Our Great Girlfriend Get~Away to St. Augustine!

As you may know, I live in a suburb of Chicago, presently known as Chi-Artica.  Today, the high temperature will be -9 degrees.  A shock after coming home from a week in sunny, warm St. Augustine, FL!!  

The weather was wonderful.  It was 70 degrees the first couple of days, and then dropped to the 50's.  No complaints from the visitors to the city, although it was comical to see the Floridians shivering and wrapped in heavy coats with gloves and scarves.  I guess it's all relative to what you're used to....we were walking about in our sweaters, loving every minute of it!  

At night, nearly every building in St. Augustine's historic district is illuminated in little twinkle lights (where I come from, they're known as Italian lights!).  Tons and tons of them, causing Rachel Ray to comment that it's the "twinkliest city in America!"  Charming to say the least.
All the ladies attending our retreat agreed with Lynne and me that we enjoyed really good food and awesome Southern hospitality from everyone.  

This bee hive of activity is the reason we all came together....for three full days of sewing to our hearts content.

Many girlfriends make the trip together to enjoy four projects over three days.

There were several pairs of mothers and daughters, and even daughters-in-law, who took time from their busy lives to spend some quality time doing what they love.

We shared new skills and techniques in class.....

....and some sewed into the wee hours of the night enjoying the hum of their sewing machine and the chatter among friends.   

There were several ladies who came alone.... without a girlfriend accompanying them, and we were delighted (and not at all surprised!) to see them making friends with all the others.  In fact, it was very touching for Lynne and I to witness the exchange of emails and telephone numbers.....evidence that new friendships had formed.  That is what is the best part of a Girlfriend Get-Away!  Meeting wonderful women and making new friends.

Lynne and I are blessed to have made over 40 new friendships over those 5 days together.  We enjoyed the company of these lovely women, and had the pleasure of getting to know them better.  The last morning was spent in lively conversation about possible destinations for future Great Girlfriend Get~Aways!!  Our thanks to all the wonderful women who traveling to St. Augustine to enjoy a get-away and spend time doing what we all love.....quilting!!  

We had THE BEST TIME!!!

If this sounds like fun to you, please consider joining us in September for our next Great Girlfriend Get~Away to Mackinaw City, Michigan.    Click here to see the brochure with info about our destination and the four projects we'll be teaching.  

Good times await you!!