A treat for the soul.......

What is better than a quilting retreat?????  As far as I am concerned - nothing!  The Mississauga Quilter's Guild holds their annual quilting retreat at the Notawasaga Inn in Cookstown every April and Barb and I were fortunate enough to be invited to join them for the evening last night, dinner and some great fun!

37 women all in one room - quilting, and they each had their own table/station with loads of room to spare it seems!

The room is huge and everyone is spread out, the hotel provides all the food (breakfast, lunch and dinners) for the duration and as many irons and ironing boards as you need......plnty from what I could see - there were at least 8 ironing stations!

Here's a look at what everyone was working on......no names, just projects, we aim to protect those going home with UFO's -

That is really just a small collection of what was being accomplished at this retreat!  It was so wonderful to see what everyone was working on........and how industrious everyone was!  I even brought some hand applique that I was working on.......

We were then treated to a wonderful presentation by Pat Castonguay - Four generations of quilts.  Pat just inherited some quilts handed down through her family and she was very kind in sharing with us all.....

This is actually a crocheted piece she made.......

There were some really fabulous quilts in her "stash" - some are just tops (which she has to finish - ha, ha!)

...and then there was Show and Share, 

That's Barb's finger - showing you the size of the hand painted spools that one of the members brought along for show and share........

What was the reason for this quick trip north for the evening.....?  One of the ladies who organized this great retreat thought it might be a great idea for Cock A Doodle to organize one of these retreats!  They really wanted us to see first hand what it was like!  I am almost convinced!  Some time in the "near" future we will be mailing out a Survey/Questionnaire to see if there is enough interest in something like this.......all I ask is that you answer us truthfully so that we can possibly plan a "Get-Away" that everyone will want to be a part of......

By the way - I have to admit it was really nice having someone cook for me for a change - I could get used to that!  I had the Prime Rib and Barb had the Chicken and dinner was quite nice!  I understand they do buffet for breakfasts and lunches.......it sure sounds good!  We will keep you posted once we get those Questionnaires back and tally all the Pros and Cons!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann

P.S.  This is the 3rd Instalment of three today - hope you enjoyed all the info!