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| The Chapel at Koronis Ministries |
Two weeks from today I
will be heading to my semi-annual quilting and scrapbooking retreat at the
beautiful Koronis Ministries camp on Lake Koronis in Paynesville, MN. Let me tell you . . . I CANNOT WAIT to get
there. (Yes, my use of all caps means
that I am nearly shouting those words in my own mind.) I will have a spring in my step every day for
the next two weeks! My husband and
daughter will sneak eye rolls at each other as I become increasingly annoying
in my anticipation of KORONIS!
Ten years ago two
lovely ladies from our church, Pat and Diane, invited me to attend a “September
Quilters” weekend retreat. I had never been on a quilting retreat before, and I
was a little nervous. But what I found
was a warm fellowship of women bound by common interests, strong faith, and
lots of good humor. These ladies have
been a blessing in my life for ten years and I am eternally thankful for the
first invite that brought me into this circle.
Over the years the
September Quilters expanded to include a couple of scrapbookers and paper
crafters. We decided that gathering once
a year was not enough, so we added a spring retreat as well. (We are warmed by
the notion that we are such long-timers, the camp directors still refer to us as
the September Quilters, no matter what activity we are doing and no matter if
we meet in September, October, or April.)
And what was originally a weekend
retreat has also grown. Instead of driving to camp after work on Friday and
staying until Sunday, some of us began using a vacation day to arrive early
Friday morning. Eventually the craziest
in the group decided to take two vacation days, arriving Thursday morning. There are occasional giggles that we should make
it an entire week, but we think most of the husbands might have a fit over
that.
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| ~ Fall Retreat 2014 ~ |
Occasionally someone
cannot attend due to work or family commitments, and they are truly
missed. But somehow we never miss a beat
when we see each other next. Some of us have moved to different towns. Some of us have retired and become
grandparents. Lives have changed. With the exception of my mom and a close
friend who lives in my current hometown, I am only able to see these ladies twice
a year. But we come together every
retreat like comfortable old friends . . . picking up on conversations as
though we just spoke yesterday, catching up on how much the children or
grandchildren have grown, and (of course) sharing projects that we have been
working on since last retreat.
At KORONIS! we have held
a baby shower and a wedding shower. We
have spent too much money on fabric at the local quilt shops. We have forgotten to pack
underwear and had to make an emergency purchase at the local discount store. We
have abandoned our diets and regular fitness routines in lieu of sitting and “working”
for 12 to 14 hours each day. (We get our
exercise by cutting fabric or walking to the richly stocked snack table.) We have sewn in our pajamas late into
the night. We have woken up to more
beautiful sunrises across the lake than we can remember. We have raced to be
the first in line at meal time, beating out any other groups at the camp. (After all, we ARE the September Quilters!) We
have laughed, we have cried, we have gossiped (oops) and we have shared devotions.
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| Harriet, Ibby and I all had fun making the Moda Love Charm Quilt during the Fall Retreat 2014. |
As I am writing this, I
am struck once again by how lucky I am to have KORONIS! in my life. I am also wondering if someone is reading
this and feeling blue that maybe you don’t.
My message to you is this: make
your own KORONIS! If you are a
quilter, sewist, scrapbooker, jewelry maker . . . you surely know a handful of
women with similar interests and warm personalities. Start with a day retreat in someone’s home.
Begin a gathering. Take time for
yourself with other women who share your passion and you will know a lifelong
blessing!
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| Love the soft warm colors in Brenda's quilt! |
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| Our work stations . . . all lined up! |
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| Ibby's beautiful Fig Tree project: Cherry Pie! Love, love, love! |
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| Brenda working on a counted cross stitch Christmas stocking. |
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| We love Clare, whether her eyes are open or closed! |
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| Our favorite twins, Pam & Deb, working on their photo books. |
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| A little fall lovely by the lovely Diane. |
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| Harriet's pretty wall hanging used the layered panel / chenille technique. |
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| Oh such warm autumn colors in Pat's table topper! |
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| Press, Penny, Press! |
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| Fig Tree sailboat . . . one down . . . 15 to go! |
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| We are surrounded by God's beauty at Koronis! |
Hello quilting friends! In honor of the first day of autumn, I have to share a little autumn colored pin cushion I made for my sister. On June 25, I blogged about my pincushion craziness, but I forgot to include a pic of this little honey I made for my sis. This Honeysweet fabric by Fig Tree & Company is so autumn lovely!! Hmmm . . . I may have to steal this back when someone is not looking! 
