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! :-)