Sunday, September 13, 2009

Quilting Tahoe

One of the biggest "shocks" in returning from Lake Tahoe was the change in temperature. Our high temperatures at the lake were probably around the low 80s, and those highs only lasted a couple hours in the mid to late afternoons. When I got back to Sacramento on Friday, it was nearly 100 degrees at around 1 p.m. ARGH! This morning, though, we woke up to the sound of thunder in the distance, and before long, we had a brief, light rain--rain before late October is rare in our area. Today's high dropped about 15 degrees, and tomorrow it will be even cooler--around 80 degrees. Lovely!

The other "shock" was returning to over-crowded, traffic-clogged suburbia! At least I have the weekend to acclimate before I have to go back to work and face the hustle and bustle of everyday living. Today, though, there was no sleeping in--today I had the Buggy Barn class to teach.

I wonder if it's possible to sew too much? If it is, I don't think I've hit that point yet. Teaching and sewing in class today was fun, as usual. And afterward? Well, I sewed some more, of course! Tomorrow night, I'll show you what I did at camp and worked on over the weekend. Tonight, though--well, yesterday I promised to show you a few more photos of quilt camp. Here are some of the campers in the large sewing room. Everyone seems pretty busy, don't they?


Upstairs in the second floor lobby were windows that overlooked our sewing room. It wasn't unusual to glance up and see people watching us sew. Of course, that's where I took this photo. And see the man and woman at the head of the table on the right? Yep, we had visitors stop in and walk around to see what we were doing. I don't think any of us minded, and all of our visitors were quite friendly and interested. The camp facility is a Presbyterian Conference Center, and there are usually Presbyterians groups as well as other visitors coming and going.


And at the head of the table on the left? That chair with the black sweater? That was my spot. You can kind of see my Buggy Barn witches there. And Lindy sat across on the other side of the table, across from me, but she, Carolyn, and Caroline (two other friends, all on that side of the table) must have been off doing something when I took the photo because their chairs are empty.

Here's the other half of the room. All together we had four sets of tables. Each of us had our own table and most of the tables were 8' long, so there was plenty of space to spread out and work. The walls around the perimeter of the room were pretty well covered with design walls so we could lay out our blocks and display our finished projects for a little while.


On Wednesday, after sewing for almost two days, it was time for a little shoulder and neck R&R. There was a little lounge area across from the sewing room, and a massage therapist was invited in to set up her chair there. Needless to say, most of us took advantage of her services. AAAAHHHHH!


And one of the other highlights of camp? Well, apparently this group of women have a tradition of dressing up each year.


I'm not certain I have it exactly right, but I think each woman brings five of something and contributes it to the overall group costume. And I think it was someone's husband who had the idea for--or found--the "bras." What a hoot! (Or would that be Hooters?! Okay, I know--bad pun!)

Traditionally, on the last night of camp, we have a "room tour." Each room has at least one donated quilt hanging on the wall, and most of us bring a quilt from home to sleep under--those quilts are displayed as are the projects we've worked on during the camp. The rooms are opened and we travel in a group from room to room to admire all of the quilts. Remember what I said about people dropping in and watching us quilt? Well, somehow we picked up two couples on the room tour who came along to admire our projects! I didn't get photos of the rooms, but there were a lot of great projects on display.

Time for bed. I was right last night about sleeping in my own bed, on my own mattress--wonderful! Tomorrow, though, I'd really like to sleep in a little bit. It's my LAST DAY of vacation. I hope you're enjoying your weekend, doing whatever makes you happy!

20 comments:

Sew Create It - Jane said...

Sounds like fun! What a great room to work in with all those windows and all that natural light! A real treat.

Searchfamilies said...

The sewing day looks great & your camp sounds like a lot of fun as well as the sewing
Hugs Janice

Unknown said...

WOW, a whole table to yourselves. At ours , we had two on each side. and none of those wonderful windows with that view.
Super camp, Now lets see what you got done.

Jan said...

Welcome home. That is one gorgeous facility! What an awesome place for a quilting retreat ... the views take my breath away!

I was doing some "kethcup," and read your post below to the men in Blogville ... it was hysterical!!!

Betsy said...

Kim welcome back.
Just to have the view from that room would have been enough for me!

Nancy said...

Oh what fun you all had!!! I wish PA was closer to Tahoe......... sounds like a lovely place to have a retreat.

luv2quilt2 said...

I need a retreat!!

Nancy said...

One of the retreats I go to is in a National Park conference center. We always have groups tour our sewing tables. You KNOW quilters like to show off their work!! LOL So much fun..and most are non-quilters so they are always IMPRESSED!!
Another place has the most wonderful windows around 3 sides of the room...
Retreats are fun...we should go every month..

Anonymous said...

Envy here.....man I miss Tahoe!...and your right....suburbia traffic not so much! LOL
You gals appeared to have a fantastic time...look forward to seeing more.

Laurie said...

Welcome Home! Looks like you had a wonderful time! Can't wait to see what you were sewing!

paulette said...

Welcome back! You were missed! Your retreat looked fantastic! Lots of fun and what a beautiful venue! Have a wonderful relaxing last day off!
Paulette

Dena said...

Looks like everyone had fun. We belong to a couple of local quilting groups and we get together at least once a month to sew. We have a full day of sharing, laughing, eating, laughing, eating... I always look forward to those days.

Anonymous said...

Oh what a great place for a retreat! Lovely :o) Glad you enjoyed your time.

QuiltSue said...

Welcome back. That really looks like a great place to spend time. Looking forward to seeing what you were working on.

Sandy said...

Welcome back Kim ~ missed you, but glad you got away and had a good time, you deserve it. What a wonderful place to stay at. And yes, I too, could get very used to having somebody cook 3 meals a day for me. Can't wait to see the rest of your pics and finished projects.

Scraphappy said...

What a cool idea to put two chairs together to get the right height for your sewing machine! I'll have to remember that little trick next time I go on retreat. I take enough "stuff" along, I never have wanted to pack my chair, too. Neat that you picked up "fans" along the way to check out what you're all doing - the place looks ideal to play in.

Laura said...

It looks like you had a great time! I love your Halloween quilts!

Sinta Renee said...

I have a friend that hold retreats at that spot. It always looks enticing to me! Great views to look at and great lighting to work in.

Shirley--Knot-y Embroidery Lady said...

What a treat to see the pictures. Everyone looks so involved with their projects. I was impressed with your "site" and figured it was yours when i spotted the Starbuck's Latte Something or other. They had a Starbuck's there, just for you?

The light and view are really something special. Someday, when I grow up I want to go to Quilt Camp!
Thanks for the tour!

Shirley said...

Looks like you had fun at your retreat. When I lived in Lake Tahoe I had my sewing machine set up in front of a window. I loved to sit and watch it snow while I was sewing on my quilts and projects.