Friends,  Stitching

Retreat!

April 12, 2011

Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the annual stitchers retreat hosted by the lovely ladies of Reflections Framing and Cross Stitch. What fun it was to meet so many new friends and to enjoy time with this group of ladies who genuinely love all things cross stitch. The venue was wonderful and the food was fantastic – and I even won a gorgeous eggplant-colored Namaste clutch as a door prize! Who knew walking through the door would be this much fun! 😉

Here is one of the lovely Reflections ladies, Julie, working on a sampler by Sampler Cove… her stitching is superb, and her eyes are very blue. Those two things don't really go together, but I just had to mention her blue eyes. 🙂

Retreat 1 tp

Here is something that Patty was working on… it's the entire alphabet by Prairie Schooler, all on one 40-ct piece of linen. This is the bottom half.. the top is folded under. To die for, Patty! Seriously!

Retreat 4 tp

Praire Schooler has the coolest designs, don't you think? Here are some close-ups of Patty's masterpiece…

Retreat 5 tp

I think the fox is my favorite!

Retreat 6 tp

And another stunning sampler, this time from The Sampler Company, tent stitched over one thread by Merry…

Retreat 7 tp

It's just gorgeous, Merry! Merry has a twin, btw, named Merrilyn. I really hope I gave the correct sister credit regarding this sampler! 🙂

Sweet Sandy and her mom Jane (who offered to teach me how to knit) gave me these dish cloths, since I love love love them and can't can't can't make my own…

Retreat 2 tp

There is actually another one in the bunch, but it's currently draped on my kitchen sink, drying out. Once you go knit, you never go back, btw. Thank you SO MUCH, Sandy and Jane!

I designed an exclusive pattern for the retreat to go with the weekend's theme, which was A Stitcher's Recipe for Friendship. Julie stitched it up and her husband created the gorgeous pedestal for its finish, and I can't get over what a fantastic job they both did!

Retreat tp

Each lady attending the retreat received the pattern kit, as well as a pedestal and all the materials needed to finish it. Here is the darling box the kit came in, courtesy of Julie (who spent many long hours getting these to look just right)…

Retreat 3 tp

Before I left that day, I had the honor of being asked to draw the winning ticket for the raffle of a pair of plaid Sajou scissors worth $100. (I could barely draw the ticket for all the drooling I was doing over them!) A special lady (and first-time retreater) by the name of Abbie won them, and I'm so happy she did: earlier in the day, she had quietly asked for each attendee's mailing address bc she wanted to mail each person a custom beaded scissors fob as a token of friendship. Congratulations, Abbie, on a prize well-deserved!

I truly hope you'll be able to join next year's retreat. Maryann (and Maryann's significant other), Connie, and Julie are the most gracious and energetic hostesses you'll ever meet. Thank you so much, ladies, for a wonderful day of stitching (stop laughing, Julie – I got at least a dozen x's in!), food, and lots of new friendships!

22 Comments

  • Lynn

    April 12, 2011 at 4:08 pm Reply

    What a wonderful retreat! I enjoyed seeing your pics of all the fantastic stitching. I also enjoyed seeing the design you did for them. It’s finished so perfectly and I hope that one day it is available for the general public. It’s so sweet!

  • Julie M

    April 12, 2011 at 6:42 pm Reply

    Really Paulette, could you not have photo shopped that huge nose and chin outta the picture??? Holy crap you could ski down those! LOL!!! So glad you enjoyed your time with us. I know everyone was thrilled to meet you and they all love the chart you designed. I am laughing at the dozen x’s comment cuz I think that’s stretching the truth just a tad but I’ll forgive you since I highly doubt I did any more than that and I was there for far longer than you were! Thanks again for everything and I hope you will join us again next time!

  • LIttlebit

    April 12, 2011 at 7:14 pm Reply

    Omg..I have to say that I love, love, love the pics you took. It was so nice seeing all of your goodies in person. What a BEAUTIFUL project, and I love the way it was finished and packaged..how creative and perfect is that? And dish clothes and stitching and just everything! That Prairie Schooler about pushed me over the edge. And that other sampler..groan..how come I don’t have two of me so I can get things like that done? I’m so glad you had a nice time. I knew everyone would love my beautiful daughter. 🙂

  • Siobhan

    April 13, 2011 at 4:33 am Reply

    Oh my gosh, what fantastic pics of what must have been an incredible retreat. Your retreat piece is amazing–but of course (love your new releases, too!) but I am drooling over the PS alphabet. Everything is amazing, though. Beautiful beautiful beautiful! I want to stitch my guts out now.

  • Cathryn

    April 13, 2011 at 6:50 am Reply

    I am so jealous! It sounded like a fabulous time and the chart you designed for the retreat was wonderful Paulette. 🙂 Cathryn

  • Danielle

    April 13, 2011 at 8:39 am Reply

    Will that pattern be available to purchase? I SO love the three ladies holding hands!!!!!!! Please, please, pretty please??????

  • CarolG

    April 13, 2011 at 11:18 am Reply

    That sounds like a wonderful time – I am so jealous when I read about retreats – there are no – none – zero shops in my area, let alone any that have retreats. The closest one is about 65 miles away and no retreats that I ever hear about. I absolutely love the Friends pattern and would love to stitch it….will it be available to purchase?

  • Linda Huson

    April 13, 2011 at 4:22 pm Reply

    OK, not fair! I want that pattern too – it is beyond adorable! I hope that one day you make it available to all of us! Whhhhaaaa – whine whine and no cheese!
    Linda in VA

  • Katrina

    April 14, 2011 at 8:05 am Reply

    What a sweet pattern!!! I know it was exclusive to the retreat, maybe you could designs something similar ;-).
    Looks like a fun time and the pictures are wonderful!

  • Pam Hoerner

    April 15, 2011 at 2:37 pm Reply

    OK Paulette….let us know when we can have this gorgeous pattern too!!! I love it and see that others want to stitch it also. Wish we could have all attended the retreat and had the chance to sit with you. Looked like so much fun! Tell us soon when we can get the chart! pj

  • Audrey

    April 22, 2011 at 2:01 pm Reply

    I too would love the pattern, please let us know if and when we could purchase it. I know just the perfect person to make this for!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *