Weather Outside and In

This weekend despite the fabulous weather, 15 women attended Joyful's Quilt Camp and both happily and successfully spent three days indoors.  Granted the weather was wonderful as it can be in this area in September, granted there were many enticing activities being held locally, granted families were engaged in sporting events, it all paled in contrast to the pleasure of quilting with friends, creating beauty, and feeling the flush of success.

 

In the room where I sat, everyone achieved a personal goal set before the weekend began.  Some of us completed projects (aka UFOs) that had been started some time ago, some worked on current projects by overcoming obstacles ("evil" or highly complex blocks or directions that appeared to be gibberish), some started (and in some cases, finished!) new works.  There were those who brought several things to work on and happily switched back and forth among the possibilities.  Others were focused on completing a single piece of work for a wedding next week, for Christmas, or for a family member. 

 

For myself, I finished the top portion of the second fairy quilt, watched a demonstration by a fellow quilt camper on making a table runner and using the leftover scraps for candle mats/placemats, helped others make fabric and color choices, did some hand-piecing, and added to the small pile of blocks for my "GF" quilt. 

 

Here are the things that strikes me most strongly after the weekend: the harmony that existed among all of us made us feel like family, our enthusiasm for our chosen activity was enticement enough, our willingness to help each other achieve a goal, and our whole hearted celebration of each other's successes small and large made missing outdoor activities a small sacrifice. 

 

In other words, the weather inside that quilt store was especially brilliant this weekend!