On To The Retreat!

Not only is the Shepherd's Bush shop Mecca for cross-stitchers, but their retreat is also a bucket list item for most,  They never fail to make it a great experience!

We started off our stay in Park City getting checked into The Silverado just down the hill from The Grand Summit where all the activities were held.  We had been bumped from The Grand Summit because of renovations and wound up getting a larger 3 bedroom suite for the 4 of us due to some maintenance complications . . . lucky us!  They even provided shuttle service for the short trek uphill!

Before the Retreat officially started we had dinner with friends.  We have met so many kindred spirits at these retreats over the years and favorite designers we can call friends!

The retreat always has a theme and this time it was "Embrace The Journey".  The theme shows up everywhere throughout the Retreat . . . in the activities, games, designs, gifts, etc.  The most anticipated part is "The Reveal"!

Linda (Chessie & Me):

Barb & Alma (Blackbird Designs)

Jeannette (Jeannette Douglas Designs)

Paulette Stewart (Plum Street Samplers)

Brenda Gervais (With Thy Needle & Thread)

Tina and Terri (Shepherd's Bush)

CeCe from The Thread Gatherer gave a talk on dyeing, particularly the difficulty of dyeing with reds.  We got a little chart from an antique sampler she has.

Lisa was being a naughty girl during the lecture and cracking us up with her "little hands".

More about classes and the final banquet tomorrow!

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Mecca For Cross-Stitchers!

Wow . . . took me forever to download my pictures of The Shepherd's Bush Retreat from last October off the ipad and on to the PC so I could post them here . . . well, it didn't actually take 5 months . . . just most of yesterday! You'd think married to an IT guy that I'd know more . . . but . . . alas . . . I don't 🙁  They're done now . . . so . . . here we go!

It's off to Shepherd's Bush in Ogden, UT . . . 

truly Mecca for us cross-stitchers ! ! !

So back in October I arrived in Utah a day early for the festivities since my BFF Jenny moved to Salt Lake City since the last retreat.  We thought we'd beat the crowd going to the shop a day early. . . I don't think that's possible.

You could spend a week in their shop and probably not see it all.  Let's just stroll around . . . try not to drool on your keyboard while you take it all in . . .

Oh go ahead . . . take another look . . . you know you probably missed something!  I'll post more on the actual Retreat later . . . I know your head is spinning ! ! !

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Don't Quit Your Day Dream Finishing Instructions

Work first.  I promised more detailed instructions on this pattern for piecing together fabric to finish this pillow as shown.

If you've been following the blog over the years, you know my story of how The Nebby Needle got started.  If not . . . here it is:  My daydream of becoming a cross-stitch designer became a reality at the 2010 Shepherd's Bush Retreat in Park City, UT after showing Barb and Alma (of Blackbird Designs) a piece of theirs that I "expanded". Alma asked if I designed and I said "no, I just change everybody else's".  She told me I was ready...and The Nebby Needle was born in October of 2010!

That was the inspiration for this pillow and in tribute to Blackbird Designs, I used one of their fabric lines to finish this pillow.  You may choose whatever fabrics you like and adjust your color choices for stitching to coordinate with your fabrics.

I had already purchased a jelly roll (2 1/2" strips) of their Hyde Park line of fabrics to make a quilt . . . when time permits . . . and when might that be?  If you use fat quarters you can cut 2 1/2" strips. I used 5 different fabric strips to make my triangles (now I'll probably have to buy more fabric for the quilt) and I had a fat quarter of the fabric that looks like a cross stitched alphabet for the back.  I cut the strips into 2 1/2" squares (I'm sure there is an easier way, but being a beginner quilter this is how I did it.)  Placing a light and a dark square right sides together, I marked the diagonal corner to corner and marked my 1/4" seams.   Stitched my seams and cut the squares along the diagonal line.  I pressed them open and placed them in a design that was pleasing to me.  If you want each side to repeat your pattern you will need 4 of each square combos giving you 8 triangle/squares of each when cut.  After stitching the triangle/squares together I added the square corner stones at each end of one of the sides and at one end of two of the other sides.  To square this off and make it come out right, sew the short side (without the corner stones) at the top and one of the strips with one corner stone down one side.  Set the bottom strip with one corner stone to line up that side and your final side with the two corner stones.  Pin and sew the bottom then the final side.

If you are going to put a binding around your pillow, sew the front and back together with right sides out leaving an opening in the bottom big enough to get your hand in to stuff.  Stitch you opening closed and bind off the outer edge as you would a quilt.

I hope this is clear . . . as this is only the second pillow I have finished this way.  Like I said . . . I am a beginner and infrequent quilter having only pieced the edge of one pillow this way 5 years ago.  If you have questions I will be happy to try to help . . . or if you have an experienced quilting friend . . . that might be better!

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Promise!

I will update over the weekend...promise!  I have pictures to share from retreats, Nashville Market, new designs coming, finishing details and freebies!!!  There just aren't enough hours in the day!!!!

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I'm Back!

Sorry about being gone so long.  My father passed away in August and we brought my mother (who has dementia) to stay with us for 7 1/2 weeks before getting her moved into an Assisted Living facility near us.  It's been a challenging several months but, I've managed to get a lot of stitching done. 

Two new designs are out there in "stitchin' land".  The first one released in September was 'Tis Autumn stitched on 36 count Picture This Plus - Wren.

And the more recent one:  Dance By The Light Of The Moon stitched on 30 count Picture This Plus - Dawn.  "Framed" this one with red plaid felted wool strips, added felted "pennies" with snowmen buttons (from Just Another Button Company) to the corners and backed the pillow with red felt.

The cute "sweater" pillow in the background was a gift from my dear friend Jenny.  She made it from a Goodwill purchased sweater she felted in her washing machine, stitched on a red felt heart and rusty jingle bell . . . too cute!

Got my mother moved in to the Assisted Living facility in the nick of time!  Three days later I was off to the Shepherd's Bush Retreat in Park City, Utah . . . a much needed retreat!!!  I will get my photos organized and post that blog shortly.

They recently met with me at the Assisted Living facility and said that mom needed to be in the Memory Care wing as they were afraid that she was becoming a "wanderer" . . . caught heading out to the parking lot to look for her car (which isn't there) to go pick up my father (who, of course, is no longer living).  They moved her things over there while I took her for a day outing.  A week later I was off to another much needed retreat . . . our local EGA Retreat at Lake Junaluska, NC . . . returning yesterday afternoon.  Got some quilting done on that one . . . pictures to follow!!!

Now . . . it's lunch and then off to the post office to send out some charts that were ordered while I was "retreating"!

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Camp Cross-Stitch

I always wanted to go to "sleep away" camp since first seeing the "Spin and Marty" serials on The Mickey Mouse Club in the 50's...yes, I'm that old.  Theirs was a western-style camp at The Triple R Ranch.  Then..."The Parent Trap"...the first one with Hayley Mills (1961).  Again..."sleep away" camp.  I did get to go for a weekend to a church camp at about the age of 11 or 12.  My mother and her sister were "counselors" for the teenage girls and brought myself and my cousin along...who were too young to participate...but found things to do.  Cathy (my cousin) and I short-sheeted beds and "dropped" the broom down the stairs early in the morning...successfully irritating the teenage girls.  We did get a stern talking to, but it was well worth it!

Greetings happy campers!  Here's my new design "Camp Cross-Stitch".

I needed a pillow for my favorite stitching spot.  It's a camp sign for fictitious "Camp Cross-Stitch" with the camp flag and slogan "where stitching away rules the day"...the arrow pointing the way.  Outside the lined border is the full capitalized alphabet, lower-case alphabet and numbers.  I stitched 1" black buttons in each corner or you could put your initials and date there if you'd like.  I finished the pillow with a binding like you'd put on a quilt.  I also wanted this to look like a pillow that had spent many years at camp.  I used Rit tan dye to over-dye the ticking fabric.  I used Instant Antique from Primitive Gatherings and dabbed it on the stitched fabric with a natural sponge here and there to age it.  (And...what's camp without s'mores!  I only ate two while taking the photos...really.)

Several years ago I went to the John C. Campbell Folk School for a week...sleep-away camp for grown-ups!  It was a wonderfully creative experience and I'm planning on going again...probably next summer.  Too much fun!

Enjoy Campers!

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p.s. Robin says that retreats are like "sleep-away" camp.  Now...if they just threw in a little horseback riding, s'mores and sing-a-longs around a campfire at night...my life would be complete!