What a great weekend we had at our 8th.....yes 8th!....Retreat. We just managed to squeeze in the Retreat last year before we headed in to lockdown, and this year's was just perfect timing. The weather was great, there were no travel restrictions, and......the big plus.....we didn't have to wear face masks!
Friday was set up day........the tables were set

table centres and numbers done

Goody bags filled

and the pop up shop all organised.

We were back home by about 2.30pm, and it was on to some last minute baking before the big first day.
It was so lovely to see so many happy and excited faces as the ladies arrived for the start of a weekend of stitching and friendship.

As I spent most of my time in the kitchen over the course of the two days, I didn't get to see what everyone was working on, or take any photos. I managed to pop out to make the odd announcement, draw the winners of the door prizes, and also present the Show & Tell. And wow what a Show & Tell it was! It wasn't hard to see that an awful lot of sewing happened last year during the Covid lockdown periods.
This beautiful quilt by Jacqui wowed the crowd....and it was quilted on her domestic sewing machine!

Vicki's beautiful red and white hexagon quilt was made using just 2 fabrics.

And just like that the weekend was over, and it was time to pack it all up and head for home. In just 1.5 hours it was all gone.
A few special thanks:
Michelle, Sharon, Annette and Julie who helped to pack up......you are wonderful!
Tabatha for her help in the kitchen over the 2 days, and also as a whizz on the vacuum cleaner.
Jodie for all of her support and help during set-up, in the kitchen, and during pack up.
To Hannah who worked like a trooper in the pop-up shop over the weekend, and helping me out in the kitchen too.
And last but certainly not least....Russell. He puts up with all of my crap and was there working along side of me in the kitchen all weekend......except when his pager went off during Show & Tell and had to dash off in the CERT vehicle to attend a call out. Yes we did all hear the pager!
Thank you all.......I certainly could not run these events on my own.
And of course thanks to everyone who attended and made it a great weekend. My feet have now recovered.....although it did take 4 days for the soreness to disappear. The shop is back together, but the classroom is still a mess, and I am about to start making up new projects to kit up to replace the very depleted stock levels in the shop. New fabric is arriving today and also on Tuesday, so I will be back soon with more blogging.
Oh and the dates for the 2022 Retreat are 19th and 20th March. Registrations will open later in the year.
Linda :)