Nordic Retreat Part Two

The Nordic Needle retreat was filled with fun times and classes.  The two classes I took were wonderful.  The first is a Wessex Needle Book taught by Gail Graham from Bermuda.  Gail is very organized and is full of information.  I never go away from her classes wondering what to do next.

Wessex is worked by layering stitches and colors on top of each other.  In this needlebook the dark teal fly stitch was worked first, the medium teal fly stitch over that, then the yellow eyelets, and finally the green straight stitches and fly stitches.  It is framed by the dark teal wave stitch.

My other class was in Punto Antico and was taught by Kathryn Drummond of Gingerbread Girl Designs.  She has a series of ornaments named for different flavors of gelati. (Yum!)   This one is Gelati al Cioccolato.  Punto Antico is quite different from Wessex.  There are a lot of bullion knots, which is something I haven't done a lot.  I'm learning them very quickly with this design.  There is also cutting and needleweaving.  Now that I can do!  I haven't had a chance to finish the ornament, but here is what I have done so far:

We are given lots of goodies at the retreat.  Roz puts a lot of work into soliciting donations from companies and designers.  There are table gifts at every meal and each and every attendee gets a door prize as well as a goodie bag upon arrival.  We spend a lot of time stitching and socializing.  I love being around other stitches who understand what I'm doing and why I am doing it!

It is a very good thing I had two beds in my hotel room!

Part of the goodies were purchased, and part are gifts.  They are all fantastic!  Like so many others I have way more than I can stitch in one lifetime, and yet I get more.  I think I need to live to be 300!

Nordic Needle Retreat

I must admit that this retreat has a special place in my heart so I may not be the most objective writer.  I am one of two people who has attended all 12 of their retreats, and watching it grow and develop over the last dozen years has been fascinating.  It began twelve years ago with around 38 attendees and lasted only two days.  This year it had 74 avid needle workers in attendance from Wednesday evening to Sunday afternoon.  I have also been teaching classes at the retreat for the past five years. 

This year I took a class in Punto Antico taught by Kathryn Drommond of Gingerbread Girl, and Wessex taught by Gail Graham.  I taught the Flowering Lotus Box, which is my own design.  I was playing with shapes one night and adorable little box was the result.

I must admit it is one of my favorite designs.  I had 17 ladies in my class this year.  We had a great time together learning and laughing....and doing a little grumbling about the reversible black work.  The design was a hit, but several of the ladies were not enamored with the black work part.  Fortunately, doing a backstitch is an acceptable alternative to the reversible black work as the back of this piece is completely covered.  Whew!

I had students from across the US, Canada, and Bermuda. 

There was a wide range of skill levels, but most were intermediate to advanced needle workers.  This particular class would be a challenge for beginners.

I really enjoyed teaching this group of ladies.  Since I've written mostly about my class in this post the next one will be about the rest of the retreat.  One last fun note, a large group of us ate at the hotel's restaurant one night.  They gave me a senior discount.  Wow.  I knew senior discounts would be in my future, but at age 47?  Ummm.......no.  I did take the discount, though! :-)

Stitchville's Spring Fling Wrap Up

Stitchville's Spring fling was held last weekend and the weather was not as bad as feared.  I was able to drive over with no problems.  They do know how to plow roads here in Minnesota. 

We arrived Friday afternoon for our opening sessions and the start of the food coma.  Yes, we eat a lot at Spring Fling.  And often.  After some snacks and getting to know each other we headed in to the classroom for to start Friday evenings project. 

Cynthis Zittel of The Drawn Thread was our designer and she created a wonderful project for us.  Friday night we worked on a scissor fob which goes with Saturday's larger project.

We went to supper - more  food - then back to the classroom to finish the fob.  I nearly finished the fob when I realized that my second initial was one fabric thread too low.  Urgh!  I pulled it out, but decided that since it was already 9:30 PM I was not going to try to put it in.  As tired as I was I would have just put it in wrong again.  I know when to quit!  Off to bed and a good night's sleep.

Saturday started with breakfast, yes eating again, then on to get our kits for the main project.  It is a lovely thread keeper that could also be made into a sampler for those who don't like finish work.  As I love finishing I choose to make the pocket.  The first two pictures below are the pocket.  The next is the sampler.

We worked on the project until lunch - yes, food is the secondary theme here- then more project until supper.  After supper we went and had a shopping frenzy at the Aladdin's Cave known as Stitchville USA.  Such a fantastic shop!  Bliss!!!

Sunday began with more food, then a little more stitching and more food.  I reconnected with old friends and made some new ones.  Stitching, friendship, and food.  Who could ask for more?

There were also several Drawn Thread pieces brought in by retreat participants.  Here are some of them:

And now I am off to Fargo for Nordic Needles retreat.  So much stitching so little time!

"Spring" Fling

Stitchville throws a fabulous retreat and I can't wait to get there, but I'm not so sure about the Spring part of the name.  Here is what my back yard looks like this morning:

Cynthia Zittel of The Drawn Thread is the designer for the retreat.  We will have a quick Friday night project, then a bigger project for the rest of the weekend.  I am so ready of stitching, talking, eating and just being spoiled all around.
I am currently undergoing immunotheraphy (allergy shots) for my bee sting allergy.  I will be having 2 shots each appointment and there will be 15 appointments over a 8 week period.  After each set of shots I have to wait 30 minutes before I leave.  To keep my time productive I have begun crocheting some cord for Romanian Point Lace.   After 5 visits I have over 3 feet of cord.  I think I'll have plenty of cord by the time I'm done.  Here is a piece of Point Lace I did a few years ago.

I'll post all about the Spring Fling next week.  I have two short days at home before leaving for the Nordic Needle Retreat.  Stitchapalooza here I come!