Great Getaway at White Oak

The weekend at White Oak was just terrific. There were only eight of us, including two people who had never attended before. One was my long-time (since high school, egad!) friend Dorothy and the other a wonderful young woman from church who got bit by the quilting bug while still in high school -- a recent college graduate and new teacher, Ruth produces spectacular quilts at an incredible pace! It was fun having her along.

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Honna and I got off to a fairly late start because of her work schedule, but we somehow found time to stop at Sauder's en route. I picked up several small batts that I needed to complete some projects, and a really excellent black to send out next month to the Fat Quarters group for them to use as background for my assigned-month birthday block. I'm going to ask them to make the http://www.quilterscache.com/A/AmishStarBlock.html Amish Star block from the Quilters Cache website, using two batiks on this delicious black-on-black background. Of course I will post pictures of the booty when it comes in -- need you ask?

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We got to White Oak before the wine and cheese had been put away and quickly caught up. The get-acquainted activity was a round of "I Never" with participants each having a small supply of Hershey Kisses that they had to surrender when they couldn't honestly say "I Never." I started it out with a fairly tame "I never crocheted," but it didn't take long for it to deteriorate. A surprising number lost Kisses when someone asserted she'd never played strip poker.

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After Carol's yummy dinner, we got to work. I'd brought along a few projects to choose from, and decided to work on the quilt for Tom and Anastasia. Anastasia had seen a collection of blocks I had from a Favorite Fabric Swap many years ago, and decided they would go well with their antiqued-blue bedroom furniture. I couldn't argue. I neded sixteen alternate blocks for the setting, and got them nearly completed Friday night before going to bed relatively early (still dealing with the pretty-much-under-control light headcold). Saturday I took two small naps and spent much of the day sewing the rows together -- now all it needs is the plain border (hadn't taken that fabric along, darn it) and it will be ready to go off to Branky,the machine-quilter, when she returns home in a couple of weeks! It might even be done by T&A's first anniversary!

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Late Saturday afternoon, Dorothy, Kathleen and I trekked out to Intercourse to do our part for the local fabric economy. The Old Country Store had batiks on sale for a scandalous price -- they do this every March in anticipation of the April Quilt Show, because they prefer to start the show with full bolts. I bought a yard each of nine different batiks to use for a swap I'm running. Then I picked out a FQ pack of batiks and coordinating border and binding fabric to make a Yellow Brick Road for a baby girl who is due any time now.

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Sunday morning I got the YBR top complete before it was time to head back East. This little quit does not want to be tied; it is very clear about that. It is crying out to be hand-quilted but, golly, you know how difficult it is to hand-quilt batiks and I've got the deadline of the near arrival and naming ceremony an obligatory eight days after her birth, and don't want to be hand quilting under pressure. Am seriously thinking of machine quilting it. Do stay tuned. And be on the look-out for a picture within a couple of weeks.

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It had been a wonderful getaway, and equally wonderful to come home to Joe who took me out to the West Avenue Grillle for a light dinner Sunday night. Settled down with him in the living room in front of a marvelous program on the Discovery Channel and finished the Maple block for the garden project.

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School is on spring break which means I'm working five-hour days this week. Bet you can't guess what I'm doing with all those extra hours!!! Preach it, Mz. G, "Life IS Good!"