More fun than a barrel of quilters...

It's 8:30 in the morning and already over 85 degrees and I'm working on details for a Christmas-in-July retreat in the desert. But, even though the weather is no inspiration, I'm getting really excited for it to finally happen. We tell every new person that signs up that they're gonna love the group that's coming and that doesn't even begin to tell it. This is gonna be "fun" with a capital "F". I know we'll spend the better part of the weekend laughing and that's what I'm looking forward to the most.

I think it's great that so many of the quilters who will be attending are coming on their own. They're not bringing a friend or two to ease them into this group which can be pretty intimidating (but only in the best of ways)! I think they realize that, if you want to make friends fast, throwing yourself into the middle of a group of quilters is a pretty good way to do it.

A couple of years ago, when I first got my website up and running, one of the first quilters to find it and contact me is a woman named Roz from Albuquerque. She had nothing but good things to say about my work so, of course, becoming friends was imperative. We also both have grandchildren and, as many of you already know, if you can find someone to share grandchildren stories with, you've truly found a friend! Well, over the last couple of years, I've heard from Roz now and then and it's always nice to get a quick note letting me know what she's up to.

I got this wild hair and decided that I should give her a call and let her know about the retreat just on the off chance she might have the weekend free and want to have a little bit of a quilting adventure. I was thrilled when she said she wouldn't miss it and would not only be there but would also bring her sister from Oklahoma! Wow :-)

As I said, this is gonna be BIG fun and Roz and her sister and all of the fun-loving quilters and friends who have signed on (most with wild abandon) are the reason why. Sure, we'll probably get some quilting done but, better than that, we'll be able to share ideas and help each other grow as artists. Riiiight...and if that doesn't work, what the hell...we'll just laugh a lot!

There are a couple of spots left for any of you adventurous quilters out there who want to join us...if you dare. I promise you'll be glad you did. The more, the merrier!