On Friday morning, May 28, and the crack of dawn, I arrived at
O'Hare airport and waited for Maggie to arrive from
Kalamazoo MI so that we could board the plane for Richmond VA.
Once we landed in Richmond, we were greeted by Sally, who was holding up this sign. We felt like celebrities! From the airport we stopped at the hotel to drop of Maggi's things, and then headed out to Sue's house to help with the final preparations for the weekend.
Saturday morning, Sue and I headed to the hotel bright and early to begin the final setup for the Get Together. Sue was busy setting up the sale boutique with several other designers and I organized the registration table. At 9 am,
stitcher were already lined up, ready to check in and start stitching! Everyone received a
goodie bag and a T-shirt. The
goodie bag was full of charts and other stitching goodies, including an exclusive kit designed by Sue. The model were on display, the 5 x 7 framed model was stitched by Carol Taylor, Sue's regular model
stitcher, and the over 1 version finished as a needle
book was stitched by
Sara. Both were lovely!
The stitching room was soon filled with activity!
Stitchers were introducing themselves, checking out what everyone was stitching and the trading table was a mob scene.
Lots and lots of charts were brought to give away, and many
stitchers took home more than they brought! There were door prize drawings through out the weekend, and everyone who was in the building received a door prize.
Saturday evening, Sue hosted a BBQ at her house.
Barbecued beef sandwiches were served along with potato salad,
Cole slaw, bean salad,
lemonade, iced tea, watermelon and custard-filled angel food cake cupcakes topped with fresh
strawberries. Everyone enjoyed themselves.
The front lawn of Sue's home looked very festive and I am sure the neighbors could hear the laughter. Perhaps they were a bit jealous that they weren't invited?
Sunday morning began with more stitching, then off to a not so local shop. Cross Stitch Station was a love 90 minute drive away. I will report on the shop in a separate post.
After returning from the shop, we had "tea" at
Feathernester's. It was a lovely spread. After dinner we were entertained by Ann's granddaughter, who is a very talented vocalist.
After tea we were back at the hotel for "Ask the Designer". The panel included Cathy
Louthen, Nancy
Boyarski (Glory Bee Designs), Sue
Hillis and Sally
Rudkin (
StitchInspirations). Lots of interesting questions and informative answers.
Lesley and
Kristeen (our guests from Australia) ended the evening by reading us a bed time story, complete with actions and props.
Monday morning, we met for breakfast and then said goodbye to old and new friends.
Back at Sue's we all collapsed for the rest of the day! It was a fun weekend, and everyone is looking forward to the next Get Together in two years.
On my recent trip, I had a chance to visit the Lazy Daizy in Raleigh, NC. I had been there about two years ago, and wasn't impressed with the shop at the time.
