Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow ...

...nor dark of night....would keep me away from a needlework class with Lori Markovic! Yes, my friend Joan and I traveled to Madison, WI yesterday to take a class from Lori at Stitcher's Crossing. I've always wanted to meet her in person; I absolutely love her designs, and so I snatched up this opportunity a few months ago as soon as I knew she was coming.
Now, realize of course that you never know what the weather is going to be like during the winter months in MN or WI. Traveling from the Twin Cities to Madison is a fairly easy drive, it's interstate the entire way, but as luck would have it, a winter storm hit the Twin Cities on Friday night. It was fairly clear here on Saturday morning and die-hard Minnesotans that we are, we decided that nothing was going to hold us back! Our four hour drive took five and a half hours; in places the driving was good, in other places not so good, but the important thing is that we made it safe and sound and with only seconds to spare!

We walked in the shop at precisely 1pm. The lady behind the counter said "Are you the girls from Minnesota?" We said, "Yes" and everyone in the class room cheered! We made it, woo hoo! What a fun group of ladies we met. A stitcher that I had met in the fall of 2007, Diana, was there. Leslie from the Legacy board was also there (I had met her at a Merry Cox class in the Twin Cities last year) - it was good to see both of them again!

Our class project was this little needle book called Pins & Needles. We had all done our stitching in advance of the class, so the next two hours would be spent assembling with Lori's guidance. The stitched piece was wrapped around two pieces of cardboard; then a piece of fabric was ironed to the inside to cover up the raw edges. There are grommets in the binding which hold the wool felt with the cording. As you can see, we also stiched up a strawberry pincushion. The two hours went by far too quickly!

Here's the class project:



Here's Diana, Lori, Cathy, and Joan:


P.S. Lori is wearing the "Star Pouch" that she designed and was available at Nashville this year. I am wearing my Miss Mary Mack necklace (stitched by friend Chris for me!)

If you are ever in the Madison area, Stitcher's Crossing is a great shop! They cater to both quilters and needlework lovers! Joan and I did a bit of stash shopping before heading home. By the way, our trip home was fine - it was still snowing around Madison, but once we hit the interstate and headed west, the roads were fine and it was clear sailing.

Teri & Tina from Shepherd's Bush last weekend, Lori from La D Da this weekend...I'm on cloud nine....