A Few Things From Shirley's Retreat

I have more to share about our wonderful stitching retreat to Shirley's Country Cottage, but I thought I'd post a few pix of a prize I won in one of the games we played and the contents of a grab bag we all got. Some of the stuff was her gotta-get-rid-of, but when you're stashing, you'll take anything and be happy. We even had a trade table, and I got a few charts that I really like, and got rid of stuff of mine. I forgot to get a pic of that..... later, and I also have to take pix of my stashing treasures I bought from her place.

My real treasure was a kit that everyone ordered before coming when we committed to the trip. We got to choose our fabric type and whether we wanted the buttons. Of course, I wanted the evenweave (prefer it to aida or linen because it's softer), and I definitely wanted the buttons. My Big Toe had her trunk show there, and she had taken this appropriate and whimsical pattern of hers and put "Shirley's Retreat 2007" at the bottom when she got a count of the girls coming. I bought several designs of hers. She does everything from whimsical to antique and sampler styles. I was thoroughly impressed. I got quite a few of her little gadgets. I'm really a "gadget girl." That's when you know you have too much stash when you start going for scissors, needle minders, beaded scissor fobs, and gadgets you'll never use. Grab bag contents is the picture with the stash layout with a lovely 2008 calendar, a tube of pillow fabric with ivory aida center and plaid with green and brown. On the calendar is a Trail Creek Farms candy cane design, along with a couple tubes of Kreinik and a couple skeins of GAST threads. Next to that is a Cindy Valentine hardanger heart design. Lovely, and I do love doing hardanger. Then, there is this little hen hanger type kits.... you know... gotta-get-rid-of, but HEY! Above that are some cute little metal charms I can use on various things. In back right is the very nice clip-on magnifier I've been wanting but didn't want to pay $29.95 for. I won that in a game! It's very good quality and has the little white drawstring flannel cover (propped up on my sewing machine in back of it) for the wonderful manifying glass, which has a smaller circle inserted with more strength than the bigger glass. I was so happy with that win. The Boyds Bear propped up on my machine overlooking my stitchy stuff is just Gourdie Pumpkinspice. I really get into fall decorating, which includes my sewing room---my haven.

Then there is the front of our special retreat design, and I've shown the back with my fabric, over-dyed threads and flower buttons used on the middle pot of flowers in the design. It's a nice momento of our memories there. Shirley is a warm and very caring person. She was a joy to finally meet. I hope to go again. I have some candid shots of her shop in her house and the girls milling around. It was just wonderful meeting some of the gals I've only heard of and chatted with on Yahoo groups, and the milling around was so relaxing and just plain fun. There's nothing like meeting gals from out of the country and different areas of our USA.