NEQ Retreat 2011

I've been a lucky girl - actually not sure if I can call myself a girl these days, but you know what I mean! I got to go to the first New English Quilter's Retreat!!! Oh, it was lovely, I would highly recommend it if you get chance to go.

I drove up on the Friday afternoon, and managed to get myself horribly lost - I mean an hour and a half lost - a journey that took me four hours on the way home managed to take five and a half hours. I have to admit that the roads around Newark and Lincoln all managed to merge and become a blur after a hours driving. Of course I was in such a rush to get out of the door before someone could stop me, that I never thought to take Martha's phone number or the phone number for the bed and breakfast - you know that feeling, of escape from everything and quick, get out the door before someone gets ill or the phone rings, get away from the housework/ironing and the cooking! Luckily I had managed to swap mobile numbers with Trudy the week before and she very kindly managed to talk me in from the wilderness.

The weekend was really wonderful. I had the best room in the Bed and Breakfast, a private little number with no noises apart from the birds in the morning. We ate out the first night and then everyone retired fairly early. After a full cooked breakfast the next morning we all gathered in the barn ready to work. I say "all" but there were only five of us, so there was plenty of time for some one to one with both Martha and Trudy. After seeing Trudy's work at the NEC last year, I was keen to have a go at some feathers - failed, but not defeated! Other's just needed a bit of a kick start to get going.

Here is Martha doing some show and tell with her work:

And here is Trudy (on the right), taking Lesley through her paces:

It was a lovely way to spend a weekend. Both Martha and Trudy are very generous in their advice and help, and very patient too. They needed to be with me when it came to feathers!! More on that another time. The food throughout the weekend was plentiful and tasty too - amazingly enough though it would just appear and then disappear afterwards - no prep, no washing up - gets my vote! A lovely bunch of ladies, who all had the same frames and the same goals - to learn how to use it. I have come home all fired up, and the frame is back up, cleaned down and machine oiled ready to go. I have even managed to get a quilt loaded on yesterday too. Now I just have to start it. NEQ weekends - if you have a frame and you have to opportunity to go - do it!!