The Best Thing About Stitching Retreats....

Is seeing old friends and making new friends. 

I was so glad that Yvonne and Karen were able to attend this retreat. 

I met them last October and we've been stitching buddies since.

I had the privilege of meeting some wonderful new stitching friends. 

As you can see they were all busy stitching away.

As the days went on the pictures got goofy.  Seems as though I had a fondness for holding out the camera and taking lots of pictures of myself.  I've uploaded all the silly pics to my flickr account.  If you are interested in more silliness you can check them out here.

Another of my favorite things is acquiring stash.  Jan packed up lots of stash from her shop and had it set up in her suite for our shopping pleasure. 

I think it's safe to say I spent time in her suite each day. 

As you can see I'm not the only one who gains happiness from stash shopping.

....Look at the smiles.

On Saturday it came time to total the "pile" of stash I accumulated during my visits to Jan's room.  As you can see it was quite a total and although it appears that I'm sad in this picture I soon got over it when I carried my bag out and got to play with it. 

I came home with lots of Tree of Life Samplings designs and fabric. 

As I wrap up the Only One Ewe 2011 retreat I want to leave you with 2 more pictures.

Below is the finished box from Vonna's class.  Inside the box everyone attending the retreat signed their name.  This is definitely a keepsake that I'll always cherish.

 

And last but not least.......

I have had my LHN traveling stitcher finished for a couple of

months but had yet to make the pocket.

My new friend Brenda had her traveling stitcher with her at the retreat.  After eyeballing her pocket during the weekend, I was confident that I could make my own.  So, after returning home I got busy and this is what I came up with.  I'm so happy I finally finished it. 

:-)  Thanks for the inspiration Brenda.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by and letting me share the retreat fun with you.

I love hearing from you and appreciate you sharing a part of your day with me.

Tomorrow I'll be posting my patriotic designs I've completed this year.  Until then.....

Keep on stitchin' on,

Nan

Only One Ewe Retreat 2011

Good morning!

I've been a busy girl the past week.  Last Thursday I headed to Terre Haute (Haute rhymes with coat), Indiana and attended the Only One Ewe Retreat.  The retreat was hosted by Jan from Only One Ewe Needleworks and Tree of Life Samplings.  Jan's Tree of Life Samplings pieces are absolutely beautiful and pictures do not due them justice.  She not only designs but has a great line of yummy hand dyed fabrics.  If you haven't discovered Jan's work you definitely need to stop by and check it out.

Jan designed this piece and it was kitted and given to us in a fabulous fabric portfolio.  Vonna already has this piece stitched and ready to frame and she has some wonderful pictures of the piece on her blog.

Everyone who attended the retreat was excited that Vonna would teaching a finishing class.

Jan sent this exclusive retreat piece to us ahead of time and everyone stitched it in their favorite color. 

When is was all said and done we ended up with a beautiful wooden box.

Vonna is not only a talented stitcher and finisher, but a very patient teacher.

One of my favorite things about cross stitch is exchanging. 

We had a Christmas ornament and smalls exchange. 

I managed to get 2 ornaments and one small stitched and finished for the exchanges. 

I stitched Oh Joy in the top right corner.

...and the needlebook in the bottom of the pic.

...and Merry Xmas in the top left corner.

Here I am proudly holding the three pieces I received in the exchange! 

 And last but not least I leave you for today with a picture of our fearless leader Jan.  Jan worked so hard to bring us all together she deserved to put her feet up for a bit.  :-0

In the next installment I'll share some of the silliness that went on and introduce you to some wonderful people I met.  I've also got lots of pics of exchanges I've stitched and finished that are reaching their new homes so I'll be able to share those with you soon.

Thank you for stopping by and I so enjoy your comments.  Until next time.....
Keep on stitchin' on,
Nan