last thoughts on seminar

It's a rainy morning and I'm packing up to move on. As I reflect on the seminar I realized that I got caught up a bit in cataloging goodies and activities and forgot to mention an important aspect of this gathering. This seminar was called "Threads of Friendship" and everything the committee did was to emphasize this aspect of the event. The often called it a "family reunion." And at each meal the coordinator, Sandi Nicolai, read a quote about friendship. Some were silly and some very poignant. The outgoing Regional Director, Carole DeWitt, was given a lovely friendship sampler, stitched by her board. The raffle cup for a quilt was stuffed by friends of one woman--they bought tickets and put her name on them--and she won to her vast delight. There were parties and gatherings in various rooms, most often between class and dinner.

Like everyone, I tried to find a friend to sit with at meals, but it really didn't matter. If you look like you're looking for a place to sit, people will offer an available place at their table. Everyone around the table introduced themselves, talked about their home area, what classes they were taking and what kind of needlework they liked. Connections were quickly found and people became friends. You're never lonely.

People also wander around the classes looking at their classmate's work. But more, it's acceptable, especially near the end of the day, to quietly walk into most other classes and see what they're up to. It's really interesting.
I will get photos of my works-in-progress and post them next week.