WIP Wednesday a Day Late, The Attic and Stash!

Alrighty, I'm back and I'm done travelling for the foreseeable future... as far as I know!  Where to start... stitching, my trip to The Attic in the Phoenix area or my new stash???

I think I'll get the stitching part out of the way first.

Before I left for my March Break trip to visit with Kathy in Southwestern

 Yule: Winter Solstice

The Primitive Hare

stitched on 40ct linen with DMC 

Arizona I started and finished my March Ornament.  I pulled out yet another freebie that I've had set aside to stitch.  Since life was so busy it was easiest to stitch up something that wasn't too big or complicated.

During my week in Arizona I focused solely on Cirque des Carreaux by Ink Circles.  I am very impressed with the progress I managed to make in a week. I've finished page one and there's not left to go on page 2.

Of course who doesn't want to see The Accolade?

Now onto the FUN, FUN, FUN stuff!!!  I do have other pictures from my trip, but not to overload you right now I just want to share my trip to The Attic!

Kathy and I set out for a little road trip during the last days of my visit with her.  We stole the car and drove the 3 hours up to the Phoenix area where we met up with Terri who was so kind to put us up overnight.  I had first met Terri years ago during my first trip to visit Kathy in Arizona, but at that time she was living in California and I was flying in and out of San Diego.  It was so nice to reconnect with Terri!

Later that afternoon she too us to her LNS, and one with quite a reputation, The Attic!  No wonder, look at this shop!  Its big and every nook and cranny is filled with models and charts to look through.

Terri stitching away

Not only were we able to shop to our hearts content (and boy I did some serious dammage), but it was stitch night too!  I must admit I couldn't really settle down to any stitching, I was too distracted by the shopping!

Me & Chris

While I was puttering around the store I had the best surprise on Earth!  I hear my name and I turn around, it was Chris of the blog Tot Hill Farm Stitches!  Oh my goodness!  What are the chances we would be not only in the same State (as you know I'm up here in freezing, cold Canada), but the same City, or even that we managed to be in the same store on the same day at the same time!  It was just so nice to get to meet Chris!  I sure hope our paths will cross again in the future... or maybe we need to arrange that, Chris?

As you can see I did very well at The Attic... lots of charts, fistfuls of floss, and some fabric.

During my first days at Kathy's she finished up the stitching on the Chatelaine, Desert Mandala!  During the rest of our stitching time she was madly beading away.  As you can see that's how she wisely spent her time at The Attic (though I do know she made a few purchases).  Terri and I were there to witness her full on, Happy Dance!!!!  Here it is in all its glory.

Then on the drive back South, I told Kathy we needed a picture of her in the desert with the cactus and her Mandala.  So here she is!  We found the perfect Saguaro to accompany Kathy and her Desert Mandala.

I had an amazing week with Kathy and I got to spend some time with a lot of fantastic people!  I wish every March Break could be like that!

See You on the Flip Side

Well, I'm packed and ready to go. I'm heading down to the Dominican Republic for a week, on a 3rd world experience. I hear the Dominican Experience is a trip of a lifetime, and I'm hoping it will be a good experience for myself and the students as well.

Let me get you caught up on my photos before I go...

Sunday February 28 - Bull rushes, something common in the ditches in the area I live in.

Monday March 1 - This is my change purse... I get so many wonderful comments about this little guy!

Tuesday March 2 - Delicious flossies!

Wednesday March 3 - No picture

Thursday March 4 - Getting packed!

Friday March 5 - No Hunter, you can't come with me!

I Think My Butt Is Square ... or Retreat Was Great!

Well I'm home all settled in, the laundry is done ... and better yet, my model is DONE! DONE! DONE! I really wanted to have it done while I was at retreat... but frustratingly I ran out of beads... and very luckily I had them in my stash.

Now onto the exciting stuff to make you all wish you were with me this past weekend!

Saturday

The only drawback to going to retreat and taking classes is that... you have to get up early! Can you just imagine me pouting over this! However, we got up to a lovely breakfast (all our meals were in the dining room) buffet with wonderful choices from yogurt, fruit and cereal to scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and potatoes... I love breakfast foods mmmm (but the hips don't)... Needless to say we're fed VERY well. We had to get ready and finished eating by 9am for Lynn and my full day class with Jeannette Douglas she's in the top percentile of my favourite designer's list! The class piece is called Pomegranates and Pears stitched on R&R linen using various silks, GAST's new hand dyed wool, beads, metallics all in very rich colours! The class was small which was nice where we all got personal attention from Jeannette and entertained by her wonderful stories. Not only did we have breakfast in the morning... we get a fantastic snack of fruit and fruit loaves... more food (do you see the theme of the weekend). Lunch was wonderful, with salads, and Lynn and I both had fish & chips, dessert was white chocolate mousse, oh yummy!

We were in class until 4pm once everyone had moved onto the stitching room or to take breaks or naps I stayed behind and had a lovely chat with Jeannette and got to show off The Castle to her! Lynn and I just went back down to the St. Lawrence room to continue stitching, back to my model ... and those beads!

Saturday night's dinner its not mandatory but its traditional to get dressed up. Lynn and I didn't go all out but we made ourselves look lovely. For dinner we both had the prime rib for dinner and the peach cobbler for. We had the same waiter that Todd and I had two weeks ago, LOL. After dinner everyone collects in the St. Lawrence room and we all get loot bags (aahh memories of birthday parties, and still love them as adults). Before the bags were handed out we were told/reminded of the "glass slipper". There was a glass slipper in one of the bags. If the glass slipper was in your bag the challenge is you must keep it secret and tell no one until they asked for it at lunch time on Sunday. If you managed to do this there was a prize, if someone found out they had it and let them know... they got your prize. So we're all digging through our bags not letting anyone else see what's inside. Well I've opened my bag and I reach inside to pull out some of the lovely fibres inside... my heart starts to race... my hands start to shake... it ... was... the.... glass... SLIPPER. Holy cow, how exciting. I'm just bursting because I can't say anything. While under the guise of checking out the goodies in my bag I sneakily put the slipper in my stitching bag that way I could show Lynn all the goodies I got. Unfortunately because I didn't want anyone to know I couldn't get a picture of said slipper for you. After goodie bags, there were names drawn for wrapped door prizes, everyone got something. I picked a nice heavy box, I got two bottles of Udder Cream. A girl can never have enough hand cream!

Once Saturday evening's activities wrapped up Lynn and I went back to stitching. This was when I realized I wasn't going to have enough beads for the model! All I kept hoping was that my ahem, substantial stash at home would contain the same beads. Several ladies also offered to check theirs if I didn't have them. Thank you ladies! I stayed in the stitching room to well past midnight... I kept meaning to go join Lynn in our room but I kept stopping and chatting, I think I talked a little too much this weekend LOL! Then Lynn and I stayed up chatting until 2am! That... and I was too excited to sleep I had to figure out how to carry around that slipper with me the next day and I didn't want it in my stitching bag because I'd be in and out of it all morning! I mean I couldn't tell anyone!

Sunday

Today started out beautiful, warm, and yet again early! It was the same routine as yesterday morning. Sunday there are several half day classes for you to choose from that come part of the package. I of course, took Jeannette's class it was a small needlebook based on Saturday's class piece. Its very lovely, uses the same threads and I'm quite excited to try out Jeannette's finishing instructions. The class was lovely, and the morning went way to quickly! At the tail end of the class a friend of Jeannette's showed up, Erma. I got to meet Erma about a year and a half ago at the Lakeshore Guild's retreat where Jeannette taught the Montreal Sampler. We sat together that whole weekend and had a blast! Erma is such a fantastic woman! We had a short visit before Jeannette and I had to get over to the dining room for lunch as there's more going on than just lunch (which I had the roast beef dip and strawberry shortcake). There were prizes from a nearby shop where you would be given a ballot if you stopped in. Lynn was very lucky she won one of their lovely prizes! After the River Myst prizes ... Maria (the CSC's owner) wanted to know if anyone knew who had the glass slipper. Well I had done my job well, no one spoke up! So when she asked who had it I stood up and said loud and clear "well I do!" I won two beautiful dark wood oval frames! There were more door prizes and finally the last prize of the weekend, a free retreat for next year. Sadly neither Lynn nor I won that one.

I had a lovely afternoon, after taking my new frames out to my car I got sidetracked and never made it back to Lynn in the dining room (sorry Lynn!) I ended up visiting with Erma as she had arrived at the Inn to spend the night there then she was taking Jeanntte back to Montreal with her on Monday for a few days before Jeannette has to be in Toronto for the Creativ Festival. The next thing I know it was show and tell time, then the three of us (Erma, Jeannette and I) went for a walk and had some fun taking pictures.

The last few hours of my day were spent quietly stitching in Jeannette's room with the ladies, and having some great conversations!

But all too soon my weekend was over, and its time for me to go to bed and back to the real world!

Retreat was awesome and Lynn thank you so much for sharing it with me!

Greetings from Ganenoque!

Well Lynn and I have arrived safe and sound from our homes to the Ganenoque Inn ... in Ganenoque, where else? I'm sitting here in the cosy lobby of the Inn blogging to you... the wireless connection was pretty weak in our room. So here I am, in my pyjamas in the lobby just so I can say hi to all of you.

Did you know that today was National Library Technician's Day? Well it was in Canada (just recently declared by the Canadian Library Association) , and many of the teachers took a moment to either drop me a line or stop by and let me know just how much they appreciated my help. That was very nice to hear! So to all you Library Techs out there, Happy Library Tech Day!

I arrived in Gan. late afternoon and got myself checked in my room... lucky Lynn she was here already and stitching away in the St. Lawrence room! I got my stuff tucked away into our room and headed down there where I pulled out my model and got to beading. I have to say not much really got done this evening. There was a lot of talking and visiting with fellow retreaters! Before dinner we had a lovely wine and cheese hosted by the Inn. That's when I ran into Jeannette Douglas and we had a fantastic chat getting up to date on each other's lives. Next was a fantastic dinner, Jeannette was kind enough to have dinner with Lynn and I, we were also joined by Maria the owner of the Cross Stitch Cupboard. We had some great conversations... many of them stitching related.

Dinner was just to die for! The food here at the Inn is fine dining. I had a chicken breast stuffed with cranberries and pine nuts served on a bed of risotto. Mmmmmm! I stared with a roasted tomato and garlic soup and had a chocolate torte for dessert! Other selections on the menu were things such as salmon, rack of lam and steak. I wonder what will be on the menu for tomorrows meals?

We've spent the last couple of hours stitching, but our eyes are starting to give out on us... and we have to get up early for our class in the morning with Jeannette!

Unfortunately I haven't pulled out my camera once yet so no new photos for you! So the one above is from the retreat in 2004 of Jeannette and I at the end of the weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

First of all I'd like to wish all of my fellow Canadians a Happy Thanksgiving and that the weekend was everything you wanted it to be. Once you read this... you'll know why I've been quiet for the last few days!

Todd & I on the boat (see you Brighton non-Todd believers, its the same guy from the other pictures!)

This year Todd and I took a different approach to Thanksgiving. We didn't spend it with family at all this year back in August I booked a weekend getaway for the two of us. Its something we've not done in a very long time. Yes I know, Thanksgiving is/should be a family time where you get together, eat way too much, and often go home complaining about someone or something. However, sometimes you have to focus on your partner and your relationship with him/her. That's what we did!



Saturday morning we stared out with a nice lie in at home, as we were leaving town we had breakfast at one of our favourite spots. We first drove into Kingston so Todd could check out the shop I buy all of his die-cast car models. Boy... it was like a kid in a candy store. We went to a few other shops before it was late in the afternoon for us to head back East a little to Gananoque and the Gananoque Inn. My long time readers may recognize this as where I've gone a couple of times in past years for the Cross Stitch Cupboard's fall retreat (where I'll be going not this upcoming Friday, but the next). Its a beautiful inn, right on the St. Lawrence River, with excellent food! Saturday evening we had dinner in the dining room, and boy its fine dining... Todd and I made sure to have food off of the menu we wouldn't normally get in a regular restaurant. It was a lovely three course, two hour meal!

Bolt Castle at the top of the Hill

Sunday was a gorgeous day! Sunny and 16c with a nice breeze, my favourite type of day. We got up early that morning, had breakfast in the dining room before we went on the 1000 Islands Cruise (3 hours) with a stop over at Heart Island with a tour of Bolt Castle (2 hours). The scenery was just stunning (this was actually the 3rd time I've done this tour... once as a child, once about 7-9 years ago and this past weekend). Having been to Bold Castle three times at different points in my life has been quite cool. Bolt Castle was under construction in the early 1900's a castle for Mr. Bolt's wife... all construction stopped in 1902 upon her death, the workers just put their tools down and walked away. Over the years they have been restoring/completing the work. When I first went as a child I have impressions of graffiti, rickety floors, and an all around dump. My second trip I remember parts of the castle being open and work was in progress. This year so many areas of the castle are open and safe for us tourists to walk about. They have finished quite a bit of the main floor complete with furnishings and art original to the period. I took over 200 pictures on Sunday afternoon! Last night saw us having dinner in the bar/grill at the Inn, Muskie Jakes... another good meal!

Our boat for the 3 hour tour

On the main channel of the St. Lawrence

Heart Island & Bolt Castle

The Bolt Castle Boat House

One of several restored rooms on the main floor of Bolt Castle

This morning we woke up... unfortunately it was time to pack up ... one last breakfast in the dining room and back to reality!

Now the only downside to this weekend... after yesterday's boat tour and a bit of a nap in our room before dinner (sun and water just tires you right out!)... I found my throat was scratchy and started a bit of a cough. So yet again I'm sick! I'll be taking things easy this week, I want to be healthy for when I head back down to Ganenoque!




I didn't stitch much this weekend as it was a weekend for us. When I did stitch a little (in the car) or when we were lounging in our room I worked on Mini Cottages 5.

When I got home I finished up my piece for the Fair & Square Exchange - round 3. I'm very happy with my results this round. Oh and I never got around to it but here's my piece from round 2.

Tantes Zolder (My Aunt's Attic)

32ct Natural Linen

DMC overdyed

Also... being Monday I was very good and worked on Tour des Marques... I finished the backstitching on page 2 and got a good start on page 3.

Vieux Montreal

Can you believe, I'm still recovering from my weekend? Actually... I think I'm fighting off the cold that everyone at work and Todd has! I'm not sick but I'm pretty darned tired, and I've had this very slight scratch in my throat for days.

Sunday started off bright and early after a late night on Saturday at the Genesis concert. We hopped into the car, and on the way to Montreal picked up Kathy who was visiting her son. Lucky girl just got to sit in the back of the car and stitch! No fair... but then I guess that's the sacrifice one can make when you're a road warrior like I am (LOL).

For the last couple of years Mum and I have gone to the Lakeshore Guild's annual exhibit at Stewart Hall in Point Claire in the West Island, the area that I grew up in. Mum and I find it a great excuse just to go to Montreal and take a trip down memory lane. Last year's trip included a walk on Mont Royal, this year it was a walk in the Old Port of Montreal.Before we hit downtown, we met up with my oldest friend Andrew, we were neighbours growing up and we've known each other since he was born (I'm six months older). He was a sweetie and gave up a part of his day... escorted us downtown which was actually convenient since he had to be on the other side of Montreal later in the day. We had a beautiful day! It was sunny, a balmy 17c with a lovely breeze. Old Montreal is beautiful! I'd like to go back and spend more time down there really discovering all the old alleyways, cobbled streets, and the beautiful buildings... once upon a time a building was a work of art. Today they're all functionality, and glass. But then, beauty is in the eye of the beholder right?

We found a great little place for lunch downtown... it turned out to be three restaurants in one... we all were able to have what we wanted. Kathy and I had to have Montreal smoked meat sandwiches of course! Too soon it was time for Andrew to head out and for us to make our way back West to check out the needlework show.

The show was small, but then it always is ... and lovely. The Lakeshore Guild is certainly prolific, they manage to have enough pieces amongst their members to put on a show every year! Also they put on a lot of classes for their members! I'm just jealous!

It was a full and wonderful day... thanks to

Andrew for being our glide,

Kathy for coming along despite her poor feet (I feel your pain!!!),

and my Mum who I always enjoy a trip down memory lane with!

I'm still plugging away with the last installment in my Sweetheart Tree Round Robin (did I mention I started that Sunday night?). I think I should be able to finish it tomorrow night, then I think I'll be picking The Castle back up for the rest of this week to give it a little love.