Use it Up

I just got back home from a weekend sewing retreat with my ASG chapter. What fun! Around 30 of us went to the Dumas Bay retreat center in Federal Way. We started sewing on Friday morning and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon. The setting is memorable. The retreat center is right on the waterfront and the sewing rooms faced the bay. During low tide I went for a walk with a friend and met a marine biologist who told us about his project sampling water. We saw lots of shells and wildlife and appreciated the natural beauty. Friday night I even went to a play, Enchanted April, put on by the community theater housed at the retreat center.

Sewing, of course, was the main activity. I had just gone through my fabric stash, trying to thin things down. In addition to the boxes of things I have ready to go to a stash sale in a couple of weeks, I found some hidden treasures to sew up at the retreat. I "repurposed" a sweatshirt by cutting up the front, adding a batik band and making a cardigan out of it. I found left-over fabric that I put together into a fun, twirly skirt with a matching t-shirt and fabric rose, made a test shawl-collar shirt out of found pink knit, sewed some pillows for Cliff out of his left-over curtain material, coordinating silk from a gown for a Rainbow Girl, and batting left over from a sale at Fabric Land (defunct for 13 years). Finally, I did some charity sewing--"Support our Troops" bags out of old, but colorful table cloth fabric. It felt good to use things up in ways I hadn't imagined when I originally bought the fabric I used. I felt bold in cutting into things, since I didn't have expensive fabric at stake. It was fun to see things shape up so well.

The retreat was special not only because of the opportunity to sew without interruptions, but also because of the special fellowship with the people who were there. We all appreciated the opportunity to share with each other while sewing together. I had 30 helpers as I was figuring out what to do with my projects. I'm already looking forward to the next sewing retreat. I'm glad we have them twice a year.