A Sewing Retreat Bookended With Beer and Boogying

I am just coming off a tremendously fun and jam-packed weekend.  I think I may have officially entered the busy season--something fun to do nearly every day.  Winter is our slow, mellow, relaxing season.  Spring is when it starts winding up to a feverish pitch.

Matt, his brother, Ryan, and I went to the 2nd Annual Montana Spring Brew Fest on Friday.  It was a madhouse.  20 Montana craft breweries serving more than 70 different Made In Montana beers to a wall-to-wall, elbow-to-elbow crowd and some rockin' music.  It was great.

And Matt's folks kindly picked us up afterwards so we could all be sure to get home safely--no matter how many beers we sampled.  And we ended up sampling quite a few.  There was a watermelon beer that I swooned over.    There was a black IPA that made my mouth feel and taste disgusting.  There was a jalapeno infused beer that was spicy and green tasting...which is weird to say since green is a color, but still!  It tasted green...there is nothing else to it.

I probably would have been wiser to not stay up late beer sampling since I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. to get ready for a full weekend of sewing with Matt's mom, my mom, and some of her church friends in a near-by town.  But, clearly, I am not wiser.

Sharon and I drove over and met up with the rest of the ladies at a little house specifically set up for sewing retreats with sewing desks, ironing boards, cutting stations, and eight single beds.  There were seven of us and we sure got a whole lot of sewing and laughing in.  Its wonderful to sew with such a brilliant collective mind.  There is always someone around to offer a suggestion or advice.  I got another dress all sewed up and started on my very first quilting project.  I am not sure quilting is for me though...there is a lot of math involved and that is not an area I excel at.  Plus, I love making clothes.  Who knows though maybe get hooked on quilting, too.  From what the other tell me this is entirely possible.  Maybe it would help me get better at math.

Sharon worked on a bird quilt and completed a number of partially finished projects she'd brought along like baby blankets and hanging hand towels.  My mom worked on a graduation present jean quilt and finished alterations on my wedding dress. (Have I mentioned yet that I will be wearing my mom's wedding dress which my grandmother made for her when she married my dad in the '70's?  It needed a few repairs and adjustments to make it right for me, but I love it.)  Everyone else worked on one quilting project or another.  There are some absolutely stunning quilting patterns out there.

There was a little baby to snuggle, great meals to eat, and an overcast weekend perfect for staying indoors and getting crafty with friends.

Sharon and I returned home Sunday evening.  I would really have liked to eat dinner and go right to bed, but I was also super excited because my friend Sean's bluegrass band--Ted Ness and the Rusty Nails-- had come to town to play a couple shows.  So instead of catching up on my sleep Matt and I had a fire on the patio and relaxed a bit before heading out for the night and staying up too late once again.

But, it was worth it because I miss seeing those boys and they have gotten really, really good since the last time I saw them play.  They used to all live in Billings and so I saw them perform a lot, but since they're out of Missoula now it was August the last time I saw them.  They have a new bass player (because the original bass man was the only one who didn't move).  I liked him.  He had a really nice singing voice.  They played a bunch of Grateful Dead tunes which is always a winner with Matt and me.

I am worn out with good times.  Thank heavens I have mellow plans for the rest of the week.