the rest of our Retreat......

So sorry that I didn't finish sharing the pictures from our retreat at Bonny's. I have many excuses but top ones are ..... it's summer......it's hot......I went to the Fair......there was laundry to do.......and other stuff to post about........so let's get to it now.
Flashback to a little over a week ago and it's Saturday night. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and spent the morning sewing, then a delicious lunch and a long afternoon of more sewing. Then about 6:00 p.m. a delicious smell began to waft downstairs to our sewing area. And pretty soon, we were all hungry again! It wasn't long before Don, Bonny's husband and excellent butler, arrived to let us know that "dinner is served".........
We dropped our projects and headed upstairs to see what divine dish Bonny had prepared in her kitchen. Don poured wine for those of us who wanted it............

And then we sat down to enjoy this.......

Chicken breast filled with provolone and Genoa sausage and delicious spices, and sauce over fettucini and fresh asparagus bits in butter. Every bite was awesome. I'm going to try to make this one and will let you know if it's successful. Dessert followed and oh, was it yummy......

Apple bread pudding with whipped cream and a delicious African blend coffee. Bonny is just a fantastic cook!

After a meal like that one almost needs a nap but this was our last night at retreat so we had some serious sewing to get done. We took time out for a bit of "show and tell". Here's Laura with a finished project that she started last February. I shared a picture of her as she was working on these teeny tiny paper-pieced blocks (pattern is by LittleBits). Laura is as good at paper-piecing as Bonny is at cooking. :-)

We all sewed until midnight, when Sharon decided to call it a night. Then Stephanie decided to turn in and at 1:00 a.m. Marianne called it a night. Laura and I kept sewing and talking til 2:00 a.m. when she decided she better get to bed. I lasted another hour. I was working on that Sunbonnet totebag and didn't want to stop. Photo coming up in a bit.......
It wasn't hard to get up at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning because we knew that Bonny would have some tasty muffins or something for us, along with coffee and such. We were not disappointed. Check out those blueberry scones in the middle of the table........

They were sooooooo good. There was this lemon sauce that you drizzled over the top of them and if your mouth is watering for a taste of these, you can make them and enjoy them, too. The recipe can be found here on the Food Network. Bonny shares many of her recipes and sources. It was back to the sewing room for some final stitches. Bonny has a large room with six tables and comfy chairs so everyone has their own space to spread out their projects. That's my spot with the white sweater on the chair. There's a story behind the sweater but I'll have to save that for another day. See my partially assembled bag......

well here it is almost finished. The handles are pinned in this photo but I handstitched them in place after I got home.

I made the bag to hold a Sunbonnet Sue project that I plan to start next summer at Bonny's. I happen to love Sue and have always wanted to make my own version of Sue in her bonnets and dresses. I certainly have plenty of 30's fabrics to choose from as I started buying fat quarters of the 30's reproduction fabrics in the late 90's when they first started appearing in quilt shops. It will be a fun project! Oh, and to the left of me is Laura's quilt with the beige blocks stitched in place.
Stephanie's project required lots of triangles. It's a large quilt project that she's working on and this is what she finished during the retreat. I know it will come back next year all finished so I'll be sure and get a photo. Will also get the pattern name.

There was one more meal to enjoy......brunch..........

I thought this tablesetting was just about the prettiest one of the weekend.......

We posed for a group picture.......

and then we enjoyed this.........

fresh tomatoes, more fresh fruit, bacon, muffins and jam and an egg frittata that was very good. And then we got to top it all off with a half a piece each of the left-over bread pudding. We always go away thinking we won't need to eat for a week but that's never true. LOL!
We wanted a picture of Bonny and Don together so we were heading outside, when Bonny said....."this is what you should take a picture of.......this is what you don't have to do when you come to retreat!" We are not allowed to return even an empty glass to the kitchen. Bonny takes care of everything.

And here is Bonny, retreat hostess extraordinaire, and her husband, Don.

Their hospitality is just awesome!

We had just a couple more hours to sew in the afternoon and then it was time to pack it all up and head home. There are quilts all around the house and this one hangs in the breakfast table area in the basement. I love the sign above it............

Cherish yesterday......Dream tomorrow.......Live today.

That is so true of our quilting for we cherish the quilts and connections of year's past and also dream of quilts will make tomorrow and in the future......but we also cherish each day and are thankful for our friendship and Bonny and Don's hospitality. We are very blessed to enjoy such a lovely visit to Bonny's retreat. And we are all looking forward to our visit next summer!

There's one thing I didn't show you........there is a tablerunner that I worked on at the retreat and I will be posting a tutorial on it soon. I will get to that on Friday, I think. Summer just keeps on being busy so I'll get to it as soon as I can. My grandson will be coming to visit, so finding time to be at the computer may not be easy. There'll be other things to do. I'll be back soon........

Have a great day!

Sandi