Retreat!

I don't know how so much time manages to pass between posts. It's nuts. Sorry about that.

A few weeks ago I attended a stitching retreat hosted by my LNS ... Thread & Eye.  As always it was a fun time with an informative class. I highly recommend these retreats, there is something special about a whole weekend spent doing something you love with a room full of people who love the same thing! So good for the soul.

I arrived later than usual because I had to attend my convocation ceremony earlier in the day. As I walked down the stairs I received a rousing round of applause (I blushed) and tons of congratulations from my friends. Another pretty special moment. My friend Martha had a sign taped to my chair:

What a nutter! It certainly got a good laugh out of me! I kept it on my chair all weekend and I just kept on grinning. 

During the evenings when we don't have class, I worked on some of the projects I brought with me. And I finally have a finish!

This is Welcome Sampler by Kincavel Krosses -- well, a truncated version. I started it as part of my Ultimate Crazy January Challenge (31 starts in 31 days) back in 2012. It needed to be done. This will one day hang on the wall of my office, when I get a professor job, that is.

There was lots of stitching, chatting, laughing, and finishing at this retreat (literally -- the class was about finishing ornaments). A good time was had by all.

Thread & Eye Stitching Retreat

Last weekend I went to my LNS' stitching retreat. The first day and a half was spent just chillin and stitchin, and then on Saturday I spent the day (and most of the evening) working on the counted canvas class project. After a little extra work once I got home, I managed to finish it.

The design is by Needle Delights. The class was wonderfully organized and everyone was able to pick a colourway they liked with an array of different floss types. As an added bonus, a finishing method was provided too. It isn't simply a frame for the stitching, but it's actually a trivet/mug coaster. How cool is that?

My First Retreat

Just got home from my very first stitching retreat. It. Was. Awesome.

It truly felt like Christmas - I stayed up late the first night talking, laughing, and stitching, then got up early the next day, stayed in my jammies, and went running out to the main room to stitch again. It was better than Christmas because it didn't end after one day!! Big shout out to my partners in crime - Caroline and Tracey!!

So much progress - oh my gooses!

The first night I worked like a madwoman and completed page 4 of Drama Queen. That's 6 pages completed now or 32, 582 stitches or 42.2%.

I stitched every day from 8am till 2am - barely stopping for meals. It was a blast! I will admit that my attention wavered a bit, so I changed projects frequently. Luckily I brought quite a few with me. The only one that didn't get any love while I was at the retreat was Elizabeth by Mirabilia. She'll come out to play once I have a few other WIPs finished.

Definitely made some progress on Cirque des Carreaux. I think I've finished about 2.5 pages of the 6.

I finally put a few more stitches into Rules For Life by Kincavel Krosses. I love this piece. I'm hoping to finish it sooner rather than later.

I had a few new starts as well.

I started Ice Blossom by Just Nan and it was a bit of a disaster. Not only was I stitching white on white which is challenging, but I was converting the recommended threads to HDF silk and DMC perles. I did quite a bit of frogging, and I still have more to frog because I stitched one part without the sparkly metallic it needs. *sigh* It looks okay though. I like the textural differences I've added.

I also started Sunflower Bee by HAED for my Dad (he doesn't know about this though). I gridded the first page and put in 100 stitches. It's 88,900 stitches in total, so bigger than Drama Queen, but I'm stitching it on 28 ct white lugana so it should be roughly the same size. No idea when I'll actually get this one done, but the chart is full of big blocks of colour for the first few pages. It should be an easy stitch for now.

I also managed another start/finish!! I worked on the February design in the SotW hardanger SAL from Mabel Figworthy's Fancies. I didn't follow the directions for colours and I changed the beads to French knots (I can just see the beads being ripped off by my nieces within hours of getting it), but I think it looks pretty good. I forgot how time consuming woven bars are to do! It felt neverending. I also found the bead edging stitch to be fairly difficult and quite annoying. I referred to it often as the "stupid stitch." It turned out all right in the end.

Overall, the retreat was amazing. I am dead tired, and yet I feel refreshed, re-energized, and more like a real person than I have in a long time. It was good to take a few days for me without any guilt and with little thought for school and my responsibilities there. I didn't even check email!! (I dread going to check it now though.)

I've already put in my deposit for the October retreat!!

Quick Love

I teased you at the end of my last post, saying that I was going to start something new at a stitchy night with friends. Well, I did, and now it's done!

This is Patriotic Heart - Scotland by Kincavel Krosses. I stitched this for one of my mom's best friends who just successfully finished fighting cancer. She's the sweetest Scottish lady I know!

I really like how the heart turned out, but I am not loving the framing job I did. It just feels like something is missing ... but I'm not sure what it might be.

Now - about my stitchy night! I've been participating in my LNS's monthly Sit & Stitch night for almost 2 years now and I've gotten to know quite a few of the women that attend. Last Friday night I was invited, for the first time, to a small stitchy gathering at one lady's house. It was 4 hours of glorious, chatty, stitchy fun!! It was one of the nicest evenings I've had in a long while. Stress-free with great company. I was in heaven!

I'm doubly excited because in 10 days I'm off for a 4-day stitching retreat (hosted by my LNS) for the very first time.

I. Can. Not. Wait!

I'll be driving up with two ladies close to my age (I'm 36 - quite young for a stitcher in my neck of the woods) and it almost  feels like I'm off to a slumber party in high school! Stitching, wine, and pyjamas - it sounds like a blast! I've also been informed that we are to bring 2 new starts and up to 5 WIPs for that weekend. Not a problem for me at all!

For new starts, I think I'm going to bring Ice Blossoms by Just Nan and Sunflower Bee by HAED. As for WIPS, I just have to bring Drama Queen and Cirque Des Carreaux.  I think I'll also bring Rules For Life, Elizabeth, and a new hardanger SAL that I'm hoping to put a few stitches into this week.