All in the Pink!!!

I thought I better get busy tonight with the report on this weekend's Pink Retreat, while it is still fresh in my mind.  Tomorrow I need to get busy with Max in order to cross some quilts off the queue, as our local exhibition is not far away. 

The first to arrive where here by lunch time on Friday, and had put themselves in charge of the decorations, inside and out. Thankyou to Raylene and Margaret. There was certainly a message for anyone driving by my house, that something Pink was certainly happening inside!

The next to arrive were the first timers, Peggy and Kerry Anne. They got straight into sewing action and by 3pm there was a Ta Daa coming from the front room as Peggy finished her first project for the weekend. She had made a tail for her grandson, and proudly displayed it for us! Note, that Peg did work on other projects during the weekend, but in all the busyness of the last 2 days, I realise that their are no more photos of what Peg sewed!! Sorry Peg, I know you did have more to show than this!

By late afternoon all the girls had arrived, and all had settled into their rooms and sewing spaces. They came from the city, the Barossa, further down the South East of the state, just over the border, and of course a few locals.  It wasn't long before there was lots of "getting to know you" time, and for the others, a renewing of friendships. They all had the common interest of quilting, but the conversations covered much more. There was so much chatter, many good stories told, and so much laughter that went on for the whole weekend. I laugh at some of the tales, and think that would make a good story for the blog, but when I go to write it all up, I have forgotten. So probably what happens at retreat, needs to stay at retreat!!

Raylene had recycled a white shirt and appliqued pink flowers on it to get into the Pink theme. It was a pity that she had not sewn them on, as some of them lifted off over the next 2 days. But, no worries, problem solved, and she would just press them again, and off came the shirt! (I was too slow with the camera when this "shirtless" lady was standing at the iron!!)

Lynda knew she was at the right house when she arrived, and fitted right in with her pink luggage. Oh, and can you see the pink thongs!!

All settled in and working on their projects, or just enjoying the chatter and company. We had 10 for the weekend, so there were 2 more ladies in the sewing studio as well.

Kathleen certainly dressed "in the pink", and even had a jacket made with Kaffe fabrics................

....................and was sewing pink fabric for a baby quilt!

I have to tell you that this project that Kathleen was quilting turned out to have a problem, and there was quite a bit of quilting that needed to be unpicked. The stitching was very small and she was very frustrated about this and it was taking a long time. Lynda told Kathleen that everyone needed a "slow stitching" project and that she should think about this as her slow project and not as unpicking!! Kathleen felt a lot better about it after that!! 

Margaret was sewing a pink child's quilt.................. and proudly had a Ta daa moment! I took one photo and she did not smile, so I asked for another pic when she was smiling, so then I got this cheesy grin instead!!

But the smile was gone, when she realised that she had missed sewing a whole row on the quilt, and the borders had already been sewn! Whoopsie!

        Then it was time to work on a blue child's quilt, so I hope she doesn't forget a row on this one!!

Pat was working with EQ and helping Erica come up with a design for her fabric.

                            Erica worked busily in the corner, and made good progress, .........

........and it's always good to get another opinion on where to go next with the borders.

Pauline was making some headbands for her granddaughters.

Raylene spent "some" time handquilting this small quilt.

Lynda's weekend was very relaxed and she learnt how to make bowl cozies, and did have some hand work, but sorry, no photos.

         Kerry Anne was working on a Jinny Beyer table runner.................

...............and here is her Ta Daaa moment.

A traditional part of the Pink weekend is the auction of all the donated goodies that have found their way to my house during the previous year. This is always a lot of fun, and we were joined by a few local ladies who added their dollars, and made the bidding more interesting. (Read that as made the girls pay more for what they wanted!) Once again there was a lot of laughter and last minute bidding during the afternoon. Pat was our auctioneer, and Raylene was the clerk, and the piano was full of all the goodies.

The room was full of eager, and a few not so eager, bidders........

......................until this is what was left! Thanks must go to the many. who contributed in any way. There are still donations of money coming in, and I can tell you that the total at present is just over $900! This will be donated to the Breast Cancer Network, in appreciation of the work they do with those diagnosed with Breast Cancer. THANK YOU ALL.

We followed the auction with some afternoon tea.

Val received lots of opinions about the choice of binding fabrics for her quilt. Sometimes it is good to ask for opinions, but perhaps you get too many opinions sometimes?

One feature of our retreats are the friendships formed, and that everyone is there for each other in a time of need. One lady had a problem one evening, and Pauline was the one to help her out. In appreciation of Pauline's effort, Raylene made a badge for her to wear for the weekend.

You can see that the weekend retreats are timeout for the attendees, and as well as not having to think about meals to prepare, or dishes to do, they also don't have to make their beds, or tidy their rooms!

Here is the group photo, taken outside on a lovely sunny day, although I think perhaps they were looking into the sun! 

The city girls, Kerry Anne and Peg needed to leave before lunch on Sunday morning for Peg to attend a family function in the afternoon, so here is the luggage at the door.

........and do you see that rooster by the case? He was a purchase at the auction on Saturday!

There was only 2 ladies in the car, but it was packed fairly full for the trip home.

After they had departed, 3 of us attended church, and arrived back about an hour and a half later. I checked my phone which had been on silent during the service, and noticed 4 missed calls from KerryAnne?? It turns out that she had left her handbag behind and only realised a long way up the road!! They had turned around and were coming back to pick it up. Whoopsie! So Raylene to the rescue and she drove up the highway to meet them with the bag. Not too sure if they got to attend that party or not?? (I might mention here that this is not the first time someone has left their handbag behind, as it is not so long ago that I chased Raylene up the highway with her bag and phone!!)

Another tradition for the pink retreat is a High Tea on Sunday afternoon to finish the weekend. Once again a few local ladies attended, and even a brave husband. I don't think he realised he would be the only male, but doesn't he look great in the middle. Good on ya, BJ, you are a good sport!  What is that saying?? Is it the rose between the thorns, or the thorn between the roses??

Those hats are not the greatest to wear, but after the picture they all came off. Now it's time to use my grandma's cups, saucers and plates, and play ladies, oh, and gentleman!

There may even have been some bubbles too!

And of course there were pink jelly cakes, and cream cakes,.........

....and pink jelly slice to eat with the sausage rolls and the pinwheels.

Grandma's cups and saucers are washed and put back into the cupboard, the hats are put away, the decorations taken down and put in the box for next year...................

and the remaining retreaters all have their feet up in the lounge.

In summary it has been another amazing weekend of fun and laughter, chatter and sharing and friendships. They are all saying see you next year, and if I am not planning on being here next year, then leave the house for them anyway!!??

It is 9.30pm on Sunday evening, and all is quiet in the house, except for breathing (sleeping noises), in the 3rd bedroom by the remaining 2 ladies. I have written my blog, but think I might just save it for now, and come back to it in the morning. I always seems to think of something else to write over night, and the brain is ready for some sleep.

Blessings, From Jude

It was amazing, being in the Pink!!

I have spent the last 4 hours sitting in the chair with my laptop and done a blog post with lots of photos of the weekend, which has been very, very pink. I have saved it for now.
I am just checking in very quickly as the brain is now very tired, so will reread my post tomorrow  before I hit the publish button. I always think about something else to say, overnight.

Be back soon,

Blessings From Jude

This and that........and bring on the Pink!.............

Just a quick post this morning before I head to the kitchen for the final preparations for this weekend's Pink Retreat. I woke early to the sound of the birds outside my window. They are very vocal at the moment, perhaps because spring has sprung?? (Which makes me wonder where they go to in the winter, as I don't recall hearing them so much then??) The house is starting to look a bit pink, and the decorating fairy will be here by lunch time to add the final touches, which she does so well.

As a part of the weekend, we "auction" donated goodies to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Network, and I have started putting out the items on the piano, but there are still more to do yet. 

There has been some pink cooking, although most times the pink turns brown when it is baked!!

I had a very cluttered top drawer full of utensils, and it has been getting heavier over time. Just how does all this stuff accumulate, in just over 2 years, since the kitchen was built?? Mum decided it would be a good job for her to do, and it is now sorted, and everything is much easier to find.

All these items have been discarded, mostly tongs that did not close, and plastic that has been discoloured by the dishwasher. All these things have gone to the kindergarten where my sister works, for play time in the sand pit.

While mum was here we enjoyed a morning cuppa with visitors who dropped by to catch up with mum.

We had an early morning trip up the highway on the day that I took mum home, and the weather was very wet and cold. We saw an amazing rainbow, and I pulled over to snap a picture. Unfortunately the photo does not show it's radiance, but you get the idea!?

After my meeting in the city I did some shopping and then visited some friends, who had this amazing letterbox that was cleverly made by the man of the house.

On my way home I picked up this young man who came to stay with Grandma for the weekend, until his mum and sister arrived the next day.

We found this box in the drawer, and decided it would be a good wet weather day project. 

All the instructions were in different languages, and the pieces were supposed to be cut out, ready to sew. 

It did take some time to work out which pieces were which, and you can see that the cutting out was a bit "ordinary", but eventually we matched them all up. I did start sewing by hand, but my hand skills are very "amateurish" and I eventually got the machine out, although this was very fiddly because the pieces were small. 

Here is the finished puppy, and I am hoping he does not fall to pieces anytime soon.

We also did some baking, and you can see the biscuit mixture looks nice an pink..............

...................until they turned a bit brown in the oven.

And this cake was very pink until it was baked too, but I fixed this with some pink icing!

 There has been lots more pink cooking this week too, but I will save that for the Retreat report.

Yesterday was Angels day here and there was a good attendance of angels. A lot of it was more social and less working, although some work was achieved by a few. I did take some photos, but have decided that most are not very complimentary, so won't be published.

After the angels had departed, the vacuum cleaner came out, and the sewing room is now set up for this weekend's action.

I have a little bit more work to do in the kitchen this morning and some last minute shopping, and then await the arrival of the girls. There is a full house, and another 4 "day" girls. We welcome back some regulars, and look forward to a couple of "newbies" who will be joining us. Lots of fun times ahead, and I will be back in a few days with a full report.

Blessings, From Jude