Nundle Retreat July 2015

I awoke to a snow covered yard on Friday, this is

 the view from my carport. I had just finished loading my

 car because I was heading off to Nundle for my first

2 day retreat at Kerry Swain's Cottage on the Hill....

Leaving town the views of the snow covered hills....

My trip was 5 hours in total and 20 minutes from

 Orange I encountered Fog and then rain.....

The weather cleared up a little around Gulgong....
 
This pic was taken just out of Murrurundi, sleety snow and a very icy road. I was glad the road wasn't closed because I was less than an hour from Nundle at this stage. I reckon I would have made a run for it if the road was closed because it had been a long morning and I wasn't stopping now....LOL!
Misty rain as I finally drove into Nundle,
By now I was so happy to see this sign....
I met up with most of the girls at the pub for lunch and this
was the view as we left afterward, snow up in the hills.....
So of cause up we went for some frolicking!
Lea found a little friend....Ha Ha....

Barb, Myself and Jules....

Barb, Jenny, Chooky and Jules.....

The girls waving to Lea in the backround
who was on a mission to get to the top.....

Then the sun decided it was going to push through the cold
 clouds, talk about all the seasons in one day.....

The views were lovely and the girls were
 pretty excited about the snow....
Off to book into our cabins and choose
 our projects for the next day....

Saturday morning Jenny, Lea and I heading out to
 The Cottage on the Hill for our first day of sewing....
Arriving at The Cottage on The Hill....

This was my spot for the weekend at the end
 of the table near the fire.....Perfect!

Here we all are busy filling our bobbins
 and getting ready to start.....

How good is this?
Whilst we were at the pub on Friday night having dinner Kerry
was busy cutting our fabrics into kits ready for sewing.....

First up for me was joining all the smaller
squares to make 56 triangle blocks.....

I have sewn this type of zig zag pattern before but the linen fabric that I am using is quite thick and made getting my points to meet up really tricky, all the other girls were powering along and I was still plugging away at my zig zag strip.....

Yay! I finally had a victory!
I joined 2 blocks without having to unpick anything....
It had been a long morning and Kerry kept assuring
 me this part took the most time!!!!!

The sun was shining brightly in Kerry's lovely garden....

So we sat outside and enjoyed our lunch....

Homemade Beef and Vegetable Soup with toasted Turkish
 Bread was on the menu and it was delicious.....

I could have easily stayed a month and not just a weekend...

All smiles with full tummies ready to go again for the
afternoon, Ainsley, Jules and Bronwyn with Kerry
 busily cutting in the background....

Lea and Jenny, love these girls....

Barb who completed her first quilt top on the Saturday
 and then started hand quilting it, while I was
 still working on that strip) and Maree....

Sue, Jenny and I....

And FINALLY the strip was complete, and it looked great....

The little pot belly stove kept us all toasty warm....

I was excited to finally start joining some of my other fabrics
into strips, I am using a combination of plain and printed
linens and cotton French General Fabrics.....Gorgeous!

This part was a nice way to end a long day at the
machine and Lea's quick unpick....LOL!

After we left the cottage, we all headed back into town and
 called in to see Kevin at Ratters Flat. Kevin restores and makes
 unique pieces of furniture and birds houses......
 These are a couple of his pieces.....

Saturday night dinner was prepared by Maree
 and Ainsley and we enjoyed it in our cabin....

Very tasty.....

Washed down with a few of these....

Sunday morning we headed back out to the cottage and this is
how my quilt was looking, all of my strips made
 waiting to be joined together.....

Delicious morning and afternoon tea.....

The Quilt Diva was hard at it trying to get her
quilt top finished before the end of the day....

My rows all joined together and pinned below the quilt I am
 making, Kerry designed this quilt and named it "Off Centre"

A group pic of us all with our quilt tops....

I still have a narrow border to add to mine...
I also purchased a few extra bits of fabric to make a cushion
cover to go with my completed quilt, I am going to use it
on my daybed in my sewing studio..... 

A couple of purchases, these clover tools are
great and a small pair of thread clippers....

I also purchased a layer cake of cute 1930's
fabrics for a project I am planning....

Sadly all good things must come to an end and
 it was time to say goodbye and head home....

Not before a quick stop at the Woollen
 Mill on the way out of town....

I picked up this skein of Pure Merino 20ply wool,

Great weather for a knitting project......

I left at 4 and arrived home at around 9.30pm....
What a lovely way to spend a weekend with good
food, laughs, wine, company and quilting.....

Thanks for stopping by and taking an interest in my weekend,

Until next time, Happy Stitching

Kate