Quiltin' Sistas Retreat

 
I just got back from an amazing 5 days in the Okanagan, for our First Annual Quilting Retreat in Oliver!  Shirley and I had dreamed of doing this for awhile so we finally made it happen.  The two of us signed up to do our first Mystery Quilt, so the plan was to go to the local quilting shop to choose our fabrics together and then start working on it all weekend.    

 A gorgeous Fall day in Summerland

I drove out to West Kelowna bright and early on Friday morning and made it to Peachland for lunch.  I had a few hours to kill before Shirl got home from work so I went to the Blind Angler for a burger, then walked along the lake for awhile.  It was gorgeous Fall day!  Warm, bright... so beautiful.  Once Shirl got home, we packed up and were out the door by 4:30.  We stopped for dinner at the Falls Restaurant, in OK Falls.  Fabulous Chinese food and the place was packed... it's also pretty much the only place in town to eat besides the pub across the road.

A crisp evening - on the patio enjoying a glass of wine

The sun's coming up in Oliver

We made it to our B&B by 7 pm, and the owner was there to greet us.  It was located in the hills overlooking the vineyards in Oliver and it was perfect.... honestly, amazing place!  We totally lucked out on this place and will definitely be going back each year!  I loved that it was outside of town so it was super quiet and peaceful with a gorgeous view.  The first night we cozied up in our blankies and sat outside on the patio with our glass of wine.  (We even had a fire one evening.)


Saturday we were up bright and early and got to the quilting store before 10:00 so we could choose our fabrics for our Border Creek Mystery Quilt.  We were GIDDY!! Michelle, the owner of the store, was expecting us and luckily there were no other customers in the store.  We had her all to ourselves and she was super helpful in choosing our fabrics.  Shirl had hers chosen in about 20 minutes!  We were surprised - we thought it would be more difficult.  But the nice thing about Michelle is that she totally knows what she has and can zone in on what works immediately.  And it's not a huge store so it wasn't overwhelming.   My quilt choice was equally easy because I decided that I liked the recommended mystery quilt colours so I only had to coordinate a few fabrics to complete my stash.   We're both pretty excited to start working on our quilts, and it'll be fun to see how the mystery begins to reveal itself.  Hopefully we don't hate our quilts!  I doubt it.... :-)

We were finished at the quilting store so quickly that we were back in our jammies by 11:15 am!  Let the quilting begin!!

2 days of work... hard to believe!

Ironing and enjoying the view

 

So this is pretty much what we did for the rest of the weekend.... got up early, quilted, drank coffee, ate gourmet (frozen) pizza, Mr. Noodles and Cheetos.... and drank wine of course.  (Oh, and I 'may' have had a minor quilting meltdown/tantrum... all part of the experience.  Sorry Betty!  So much for trying to recruit her to the quilting world)  Oh yeah, so Shirl's BFF, Betty, came to join us for a night which was alot of fun.  I just love her for putting up with us, what can I say??  Being with sisters is not for the faint of heart... haha.  It was such a perfect weekend.  It was really the first time Shirl and I have ever spent time together, without our families, so it was a long overdue vacation. 

Eventually we had to go home.  :-( 

After we left the B&B we headed to a few wineries in Oliver (my favourite winery (EVER!) was CLOSED that particular day... total fluke bad luck... wah) and then went with Mike to another winery in West Kelowna later that afternoon.   It was great to hang out with Mike for awhile that evening, and then I was off bright and early on Tuesday to head home.  So sad to leave.  By the time I hit IKEA, all the "zen" had left my body as I battled traffic, getting lost and being in a building with a million other shoppers.  (Have you ever noticed that, no matter which direction you go in that store, you're always going against traffic??)  I made it back to the ferry and was home by 8 pm.


An awesome weekend.  Love you, my Quiltin' Sista!  We are soooo doing this next year!!