Therapeutic Weekend

I was fortunate to have been able to go away this weekend, to have time to relax and reflect, to spend time with good friends amidst abundant fabric and several bottles of fine wine. Judy, Turbo, Helen and I had spent a February weekend together at White Oak several years ago and were longing to repeat the experience. At this time of year, if the place isn't booked for a full getaway, the innkeeper offers what he calls "Y'all Come!" and the customary minimum of nine participants is not in effect. There could be other quilters from other places, but this time there were not.

The first thing I did after we got set up was to make an infinity scarf for each of my friends. They liked them.

Those being completed and given and it still being relatively early in the evening, I laid out the Malaria Quilt -- this was the one where I had bought "scraps" from Wanda and put them together in rows of bricks. I was thoroughly pleased with how the top turned out and by the time I got to White Oak, all I needed to do was put the stopper and outer border on.

The stopper was some terrific intense turquoise that I'd bought for another project and hadn't used. The outer border came from Gaffney's -- it is Timeless Treasures Fabric and I thought it was absolutely perfect for a quilt that will be raffled to raise money to eradicate malaria in Africa and, hopefully, worldwide.  Photography indoors at White Oak is less than optimal and it wasn't a fit weekend to take photos outdoors. I'm including a close-up so you can see some of the wonderful African prints and how nicely the border complements them.

I did a couple of other projects, but I'll save them for another post. We had such a good time together, talking seriously as well as laughing, planning and sewing. I had ample time to rest and to reflect. All of us shopped on Friday afternoon, and once we had checked in, we never left, not for a minute. Judy was working on the sweetest 30s baby quilt once we convinced her that this was not the time of year to be sewing the Christmas fabric she had started with. Helen had a baby quilt in the works and kind of went back and forth between it and her Rubick's Rings. Turbo, as usual, had beaucoups projects. At some point on Saturday, each of them made a great big tote bag:

"Okay, everybody! Hold up your bag and say 'George Clooney'!"