Well, I can't say enough good things about the PSS retreat. I had a wonderful time..... made new friends, reconnected with old, shopped, stitched, laughed, ate and talked the "talk"!!! Here is a quick synopsis with the few photos I took. Sorry I didn't take more at the retreat, but I'm never really sure about posting photos of people I don't know and I'd rather enjoy the experience than be behind the lens of my camera all the time. Warning...this may be a long post!
My friend, Tracie, arrived from Kentucky Wednesday evening with a sweet basket of goodies for me. She was the BEST travel companion!!! I'm stocked with my beloved Cincinnati chili for awhile...and check out the cute "bee" things.....thanks Tracie!!!!
Tracie and I started off Thursday morning around 8:30
on the drive to Harrisburg and arrived around 3:00PM. We made a couple pit stops and had lunch in Hagerstown, MD. I was excited because we stopped in a Martin's grocery store and I managed to snag a couple bags of these (it doesn't take much to make me happy):
After checking in, we made our way to the stitching room with about 100 other ladies (I don't know the exact count) and settled in for an evening of camaraderie. We happened upon a table with 4 ladies, who welcomed us, and quickly became friends. Another friend of mine, Syd, joined us when she arrived. Here is "our gang"....such nice ladies!!! We're all FB friends now and hope to meet up next year in Asheville, NC.
These were the projects I worked on....Play Soccer by Sue Hillis and It's Begining to Look a Lot like Christmas by Thistles. I need to get the soccer one stitched and finished into a pillow for my grandson, James's, birthday on the 16th. So, I worked on it until I was almost done and then switched to the Thistles piece on Saturday night. It was interesting going from an 18 count over two to a 32 count over one.
Friday morning was spent in the stitching room and at noon we headed to the Merchant Mall. There were 20 fabulous vendors, including Patti Nicolosi where I left my finished Celtic Banner for framing. I am not sure where the time went but the mall closed at 4:30 and I felt I had missed a lot. Of course I kept running into people I knew including a surprise visit from my old friend Phyllis. Then we had two Make it-Take it classes which I will share another day, as I have some fine tuning to do. I did manage to make a few purchases....I had pre-ordered the red desk from Teresa's Prim Treasures, but the rest I picked up there.....some Dixie Samplar linen, the black scissors, a tiny bee emery and an extra teeny acorn emery, some vintage binding in its original wrapper and......a bone parasol with French writing on it.
I did not take the classes but there were two offered..one each day.
Friday evening was spent in the stitching room checking out what others were working on and/or bought that day at the Merchant Mall. Here is one cute idea we saw:
Breakfast and dinner were included in our retreat fee which meant we really didn't have to leave the hotel but Saturday, Syd, Tracie and I ventured out to Amish country. Tracie had never seen the Amish before and was tickled to see the horse drawn buggies and farms. We went to a couple quilt shops where I bought these fabrics:
And we saw these along the way...a restored vintage 1959 VW which I would give my right arm for....I take that back since that's my stitching hand....and some bee skeps.
After dinner Saturday night we received goodie bags.We got a project bag made by Faye Riggsbee herself, a sheep thread holder and scissor pocket, scissors, a waxer, a needlekeep, a chart with the fabric and fibers that you could either cross stitch or punch needle and a sweet pin with one of Ridgely's paintings on it.
After this was the gift exchange. Here is a photo of the table with the "gifts'....and this wasn't even all of them.
It took 2 1/2 hours to get through the exchange but it was so fun and EVERY SINGLE piece was fabulous!!! How it worked was the lady who was last up in 2017 got to pick first. She picked whatever package appealed to her (they all had to be wrapped or in bags so you couldn't tell what was inside, but some of the packaging was worth a choice), read the enclosed note aloud telling a little about the giver, opened the gift, held it up it to a chorus of oohs and aahs and then that 'giver' came up, chose her package and so it continued. To be honest, I was sweating it when I saw all the wonderful gifts being opened!!! I had shared my "gift" in a previous post and the lady that received it was very happy and also loved bees--perfect!
Here it is again:
Here is the gift I chose; it was tucked inside the little ort bag.
As the knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade said "you have chosen well"....and I did....I just love this patriotic strawberry and the coordinating thread catcher. Thanks to Deb Honsch!
Sunday morning we headed home with a stop at the Gatchelville Store where we spent over two hours drooling. These were my purchases there. This place is jammed full of vintage buttons, trims, etc. I got the old doorknob to use as a base for a pincushion!
Finally we were off heading home and trying to stay ahead of the rain--it didn't work and we drove through many periods of heavy rain....... lots of accidents and traffic tie-ups. But we made it home safe and sound with lots of fabulous memories and goodies. Next year the PSS retreat will be held in Asheville, NC, which works for me since my daughter lives nearby, but it will depend on the dates. Nashville,TN will host it in 2020.....gosh I can't even believe I said "2020"!!!! Maybe I'll see you there!
Thanks for sticking with me and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
P.S. Blogger has stopped sending me e-mails when a comment is made so it's become necessary for me to go and check the blog itself to see if someone left a comment. If I am not as timely responding as I like, that is why...and I may miss some if you are commenting on an older post. So, it is important if you'd like a response from me.... and I do want to respond....that you add your e-mail if you are set up as a "no-reply blogger". Thanks!
My friend, Tracie, arrived from Kentucky Wednesday evening with a sweet basket of goodies for me. She was the BEST travel companion!!! I'm stocked with my beloved Cincinnati chili for awhile...and check out the cute "bee" things.....thanks Tracie!!!!
Tracie and I started off Thursday morning around 8:30
on the drive to Harrisburg and arrived around 3:00PM. We made a couple pit stops and had lunch in Hagerstown, MD. I was excited because we stopped in a Martin's grocery store and I managed to snag a couple bags of these (it doesn't take much to make me happy):
 |
| Use these in a favorite recipe and can't find in Richmond |
After checking in, we made our way to the stitching room with about 100 other ladies (I don't know the exact count) and settled in for an evening of camaraderie. We happened upon a table with 4 ladies, who welcomed us, and quickly became friends. Another friend of mine, Syd, joined us when she arrived. Here is "our gang"....such nice ladies!!! We're all FB friends now and hope to meet up next year in Asheville, NC.
These were the projects I worked on....Play Soccer by Sue Hillis and It's Begining to Look a Lot like Christmas by Thistles. I need to get the soccer one stitched and finished into a pillow for my grandson, James's, birthday on the 16th. So, I worked on it until I was almost done and then switched to the Thistles piece on Saturday night. It was interesting going from an 18 count over two to a 32 count over one.
Friday morning was spent in the stitching room and at noon we headed to the Merchant Mall. There were 20 fabulous vendors, including Patti Nicolosi where I left my finished Celtic Banner for framing. I am not sure where the time went but the mall closed at 4:30 and I felt I had missed a lot. Of course I kept running into people I knew including a surprise visit from my old friend Phyllis. Then we had two Make it-Take it classes which I will share another day, as I have some fine tuning to do. I did manage to make a few purchases....I had pre-ordered the red desk from Teresa's Prim Treasures, but the rest I picked up there.....some Dixie Samplar linen, the black scissors, a tiny bee emery and an extra teeny acorn emery, some vintage binding in its original wrapper and......a bone parasol with French writing on it.
I did not take the classes but there were two offered..one each day.
Friday evening was spent in the stitching room checking out what others were working on and/or bought that day at the Merchant Mall. Here is one cute idea we saw:
 |
| I'm on the hunt!!!! |
And we saw these along the way...a restored vintage 1959 VW which I would give my right arm for....I take that back since that's my stitching hand....and some bee skeps.
After dinner Saturday night we received goodie bags.We got a project bag made by Faye Riggsbee herself, a sheep thread holder and scissor pocket, scissors, a waxer, a needlekeep, a chart with the fabric and fibers that you could either cross stitch or punch needle and a sweet pin with one of Ridgely's paintings on it.
After this was the gift exchange. Here is a photo of the table with the "gifts'....and this wasn't even all of them.
It took 2 1/2 hours to get through the exchange but it was so fun and EVERY SINGLE piece was fabulous!!! How it worked was the lady who was last up in 2017 got to pick first. She picked whatever package appealed to her (they all had to be wrapped or in bags so you couldn't tell what was inside, but some of the packaging was worth a choice), read the enclosed note aloud telling a little about the giver, opened the gift, held it up it to a chorus of oohs and aahs and then that 'giver' came up, chose her package and so it continued. To be honest, I was sweating it when I saw all the wonderful gifts being opened!!! I had shared my "gift" in a previous post and the lady that received it was very happy and also loved bees--perfect!
Here it is again:
Here is the gift I chose; it was tucked inside the little ort bag.
As the knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade said "you have chosen well"....and I did....I just love this patriotic strawberry and the coordinating thread catcher. Thanks to Deb Honsch!
Sunday morning we headed home with a stop at the Gatchelville Store where we spent over two hours drooling. These were my purchases there. This place is jammed full of vintage buttons, trims, etc. I got the old doorknob to use as a base for a pincushion!
Finally we were off heading home and trying to stay ahead of the rain--it didn't work and we drove through many periods of heavy rain....... lots of accidents and traffic tie-ups. But we made it home safe and sound with lots of fabulous memories and goodies. Next year the PSS retreat will be held in Asheville, NC, which works for me since my daughter lives nearby, but it will depend on the dates. Nashville,TN will host it in 2020.....gosh I can't even believe I said "2020"!!!! Maybe I'll see you there!
Thanks for sticking with me and your "twisted threads" of friendship!
Stasi
P.S. Blogger has stopped sending me e-mails when a comment is made so it's become necessary for me to go and check the blog itself to see if someone left a comment. If I am not as timely responding as I like, that is why...and I may miss some if you are commenting on an older post. So, it is important if you'd like a response from me.... and I do want to respond....that you add your e-mail if you are set up as a "no-reply blogger". Thanks!
Oh what a great post Stasi. Yes, I very much remember the fantastic gift you created and wOw! I love the gift you received!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like so much fun! Glad you had a good time.
ReplyDeleteOh, that sounds like it was a completely wonderful retreat! Your goodie bag was full of wonderful treats and you made some great selections in the merchant mall. Love the photo of the beeskeps!
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you mentioned the knight in the story about the gift exchange. One day I kept hearing he has chosen … poorly in my head – knew it was a line from some movie but it took me *days* to figure out the right one, lol.
Oh – thought re Blogger’s not emailing our comments at the moment: I read someone’s suggestion (apologies to whoever it was but I cannot remember) to go to your own posts and comment, making sure to mark the “email me follow up comments” (or whatever it says) box so you get notified sort of the long way around.
Sounds like a fantastic time!
ReplyDeleteMarilyn
Stasi, I totally enjoyed reading (and seeing) your PSS retreat recap. What a fabulous weekend you had and I am glad you were able to go with your friend, Tracie. You made good progress on both of your pieces.
ReplyDeleteA really great report on the PSS retreat, Stasi--it sounds wonderful! And how lucky was the lucky winner of your bee spool!
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh when I saw your photo of the soft stuffing cubes. My usual brand of soft bread cubes wasn't available last Thanksgiving and I began to panic. Thankfully, I spotted this brand and they were a super substitute!