The first morning, I woke up to this sight:

It was nice falling asleep to the surf and waking up to it.  The bed, however was harder than a brick.  I slept two nights in the cabin by the ocean.  The third night, however, I slept on the couch in the ‘big house’ that doesn’t have a view of the ocean.

Here are some more views around camp:

This was walking back to the big house from the cabin we were sewing in.

And this is more of the walk.

We sewed, we laughed, we had a lot of fun!

Maureen and Lainie made bears.

Here is Susan and Bev

Ellen with her “Holly Bag”

Carla

Rowena

Mary Ann B.

Mary Ann J.

There are many more photos taken by everyone.  It was a great time!  I can’t wait to go again!

Today I am cooking my first complete meal since I was pregnant with my daughter in 2002. 

On the menu: Turkey, Stuffing (stove top because I just don’t know how to make it), Green bean casserole, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and homemade yeast rolls.  I also will have pumpkin, pecan, and chocolate pies.  It is just the four of us, so I am sure we will have leftovers for a while!  I also had a ham to cook, but I decided that we would make it another time.

On the quilting front, though I had a small hiatus, I have since finished several wounded warrior tops.  I also got another top done, the 2009 designer mystery from Fat Quarter Shop.  Photos will be forthcoming after the guild meeting on Monday.

Retreat last weekend was very fun and a much needed break from the family.  While I love my family – my batteries needed to be recharged with just fun stuff and friendship.

I am so thankful for a wonderful family, a husband who understands my obsession with quilting.  I am also thankful for my friends who are there for me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This was the view when we stepped out onto the lanai.  Just gorgeous.  I can’t wait to go back to retreat. I forgot to take a picture of the area that we were in.

I forgot my sewing machine.  Luckily my husband brought it up to me the next morning.  Because of that I was able to get 11 bindings prepped for when the quilts are quilted.

This is Noelle.  She got four of these pineapple pillowcases made for a gift.  She even put cording around them and a zipper.  Wow.  I would have never gotten even one done.

This was Carla’s second project she was working on.  Lovely purples and such.

Lara worked on this quilt.  She was in another of the cabins. 

Rowena worked on her quilt from Joen Wolfram’s Fantasia class she took last month.

Jean worked on this quilt.  She was in another cabin.

Sue worked on this quilt for her husband’s retirement.

Stacy – the one in the green – worked on several little projects.  I couldn’t take a picture fast enough to get  some of the things she was working on.

Stacy’s mom worked on this Yellow Brick Road in aloha prints.  She was visiting Stacy so they came to retreat together. 

Susan worked on this commission piece.  It was darling.  A lady hired her to take all the baby’s 1-year old clothes and put them in a quilt.  She saved parts with pockets, buttons, etc.  She has to add borders on it.

Susan also made this little wall hanging.  She has a pull-out pantry shelf.  In Hawaii, the houses are so small you have to get inventive with your storage.  The pantry shelves are set in and rolls out to give access.  She made this to go on the end.

Our friend Sue’s husband will be retiring next month and she will be going back to the mainland.  Our bee (The Sassy S&B Pin-up Quilters) makes a quilt for those who move away since a good portion of the original members were military spouses and it would be inevitable that they moved (unless you were like Stacy and you just bought a house here and retired here).  Our quilt for Sue had to be a Sunbonnet Sue quilt.  Each of us made a block for the quilt.  Some of us even personalized them even more to make them more like ourselves.

Since I can now show it – this is the block I made for her quilt.  She is absolutely in love with Disney – so I made her disney balloons.  I am also known for always wearing lime green, slippahs, and shorts.  I also had to put my peach tattoo on the girl.