13 Oct Trying to catch my breath!

near Atlanta, GA

It’s been tough getting to blog posts these past few weeks!  In the past five weeks I’ve been to Des Moines IA, Chattanooga TN, Asheville NC, Chesaning MI and Atlanta GA!  It has been so much fun, but also a little bit crazy and sewing…what is that?

Well, not exactly!  I did get to sew in Chesaning at my Handwork retreat last Monday and Tuesday.  I finished my September Charity Challenge a few days late, but done is done!

No Clouds done!

Our Handwork group has been going on retreat at Creative Passions in Chesaning, MI for at least five years.  We started out going once a year, but liked it so much we quickly moved to twice a year.  Laura Greenfelder owns Creative Passions.  When we first started going there, there was one retreat building.  Laura converted a former church to a fantastic retreat space.  She really knows what quilters (and scrapbookers) need and it is there!  She has solid tables that don’t shake when you sew fast 🙂  – as well as comfy chairs, a full kitchen, cutting mats and ironing boards and task lights, drink holders and trash bags at each sewing station.  We LOVE it!

Creative Passions 3

We aren’t the only ones!  Laura’s business grew so quickly, she bought and converted another church and has just opened her third location in a Victorian house!  We’ve always had our retreats in the original church, but decided to try the new location this time and we loved it! One of my Handwork “sisters” and I had fun trying to figure out where the windows on the outside matched up with our rooms on the inside.  Victorians are like that – it isn’t always obvious.

Each of the three locations has its own special charm, but all three are within a couple blocks of Chesaning’s main street where we like to have dinner at the Showboat restaurant.  Chesaning is also what I consider the perfect retreat distance from my home.  It takes me about 90 minutes to get there – far enough away that I’m not tempted to run home for any minor problems and close enough that I don’t spend all my retreat time driving.

This post is starting to sound like a Creative Passions commercial!  I promise you – Laura has no idea I’m writing this and there has been no exchange of any kind between us.  I’m just a happy retreater.

Do you have a favorite retreat spot?