Quilting retreat letdown....

The weekend away from reality was wonderfully therapeutic. The quilting retreat is held in a remote church camp near the Susquehanna River, in PA, Camp Donegal. The birds in the morning wake you up and you can certainly find some alone time, should you need it. All the food is prepared for you and all you need to do, is show up and sew. It was wonderful! A wonderful headache attempted to grab some of the fun away from me on Saturday, but I was still able to sew all day and finish my quilt top by Sunday am. I did more un-sewing than I care to think about, blaming it totally on the headache. But, a finish was accomplished and I feel really great about the quilt. It is very nice. Once again, if I ever find my camera cord, I will be able to post the picture(DD used it last....sigh...) I came home fairly exhausted, as the beds there are constructed bunk beds with a 2 " mattress. And sleep was available, however uncomfortable. I took a bit of a nap on my wonderful mattress when I came home and unpacked. Dirty clothes in washer...I guess it is back to reality.





I did get about 1 hour of stitching in, taking a break from the sewing machine. I worked a bit on Ellen Chester's Quaker Schoolgirl's Needle Necessities. It is starting to take shape. I find that if I work in day light, the stitching is so much easier. Certainly wish I had my 30 year old eyes again.








I have the right side completed of the large case up to the bird. It is really lovely. I want to complete this whole set by October, so I can take it to the next quilting retreat. Quilters look at this stitching thing as fascinating, I discovered. As patient and skilled as quilters are, the finesse of the work of counted thread work somehow eludes them. Interesting...I could no more applique than do a triathlon. I guess that makes me a stitcher first.



Those of you who stitch and quilt......how do you define yourself, a stitcher first, or a quilter?? And why?