Scenes from a... retreat!

I joined a group on facebook, Stitchers' Escapes, and found one that was close enough to go to...

 the 2017 Fall Getaway in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

I asked DJ if she wanted to go with me. She did, and we went!

We left on Friday morning, after a pit stop at the craft show at the fairgrounds just down the road from me. I bought a few things, but wait until you see what she bought! I hope she posts about it soon.

The sun peeked out here and there along the way, but at least you could still see the fall colours, so beautiful. She drove and I was able to take some photos. It only took us just over three hours, not bad at all.

Thanks to Annette and Linda, who organized the retreat, here's what went on...

DJ shopping at Silkweaver Fabrics. What a treat to have them there, plenty of fabric and patterns to choose from. Needle minders too, but I didn't get any.

I was pretty good and only found a few things that I couldn't live without! I already started the one ornament.

So many lovely colours to choose from, it was hard not to get any more than these three.

BFF Pouches (bffpouches@gmail.com) was there too, so many fun choices! All different sizes, I think they even custom make it if you have a special size you need.

 I saw so many I liked, but I had to have these two! I know they won't be my last.

The backside, the funside!

Gifts from Linda and Annette, the floss and needle minder. Also a treat from Fiberlicious. I love all the colours!

I loved the exchange table, these are the treasures I found. I brought some things too, mainly lighthouses and the last time I had looked, they were all gone. Win, Win!

There were about 55 of us, from PA, NY, NJ, DE and all the way from Canada! Even more states, but I couldn't remember them all. I did get a chance to speak to everyone (I hope) when I walked around to see what they were working on. So many beautiful pieces, from the start of some to the almost finish of others.

Here's our group, but I think we're missing some.

While talking with Sheila and seeing what she was stitching, she shared this with me. These are her instructions on how to put together a gift card pocket. So sweet of her to share it with me.

I FINALLY finished this little guy from Joyful World by The Snowflower Diaries. I changed him to look like a precious dog I know, Kita. I also did french knots instead of a lazy daisy, I saw it on the fb group and thought it looked great. Although I'm not happy with the colours I chose, I'm not changing it! 

And because I finished it while we were there, I won a shirt, awesome!

For dinner on Saturday night, DJ, Karen (our new NY friend!), and I went to Red Robin. So convenient, it was right next door. I think you can tell we were having fun together.

I tried the Blue Moon Beer shake, made with vanilla soft serve, Blue Moon, orange liqueur, and OJ. It wasn't bad, but I think once was enough.

That evening, there was a pj party and a silly slipper contest. So I put on my pj's, robe, and slippers and headed down! Not everyone joined in, but it was still silly fun. I was the one on the upper left 🍷, the two next to me won though. DJ's in there too, she's wearing the Elf on the Shelf slippers.

Back to stitching...

I spent most of the time working on Emerald Mermaid. I started her skin over two and have never really been happy with it. 

So I started her elbow over one and I'm so much happier with it. Although I will not be happy about frogging all the skin I stitched before.

And then it was all over and time to go, getting back to the real world stinks!

We had a fantastic time and are already looking forward to another one, hopefully sooner than later!