One Last Excursion…Amana!

One last stitching adventure for the year; I spent the weekend in Amana, IA at the Midwest Cross Stitchers Retreat! I had been looking forward to this for such a long time and am so glad that I had the opportunity to go!

No PICs this weekend, but I managed to get to Amana and back without incident. One of my favorite stops is this visitor center just across the border from Minnesota into Iowa. Did you know that they have a small gift shop on the second floor with handmade items and things that are made in Iowa?

Arrived safely in Amana. While many visitors stay in Bed and Breakfasts, I decided to stay at the Hotel Millwright this trip. Lovely hotel! Check out that Amana wool blanket across the bottom of the bed!

Thursday is somewhat of a free day, so after getting settled in “my spot” at the retreat center, a couple of us took off for The Woolen Needle in nearby Williamsburg. It’s an amazing shop with lots of wool and some fabric. A gem of a shop in this small town!

Back at the retreat, I took some pictures of the show and tell table. Lots of beautiful needlework displayed.

We closed out Thursday night with dinner at The Ronneburg Restaurant in Amana. They serve wonderful German dishes. I ordered the rouladen. The green beans and fried potatoes were delicious too!

Friday was primarily a stitching and shopping day. The main event happened on Saturday. Our guest designer was none other than Brenda Gervais!

Brenda started the day with a very informative lecture on Pennsylvania Dutch show towels! She brought 13 towels from her collection for us to admire. 

She also designed some small projects for us based on the motifs on the towels.

Brenda also designed a Christmas themed project for us with a candy shop that looks like the many brick buildings found in Amana!

Enough for this post….more tomorrow!