The last few months have flown by. I am now living in Downsville, WI at Woodland Ridge Retreat. I love the view out my window. It has been ever changing since I arrived at the beginning October. Most of the leaves are off the trees and I can see the prairie and ponds in the preserve behind our building.
Not much sewing has happened since I started work on my business plan for the retreat in spring of this year. I miss my sewing machine and have only recently spent time finishing the binding on a few quilts for the retreat.
We have had four weekends of guests since we opened the retreat in mid October. The halls are ringing with laughter and the building is full of life.
It has been wonderful to see the long awaited dream come true. The retreat is in a building that was a stand alone addition to what once an upscale inn called The Creamery. We stayed here many years ago and never forgot the experience. For three years I have had my eye on this property.
When I originally saw the property listing I thought the building would be the perfect place for a retreat, all on one level, gorgeous architecture, light, bright and spacious, near the Red Cedar River hiking and biking trails. At the time the price was unattainable. The owners spent nearly one million dollars building this eight bedroom guest house in 1997.
When planning the retreat I spent much time questioning quilters on their favorite beds, sewing chairs etc. We included the best of everything we loved about other retreats. We "test drove" the beds with friends on three different occasions to make sure the comfort level of the beds appealed to everyone. Our guests are sleeping in and loving the plush full sized beds. One of the favorite items at the retreat is the adjustable height tables. These are computer height tables that raise up to 36" high.
If you would like to see pictures of our first weeks getting the retreat ready for guests visit the Woodland Ridge Retreat blog.
Visit the Woodland Ridge Retreat website to read more about our amenities.
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Wishing you all creative days ahead!
Chris
