Kindred Spirits Retreat, 2014

First an update on the condition of the lake and the snow drifts.

Still ice to the horizon.

The southwest wind dumped snow and sand on the northeast side of the house.

The good news is that I was able to dig out my recycling and garbage.

The combination of snow and sand looks like marble in places.

Last weekend I attended the Kindred Spirits Retreat at Apps Ridge, just south of Paris. This is an annual event run by the Paris arts group. There are courses offered, we sleep in bunk beds with a shared bathroom and it is catered.
I did not take any of the courses this year preferring to sit by the roaring fire, by the huge stone fireplace, and rug hook. However there was some beautiful pieces created. Unfortunately I have no photos of the painted silk scarves but managed to get the camera going for the painted floor cloth classes.

This one to match the artist's new kitchen

The communal floor cloth that everyone practised techniques on

I think this one is going to a cottage

They didn't all go together easily or according to plan. Sometimes there was considerable
repainting to get the desired effect.

When not painting (or hooking) we were chatting, drinking, knitting, eating (catered deliciously by Two Rivers) and listening to our Saturday evening entertainment; Tia McGraff and Tommy who were wonderful and drove out to us in an ice storm. The following link should take you to her video that was filmed on Long Point Beach.  http://youtu.be/RMCE7aUcdLw  Hope that works, its the first time I have tried to put a link in the blog.
Some of us worked on our "Scottish exchange" rugs as there is a May deadline for them.

In a full day of hooking, I got the grass done.

Warm, well fed and surrounded by friends it was lovely to look out at the Apps Ridge surroundings.

From the classroom area.

From my bedroom

And to end the post, the mandatory kitten picture. (People have been asking for them!)

Spoiled cat, too many toys already.