Retreat

I am home from my semi-annual stitching retreat at the shore.   We all so look forward to this long weekend of friends, stash enhancement, stitching and relaxing.   There is always a bunch of laughter, good food and good times.  

We left on Thursday morning and I got back yesterday afternoon but I took today off to do a little work in the yard.   I put away the deck furniture and generally picked up things around the yard.   I also managed to spiff up the flowerbeds, deadhead some flowers and pull out some annuals to get ready for fall before the rain started.   I also worked on the two websites I maintain and updated both blogs and wrote out some cards to friends and did manage to stitch a bit.   In general it was just a good day of catching up on a lot of things I had outstanding......and you know how that pressure feels when you know you have those nagging little tasks to do.

I didn't get as much completed on Grace Mason this weekend as I had hoped and there may or may not have been a bottle of wine involved.   But what happens in OCMD STAYS in OCMD.

I had hoped to finished the numbers all the way across but since I did manage a bit of the border down both sides, I think it is a fair trade off.  I am anxious to start the next band so I'd better get to work on those numbers!

Here's my stash from my retreat.    First up, the goodie bag we received at check-in.

This was a last minute purchase.   Seriously - I had already checked out TWICE!  But I saw this and have been wanting to do a Sam Sarah design so this was it.   Grabbed the fabric out of the remnant bin and scooped up the fibers for the final sale of the trip.  I hope to start this Feb. 1st to have it finished and finished by Easter.   

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I fell in love with the vibrate colors of this one.   And it comes with the completed pillow!   Win win....just a little big to stitch and it will be done.   This is going to be my take along project for lunch time.

 I kind of was shamed into starting this one.   Four of us picked it up during the spring retreat and silly old me put the challenge out there to start it this weekend.   Diane was stitching away and kind of egged me to start it.    It is going to be awesome when done but it will have to go into the WIP bin for now.  Diane got almost all the coat from the boots to the beard done.

I picked up the Snow Belle that was missing from my collection and some fabric to stitch up all six as one.

This one seemed to just jump in my bag since it was only $4.

 I put this one in the bag and out of the bag and then back it.   Chessie and Me did this design for the hotel we stay at.   It is beachie without being all seashells and sand.

This is truly a case of it looked so much better completed then it does on the leaflet and of course I had to get some of the fibers since I would so regret doing it with DMC and losing that color variation.










Oops!  Another thing that literally jumped into my bag while in the check out line.

 Last but not least, I always pick up one of these!

For more about the Retreat, check out the other blog I maintain for our guild.