A little variety....

....to my fibre addiction this weekend. It was the twice-a-year quilting retreat organized by Muskoka Quilting and owner Debbie Suffern. What a wonderfully inspirational group of ladies!

Each session (April and November) I have the privilege of usuallly sitting near my dear quilting and knitting friend Linda, and at the same table as fellow knitters/quilters Gail and Connie. Sherry joined us this time too, and while she's not a knitter (that I know of), she certainly is a prolific quilter! We all share the same sense of humour (warped!), and laugh as much as we sew.

It's a wonderful three days where we can sew as much or as little as we wish, have our meals (and they're awesome!) provided, and can wander upstairs to our spacious rooms to nap when we want. We can sew on whatever projects strike our fancy and rely on motivation and/or assistance from our colleagues. This year I took several projects, but tackled much less than I usually do at these retreats -- much to the ridicule of my tablemates. For some reason, they think I can churn out inspired projects at the drop of a hat... and knit those too! That's a tall order to live up to, let me tell you!!

So for years, I've had this snowman wall hanging on my office door. This year I discovered a penguin pattern in my stash and thought it would be a nice change. It was fiddly to say the least, and my
patience was getting thin by noon on Saturday. Those who know me well were amazed I had lasted that long. So I putzed a bit more on it Saturday afternoon, knit a bit, participated in the after-dinner show'n tell, and then at 9:53 p.m. decided to start another quilting project.

By midnight, I had the makings of the blocks and it was just a matter of putting them together Sunday morning. We usually pack up by Sunday noon, and unfortunately I tarnished my image by not finishing the quilt Sunday morning. I chalk it up to my distracted brain this weekend....and I think that's due to the snow. It has that effect, you know -- especially when it arrives mid-November!

Now keep in mind, I'm not complaining when I see what Buffalo received, but I've always been a fan of snow a few days before Christmas, and then warmer weather taking it away early March. Apparently that's not the case this year, and the first "dump" arrived in conjunction with the quilting weekend.

I was going to drive up Thursday night, but that was when Huntsville received the culminating dump to the ton of snow already received. I wasn't about to tackle that drive after an already long day, and longer week! Friday morning was forecast as no precip and moderate sunshine, so I headed out. After a brief chat with Mom to determine the state of our driveway (had to pick up some quilting supplies), and picking up my friend in Orillia to drive her home to Huntsville, I headed to Mom's to find it impossible to get in the driveway (as predicted).

Thankfully my friend's hubby agreed to meet us there, and with the snowplow on his truck, took a few swipes at the drive making it passable. That left shovelling the walk, and leaving the remaining clean up to my brother and his snowblower, and I was away... or so I thought.  Totally forgot my pillow and sleeping bag.... then forgot the cream/milk for coffee.... geeeesh!

Not sure why I was so scattered, but I managed to correct those and get there in time for late afternoon Friday. At least the weekend went better after that! And just for the record, the snow that is up to the patio table (as well as on the table -- and hiding a gigantic pot of mums to the right!) all fell in four days!

So I hope to find time tonight to lay out the quilt blocks and finish the sashing and the quilt top... just to keep my image intact! Pictures to follow....