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!