And That's a Wrap!

The view from the deck looking towards the PEI ferry.

The 15th Mayflower Quilter's Retreat is one for the record books now. After 30 years of organizing, fine tuning and fund raising, we can now look forward to a new beginning of sorts. I have only missed one Retreat (due to a family wedding) and have been at the helm of 13 of the 15 Retreats. the time has come to pass it on and hopefully it will run for another 30 years. There is so much more to learn, new teachers to bring to NS and we need to introduce new, young quilters to the Retreat concept. I am thrilled that the Retreat is going to continue in the excellent hands of Ann Carmichael. 

As I processed the pictures from this 15th Retreat, I thought of all the changes the quilt world has experienced in the last 30 years. how we have gone from templates and scissors to fancy rulers and rotary cutters not to mention how computers have changed our world! How lucky we are, those of us who have a good 30+ years of quilting in, to have experienced and embraced all these changes. there is still so much to learn, so much to share.

Barb M under our guardian moose in the main dning room at Pictou Lodge.

This Retreat was special, Pictou Lodge has been our "home" for every Retreat. we have gone through several owners, many changes in staff and changes in event managers. The latest, Karen Wolff just started in June and did a superb job. I think we initiated her well!

Laurie Swim, Ana Buzzalino and Karen Kay Buckley

Our teachers were all first timers! Karen Kay Buckley from Pennsylvania, Ana Buzzalino from Calgary and Laurie Swim from Lunenburg. Just over one third of our quilters were also first timers. Two of the 63 quilters, Kay S and Barb M have been to every Retreat! Such dedication!

 

Our Avonport Young Quilter Scholarship winner settled in just fine and I know from the smile of her face (for the entire Retreat!) was one of sheer happiness. I think Heather learned a lot and had a great time. We would love to have her come back.

Our fund raising efforts have begun for the 2017 Retreat, many thanks to all those who donated to the auction and those who made purchases as well as our silent auction. We are off to a good start!

There are lots of pictures in our photo albums, be sure and click on the link at the top right hand side under Retreat Memories.

The 14th Quilter's Retreat

The calm at Pictou Lodge

Another Retreat has come and gone. We had another wonderful time with some pretty wonderful quilters. The days flew by all too fast. The classrooms were a beehive of activity and creativity, conversation and quiet. The weather was great for arrival day, then we had two days of wind and rain (no hurricanes this year and no snow). Then we had two wonderful days of sunshine and blue skies.

Penny and Cheryl

We were delighted to have Penny Berens from Granville Ferry, NS and Cheryl Arkison from Calgary AB with us this year as our teachers. It was wonderful to see their workshop show and tell on the last night and see how much everyone accomplished, truly impressive. We were saddened that Karen Neary could not be with us this year due to a death in her family. We all send our sincere sympathies and hope to have her with us at a Retreat in the near future.

The Retreat happens thanks to the help of many both in the two years it takes to plan and organize and the 5 days at Pictou Lodge. For one reason or another many of our committee could not be with us this year. Meredith and Ann worked hard and lent their support many times, I could not have managed without them, I am so grateful for their support. Jamie jumped in the last few months and took on several jobs. Once at the Retreat Davida and her sister Jeanne Kay helped with the seating plan for dinner, Barb M and Kay looked after the table favours, putting them out at each meal. Thanks to all who donated the favours - Barb and Kay, Gerri and Beth, Marie, Rhoda Moore (from Trend Tex Fabrics). Meredith and Ann were joined by Diane to manage the sale tables of books, magazines and fabrics. Rosemary, Isabel, Joan and Anne looked after the auction (fund raising for the 2015 Retreat) and Linda, Linnet and Jamie managed the silent auction table. Patsy, Bev, Debbie P and Debbie V managed the draws for door prizes and distributed them each night. Anne MR, Tina, Sandi and Deb P organized the fascinator challenge parade on the final night and teachers Cheryl and Penny along with our vendor Jacquie were the judges. I am sure I have forgotten someone - it sure is testament to that old saying that many hands make light work! Please see the previous post for a list of our door prize donors! More thanks there!

Many, many thanks to Jacquie Gillis and Monica from the Mira Stitch 'N Post Quilt Shop in Sydney, Cape Breton who came to the Retreat to be our vendor with a one ton truck loaded with all sorts of goodies and $3/m fabric. And they jumped in to help with the show and tell.

Wes visits Penny's workshop.

The staff at Pictou Lodge is the best! From Wes, the manager to Amanda our event co-ordinator to Chef Thomas and his staff in the kitchen to Sharon, Joanne and all the wait staff as well as the housekeepers and grounds staff. Everyone always had a smile and were all interested in what we do and ready to help when asked. I think we are a bit of a change from their usual conferences and meetings!

Krystal, Kelly and Debbie - our Avonport Award Scholarship winners.

I had many special moments, I think one of the best for me was seeing our three Avonport Award Scholarship winners together and having such a great time. Krystal form 2009, Kelly from 2011 and this year's winner Debbie. The criteria for the scholarship is to be under 40 and keen to learn about quilting. All expenses are covered (except supplies) and we are thrilled to be able to offer the scholarship again in 2015 thanks to Faye at Avonport Discount Fabrics.

Be sure and check our Photo Albums, the link is to the right. I have organized the pictures into 3 categoreis - the 2013 Retreat, the Fascinator Challenge and Workshops. Thanks again to Lorna for sharing her pictures with us too.

As I went through the 500+ pictures I took, then went through Lorna's pictures (thanks Lorna!) I could not but help to think about the future of the Retreat. I was almost 30 years younger when I had this brilliant idea to have a Retreat. I hope we can muster a committee together for another one. I hope there is enough interest and people willing to carry on for many years to come.

The chairs wait for us to come back September 23 - 27, 2015.

Our Sincere Thanks

The Pictou Lodge Quilt, made by Dorothy Johnston for Peter and Carol Ann van Weston, formwer owners of Picotu Lodge

The 14th Quilter's Retreat at Pictou Lodge is over and we have many people to thank. Well over 20 people and businesses donated prizes and thanks to the great team of Patsy, Bev, Debbie and Christine everyone at the Retreat went home with a prize. Our donors this year were-

Val Hearder and African Threads

Art Quilt Publishing - Laurie Swim

Avonport Discount Favrics - Faye Brown

Diana Mitchell

Lynn's Quilting Services - Lynn Jones

Mahone Bay Quilter's Guild

Mira Stitch 'N Post

N. Jefferson Ltd - Ken MacAloney

Pictou Lodge

Sew With Vision - Bonnie Spinney

Suttles and Seawinds

TLC Quilt Studio - Susan and Bruce Taylor

Trend Tex Fabrics - Rhoda Moore

Please check out their websites and if you happen to visit one of these businesses be sure and thank them!

The Countdown Is On!

Yes, the countdown is on for the 2013 Mayflower Quilter's Retreat at Pictou Lodge, just a mere 10 weeks to go till the quilters invade Pictou Lodge! Some of the committee visited Pictou Lodge this week to finalize a few details and have a tour around to see some of the changes and upgrades. I think you will all be quite thrilled.

The new bikes are ready and waiting if you feel a need to go for an explore around the Lodge property.

The Adirondack chairs are ready and waiting if you want to sit by the Northumberland Shore, a great place to do some handwork!

Every cabin has new beds, new linens, fresh coats of paint, new furniture and lighting fixtures just to name a few things! Love that fabric!

There is a new chef this year, Chef Thomas and if our lunch is any indication, the food is going to wonderful! Chef Courtney who had been at the Lodge for many of our Retreats is on maternity leave!

We are so pleased that we have a full Retreat again this year, classes are full! We are grateful to everyone who keeps coming back and we look forward to meeting those quilters who are coming for a first time.

We are also pleased to welcome our new merchant to the Retreat this year. Jacque from the Mira Stitch 'n Post will be with us, can't wait to meet her and see the goodies she is bringing.

The Quilters Retreat 2011

Well, another Retreat is under our belt and I must say, it was one of the best yet. Little did I know when we started this after Quilt Canada '84 in Halifax that we would still be having a Quilters Retreat in 2011 almost 27 years later! The weather, the quilters, the teachers and the staff at Pictou Lodge were all terrific, wonderful and amazing! There just aren't enough words to describe the experience.

It didn't take long for the quilters to arrive and settle in. Soon we gathered in the bar for our usual welcome and dinner and then the fun began with our auction. Many thanks to all the quilters who donated fabric, books, magazines, preserves, notions and all sorts of other goodies. The PDQ's (Paradise District Quilters from the Annapolis Valley) were once again our able auction specialists. Lots of fun and bargains!

Linda, Ruth & Ruth had a great time at the auction!

Faye, Debbie and Sharon with the Pictou Lodge quilt.

We were thrilled to present to Pictou Lodge a quilt to hang in the main dining room, a thank you from all the quilters who have been at the Retreat over the years, it is the frst thing you see when you look into the diningroom. Thanks to Faye Palmeter who pieced and donated the top, to Debbie Vermeulen who did the applique and the machine quilting (be sure and look for the PEI ferry crossing the Northumberland Strait in the quilting) and to Ann Carmichael who did the binding. We hope that the staff and guests will enjoy it for many years.

 Daphne Greig's class at work.

Jackie & Lois at work in Jane Sassaman's class.

Patsy at work in Elaine Quehl's class.

Patricia & Bernie hard at work in the "Hermits" classroom.

The workshops started bright and early Thursday morning with Daphne Greig, Elaine Quehl and Jane Sassaman. Each quilter spent 3 days with one teacher, a great indepth way to really learn something. The staff at Pictou Lodge bent over backwards to accommodate us and our unique needs. We aren't their usual conference setup!

Sharon & Mary's room.

Jerri minds the fort!

Ginny's New York Beauty.

A few of the PDQ's, Joan, Isabel and Rosemary.

Anne's wonderful and unusual plants quilt.

After dinner Thursday night we were joined by some of the local quilters as went went around from cabin to cabin on our "Progressive Show and Tell", kind of like Hallowe'en for quilters. There was lots of variety, lots of different techniques and some pretty incredible quilts, large and small. Be sure and check out our photo link on the right hand side to see lots more pictures.

Lorna shops at our merchant Timeless Stitches in River John, thanks to Sandy Rice for bringing her shop to us!

We had some incredible support from our many donors for door prizes which were given out each night. Please see the donor list link on the right hand side for a complete list.

Friday night we had a free night with a couple of options for those with the energy! Classrooms were open for those who wanted to sew, Teri hosted a wine and cheese reception for SAQA and had a travelling show of members works to share with us and many quilters chose to relax in their cabins with new friends and old!

Saturday night was our closing banquet, highlighted by the "Mug Rug" challenge. I must say I was thrilled with the results! Our quilters certainly rose to the challenge and came up with some wonderful, creative and useful mug rugs. A spontaneous auction was held for those mug rugs donated to the cause and several hundred dollars was raised! Thanks to all who participated and to Elaine, Daphne and Jane for being our very able judges!

The Silent Auction of special items was held in the lobby and even the staff got into some pretty competetive bidding! Thanks to all who dontaed items and all who made the successful bids. (see our quilt hanging in the background!)

Many thanks to our fantastic teachers who helped to make our Retreat so special.

Jane Sassaman, Daphne Greig and Elaine Quehl.

Plans are well underway for our 14th Quilters Retreat at Pictou Lodge, mark your calendars for September 25-29, 2013. Keep an eye on this blog for the announcement of who the teachers will be and important dates for registration etc.

Special thanks to the Retreat Committee who are the best and who give so much to make this event the success that it is. Thanks to Meredith, Ann, Sandra, Faye, Fiona, Barb B and especially to Marie who is "retiring" from the committee. we will all miss you Marie!