Annual Beach Retreat

I belong to a small group called STASH (some Thursday at somebody's house) sometimes, THE GRATEFUL THREAD sometimes and just THE GROUP most of the time. (It has taken us a long time to settle on a name.) We usually plan a retreat weekend in the late winter or early spring. This last weekend we went to Oceanside, Oregon and rented this house.

Last year when I blogged about getting ready to go to the beach with my quilting friends, Gerrie wrote in a comment:

"One of my fave activities, getting away with my quilting friends. Can I come next time?"

Well, what do you know? Since that comment over a year ago, Gerrie has moved to Portland, joined the group and yes, came to the retreat. Can you say, "life of the party"?

She spied the crab hat hanging in the hallway of the beach house and modeled it for us.

The house was very comfortable and had several nice quilts and other artwork hanging throughout. We especially loved the mosaiced glass window and the "Be nice . . ." sign over the back door.

The window seat was a favorite spot for handwork and enjoying the view outdoors. We could even see the ocean through a little opening in the trees.

Beth had expressed interest in making a house similar to one I made in January. So I brought some patterns I made for whomever wanted to try making one. Beth and I each worked on a little house. Mine are the orange parts on the right. Beth chose a great stone fabric for her little house.

We sewed, we laughed, we ate (very well), we shopped and had ice cream for lunch and visited the Latimer Quilt museum. We all posed for a group shot before we left on Sunday.

Left to right: Linda, Gale, Gerrie, Beth, Reva, Terry. We miss Terri who moved to Washington D.C. and Kathie who is now an editor for American Quilter, but are so pleased that Gerrie and Reva, also a newcomer from California, have joined us. I love this group.

You can read and see more pictures of our weekend at Gerrie's blog.

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A Walk on the Beach

You never know what the weather will be like on the Oregon Coast, but we lucked into a beautiful weekend and enjoyed a couple of great walks on the beach.

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I am finally mailing the Valentines and little quilt to people who won my Blog #300 celebration drawing. There are a couple of you who haven't emailed me a mailing address. I still have your Valentines and will send them if you send me your address.