Retreat Central

I love stitching. I love spending time with my needlework friends. I love to travel. I love meeting new stitchers who share a common interest in all things needlework. I am grateful for the opportunity to partake in so many fun things with my favorite people! The last three weekends have been a whirlwind of fun!

Quilter’s Station Cross stitch Extravaganza - read my previous blog post for an update on this weekend.

Needle Bling Get Your Stitch On Retreat

The Needle Bling retreat was last weekend and was practically in my backyard, so how could I not go? This was a stitching retreat with show and tell, stash sharing, and shopping. I was able to start another block on the Village of Hawk Run Hollow and also finished up another small pin pillow from Samplers Not Forgotten.

Here are pictures of some of the beautiful finishes by other stitchers in attendance as well as our stitching room at the Embassy Suites by the Mall of America in Bloomington, Mn.

Farm Girl Retreat in Amana, IA

Just returned home from the Farm Girl Retreat in Amana. I love visiting Amana; it’s a little bit like going back in time.

The guest designer was Kimberly Nugent from Samplers Not Forgotten. We saw her two weeks ago at Quilter’s Station and now again in Amana. We lover her samplers and her smaller projects using motifs from the samplers. We each brought a collection of finishes from Samplers Not Forgotten; here’s mine:

This was my new addition, finished at the Needle Bling Retreat:

Our retreat project was/is a stunner. This is a project bag, with a beautiful bunch of peonies on the front and Kimberly’s signature band of stitches on the back. A coordinating biscornu and scissor fob complete the set.

The weekend wouldn’t be complete without a little shopping. We made a trip to the Woolen Needle in Williamsburg, IA.

And we met a couple of old hags at the Little Red Hen in Muscatine, IA.

One thing is for sure - we always have fun!