Quilt Retreat, Casowosco Fall 2008

Ah yes, Quilt Retreat…
What do the magical words mean to the uninitiated? How many times have I met the eyes of one who gives me the “Wha?” look when I say with feeling “QUILT RETREAT”.

There is the wild fabric muse, skipping giddily among the tables, strewn with fabric. There are late night hijinks, still pajama game girls under their garlands of years. We share jokes and high hilarity; we share wild laughing fits that seem to have no end.

We share knowledge and experience directly upon seeing another with an unsolved problem. We share advice, free flowing, varied as the rainbow from as many varied women. We see many works of many artists, fancy and simple. We experience creative fertilization, one mind to another, simple and complex.

This quilting retreat may have had those rich times, but it also had a memorial service. In memory of one of our members, who we enjoyed at this retreat, in her most robust healthy days, in her unflagging chemotherapy days, arriving with determination and napping much of the retreat, and now in her absence. The circle of women goes on, as we remember our sister, Donna.

So here are the images, of quilters in their glory, and quilters spreading the ashes of a loved one.

I don't live in Tompkins County, I can't attend the meetings, and I drive over six hours to attend the retreat spring and fall. But these amazing women have allowed a special place for me in their circle. So when I say I am a quilter, my deep sense of pride is not for the colors and patches. It is that I have had the joy of calling myself a member of the Tompkins County Quilt Guild.