Creator’s Retreat: Out of Africa, links nine states

Retreatants and some of the projects we worked on

It was a great weekend at Wilderness Wind. We held our first annual Creator’s Retreat. Quilters, knitter’s and appliquers added their creativity to the place… some of us even crossed-over and did new kinds of hand work we hadn’t planned to do. Much could be said about the weekend. Problem is… it is sunny outside, and you know where I want to be!

So, off I will go, put please take note of the article I put together below – when it was raining. It will give you a bit of a taste. More later.                                                                                           Kathy Landis

It all started with fabric purchased in Zaire. Or… maybe it was the donated fabric from a farmer’s wife in Pennsylvania. On October 1-4^th, Wilderness Wind, in Ely Minnesota, hosted its first annual Creator’s Retreat. Quilters, knitters, scrap bookers and others who do hand work were invited to come. No one suspected the event would link nine states or be influenced by Africa.

Lois and Art Kennel with their family worked in Kinshasa Zaire, now the DR of Congo. While there, Lois bought many different styles of Congolese fabric to bring back to the United States. From these fabrics, she sewed multiple articles of clothing and table clothes. More recently, Lois, currently of Rochester, MN offered the Congolese fabric pieces to Marlys Wiens, MCC Relief Sale Quilt Liaison for North America. Marlys brought her not-yet-done wall-hanging to the Wilderness Wind Creator’s Retreat.

Meanwhile, back in Pennsylvania, Karen Alderfer who machine quilts as often as she can offered some of her fabric to her daughter, Heidi Feikert in Kansas. Heidi, in turn, pieced a top that she donated to the Wilderness Wind Creator’s Retreat. This top, which will be auctioned at a future MCC Relief Sale was one of the projects that people worked on during the weekend retreat in Ely Minnesota.

“It was amusing how it came together,” shared Kathy Landis, Director of Wilderness Wind. “In August when all the registrants were from Minnesota, I couldn’t have guessed where others would come from. Volunteers working at Wilderness Wind in the course of the summer helped prepare for the retreat. Stan Kamp from Ohio made the quilt frame. Elsie Riesen from Nebraska stenciled the quilting lines and attached the batting and backing.”

For the retreat itself, participants came from Indiana, South Dakota, and Minnesota. “I  particularly appreciated how we helped each other with projects,” said Maryls. “Once the quilting on the wall-hanging was finished, two other retreatants offered to sew the binding.” Retreatants also worked on their own projects as they enjoyed the camaraderie of other creative minds and hands. “We taught and became resources for each other,” shared Carol Miller Histand from Indiana. The wall-hanging as well as some quilts that were worked on will be auctioned at the Rocky Mountain, Idaho and Minnesota MCC Relief sales. Other projects will undoubtedly be gifts to others and bless homes around the globe. For information about next year’s Creator’s Retreat at Wilderness Wind,  check out the programmed retreats page at www.wildernesswind.org. We will be making decisions about the date very soon.