Apr 2, 2015

Retreat Time!

I had the pleasure of spending three days with some Hoosier ladies last week for their Spring Retreat held in Mitchell, Indiana.  There was LOTS of stitching and LOTS of laughs.  I'd tell you about the conversations, but as Lori said, "What's said at retreat stays at retreat." LOL  There were even several finishes!

There was a "Show 'n Tell" table where stitchers could display projects they brought.




There was also a giveaway table with lots of goodies stitchers brought for others to take if they wished.  A few things jumped right into my hands:

 Charts

UK Magazines

Liz, one of the owners of Fancy Works, spent the weekend with us stitching.  She brought us a few things from the shop.

 

Busy stitching away.  This is the first retreat I've attended where everyone did a LOT of stitching.  It was great!




The fruits of labor yielded beautiful finishes.

Lori's Finish -- I love this design!

Annette's Finish - For the foreign exchange student staying with her family.

Pat's Finish - She had the neatest stitching stand.
I debated on taking Japanese Garden with me because the stand takes up so much table space.  In the end, I did take it.  IMO, I made quite a bit of progress.  Here's what it looked like before:

 
During the retreat, I completed the lower left corner ornament.  A mini finish… Yay!!


By the end of the retreat, I completed 75% of the 6 o'clock rock garden.  I told my new stitching friends that I only need about 4 more of these retreats in order to finish JG. LOL


I had a really good time at the Hoosier Retreat and am definitely planning on going to more of them!

32 comments:

Shari said...

it looks like you had a wonderful time at the retreat. I miss the Hoosier Stitcher retreats! I recognize some of the people, but wow, a lot of new faces!!

Anonymous said...

Stitching retreats are so much fun I have been to a few of them and I have loved every one! I am so happy that you got to one and I hope you get to more of them. They give you so much more confidence in your own work, and you come back with so many ideas!

Karen V
Fitchburg MA

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

I bet it was a bunch of good fun! I try to stitch on Tuesday's at Fancy Works, and I know how wild they get there sometimes :) But in a really good way! I never can attend these retreats because I work weekends, but I bet it is gads of good fun! Your stitching looks divine and you got loads done! Congrats!

Sue said...

Looks like you had a great time! Wish I had been there too :) Such beautiful stitching!! Lots of goodies too; glad you had a nice time SD!

Hugs,
Sue your SM

Dani - tkdchick said...

Wow what a productive retreat! I find it so challenging to actually buckle down and stitch sometimes because I'm so busy visiting!!!!

You got a lot done on your Japanese garden!!!

Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Wow that did sound like a great time. Enjoyed all the pics & finishes. Congrats on getting more work done on JG. It looks gorgeous. Can't wait to see it finished.
Betty in AZ

Akila said...

Such pretty stuff, and beautiful stitching. First thing I noticed in your pictures was Pat's stand, it's so cool
Great progress on JG!!

Jo said...

looks like you had loads of fun and still got some stitching done as well, definitely a plus :-)

Anonymous said...

JG is looking great! The retreat sounds like fun. It's good to see Annette again. :)

Karin in CA

Faith... said...

Glad you had a great time Meari! You did get lots finished on JG!

Anonymous said...

Meari

your retreat looks like it was a lot of fun. Great stitching!

Tara Kimberley Torme

Unknown said...

Lucky you - what a wonderful opportunity and such a stash to take home! I see you got the pantyhose one too! ;-)

Anonymous said...

You did a great job on your garden. Martina has lots of wonderful designs.

Sylvia

Anonymous said...

The retreat looks like lots of fun. I've never been on one -- will have to see if one is in my area. I love your garden, beautiful.

Debbie L

Anonymous said...

Meari -

Looks like everyone had a great time at the retreat! Great job on JG. It looks beautiful!

Marge

Christina G said...

Super progress on JG. Amazing what can be done with little interruptions!

Carol said...

Such great progress on Japanese Garden, Meari! I am amazed at how much stitching you got done at the retreat--I think I would have been too busy looking at everyone's beautiful stitching :)

How nice that you were able to just stitch, laugh, eat, and sleep for three whole days!

Katie said...

Great pics! Wow the before and after pics really show how much stitching you got done. I got a lot done too while at the retreat. It was fantastic seeing you and I'm glad you had a great time!! See ya at the next one hopefully.

Justine said...

That looks like lots of fun! Some great stitching done too.

Anonymous said...

Oh meari

It was really nice to read your blog and look pictures. You have had nice time

and your stitching looks good too

Tinna

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a great time, Meari. Congrats on your JG progress.

Sandy in NM

Anonymous said...

I love retreats for needlework or quilting. Love the show and tell and friendship! Lovely work from everyone! Nice blog.

Sparky said...

what a treat to see your lovely stitchings...brings smiles to my heart..

Kay said...

So many wonderful photos! Looks like it was a good weekend!

CJ said...

What fun. That is my dream to attend a stitching retreat. One day when the kids have left the next perhaps.

CJ

Robin in Virginia said...

What a fabulous stitching weekend you had! Aren't stitching retreats the best?

Robin in Virginia

Anonymous said...

Very nice, Meari. I wish I knew of a retreat near me. I can't afford to travel far. :(

Marti

mbroider said...

Beautiful pics!! As far as retreats and cross stitching and quilting goes, i sure am in the wrong country...

gominam said...

Wow, whole lot of stitchin' going on. What fun!

LoriMSA said...

It was good to see you at retreat! I had a great time and met some new friends in person! I hope to see you again soon! Lori

LoriMSA said...

It was good to see you at retreat! I had a great time and met some new friends in person! I hope to see you again soon! Lori

LoriMSA said...

I had a great time! It was good to see you again Meari!