Dyeing to Tell You...

...about the Dyeing to Stitch Retreat last week!

Not only was this my first time attending this retreat but it was also my first trip to Virginia Beach! I've visited many places on the east coast but I have never been this "up close and personal" with the Atlantic Ocean. Each and every day I was in awe of the view from my hotel balcony. Here are a couple of snaps from that very first day (last Wednesday) and make note of the sky and the waves so you can compare with later pictures!





I took an early morning flight from MN last Wednesday so that I would arrive by noon. My friend Judy and her husband left a few days earlier and drove to Virginia Beach. We wanted to be there early enough on Wednesday to attend the Open House at the shop. Here's a shot of Judy in front of the shop, package in hand!



I was overwhelmed by all the samplers, many of which had been stitched by either Ann or Pat (better known as R&R). Lots of Blackbird Designs samplers done over one - wow! The shop was lovely. Pat and Ann are two of the nicest people you will ever meet; they were so welcoming and took time to greet every guest that was attending the retreat.




Eye candy in the window (sorry about the reflections)-




I was pretty tired on Wednesday night and turned in early to rest up for the start of the retreat on Thursday.

The view still looked pretty good on Thursday, yes? These homes were located right next to our hotel. We stayed at the Cavalier Hotel located right on the beach!





Registration was from 3pm until 5pm on Thursday. During this time we worked on a "welcome" project, met the teachers, and found out what our projects were going to be. There were two tracks of teachers; each participant could take classes from one of the tracks. Track A was Shepherd's Bush and Shakespeare's Peddler and Track B was Jeanette Douglas and R&R. I would have been happy with either track but I was most interested in Track A and fortunately, that's what I was assigned to!

Here's photo of the welcome project - we were given the black mesh bag and all the supplies to stitch this sampler. The theme of this retreat was "Four Seasons at the Beach."



Our hostesses, Pat Ryan and Ann Robbins from R&R:



We broke for dinner, but returned to the ballroom at 7pm for "An Evening with Friends." Each teacher had designed a special "small" project for us and received all the materials to complete these smalls.

From R&R, a pincushion design with each season represented:




From Shepherd's Bush, one of their wonderful scissor fob designs representing Spring:




From Jeanette Douglas, a needlebook design. Jeanette's designated season at the retreat was Autumn:




And last but not least, Theresa Venette/Shakespeare's Peddler designed a pinkeep:



There were approximately 90 stitchers at the retreat coming from all over. Representing the great state of Minnesota, LuAnne, Judy, and yours truly!



Using some motifs that my mother had tatted, I made some little pincushions in tart tins and took several of them for special friends and the teachers. Here are Theresa, Teri, Jeannette, and Tina posing for a picture holding their pincushions.



Well, I'm just getting started, but I think this post is long enough! Check back later for part two of the Dyeing to Stitch retreat...