Sunday, April 29, 2007

I'm Baa....aaack!

Hello dear stitching friends! Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted. After three weeks of entertaining visitors, traveling for work, and attending a needlework retreat, I'm finally back at home and slowly trying to get back into my stitching routine. It's probably going to take me a little bit; lots of laundry and house cleaning to catch up on. I've slowly been starting to visit some of your blogs - WOW, you've been busy!

Just after Easter we had a nice visit from some very dear family members - they drove all the way from Prince George, British Columbia. It was so good to see them, we enjoyed visiting with them.

As soon as they left (literally within two hours), I was on a plane for Minot, ND. Did some work there for three days, came home, did laundry (I'm always doing laundry), caught up with my family and then headed out for Fargo, ND to the Nordic Needle Retreat. After the four day retreat I was back in Minot for four days. It's good to be home!

I'm sure you'd enjoy hearing more about the relatives and would probably like to know what in the world I was doing in Minot, but I think I'll share more information about the Nordic Needle retreat instead. :) My sister-in-law went with me and we had tons of fun! There were about 60 stitchers at the retreat, two from as far away as New Zealand, one from Israel, and three from Bermuda. The remainder came from various parts of the United States. The retreat started on Thursday and ended on Sunday (four glorious days). The staff at the Nordic Needle is the friendliest bunch of people I have ever met; they are so accommodating - truly special people!

Made lots of stash purchases at the Nordic Needle - here are two of my favorite. I discovered a new (new to me) brand of overdyed perle cotton. It's called Leah's Threads, and they come in #3, #5, #8, and #12. Look at all the yummy colors I brought home with me. I'll be using these for Hardanger
projects.


My other favorite purchase was a kit that I have been pining for ever since it came out. The retreat attendees received a coupon for 30% off the purchase of one kit - I used mine to purchase "O Beautiful" from Shepherd's Bush. This will make a great summer project!


I have many more stories to tell, but I think I will save them for another day.

Have you visited Becky's blog recently? Check out her finish for Quaker Sampling from With My Needle. Isn't it gorgeous?

13 comments:

BeckySC said...

I have MISSED you my friend :)
I am sure you enjoyed your retreat so much :)
Glad to have you back :)
(((hugs)))

mainely stitching said...

Great to see you back!!! Did you get my email?

As for laundry, I am seriously considering paper clothing. LOL!

cathymk said...

Good to see you back again, Cathy!!
Your retreat sounds wonderful.

Kim said...

Great to have you back Cathy!! So wonderful to hear that you have been busy!

~Kim~

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

I missed your posts and glad to see you back :)
Sounds like you have been a busy lady jet setting all over the midwest :)
Your threads are beautiful and O'Beautiful will be a great summer project!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful to see an update from you and welcome back :)

I love your purchases, I daydream about visithing a REAL LNS one of these days. Maybe next time I visit the US :)

Unknown said...

Those threads sure look yummy! Welcome back!

ollie1976 said...

Beautiful threads!

Katrina said...

Sounds busy but fun! I love that kit, have it in my stash :-).

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! Glad to hear that you had a great time at the retreat, but I expected nothing less. ;)

P.S. Have you seen some of the newer designs from Cindy Valentine? I like My Sweet Heart. And Williamsburg Autumn goes with the one you've already done in that series, doesn't it?

Rachel V said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful retreat and made wonderful stash purchases. Love those pretty colors of thread!

Von said...

Oooooo, gorgeous threads, Cathy! Perfect for hardanger! Can't wait to see the projects you choose for them.

lena-lou said...

I have missed your blog postings and until tonight for some reason your updates have not shown for me??
Anyway, I am so pleased you had a great time at the Retreat. The threads are yummy and Oh Beautiful...well, I love that very much, I am going to do Potting Shed (I hope) for my summer project.