So over the weekend it was retreat time. Three whole days of chatting and crafting … and it was wonderful.

I packed up so much stuff with the hope of doing a bit of everything but of course that didn’t happen. I did manage to get a good few things done over the weekend though including some sewing on a new skirt and a bit of fabric pre-shrinking. (Still building myself up to the idea of quilting one tiny step at a time).

I did manage to get my secret project finished before we headed off though, so when we all arrived I was able to give Sharon and Nancy their retreat gift bags.

Each bag was made with a matching set of stitch markers and contained a themed skein of local yarn in a 10ply worsted weight, enough hopefully for a nice hat or pair of mitts.

My focus for the weekend was to get to a certain point in my Dr Who scarf and to make progress on Rose of Sharon. As always I got a little distracted but did manage some progress on each of those projects (I’ll update with pictures of those on my September goals post).

The house we stayed in was lovely and had a fantastic room for crafting, huge tables so we could all spread out and access to lamps, irons, cutting boards and a great gas heater in the corner. The weather was cold and rainy… just perfect for lazing about inside with crafts and not worrying about the outside world.

Of course I couldn’t resist a few new starts and I started Dustland Hat by Stephen West and The Stockholm Scarf. Both are being worked in 10ply Luxury from Bendigo Woollen Mills. It is a great workhorse yarn, nothing too flash but super warm, snuggly and soft. So far it has been lovely to work with.

Dustland Hat: section 1 and ribbing band

Stockholm Scarf first three rows… following an evilly long cast on. Knit in the round.

The retreat also had some lovely flowers and interesting areas so I was happy that I took my camera up with me and armed with my macro lens I snapped a few pictures of flowers, garden in habitants and just generally intriguing things I found about the place.

A selection of pictures from the weekend can be found in my flickr albums here.

Nic, sorry but I don’t have pictures of the other girls projects. Nancy was stitchingon her glorious self charted pieces while Sharon kept herself busy with an array of different projects, knitting, stitching and sewing. It was a productive weekend for everyone really and I think one full of much needed relaxation for us all.

ne thing is for sure… I am convinced it is something I would love to do again.