mckwilter

I love retreats!!!! Even tho' it's only me and DH at home now and I can sew whenever I want, there's so much fun in packing it up (well, maybe not the packing and unpacking) and heading off for a few days with friends. I belong to two quilt guilds, and each of them has an annual retreat -- one in September and one in January. Then there's another group which puts on a retreat each April, and I have attended 3 of those. I would love to find a July retreat, which would give me 4 a year.

I once attended a retreat where I didn't know any of the other attendees. By the end of the first day, they were like old friends.

The April retreat always has teachers, some of whom are nationally known and is held at a nice hotel. The guild retreats are held at area retreat centers and are "bring your own projects", with a group project thrown in (make 2 blocks to go into an auction / charity quilt), and maybe one of the members offering a short class. The guild retreats always have doorprizes, games and Secret Sister and participation is optional. I usually bring UFOs, WIPs and PhDs, and feel like I get a lot accomplished. And, as someone mentioned above. There is always chocolate!

One thing I insist on is that meals are provided. If I wanted to prepare, serve, and clean-up meals, I could stay at home. Part of the enjoyment of a retreat is having all the daily mundane stuff done for me. There is a very nice retreat center about 2 hours from me that several of my friends have been to, but because we have to share in the cooking and cleaning, I have decided not to attend. But that's just me.

Next on my bucket list is a quilt cruise. There is a quilt shop in the area that arranges one each year that leaves out of Galveston. Then there are the bus tours to Amish country, New England, California, and trips to Ireland, Europe, Japan.