Retreat

Well, we are almost at the end of month #1 of 2024.

I got off to a start that was both busy and slow. Busy enough to keep me from getting after things I wanted to get to, thus making it feel slow because I wasn't crossing things off the To Do list. It was the third week of the new year before I got the holiday decorations put away. So that was only 18 days behind schedule.

I haven't blogged much about shows after the fact. I thought this month I'd write a little about Kanuga Knitting and Quilting Retreat.

My dear friend Varian Brandon organizes this retreat. Kanuga is an Episcopal conference center and campground in the mountains in North Carolina. Their mailing address is Hendersonville, which is where my friends and I usually find a rental house for Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. If you are driving up from Atlanta, it is about half an hour before you get to Asheville. The center was founded in 1928, so is creeping up on its centennial. There's a lake, hiking and biking trails, an inn, a chapel, assorted cabins, and a labyrinth among other things.

As you might imagine, summer is high time for a place like Kanuga. Not quite twenty years ago, Varian starting organizing the knitting and quilting retreat during the quieter downtime of January. Some years other groups are there, too. This year it was mostly just us crafters. The retreat is an opportunity to rest and reset after the busy holiday season. It is "me" time for those of us who make the merriment happen from Halloween through Thanksgiving through Christmas through New Year's Eve. (Some of us are still going through the college and professional football playoffs and championships. There must be snack food!)

You arrive Thursday afternoon. There's a welcome meet-and-greet. All the meals are communal in the dining hall, so you don't have to cook or hunt for a restaurant. We have class both Friday and Saturday. Usually class instruction is built around a project. But class is taught in a way students can also come and go. You can take a walk around the lake, go meditate, get a massage from Sarah, or go shop hopping at nearby yarn and fabric stores. Knitters have a fashion show one night. Quilters show off their quilts Saturday late afternoon. In the evenings we often gather in one of the lounges with a fireplace and sit and knit and chat. Some people leave on Sunday after lunch. Others stay on through an unscheduled Sunday afternoon and evening and leave Monday morning after breakfast. It is always a great weekend of rejuvenation.

In addition to this, Rev. Jennifer Deaton leads morning Eucharist and evening prayers. Saturday evening prayers usually involve special prayers for healing. Sunday morning service includes blessing the things we've been making. Thus, the image above of the alter decked in knitting and quilting! I especially like the part of the evening prayer reminding us that, "What is done is done. What is not done is not done. Let it be." I have a tendency to work strange hours. I need to be better about making evening a sacred time to sit, craft, listen to stories, and enjoy.

All this a reminder that taking time for self is important. Those of us who enjoying giving sometimes forget we need time to refill ourselves. I'm grateful to participate year after year in such a lovely weekend.