Back in March I signed up for the Cross Stitch Cupboard's 11th fall retreat. This was my first time going and boy was I excited when Friday the 22nd finally rolled around!
I was a good girl and went ahead an worked 1/2 a day before hopping in my car and zooming off to Gananoque (a little too fast if the cops had seen me!) I arrived at the Gananoque Inn at about 1:30 pm
I was able to check in to my room, my mystery room mate had not arrived yet! Once settling in, and picking my bed (great advantage to being there first!) I went to find the St. Lawrence Room where was the stitching room for the retreat. Well I didn't have far to go... You see that first unit on the white building on the left and the windowed room on the building on the right. Yup I had far to go! They must of known I was a keen stitcher!
I settled myself at a table in the St. Lawrence room and soon other stitchers started coming by and welcoming me to the retreat, obviously I was a newbie! Many of the women there had been going for the last 11 years! Maria a kind woman took me under her wing and made sure I knew what was going on and introduced me to her retreat pals. At 6pm it was time for wine and cheese... very nice wine and cheese! As we got into the lobby we were all given a name tag, not or own and had to go find the owner. Boy was that a challenge! The only people I did know was the staff at the CSC and Jeannette Douglas the weekend's guest instructor! After wine and cheese we all went and sat down to dinner. Boy were we spoilt when it came to food! Both Dinner and Lunch we received a menu with appetizer choices, three main course choices, and a dessert buffet! The main courses there was always a choice between a meat dish, a fish dish, and a vegetarian dish. You'll not go hungry at this retreat! After dinner it was back down to the St Lawrence Room for stitching until I couldn't keep my eyes open!
The piece I decided to work on Friday was Chatelaine's Mystery VI, I figured beading was something I could easily pick up and put down. Boy did my Mystery cause quite a stir. I think I spent more time showing it to each woman who came by and talking about it than actually beading. But by 10:30 I had finally finished the beading on part 4 which is something I wanted to get accomplished this weekend!
My Room mate arrived a little before dinner and I was relieved to find it was someone I did know, a member from guild. We chatted a bit before turning in, because we had class Saturday morning!
Saturday morning I was greeted with a gorgeous sunrise!
Breakfast was buffet style and once again delicious! By 9am it was time for my first class of the weekend which was Ottawa Sampler with Jeannette Douglas
As with the class I took from Jeannette last year she was an excellent instructor! The piece is beautiful and as usual full of creative stitches and great specialty fibers. This was a full day class, and I was lucky at lunch to sit and share it with Jeannette.
The afternoon turned out to be gorgeous!
Saturday's dinner was quite an affair, it was a dress up dinner! We had everything from dress clothes to gowns to tiaras! We were entertained by a piano player as we ate! Dinner was followed by door prizes and goodie bags! Also we could view the stitcher's pride gallery! Once the pomp and ceremony of the evening were over, I took that long walk to my room and got into my jammies for some more stitching! If I'm gonna stitch I'm going to be comfortable! Saturday evening was spent working on Dragon's Tea Party from Dragon Dreams.
Sunday, today I woke up to it being a little gloomy out. It also matched the way I felt because it was my last day at retreat. Many women were staying on until Monday but I just don't have that luxury with my job. This morning we were encouraged to vote for our favorite bookmark, there was a challenge to stitch a bookmark that showed your passion for stitching. I rose up to the challenge and came up with my own design.
At 9am I settled myself in the St. Lawrence room for Jeannette's Sunday morning class, Autumn Tree of Life Scissor fob. I was able to finish it by lunchtime!
While everyone rushed up for lunch at noon Jeannette and I stayed behind for a bit and had a nice quiet chat without everyone else around. It was nice to have a moment of peace and quiet before going for lunch together! Lunch was a big affair today, there was Ellen's annual retreat song, this year it was "Stitching Stash Blues", followed by announcing the book mark challenge winners... I didn't even get in the top 3 (pout). Then the big door prizes, one of which was a free retreat next year... I didn't win any of those either (pout). After lunch I took a walk to a small museum nearby to check out a little needlework exhibition then hit the main drag to find most of the stores closed. But I did manage to find a shop that sold Ice Dragonlets so I bought one for my collection!
Then it was time to go home....
Here's my favorite picture of the weekend ... (Jeannette and I with my finished fob)
2 comments:
The retreat sounds fabulous...thanks for the detailed account! When I lived in Ottawa, the Cross Stitch Cupboard was a weekly trip for one of my friends and I. The ladies there were so nice and helpful.
could you please post a site for this retreat. I am in the toronto area and the only stitching retreats that i am aware of are located in the states. thanks
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