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!