Would you like cream with that?

I've just returned from a 24 hour sojourn at Sewjourn with a gorgeous group of women. I didn't sign up for this one because it was a Friday to Sunday booking and owing to tap I can't get there till late Saturday. But then the girls said why not come for just Sunday? which eventually became why not bring your sleeping bag and kip on the couch Saturday night? and that just sounded too good to refuse. So first up, a big thank you to Suse, Janet, Jenny, Eleanor, Kate M, Kate C, Gill, Sue and Tania for having me along and providing a great weekend of fun and fine company. You girls are the cream of the crop. Secondly, here are 8 Things I Like About Craft Camp.

1. The pretty. The daffodils were blooming, the magpie was warbling, the woodfire was burning. The faces of my friends were shiny and beautiful with happiness.

2. The bath. We have a horrid bath at my house so I always pack some scented bubbly stuff and sneak off for a relaxing soak in Sewjourn's deep and long white tub. So nice.



3. The food. I may as well say up front that I just love being cooked for, so I would always find the eating at Craft Camp a special treat, but the effort these girls put in to serve up a stunning dish pushes my delight dial up to maximum. We've heard tales of groups who come to Sewjourn and order pizza for one night and head to the pub for a counter meal on the second. I get that in a way, no cooking, no cleaning up. But I much prefer our group's method: Cook just once for the whole weekend and at every meal savour the healthy, handmade-with-love deliciousness. (And the cream, there was a LOT of cream.) Many hands make light work of cleaning up, and cooking is really not such a chore when the people eating it are so appreciative.

4. The learning. I always learn something really helpful at Craft Camp. This weekend's lightbulb moment for me was the discovery that actually I do have an arm thingo (a swing arm? I can't remember the official name) to make sewing sleeves easier. A year I've had that machine, and many's the time I've tsked about its shortcomings in the arm department. And then Kate M comes over and says this bit probably comes off...



... et voila! Sleeve sewing made easy.



5. The laughs. In particular this camp we laughed about cream, swiss cheese, vomit and a girl's name (but I can't go into that here. Suffice to say, there are some facts you should keep to yourself.)

6. The productivity. Despite the fact that I am a slow seamstress, I completed a string of bunting for a cousin's baby and a cloak for my nephew. And I admired many lovely things being made around me. There's an enormous work ethic at Crarf Camp because the luxury of being able to set up your project and keep working at it until it's done, despite still socialising, eating, drinking and sleeping, is not to be underestimated! We even seemed to have an unofficial tealady in Suse this weekend (essay-writing evasion?) so it was like having a pitcrew, topping up the crafter's chief source of fuel while the needles kept whirring.



7. The chat. In the flurry of post-camp emails, one of our group wondered whether she'd talked too much. No. We had a group of entertaining and funny talkers who were also good listeners. A lovely blend.

8. The sharing. Need tracing paper, a pen for the crossword, the use of an overlocker, some knowledge, some scraps? We have it covered. Everyone is generous, everyone is helpful. No wonder we come home feeling enriched.