Hey Marie, nice to hear from you! I just returned from a month-long trip to Chile, most of which was spent on a ship. We did have a week in Valparaiso, and a few days in Arica, in the northern, tropical end of the country, so I skipped a good chunk of winter this year. I came home to find Arnold Promise and his cousin, Diane (both cultivars of Hamamelis x intermedia) looking lovely, still in full bloom. The heath is still blooming, but there's no color on the winter jasmine (j. nudiflorum) - maybe the winter was a bit too tough for it this year? Or maybe I missed the show, sometimes the flowers are killed on that one, if the temperature dips too low after buds have formed. Dawn viburnum is in bloom, to the extent that it ever is - the flowers are small and, although they're supposed to be fragrant, I can't claim to ever have smelled them. I haven't looked for the winter aconite, winter hazel, or snowdrops yet, and I know the hellebores must be in desperate need of a trim - the old foliage is pretty ratty by this time of year. So, although we never have much of a spring on the cape, it seems like the end of winter is in sight, and I'm really happy about that. Gets tougher to take the cold every year, it seems. Best of luck with your new equipment! Hope to see you at a swap or a nursery before too long - DtD (Nan)

I like them all! Great job on the remake for your niece's quit. What did you do with the first one? We seem to have the same tastes in patterns & more modern looking quilts. Look back at our Cheerio Quilt show pics - can you ID the similar ones? It is very nice to see the completed projects from the Retreats.

I would prefer a later date in April or any date in October, but I would try to make any other date work for me. We can’t rule out bad weather (snow/ice) November through March in the mountains of NC and TN. I think all these locations have their good points and I would be happy with any of them. We do try to have enough work space and good lighting with any retreat site, but we can make it work if need be. Thanks to Beverly for handling our booking details! I am off to see Ohio this weekend - I’ve never been to Ohio!

Hi Debbie, and welcome.....waving from Florida. Join in on the forum fun....I'm pretty sure Beverly will be along and answer any questions. What fun this is turning out to be! I think the retreats started around 2006 or 2007 as my first time was 2008 and the next time was 2012. Even though my health isn't as though I could run any kind of race, it is now good enough to travel by vehicle and to stay where everything is on the main floor. Even my family perked up when I mentioned doing this. I'm even thinking about what mindless projects to take. lol