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!

Cross Stitch Extravaganza - Quilter’s Station

Had a wonderful week last week at the Cross Stitch Extravaganza put on by Quilter’s Station in Lee’s Summit, Mo. Our road trip began and ended in Lamoni, Ia. We love stopping at the Amish Country Store and have stopped there many times, but this time, we ate a late lunch at the Pizza Shack. It was so good, we had lunch there on the way home too. We also discovered two wonderful antique stores.

We save Wednesday for shopping at CC and Company, the antique shops in Greenwood, and more shopping at Quilter’s Station! A visit to Greenwood would not be complete without a visit to the tea room!

The main event is on Thursday and Friday. Four designers with great projects. We loved them all! All brought trunk shows to ooh and aah over.

Kim Nugent from Samplers Not Forgotten was up first! Her project was an Amish Puzzle Ball. She also designed a sweet little pincushion for us. Prior to the retreat, our group all worked on “One Nation” a needlebook and biscornu, so we had to take a picture with her.

Rae Niles from Red Barn Samplers told us an amazing story about how she acquired a collection of samplers. She provided us with a sweet pincushion project and the corresponding sampler.

On Friday, Jeannine McGowan from the Blue Flower started out the day with an amazing sampler!

Our next group project will be Jeanine’s “Bees in the Greenhouse.”

Last but not least, Annie Belcher from Annie Beez also shared her inspiration and the pattern for a sweet little sampler. Belle was there too!

All four designers delivered such delightful stories and projects!

Next Cross Stitch Extravaganza is in September! Come if you can - you won’t be dissappointed!