Autumn Abundance at the Attic

The fall is fleeting fast. Of course, it’s been an extremely busy time and I have been traveling a lot.

Last weekend, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Autumn Abundance workshop at the Attic. Jean had a great line-up of designers: Linda from Chessie and Me, Teresa Kogut, and Beth and Matt Twist from Heartstring Samplery and “the Boardroom”.

I arrived on Thursday afternoon and settled into my room for an evening of stitching. On Friday morning, the first thing on my agenda was a morning of shopping at the Attic. I didn’t take as many pictures this time; I just tried to take it all in and enjoy the beautifully displayed models.

The event kicked off Friday night with Linda from Chessie and Me. She presented a beautiful reproduction sampler which I happen to own. It once belonged to a friend of mine. When she died in 2021, her samplers went to a thrift shop type store along with some of her other possessions. I don’t think the family understood how valuable the samplers were. The shop that acquired them didn't understand either. You see, the frames were old and not in great shape and the pieces appeared quite dirty (you would be a bit worse for wear if you were two hundred years old too!) I managed to acquire two of her antique samplers for the low, low price of $5 each! About a year and a half ago I decided to take this sampler and have it reframed. With a little love and care, this sampler will easily live another 200 years! I took it to Lynn’s of Madison for the reframing. That’s where I ran into Linda and as soon as she saw it, she fell in love with it too and asked if she could reproduce it. I was thrilled that she would want to do this. And now this sampler can be enjoyed by others. I would imagine that Linda will eventually make this pattern available to all, but for now, it is just available to those who attended the retreat.

May I present to you…Eliza Guy. The antique is on the left and the reproduction is on the right. The original was stitched in 1845 when Eliza was ten years old.

Saturday was all about Teresa Kogut. She too brought an antique sampler reproduction for us. We received the kit to stitch the sampler. Teresa also shared a pattern for a biscornu using motifs from the sampler. In the afternoon, we did punchneedle with Teresa and that pattern was for the berry bowl that was in the sampler.

On Sunday morning, we received our project from Beth and Matt Twist. Matt is such a delight! He told us about his transition from the corporate world to now operating a home business. 

Beth’s project was based on motifs from an antique sampler. The sampler, Susannah Boyd, is available exclusively from the Attic. Beth designed a needle roll for us.

 Matt designed and made a beautiful tray for us with the stag from the sampler. Note the inlaid mother of pearl butterflies.

Even though Jean has been battling a serious illness, she spent time with us each day. It was clear that needlework, stitchers, and events like this give her the energy to keep going.

Great teachers, great weekend, great fun!

Samstag

My last full day in Austria. I spent today with my cousin, Reinhard, and his family. Reinhard spent the summer at my mother’s house back in 1991 while working and learning English in Minnesota.

After visiting and catching up a bit, we traveled to Eisenstadt, the capital of Burgenland. We went to the Haydenkirche (Hayden Church). I remember visiting this church on one of my first trips to Austria (a long time ago) but I was happy to see it again.

On the front side is a small chapel. 

View of Eisenstadt, and another look at the outside of the church.

On the backside you can enter the church. There was a baptism taking place, but it was just ending and the family was taking pictures.

We paid homage to Joseph Hayden. He is buried in the church.

From there we went to the Landesmuseum Burgenland. A lot of history in this small museum dating back to the Romans, when they occupied this area.

What was especially interesting to me was this street near the museum. This was the Jewish district.very old homes. Many of these people played a role in building the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt.

This post is significant. There used to be one on the other side too. The chains would be drawn across the street on the Sabbath so that no traffic could travel through the neighborhood.

After our time in Eisenstadt, we traveled wo Weiden am See to have a late lunch at the restaurant on the lake - zum Fritz. Another delicious schnitzel. I forgot to take a picture.

Another day comes to a close. We arranged to zoom with my mother tonight so that she could visit with some of the cousins. Tomorrow, I begin my journey home.

Freitag

Friday! When I went to bed, we had nothing planned. When I woke up we had a full agenda! Another cousin came to visit and spend the day with us. We set our for the Esterhazy Palace in Fertod, Hungary.

I visited this palace once before, many, many years ago. It was in bad condition. Hungary did not have the money to restore its former beauty. They have since received money from the European Union and it is quite beautiful inside and outside. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

After our visit to the palace, it was time for lunch. Back into Austria, to Pamhagen, to Schnitzwirt. We had delicious Wiener Schnitzel for lunch.

It was a beautiful day, o w rove to Podersdorf to walk down to the lake and enjoy the beautiful scenery. It was a bit windy too, and as a result, there were several windsurfers out on the lake.

In Austria, you drink a cappucino in the afternoon. In the nearby town of Gols, there was a delightful bakery with sweet treats and coffee.

Our final stop of the day was in Halbturn to see the palace there. When it was first built it was intended to be a hunting lodge!

Birthday treats in the evening to celebrate Ilse’s birthday.