Quilting Retreat In Temecula

Last weekend I went on a three day quilting retreat in Temecula, CA at the Vina De Lestonnac. I attended with eight of my quilting friends, but there were about 25 or so women in all. We had plenty of relaxation, stitching, and fun. The trip was organized by the "Memory Lane" quilt shop.

Our meals were prepared and served to us in the dining hall, and we had simple clean rooms with attached bathrooms. As you can see, the grounds were lovely and peaceful. Vina De Lestonnac is in the middle of a group of beautiful vineyards. There is a church and small convent there, and they make money by renting out their facilities for retreats, both religious and secular.

The first picture was early in the day when we still had some of the "June gloom" clouds, but it was sunny and warm in no time at all. This was a good time of year to go because in the summer it gets HOT.

Here is an easy baby quilt top in pretty pastels. I may or may not add another border.

I also finished up a little beach quilt using mostly Kaffe Fasset fabrics. I tend to pick simple projects for gatherings like this because, let's face it, for me it is primarily a social event. I just don't have the power of concentration to visit and sew something difficult at the same time.

We also had a "bag making" session, and several of us ended up with some cute customized purses. Special thanks to our friend Carla who started the ball rolling and acted as "teacher" for us. Unfortunately, the "purse" group pictures turned out pretty blurry.

On Saturday I left the retreat and took a side trip with Jerry up to LA. Our son Andy and his
girlfriend were visiting her sister in Manhattan Beach, and it was just too close for us to pass up a chance to visit. What we didn't count on was four hours of crawling traffic. By the time we got there, we had only a couple of hours to be together. We headed on over to the Farmer's Market and had a meal before driving them to LAX. By the time I got back to Temecula that evening, I was really glad that I had one more day of peace and quiet and NO traffic.