Sunday, August 23

It was only a week ago......

at just about this time (1:30 p.m.) that we were enjoying our last meal at Bonny's retreat. It was delicious as all the meals are at Bonny's.

And the table setting was so pretty it looked good enough to eat, too!! Once again, the food was so good that I forgot to take a picture of it. There was Eggs-strada (a bread, egg and ham dish that was soooo yummy), more fresh fruit, some Portuguese bread that was really good and the left-over salads from the day before. And for dessert, we could choose the chocolate mousse or the cobbler. We all agreed we shouldn't need to eat for a week but that didn't happen.
Now, for those of you that think Minnesota is the land of snow and cold, well, this picture shows the sunnyside of Minnesota weather...............
This is the garden at Bonny's and it is lovely. Maybe someday, I'll have one that looks half this good! We always take a group picture...................we have come to Bonny's for seven summers in a row. It's real treat!
There was still time for some more "show 'n tell" and Bonny took time to come and see what we accomplished and projects we brought that we'd done this past year.

Stephanie finished all her blocks for her blue and yellow quilt and placed them on the wall. I told you it was really cool! We said she should do the "Vanna" pose and she complied. :-)

Laura spent most of Saturday working on this awesome paper-pieced snowman wall-hanging. And if you like to paper-piece, then go to here and you can check out the work of Cindi Edgerton and her Very Special Collection Patterns.















Arlis brought her Featherweight to the retreat and worked on blocks for a sampler quilt. She had a number of these done before she arrived but put all of them that are completed up on the wall for us to see. Isn't this going to be a gorgeous quilt!

Sharon spent time working on a Redwork project but brought this sweet little quilt along to show Bonny. Sharon worked on it last summer so Bonny likes to see our progress. ;-)


And Bonny shared some quilt tops that she recently made. She's holding this colorful version and you can see one in Civil War prints on the table. The design is created by sewing charm squares together then cutting a certain way to get the pinwheel blocks. She did a demo for us and I forgot to ask where she got the pattern. I'll have to find out and let you all know.



Collette got so much done on her cross stitch piece that she realized she'll be able to get it finished by Christmas. Plus she got one block done for her 30's quilt that I'm helping her make. I started my blocks the first year I came to Bonny's and that's about the only time I work on 30's print projects. It's become sort of a "tradition". My main goal in coming to Bonny's is to relax and get refreshed and enjoy a weekend of friendship.


So, with that in mind, I got very little finished but I did work on "stages" of projects. I took a turn off the 30's fabrics and made a zippered pouch to go inside a bag that my friend Sue made for me three years ago. And then there are those pincushions in my hand and that's going to be a separate post one day this coming week. :-)
I hope you haven't minded that I chattered on and on about our retreat but blogging is about journaling so that's what this is ......a journal of my weekend retreat at Bonny's. I am so glad I met Bonny as time spent at her retreat has enriched my life in so many ways. We met when she was a student in a penny rug class that I was teaching and she leaned over and asked if I'd consider doing a program for her quilt guild. I said sure and so she invited me to speak and then to spend the night at her home (it was a bit of a drive and the guild held morning meetings). That was when I discovered her gift of hospitality. She had just opened her retreat and so we made our first visit that summer of 2003. We signed up for the same weekend every August for the next ten years! Many others have a similar favorite weekend that they visit Bonny's. She's found her niche for sure and we're all just glad that she did!!

So, that's it for Bonny's Retreat for this year. Had to leave you with one last look at that pretty purple flower. This one was taken after our brunch on Sunday. I am totally enamored with this flower and must have some in my garden when we start planting in the spring. There'll be plenty of time this winter to find it in one of the seed catalogs that come in the mail!
Hope you are enjoying a good Sunday afternoon!
Sandi

9 comments:

Rachel said...

Thanks for sharing your experience, Sandi. A quilting retreat is such a great idea - I'm going to see if there's something like that around here.

Love, love, love the photos of everyone's projects. The blue and yellow quilt is just gorgeous, and that's a sweet picture of you with your projects. I bet you're already looking forward to next year!

luv2quilt2 said...

What a wonderful retreat! I've really enjoyed all of your postings about it.

Needled Mom said...

I think the only part that "bothers" us is that we couldn't all be there to share it with you. It really looks and sounds like you have a fabulous group of friends - and talented too! All of the projects are lovely.

The garden is beautiful too. I love the little blue lisianthus flower. They are wonderful for picking and putting in vases as they last so long.

Sue said...

Your retreat sounded lovely and the projects the girls worked on look fabulous. I felt like I was with you with the pix and lovely description.

Pat said...

I so enjoyed reading about your retreat and seeing your photos....MY only problem is that I wish you had stayed longer as I wanted to see more photos and read more about it! Bonny sounds like quite a gal to do that.

Crispy said...

I enjoyed reading about the retreat and am very jealous. I wish I could find a fun group to go away with. Even if you don't get a lot done, the weekend away is so refreshing.

Crispy

Sarah Vanderburgh said...

Sandi I have thoroughly enjoyed your retreat journaling. I just wish I could taste the food:) You have found a wonderful spot to retreat with friends. I hope the rest and relaxation renews your zest for the coming months! Thanks for sharing the pictures of progress too.

Unknown said...

I enjoyed reading about the retreat...
I really liked ...

--
Michell
You cannot go wrong on the best security systems

Nanette Merrill said...

What a great retreat. You put together some big event! I'm astounded at how much went on and the comings and goings of it all. Good for you. Someday if I get up enough time/courage I'll pick your brain.

"Peace can be found in the piecing of a quilt."
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