Back from Retreat!

Despite still recovering from my car wreck injuries, I joined 44 other friends and family (my sis, Lee and daughter, Rebecca) for 3 days of quilt retreat at Tall Oaks Camp & Conference Center the end of April. We had a blast, ate very well, laughed much, and got some work done, too! My sister, an embroidery master, even put together 2 projects including embroider blocks. I worked mostly on the parts for a queen size Storm At Sea from Rebecca's wedding reception table covering batiks. Longgg way to go! I also managed to cut out about half the blocks for 3 I Spy Quilts for the g-boys.

But maybe the most fun part of the weekend was traveling to Baldwin,KS to "raid" Quilter's Paradise after dinner on Friday! Sharon, the owner, agreed to re-open since her daughter was with us on the

retreat and did the cutting. I bought some luscious coral and black paisley fabric and some gray with a damask weave that I have no idea what to make---so I'll just pet it for awhile!

I've not had much time to sew this past week--I'm proctoring AP exams for a local high school. And this weekend we dashed to Omaha to celebrate my DIL's college graduation from Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha--mighty proud of her as she finished this despite 3 major changes, 3 college changes, 3 kids and some health issues. Way to go, Lauren!

About the only project that is approaching "finished" is this Pat Sloan BOM from last summer. I'll use it as table topper, so wanted fairly heavy quilting to keep it flat.

UPDATE MAY 16: unfortunately I was diagnosed with DVT (blood clots) in my leg that got both the new knee and also slammed in my car wreck. After a panicky 24 hrs, I am on a blood thinner and

wearing a compression stocking and "taking it easy"--so not much actually getting done at my house in either the garden or on the long arm. Totally bummed! My doc says we'll revisit what is happening in 3 weeks and hopefully by then I will be back to my normal speed--been a long time!