Beautiful quilts and lasting memories. . .

Just last weekend, I was enjoying myself at Ant Camp, a gathering of my mom, her six sisters, their families, their families' families and a few lucky friends. This year was the tenth anniversary of the event and more than sixty people were at the lodge during the weekend. Here's one of the group pictures. . . the best one of me (sorry everybody) which I now realize doesn't matter much because you probably can't even see any of the faces.

It was a wonderful weekend! Sadie and the other kids got a visit from Santa. . .

and Sadie rode in a box. She really had a lot of fun in that box, no matter what it looks like in this picture. I swear.

When the kiddies were asleep, the adults also had a grand time. I think we're all thankful that the cameras were put away by then! We told stories, we laughed, I recruited members for a band, we laughed, we played games, we laughed. . . well you get it. I think my cousin put it best when she said, "You can't choose your family, but I would!"

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I started a quilt at camp. I spent about half the time with the seam ripper and almost threw the sewing machine out the window at least five times. When I realized how angry the quilt was making me and how much fun I was missing out on (I HATE missing the fun!), I gave up. Temporarily. Last night, I finished it! Now, I wouldn't call my quilt "beautiful", but it's done.

If you're wondering why my quilt pattern is so simple and boring, there are two reasons:

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1. I am not very patient. Those complicated (and so pretty) quilts are just so overwhelming to me!

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2. I hate following patterns and directions. So I created this pattern myself :)

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I really can't wait for Ant Camp 2011. Just 51 more weeks!