The End of Another Stitching Event

Its sad to say it, but I'm back home and a luxurious stitching weekend is over. I got home around 3:30 this afternoon from the Knit One Stitch Too! fall retreat at the Gananoque Inn. I have to say I really love the accommodations at the Inn and the staff treats us sooo well! I was really impressed by their events coordinator Cathy she has such a great memory for people. She recognized me and to quote her words "my hair was shorter and half the size". Oh boy that made me feel good! The weather wasn't great this weekend, it poured for 12 hours straight on Saturday and today it was super windy. Perfect for stitching! Us stitchers can always see the bright side of any situation, especially if you're prepared with stitching close to hand!

I have to say this isn't a hard view to wake up to in the morning! This was Saturday morning. Kathy and I had a suite with this beautiful view.

While I was getting ready to face the day on Saturday Kathy borrowed my computer to check up on the online world. She happily discovered that Stitching Bits and Bobs had a sale (yes you online shopping junkies a sale!). Here she is SHOPPING! Kathy can always find a way to buy a bit of stash! She was at my house for the weekend in July and she managed to shop too! LOL. After Kathy's virtual shopping trip, it was time to eat! The Inn always puts on a lovely breakfast buffet. I made very wise choices of fruit, yogurt and cereal.

For the first time at retreat I didn't take any classes (either did Kathy), we just stitched the day away... oh and ate lots of food! I'm afraid I'm going to be up again at the scales on Tuesday, I've been chugging back water since I got home, tomorrow I'll be definitely running on the treadmill! I have to say there are two rare times I miss my extra fat! One would be when I'm cold... insulation right? But I can always put on a sweater. Then there's sitting on banquet room chairs for a whole weekend! I swear at times my tailbone almost felt bruised... I suppose a pillow would help in that department right? I spent the morning working on an ornament, Kathy was a very good girl and worked on Paradigm Lost (and kept encouraging me to do the same).

Soon it was time to eat again. We get to enjoy this fabulous view while we eat! I think the dining room was a little under-staffed this year. Our waitress seemed a little frazzled and food did not arrive in an orderly manner. I had two plate fulls of salad and 1/2 a chicken Cesar wrap and tried a few sweet potato fries (not a fan so won't be ordering those again). Kathy couldn't pass up the Ruben sandwich. The challenge of course as a Weight Watcher is the dessert buffet, oh boy! I tried a little sugar-free tart and then they brought out was warm chocolate pudding cake. Both Kathy and I had to try a little of that!!! We then promptly decided it was time to walk off some of that food! Despite the pouring rain we bundled up, got some umbrellas and walked up to the main drag on Gananoque to check out a few of the shops. Our wallets were very happy when we didn't buy anything. We returned to the Inn pretty damp and had to change clothes before resuming our stitching activities.

In the afternoon I got to celebrate a happy dance!

Holly Side - Holly and Ivy Ornament

c2008 TW Designworks (Creativ Festival exclusive design)

Stitched on : 28 ct Mushroom Jazlyn

Stitched with : DMC cotton, Kreinik #4 braid

Then it was time to get ready for dinner. The tradition is to get dressed up on Saturday night for dinner (optional), so I took advantage of the fantastic bath tub in our room for a soak before putting on my face and getting all glammed up. Kathy opted for the nap (she really loved her bed, the most comfortable one she says she's ever been in). For dinner everyone at the table partook of the Prime Rib, mashed potatoes, with a Yorkshire pudding. Some started with the butternut squash soup, others started with the bed of baby spinach topped with salmon and a citrus dressing. I had the spinach sans salmon. Desert that night was chocolate Kahlua truffles and we shared a sugar-free apple strusel. Dinner was followed by goodie bags and door prizes. Neither of us were too impressed with what we ended up with so I won't bore you with the details. We then stitched until midnight!

Today (Sunday) we slept in a little longer and awoke to our final day in Gananoque. Finally the rain had stopped but it was a windy/blustery morning. We got ready for our day, and checked out of our room so we wouldn't have to go back to do it later. Kathy sadly said goodbye to her comfortable bed! Again breakfast was the same buffet at the day before, then it was time for morning stitching in the St. Lawrence Room (where we've spent all of our stitching hours for the weekend). Kathy changed projects for today, she worked on the Noddy piece she's doing for a friend. I continued to work on Margaret's RR which I had pulled out after finishing my ornament on Saturday (I'll share a progress picture with you tomorrow).

It wasn't too long before lunchtime rolled around and the official warp-up for the retreat. For lunch Kathy and I both had beef dip sandwiches made from leftovers from the previous night's prime rib. Unfortunately our side choice was either sweet potato fries or chips. We both enjoyed our chips... I hadn't had any in months! Today's lunch desert I couldn't pass up a little piece of apple pie, whereas Kathy couldn't pass up the warm maple cake. Lunch is followed each year by some final draws... unfortunately we didn't win any of them, the best prize being a fully paid retreat for the following year!

After lunch we stitched for a few more hours before hitting the road. Kathy is heading south on Tuesday morning, so it was nice to get one last weekend with her. Safe travels Kathy!