Well, it has been a fantastic weekend, and it will be sad for it to come to an end in the morning. A couple of ladies have departed this afternoon, but most will leave in the morning. The weather has been very cold, and we have had good rains, but it has been lovely and warm in the house. The wood fire has been working flat out, and it has been so cozy.
There were a few decorations and the red hats put out for the girls.
The Christmas tree is a bit tiny, but doesn’t take up much space.
This ornament plays Christmas music, and helps to set mood.
Time to settle in and get to know each other. The laughter has started, and did not stop the whole weekend. The 2 new ladies did not stay strangers for long. They said they had not laughed so hard in ages.
One lovely lady brought some Christmas nibbles, and they tasted fantastic. Thankyou Raelene.
Lots of different projects were worked on. It was a work on your own project retreat.
Kathleen was working on a pattern by Margaret Sampson George called “Going Green Gradually. Now to start on the whirlygig that is going in the middle of the green stripe.
Val missed out on the June Mystery weekend, so has been catching up this weekend, and has made good progress.
Pauline heading for a finish on what she did in a Heather Ridley workshop back in May.
Marlis spent the whole weekend working on flying geese blocks, and you can see the pile has increased.
Some took the opportunity to relax and chat. There is no stress to work on anything, and it is good to take time to “smell the roses” sometimes.
One lovely lady stitched the binding on the Pink Retreat Raffle quilt, and I thank her very much. I shall post a photo of the finished quilt soon, and will have tickets to sell.
Saturday evening we had a Christmas dinner, and the girls usually “dress” for occasion in red or green, and wear the hats that are on the table in the first photo.
A few were very creative, and one lady sewed Christmas baubles onto her jumper! Another had a necklace of sparkly lights, but sorry, no photo.
Don’t they all look very festive.
We had a special visitor between main course and the pudding. Santa came and handed out pressies to those who had been good. One lady was rather “forward” and tried to get in first to see Santa, and jumped the queue before her name was called out. She had to wait until almost the end before her name was called out.
This lady got a bit cosy and grabbed Santa’s hand. A few of the others even were forward enough to kiss Santa!
Wondering if Pauline’s halo is slipping a bit, as she is looking up at it??
The group photo out on the front steps and don’t they all look good?
Then is was time to get back to the table for the lovely Christmas pudding, that was made by Raelene. Thankyou for all your organising and delegating!
Sunday morning it was time for eggs and bacon for brekkie, cooked by Pat. And a morning to be decadent and sit around in the dressings gowns for ages. (I think that one lady was not showered and dressed until about 11am!) That’s what time out at retreats is for isn’t it?
Back to the sewing tables, and time to check the ipad and emails, and have a bit of a sugar fix as well.
Pat is working on another candlewicked quilt for her daughters and is making good progress. This needs to get to the quilter soon so that it can be finished for our exhibition in October.
Jean was working on the binding of a Mystery quilt from a retreat last October, and is pleased to have it finished now.
Sunday afternoon and time for a tipple and winding down.
Time to sign the guest book before you leave. There are some lovely comments written by ladies in the almost 5 years since the Sanctuary has opened.
Well, it’s time to eat some of the leftovers, and finish up another great day. Tomorrow will be clean up day, and then back to the quilts after saying good bye.
Thankyou to the ladies who came, for a fantastic weekend. I love to see the fellowship and fun that we have. Thankyou to all those who helped in any way. Thankyou to Santa for being a good sport and doing a great job. It was a lot of fun and made a special memory for us.
Hope to be back soon with news of a baby, that is keeping us all waiting.
Blessings, From Jude
3 comments:
Looks like a good fun weekend with friends! Congratulations on your prize in Melbourne, I had a good look at it on Friday, was a lovely quilt. We finally had some rain so hope you got your tanks filled and garden watered a little too. Hope that baby doesnt keep Mum waiting too much longer....mine were both late!
Glad you had a good weekend, even though bitterly cold. Here too. Rest up and enjoy the coming week.
What a wonderful weekend it was, so good for leaving all our stresses behind and enjoying the friendship and fun with like minded people. Judy, you did it again, and Father Christmas, although a little shy, enjoyed the hand holding and lots of pats on the hand as well as kisses on his cheek. He looked very happy when he left but probably was looking forward to some refreshment in the quiet of his own lounge room. We loved him and hope to see him again next July. Thanks again, Judy and the girls you bring so much happiness to a lot of people and we look forward to news of your little addition to the family. 😍💓🎄🎉
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