Russellville - day 1 & 2

I reluctantly came back from Russellville this past weekend.  We had such a great time at the retreat we really didn't want to come home.  We had the perfect day for traveling too.  Just look at the sunny sky and calm river!

Yep, we took the Ferry across into Kentucky again.  I never tire of this trip across the river.  This time we got to cross on the bigger ferry that holds 15 cars.  So much fun!

Our first stop of the day was at The Finishing Touch in Louisville.  One of the peeps didn't get to make the trip last time and hadn't visited the new location so of course we had to stop!

Here are the sweet ladies that were there working in the shop.  The lady on the right, Saundra, is the owner.  I just love this shop.  If you find yourself near Louisville, stop in to see them!

Of course there was stash to be purchased.  Here's the haul that just had to come home with me.  It's hard to tell from the picture but that's a piece of 30ct. Gunmetal linen.  I'm not sure what I'll do with it but I fell in love and had to have it.  I also love the little Chessie & Me Liberty kit and fell in love with the little Shepherd's Bush Sheep Freebie...had to have it! I'm looking forward to trying out the wool floss it called for and was lucky enough to get.  Stay tuned for that another time!

Yes, Señior made the trip again this year.  He and Fiona hadn't seen each other since January.  Needless to say she's still smitten.  Just look at her!  Yes, we got a little silly over the weekend.

We met up at the Breathitt House (more about the house in this post) and got the rooms set up while we were waiting for everyone to arrive.  Later on we had Pizza Hut pizza delivered and caught up with each other over dinner.  It's always fun to rekindle friendships after not having seen each other for a year!

~oOo~

Day two we started out with our group project.  This is the model Belinda stitched and over-dyed.  It's an old Anne Powell Ltd. design.  This is what we worked on the whole weekend with the exceptions of our special small projects.  More on those later.

Here's my stitching nest with my new start.  Notice the floss pile on the left.  Yes, those are the sampler colors! They are the brightest colors Belinda could come up with. 

Here's a closer look at the floss colors.  I wouldn't have ever believed they would tone down so much when over-dyed if I hadn't seen it done myself.  On Sunday, Belinda did a dyeing demonstration using the Blackbird Designs method so we could see how to do it on our own when we finished our stitching.

This was my progress at the retreats end.  The frog paid me a visit and I had to redo a couple parts but thankfully it stitches up rather quickly.  I actually like the undyed version a lot.  I think they are quite summery colors.  DH likes it and said the letters reminded him of flames.  LOL!

~oOo~

Every year we put our "show and tell" on the piano in the parlor.  This year we had so much, we spilled over onto the piano bench!  I didn't take note of who made what so I'll just leave you to enjoy the pictures.  Try not to drool too much on the keyboard.

 

 

 

You might recognize this bag from last year. It was our group project. We started working on the flower band and were to continue when we got home.  I, ahem, did not continue.  LOL!

 

However, my peep, Patti got hers done and brought it back this time. Bless her heart, she's an over-achiever and likes to put us slackers to shame.  LOL!  Seriously, though she did say she was really glad to be done with this project.  I know that feeling, I hear ya!  I'm sure some of you do too.

Speaking of projects,  this is what we did with the "L" I showed you earlier.  This turned out super cute and couldn't have been easier to do.  I can foresee myself stitching more of these.

This is and additional one my friend, Bobbi made.  I really like this design as well.  Yep, there are going to be more hearts stitched for sure.  I've got to have one like this.

This is the model for our optional group project.  We had a mini-class on how to make coin purses!

Remember the pre-stitching that was so mysterious.  Yep, we turned it into a coin purse!  This is the front of mine.

And this is the back.  It really wasn't all that hard to do.  A little fiddly, yes, but not hard.  There was plenty of gnashing of teeth during class but we all survived it.  My neighbor and I had no trouble at all and both of us can see possibilities for this finish.  Very cute!

~oOo~

 

Well folks, this post has become a long one so I'll save day three and four for next time.  I hope you've enjoyed going to Russellville with me today.  I appreciate your visit!  Have a wonderful day.

 

 

More next time,

 

The Inspired Stitcher