AAQ Retreats -- Session 1 Show & Share

There was another quilter who was very important to AAQ Retreats for many years, Marlene Ball. Marlene had been with us for every single retreat and her most memorable contribution, at least to the retreaters, were the pincushions that she made for each attendee, year after year after year. Everyone knew how many years they had been attending by the number of pincushions they had stashed away!

Marlene was very sick in November 2008, but insisted on coming to retreat and seeing all of her friends, some of whom live quite far so she only saw them once a year. The Session 1 quilters have formed very close friendships with the same people coming every year -- for instance, the 2009 Session 1 was full, but we only had two first-timers.

After the retreat ended, Marlene's health worsened; she entered ICU and passed away two months later. We miss her so much!

At the end of the Session 1 "Show & Tell", this quilt was brought out for everyone to see. It was made by the ladies you see above (Deb Silva, Sylvia, Deanna and Deb Stevens) from fabric that Marlene had in her stash. The quilt will be donated to one of Marlene's favorite charities as a way for the charity to raise funds.

In memory of Marlene, the pincushion tradition has been permanently retired.