also do not have a picture of and am SO very angry with myself over that one.  (Yep - I took my roses along to enjoy this weekend.)  Apparently Denise is not interested in the chickens, but Jen seems to be.

Valerie now decides that she needs to entertain us with "interpretive dance".  I wish I had the presence of mind to record it, but I do grab one quick shot.  She is hysterical and I definitely would want her at each and every retreat I attend.
She has been gone since early this morning and only recently returned after taking her sweetie to the airport.  I think she is VERY tired.


Allison has a ta-da moment.  Oh my -- just look at those points.  LOVE.  Yes, my camera is out of hiding.  Only moments later Deb has a ta-d as well.  She calls it her "yurt" which makes me smile and then shares that she still has more blocks left as she cut them twice.  Sounds like something I would do.

It's my turn for a ta-da.  I have the first CS top finished.  I LOVE it and am shocked that I made it.  I just keep staring at it in awe.  Had I known what this mystery looked like before starting, I am not sure I would have.  Although there are not any circles in it --- it looks that way thus making it very intimidating.

Now to bind Bekah's quilt before working on the second one.

Jen has her ta-da moment as well.  She has completed all the blocks for her quilt and they are beautiful.  Everyone comes over to look and Carolyn says she is inspired to give applique a try now.  Way to go Jen.

It is late and most people go to bed, but Deb and LouJane are still up so I visit with them for awhile and then pick their brains on how to go about putting my "estate" blocks together.  They give me some great insight and I think I can work with what they said and love it.  Thanks so much.  It is 2 a.m. -- goodness time for some sleep.

It is Sunday morning and I am sad.  I really do not want this retreat to end, but Jen is also leaving early to head home and hear her children sing in church for Mother's Day.  I am so happy for her, but love being around her.  We dress and go downstairs.  Kay is making brunch today so it will be a little later, but people are visiting in the kitchen and having a cup of coffee together while Kay works.  She is amazing and the food here has been beyond awesome.  We have been abundantly spoiled for sure.

While we wait, Deb has another ta-da --- this is beautiful.  She was just four rows short when we went to bed last night.  Nothing was stopping her this morning.

I neglected to take pictures of our food which is terribly unlike me, but I do get one this morning of the beautiful scones we have been treated to.  Oh my.  Not only are they fantastic looking, but they are delectable as well.  Yum.  Time for some group shots -- before we all start home.  Why are you hiding Janet?  Dang - this photographer needed to do a better job.

After brunch I walk Jen out to her car, but she goes one last time to feed the donkey.  She has been doing this each day and I think it has been a highlight for her.  I went along once because she said it got angry with her when she left, but it didn't do anything when I was there.  This time, I grab my camera again and well --- watch what happens.

As we are walking away from the donkey -- the chickens come running at top speed thinking we are feeding them as well.  Sorry guys.

Jen is on her way and I return to see if I can get my second Celtic Solstice top together.  I start working on it but have to take a break and find some meds.  At least it is the last day - I have felt wonderful all the others.  Once I am back on my feet, I get all packed up except Annie and the quilt top.  I settle in and add the last few rows.  Woot!  I am happy -- I just have to make two blocks and add the row.  Onto borders.

I finish packing up just as June has a couple quilts to show.  I go out to the car and retrieve my camera.  Look at the beauty of these.

The one on the left is English paper pieced hexies by hand.  I bow down to you woman.  The second one just blows my mind in that it would take me days to decipher how to even begin to build the blocks.  Awe!

This has been an amazing time.  I certainly hope I have the chance to do it again.  Thank you ladies for all that I learned and the friendship you showed.  Keep creating and forgive me for the moments when my camera was hiding and I missed making memories.  I will try harder next time.