Retreat

I''m packing up for a weekend quilting retreat up in Longmont, about thirty minutes from here.  Unlike most retreats, this one is "in town," meaning that you don't stay the night but go home at the end of each day.  Packing up everything you'll need for a day of two of quilting is hard work and as I began the process I thought, "Now why am I not just doing my sewing at home?"   Of course one reason is that quilting with other people is not only fun but educational.   I have a good time socializing and I always learn something new by seeing what others are doing and asking questions about the techniques that challenge me. 

But the main reason for going on retreat is to get away from the distractions of home, which are many.  You can well imagine what many of these distractions are but here's two you might not consider. 

How about this bad cat, who loves this quilt that I'm working on? It's a little quilt someone in the guild made for the guild's outreach program for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Boulder Hospital.  I took it home to quilt and bind it and Fetcher fell in love with it.  As I sat at the machine quilting it the other day he actually came on and lay on the half that wasn't under the needle.  And batted at me when I tried to shoo him away!    

Fetcher also loves my new chair.  

And then there's this fellow, who often rattles on his habitat walls demanding to be let out.  He likes to sun in the big kitchen window, and supervising him there doesn't take too much of my attention until he begins to move around and prepare to leap off onto the floor; then I have to stop what I'm doing and move him safely to the floor or his cage.

But if he's on the floor taking a walk around the house, I have to really monitor him or there's trouble.

See that pile of kitchen towels on the shelf?  Well, so did Spikey the other day and he decided it looked like a cozy and warm place to take a nap.

Of course I wasn't watching him the way I should and I didn't see him climb up there.  When I noticed him missing and hunted for him I couldn't find him anywhere!  How frustrating to spend all that time looking for him!  Finally I spotted the tip of his tail above the towels and realized where he was.   Bad Spikey! 

Distractions like these are the main reason I'm packing up my machine, supplies, and projects, and head out to join my fellow quilters at the Longmont Moose Hall for the day.  I'm looking forward to finishing up the two baby quilts....

...making a back for the Christmas quilt I started at the Spring retreat... 

...and finishing up a little snow scene I got into when we had our first "measurable snowfall" (of only 1.7"!) the other day.  

I have to be home today by 5:00 and I have a "getting to know your new machine" class tomorrow morning, and I'm not signed up for Sunday, so my retreat time is limited, but I'm looking forward to the time I do have.