SOTM Part 8 Finished

 Finished part 8 of the Stitch of the Month Project! Yay!  Now all that is left is four installments of the background!

Here is what it looks like all together.

And just like that, it was over!

I was lucky enough to spend the weekend at a stitching retreat with 58 of my closest friends!  This was our view as we stitched, and laughed, and talked, and shopped, and ate, and drank wine......but it was over too soon!  See you all again next year!

Another Wonderful Weekend in Galena

It is time for the annual needlepoint retreat in Galena Illinois! 
















We always hold it at the De Soto House Hotel right in downtown Galena.  Although others go out to various restaurants and shop up and down the street, I never leave the hotel.  Lots of stitching and
laughter! 

Stitching at the Beach.....

 This past weekend, I attended an annual stitching retreat.  I always look forward to this event, because it is truly a get-a-way!  The event is held at Illinois Beach Resort and Conference Center in Zion Illinois. 

 Although the building is a bit dated, it is still a great place!  Most of the time, we never leave the hotel!  This is the view of the hotel from the water. 

 And this is a view of the beach.

 

 Here we are....from the left, Marguerite, Deb is in the middle and I am on the right.  Deb drove up from Kentucky to spend the weekend with us!

 On the left is Eileen Gurak, the designer of Handblessings Designs, and her sidekick, Bobby O'Brien.  They are the organizers of the retreat.  And they do a wonderful job!

 Here is an overview of the room.  People are not just sitting around stitching, but they wander around the room to see what everyone else is stitching.

 lots of happy, smiling stitchers!

 The beach is lovely at sunset too!

 It was a great weekend, that ended much too soon!

Saturday Stitching and a Finish!

 Even though I stitched until 1 am the night before, I got up at the crack of 8 on Saturday morning and pack up my stuff, and headed off to the stitching room.  After fortifying myself with a bagel and tea, and some chatting with my fellow stitchers, I started stitching at about 10 am on Together We Stand by Handblessings Designs. 






Even though I took a break for lunch, and then later in the afternoon, drove to Savanna Illinois to has dinner with my sister-in-law and then chatted with her and her step father all evening, I did manage to get it all finished before getting ready for bed!

Retreat Stitching - Friday

Friday morning, at about the crack of 10:30, I pulled out this Nancy Cucci piece, a flag frameweight that I started a few months ago in a class with Nancy and hadn't worked on since. 

 After stitching for a good part of the day, here is my progress.  I still need to do the white stripes and the border, but I am pleased with my progress.

Retreat Stitching - Thursday

 Once I arrived in Galena, I quickly settled in to stitch.  The first project up was Overture II by Kay Stanis.  This project hasn't seem the light of day since August of 2013.  Here is the piece where I left off.

 ...and here it is at the end of the day Thursday....not as much progress as I had hoped, but progress non the less!

Here are some of the ladies stitching in the beautiful ballroom at the Desoto House hotel.