Submitted by Dianne McD.
Do you remember when you were in elementary school and returned in the fall, and how you always had to write a report about what you did over your summer vacation? Me either–too long ago! But I’ll attempt to emulate that report anyway.
During the weekend of March 3rd-5th in 2023, MPS hosted a Spring Retreat at the Alton Collins Retreat Center which is set in the woods near Sandy, Oregon. Twenty-six of us gathered for two and a half days of piecework, handwork, and I even saw someone knitting. The “sewing” room was huge and we all had plenty of space to work, while still being close enough to the quilter next to us to visit while we worked. We were treated to three meals a day that were prepared by the center’s executive chef and served in the dining hall. Both the sewing room and the dining hall are lined with windows, so we felt like we were out among the trees. At night, we retired to comfortable rooms in the building that was adjacent to the main building.
This was our first in-person retreat since the fall of 2019, and the first one I’ve attended in over 10 years. I can’t tell you how nice it was to connect with the other quilters at the retreat! There were several members there that I haven’t seen face-to-face for a long, long time; and it was fun to share time with them and catch up. (Make no mistake–I love that we can meet over our Zoom platform so many times each month. Many good friendships have been formed over Zoom.)
Do I have anything to show for my weekend of non-stop quilting? Oh, not really. Our speaker from the Tuesday meeting before really inspired me; so I practiced her disappearing block method and did get a few small blocks constructed. The other quilters got quite a bit done, and you can see what they accomplished by clicking on the button below. You’ll be routed to our Gallery page where photos of the weekend have been posted.
Many, many THANKS to Kim and Deb for putting this retreat together. It’s hard work, and they did the work wonderfully! I brought home many happy memories of the weekend that will stay with me for a long while.
2023 Spring Retreat GalleryHave you been to one of our retreats? Were you at the last one? You can leave your “report” in the comments below.
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That was a fantastic retreat! So good to be inspired by each other’s work! Everyone has their own special talent in the quilting world and I was bless to be in that space all weekend! Thank you
I had a great time at the retreat. Enjoyed meeting new people and getting to know others even better. Looking forward to the next one! Thanks for posting the great pics!
Wonderful Retreat! Everyone chatted with everyone, shared threads and fabric, and passed on welcome tips and new techniques. The milieu is restful yet fills one’s spirit and creativity. Thanks to everyone for contributing.
Thanks for sharing this Dianne. I am always amazed by the variety of the projects appearing on the design walls at retreat.
Gtreat pictures, loved the captions with them.
Wow! Looks like such a fun time! Thanks Dianne!
As always, you did a great job of showing off the wonderful experience and projects from the 2023 retreat. So glad it is up and going again.
Great to get a sense of the retreat! It definitely looks like a good time was had by all! Thank you Dianne.
Thanks Dianne. Looks like it was a fun and productive weekend.