At the Corner of Scrap and Quilts : Country Dirt Roads

Saturday, 11 March 2023

More of the Retreat and Sewing (photo heavy)

There were a few pictures of my retreat in my last post but here's what it was all about.

Don't know what happened to the lobby photos, but I got one from the welcome committee.

Aren't they cute? They are next to the big comfy chair so you can remove your boots.

It's a High Ranch style house and everything is big or massive.

I was so excited!

The venue used to be a hotel for campers or snowmobilers driving through the area. There are 10 bedrooms and mine was No 5.

We could add a note to our door to personalize it. I didn't know what to write on my card, so it just says Here is Chantal.

Since I couldn't bring my cat, I got my fox. I can pretend it's Raven as its fur is similar to the cat's but it doesn't purr. I slept well anyway. It was so dark and quiet. Loved it. Two double beds per room along with a wash basin.

As you come down the stairs, the dining room with its massive Flintstone-style chairs greets you. At the far end is the kitchen. Sorry, no photos were taken of that part. On the left side of this picture, you can see one of the two powder rooms. On the right, a big window lets the light from the sewing room in. (See pictures of the sewing room in the last post.)

From the same spot, if I turn around 180 degrees, you can see the huge living room.

All the rooms are so spacious. It really makes everything pleasant when you aren't used to having so many people close to you. Every now and again, I needed to be by myself. On the far wall, there is a fireplace with an inviting armchair. A quiet place for some slow stitching or knitting maybe? It looks so cozy.

The bar, our pressing stations, is tucked between the dining and living room. Lots of water bottles and very little wine were brought in. Those huge ironing boards are supplied by the house. We just brought two irons. So convenient.

Beside the ironing boards, there's another Flintstone-style table set. There were books and magazines to look at too. In the pictures, Lucie's little doll quilts can be seen on the table.

You already saw the sewing room in the last post but what about the view? To the right, there's a dock for swimmers and boaters during the summer months.

On the far right, there was more ... ~~snow!~~ trees.

The view from the middle of the room. Hard to photograph as it was snowing but on Sunday, we had

a little bit of sunshine and I was able to capture this lovely, twisted aspen.

The sewing room runs the entire length of the house. This is part of it from the outside. I took a walk on Sunday and decided to take my camera with me. The little house connecting to the main building is where the owner lives during the warm months. The place is just huge!

We played games, of course, and I won 3 FQs.

Thank you ladies for a wonderful time. I'll be back in October for sure.

Okay, enough about that. How about looking at some sewing projects?

The Irish Stars in pink were cut but didn't have their white parts so they got finished at home.

Friends' Favourite used as a leader-ender while doing the missing crumb blocks.

Crumb quilt before the retreat,

At the retreat,

We had an improvised design wall.

and after the retreat.

I went for a weaved pattern. It's time to assemble all those scrappy blocks. I can't make it any bigger as I ran out of grey fabric but it'll do.

I also worked on my Country Dirt Road quilt. I now see that one of the blocks needs an appointment with Dr. Ripper. Hmmm.

These are the quilts the ladies worked on.

While cleaning up, Nicole founds some blocks her grandmother hand-pieced a long time ago. Needless to say, they were not the same size. She worked hard at getting them squared off. She then assembled this amazing vintage quilt. The dots on the white parts are ladybugs or something like that. We couldn't decide exactly what they are.

Dany work on this one. The pattern said 30 blocks but she ended up with only 15 blocks!? She did cut exactly what the pattern called for. She was not happy about that.

Francine assembled some crumb blocks too. Hers are so different from mine but they make a lovely quilt.

Great job, Francine.

Her sister, Hélène, worked on her house quilt.

Great job, Hélène.

Then she worked on this Disappearing 9-Patch quilt that she didn't like because the colours aren't her usual palette. She couldn't fall in love with it. I like it.

Yep, pajamas and slippers were the trends.

Josee worked on her bird quilt. She did more blocks than these but you get the idea.

Lucie worked on a panel quilt. She had to take it all apart because the panel pictures were slightly crooked. In the end, she had this wonderful quilt.

Those pictures were so beautiful that some need a closer look.

The next four pictures are of the quilts on the walls, made by the owner?? Not sure.

One last picture. This week was Social Workers' week. I applaud my coworkers and all the other social workers because it is not an easy job! Bravo, gang!