Dyeing to Tell You More...

...about our stitching extravaganza! Take a look at the view from the balcony on Friday. You can see that the view has changed. The sky is cloudy and grey looking and the waves are choppy. Notice that battleship in the distance? There is a naval station located in Norfolk. Twice during my visit I saw navy ships either coming in or going out to sea; plus countless times each day we could hear fighter jets flying overhead. It was amazing to see those too - no pictures though. Felt safe...and proud of our U.S. military.



On Friday morning, Pat and Ann (our hostesses) had arranged for us to tour the old Cavalier Hotel located across the street from the newer version which we were staying at.



The "old" Cavalier Hotel is an historic property; it first opened in 1927 and it is a grand old lady! We were able to tour the public spaces. Since it was off-season, the hotel is closed for renovations - great care is being taken to preseve this old girl! Some interesting stories -- in 1927 Adolph Coors (founder of Coors Brewery) plunged to his death from the sixth floor; the U.S. Navy occupied the hotel during WWII and used it as a training facility; several U.S. Presidents have stayed at the Cavalier; and the hotel is rumored to have ghosts. Today the hotel is used for weddings and large parties; the hotel rooms may be rented during the peak season.





This painting offers a glimpse of the old and new hotels on a hot summer day!



Back to stitching! On Friday afternoon we had our first class; since I was in Track A, my class was with Teri and Tina from Shepherd's Bush (they are rock stars in my world!) The two of them are very funny and shared stories as they helped us prepare our project for stitching. The project is unbelievable! Their season was "spring" and they designed the following amazing sampler for us entitled "Her World":



They also designed two additional pieces which complemented the sampler, a scissor fob and a pincushion; we could purchase these exclusive kits in the Dyeing to Stitch shop onsite.



Our class was held in a room on the 11th floor of the hotel, overlooking the ocean. The wind was howling the entire time (a storm was brewing). There were so many amazing things to see -- approximately 25 or so surfers were out in the ocean trying to "catch a wave", further out we could see dolphins, and every so often, a flock of pelicans would fly by. Yes, pelicans!

We spent our class time sorting threads and then stitched three of the bands at the top of the sampler. Teri also had a fun project for us at the end of class. I need to take a picture of it and will share it in my next post.

Here are Teri and Tina with their beautiful sampler:



Friday night's event was with a "surprise" teacher - Pam from Olde Colonial designs stopped by. She showed us how easy it is to make padded bottoms for our baskets and how the design can be modified to fit any basket. We thought this class was a bit odd, but it all made sense at our closing event on Saturday night. Sorry, no pictures from Friday night - I think I was too busy with the project!

By Saturday morning the wind and the waves were really tearing up the shoreline (keep in mind that to our north, they were getting snow!)




Saturday morning's class was with Theresa Venette from Shakespeare's Peddler. I knew Theresa from when her shop used to be in Fargo, but I had never taken a class from her. We enjoyed her stories and it was fun to hear about how some of her designs have come to be. Theresa's "season" was winter. She designed a beach/sea theme and explained how challenging it is to combine winter and the sea! I think her sampler is pretty cute:



My two partners in crime, posing for me in the back of the classroom:



We worked on the patches in class and Theresa providing good instruction on how to attach these to our sampler when we are ready. Here is Theresa with her sampler:



One last photo of the sea...see all of those black dots? Those are surfers waiting for huge waves to roll in!



I think this post is long enough! I'll share a few more photos and stories with you tomorrow...enjoy your day!