Stix Retreat - October 2013

Our one and only Stix Retreat this year was a big success. As usual, we enjoyed good eats, a few intense days of quilting, and a few favorite movies at night (Adam and Silver Lining Playbook). Our project was a modern quilt designed by Valori Wells. It featured a large-scale focus fabric with coordinating small prints cut and sewn into narrow strips that bordered the focus panel along the sides. I chose the pattern, but it will not be remembered as one of my favorites. It involved a lot of cutting, a lot of sewing, and a lot of ironing (over 100 strips 1-1/4” wide). Inconsistencies in the cutting or sewing quickly grow into sizable differences, creating a challenge when the large panels and side borders go together. That said, once the piecing is complete, the resulting quilt is beautiful. It's modern look is a nice change from the more traditional quilts we’ve made in the past. Maria was first to finish hers after working a few more days following the retreat…

This retreat was not just about quilting. We followed the first full day of sewing with a tour of the Kennedy Mine followed by a picnic at the Tailing Wheel Park in Jackson. A few other friends joined us for lunch and a short hike to see the new enclosure for the tailing wheel.

We made up for lost time on Sunday with four of us working on the modern quilt project and finishing the laborious strip piecing of the side borders while Sandy worked on another Valori Wells pattern called Firefly…a quilt Maria and I made several years ago and Cece made earlier this year. 

The good eats just kept coming…breakfasts ranged from scones to hearty omelets; light snacks at lunch with my favorite being the hot artichoke dip with crackers; dinners included hazel nut crusted chicken with a beurre blanc sauce; and desserts, the grand finale, were amazing and included fresh berries topped with lemon zabaglione (pic below of Cece cleaning the bowl) and poached pears with a wine reduction over ice cream. Nummy!!! Thank you, Verne, for several excellent meals. You never disappoint! 

On Monday Sally, Maria, Verne and I went to Apple Hill, not because we needed apples having just picked the last of Otti’s apples on Saturday, but because it’s become a tradition. While Verne and Sally stood in line for 45 minutes to buy apple fritters (they were well worth the wait…since I didn’t have to do the waiting!) and Maria and I walked the craft area. With the exception of the final booth we visited, the crafts were ordinary. The last booth was filled with items made from old silverware, including jewelry, picture hanging hooks, and money clips, to name a few. We were both fascinated with the clever creations from old silverware and time just got away from us. Just as we finally made a decision to each buy something, Verne showed up and rushed us off before we could make our purchase. Disappointed!!! Let me explain…Verne is always happy to have us off shopping (and leaving him alone), but he’d brought the car around and loaded Sally and the wheelchair and was blocking traffic…thus the urgency to leave our shopping and conclude our Apple Hill visit. Maria and I will be thinking about those silverware trinkets for a long time to come. I’m sure they’ll grow in their desirability as we retell the story and imagine wearing our matching rings.