I'm back with tales to tell as promised

*** Warning Picture Heavy Post ***

Thanks for patiently waiting for my return.  I have so much to tell you.  I'm thinking it's going to take more than one post to catch you up.

So where was this stitching retreat you ask?  Well, here's a hint.

Russellville City Hall

(No, not at the city hall specificially). 

I went to Russellville, Kentucky!  Where is Russellville?  Well, it's not too far from Bowling Green, Kentucky, and not too far from Tennessee for that matter.  It is the county seat of Logan County, Kentucky.  It has that great small town feel and all the southern charm and hospitality you could ask for!

The Breathitt House, where the stitching happened!

The plaque explaining the significance of the Breathitt House

We actually did our stitching at the Breathitt House.  These are pictures I took last year but the house looks the same this year.  It is the home of Govenor John Breathitt who was born 1787 in Virginia and came to Russellville in 1800.  He was elected Governor in 1832.  He was an advocate for the need to preserve Kentucky's valuable documents.  He died in office in 1834.  I learned all this from the above sign.

You might be surprised to know that in addition to being passionate about things involving needle and thread, I'm also a history buff.  I love to visit historic places when I travel.  Russellville made my heart sing when I saw these signs all over town!  I'll share more of these signs later.

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So about the trip, I met up with my friends Patti, Ruth (Patti's mom) and Char.  We loaded up the car and off on our grand adventure we went!

We were thinking we might run into some traffic when we got near here. Thankfully we skated by with no trouble at all considering there was a major NASCAR race due to take place in a matter of days!

 The Needle Nest - Shelbyville, KY

So it was on to our first stop in Shelbyville for a visit to The Needle Nest.   No road trip is complete without at least one stop at a stitching store for stash.  Come on, you know you do it too.  We all buy stash whenever the opportunity presents itself!  Here's proof.

Here's our happy group of stash shoppers with the owner of the Needle Nest, Harriet (she's the one in the middle).  We all found some pretty neat things we couldn't live without.  Here's a picture of what I got.

Needle Nest Stash
 

Praiseworthy Stitches - Emiliana's Sewing Case
Praiseworthy Stitches - Strawberry Pyn Pillow
Little House Needleworks - The Melicent Turner Sampler
Ewe & Eye & Friends - Find Your Bliss
A scrap of lavender linen and a scrap of blue -  for ornaments or whatever

Mill Hill Petite Glass Beads - for the strawberry pyn pillow's seeds

After all that shopping and driving we decided we were ready for some lunch.   So off to Dairy Queen we went.  One chili dog and a banana split Blizzard later for me and it was back on the road for us!

We were cruising along when our first delay happened around Elizabethtown, Kentucky.  We got in a traffic jam that was caused by a road construction bottleneck.  We went from three lanes down to one!  Yep, it was a mess.  Once we got through that we got into a huge rainstorm.  But we were not to be deterred and continued onward to Russellville.  Our driver had a goal to meet and she wasn't having anything get in the way!

We made it there safe and sound in good time too.  We actually had enough time to unpack and go sit by the pool for a bit before we went into town for dinner with the group!  We ate at a new Italian restaurant on the downtown square called Ariella. 

Ariella Itallian Restaurant

Our waitress told us that the chef used to be Paul Prudhomme's sous chef.  I had the chicken parmesan and it was awesome.  Others at my table had the crab cakes on a bed of linguini with fresh pesto.  We shared nibbles around the table.  That pesto was by far the best pesto I've ever had!

Just when we thought we couldn't put away another bite, the waitress announced that the chef had prepared homemade cannoli just for us!  Who can resist that temptation?  Especially when it came with a side of homemade chocolate mousse!  Yep, heaven on a plate for sure.

We had our waitress ask the chef to come to the dinning room so we could all give him a round of applause.  That was one of the best meals I've had in a long time!

By they way, I took a picture of the cannoli to show you but someone, who shall remain nameless, said it looked naughty so I won't be posting it.  Gotta keep it rated G you know!

So needless to say we all went back to the hotel quite "fat and sassy" as we say at our house.  A good way to start off the weekend for sure and this was just the first day!

More tomorrow,
The Inspired Stitcher