Fancy Works Stitch Retreat 2017

Fancy Works is a cross-stitch shop in Bloomington, IN.  Several weeks ago I attended the Fancy Works Stitch Retreat which was held at McCormick Creek State Park located in Spencer, IN.  

I signed up for two finishing classes that were taught by Vonna Pfeiffer.....also known as The Twisted Stitcher.  The patterns for the two classes were emailed to class participants several weeks prior to the retreat so that all stitching could be completed ahead of time. The first class project was a Christmas ornament finishing class.  Here is a photo of the finished project......

            Front 

 

Happy Hearts by Little House Needleworks

       And back....  

  Cute, isn't it?

In the second class, the finishing technique that we learned was flat-fold.  This type of finishing allows a piece to be displayed standing up.  Take a look

          Flag Maker by Notforgotten Farm

In addition to taking these two classes, there was lots of time for stitching on WIPs and/or new projects.  Many tables were set up in the stitching room.

There were also patterns and stitching supplies for sale.....just in case us stitchers needed more stash (never enough stash!).

Here is where I sat (that's me in the blue with my back to the camera....smart!) along with my 5 table mates.  Looks like fun, doesn't it.

Here's what we look like without needle, thread, and fabric in our hands.

From left: Carol (my SIL), me, Joyce, Pat , Claire, and Liz

The six of us had a fun time stitching and getting to know each other.  You do realize that stitchers are some of the friendliest people around. 😋  

Here is a project that I started stitching at retreat.This is Black Capped Chickdee from Heartstring Samplery's The Bird Collection, Part III.

I have since finished the above project and will be posting photos in an upcoming blog post.  In addition to working on this, I brought along this WIP Christmas ornament by Little By Little Design Company from an old Just Cross-Stitch annual ornament issue.  As you can see, it is no longer a WIP!

  Stitching is done.....now I need to work on the finishing part....which should be a breeze after the retreat class that I took!

The retreat was lots of fun.  We stitched, ate, stitched some more, and visited the Fancy Works shop for "souvenirs".  

Over the past year or two, my stitching has been somewhat sporadic.  However, my interest has been renewed after attending the retreat.  Guess it was "just what I needed"!  The Fancy Works folks put on a great retreat.  All participants came home with lots of goodies!  Plans are being made for a 2018 retreat and I'm looking forward to attending!  Wanna go with me? 

Has It Really Been A Year?

Yep!  Looks like my last post was 5/2/16!  Seems like posting photos of my stitching projects on Instagram (with a link to FB) is a whole lot quicker than typing blog posts.  But I thought I would do a quick post to show you a few things I'm working on.

First of all is a sampler by La-D-Da called Me & You.  I'm stitching it on 55 ct. Ivory Kingston linen.  With the high count linen, the stitching is slow.  Hopefully I won't go blind trying to focus on my stitches! 🙀 Here is a picture of my progress on this project.

The next project has been a WIP for over 10 years.  I bought the pattern at a stitch retreat in either 2002 or 2004 and immediately started stitching on it.....but not for long!  It has been sitting at the bottom on a project bag for at least 10 years.  A few weeks ago, I decided to pull it out and start stitching on it again.  I have been working on it frequently but, again, due to the small stitches (one-over-one stitching) it is slow going.  This is a pattern called Splendor IV - A Colonial Coverlet by The Heart's Content.  Take a look.....I almost have the outside border stitched.  You can see how small the piece will be (approx 14" x 2").

The entire piece will be stitched in DMC 815 with the exception of my initials which will be stitched in a slightly lighter or darker (haven't decided which) color.  Here is a better look at the color of the thread.

And finally.....another small that I'm working on.  Here is a photo of what I have done but I am not going to give any more information since this will be a gift and the recipient is on social media.  Once I get it finished and the gift has been given, then I'll post a photo of the completed project with project information.

I stitch like I read books......several at a time.  I am also currently working on a few more projects but will post photos of them later.

So, what are YOU working on?