Scrub Stitchin' 2023

Another Scrub Stitchin' Retreat.

This year - a number of overseas bloggers decided to travel a very long way to join Chooky at Camp Cypress at Baradine NSW.
I complain that it is a long way !!! (695 km)

Raewyn from NZ has been a number of times, but this year we also met Lou from NZ, Chris from Canada, Gail and Deana (& her sister Tracy) from USA and Sylvia from Germany.

Isn't amazing what can be done with blogging and Zoom meetings???

Three of us traveled together from Brisbane/Ipswich - my car is not huge and it was full when we left.  We left early on Tuesday morning and stayed in Moree for the night - not a very glamorous motel...but the bed was OK.
We chose Moree as it's a reasonable drive and there is a lovely patchwork shop.   We visited Wednesday morning and we all found some fabrics we had to have...I found some great children's fabrics at $10 a metre - great for backings at that price.
Outside was a yarn-bombed tree.

AND next door was a shop that was closing down - very reduced prices for children's toys etc.
Again we all found some purchases we had to have....(think of how much we saved...LOL...one blanket was originally $90 - selling for $10).
We squeezed the bags into spare spots we didn't know were there and continued on our way.

None of us took photos along the way and our lunch stop was also very quick.

Of course, we needed to make another stop at the new patchwork shop in Coonabarabran, so again there were more bags to fit into those spots we didn't know were there...LOL

Finally arrived at Camp Cypress and unloaded.

Chooky always has a bag of goodies for us.  This year the theme is "Australia".  Our goody bag had a mug, a bag with the names of the attendees, some magnets, a pincushion and a name tag.  We also each received a bookmark.
A lot of effort went into these gifts - many thanks to all concerned.

For Friday night dinner we were asked to dress in "What Australia means to me".

The table was decorated in an Australian theme with this lovely table runner and some gum leaves and blossoms.

and Brenda brought along a goanna to add to the setting:

There were some very creative outfits.  This one in particular...Gail had already left home (in the USA) before Chooky told us what the dress-up theme was.  So Gail hunted high and low to find a T-Shirt that just had Australia on it, and then wrote on all the places and things that she had enjoyed or experienced in Australia. 

Sylvia also put in a lot of effort -  a snake around her neck with a mouse attached for the snake to eat.............an apron with a pocket for a baby joey....... a teapot on her head, for high tea..........a crocodile along her arm..
It was a lot of fun!

We had gumnut babies, swaggies, tourists (Deana and Tracy from USA), cringeworthy Kath & Kim.

I have a smallish quilt showing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, so I wore that along with some Opera House Earrings.  

Here is the ex Brisbane contingent:

I had my nails painted to suit the theme.

There was so much more - some wonderful projects, fantastic show & tell, lots of sharing stories, lots of laughs, a drink or two.
A bit of a downer when COVID reared its ugly head, but I won't dwell on that.

It was so wonderful to meet people I see on Zoom, and I'd like to say a thank you to everyone who came - a HUGE thank you to all the overseas travelers for making the effort.
And an even "HUGER" thankyou to Chooky (aka Donna) for being the instigator of getting so many people with a common love together - both via Zoom and Scrub Stitchin'.
And for her organising and adapting to the ever changing situation.