Stitching in the Wild Retreat 2024 - Recap

Hello, Friends!

I mentioned in my last post on September 6^th that there would not be much stitching or sewing happening for me. My daughter came for a visit and only left the day before I traveled to Montgomery, AL for a cross-stitch retreat.

 

We walked around Lake Junaluska, took trips to see the sights, shopped in our little town and just had fun watching sports and putting together a puzzle.  The last couple of days of her visit was spent preparing for the retreat.

 

Stitching in the Wild Retreat is hosted by Gary and Ronny Hovatter. They have an online shop here and they opened a brick and mortar shop in Ozark, AL last April. Their 2023 retreat was held in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I attended that one as well and you can see that recap here.

 

On Wednesday the 18^th I loaded the car and headed to ‘Bama. The last stop before reaching the retreat hotel was a stop in Auburn to get my Buc-cee’s banana pudding. 

A large, of course, to get me through the weekend.

That evening was spent putting together the attendee gifts I brought.

We checked into the retreat early Thursday morning. We were presented with a nice burlap bag filled with goodies.

The travel scissors unfold

Several designers provided exclusive FREE charts for attendees

Ronny made a 6" x 9" notions bag for everyone

We selected our seat after check-in. 

I was fortunate to sit at Table #2. Here is a photo of my tablemates with Gary. Gary is eating his favorite sour cream cookie that I made. I gave him one dozen and our table shared a dozen.

My tablemates were Stephanie (from Fabrics by Stephanie), Robbie, Dianne, Linda (Stitchy Linda on IG), Kristine and Maria.

Before settling in for business, a few of us enjoyed delicious BBQ at Dreamland. The food didn’t last long enough to get a photo.

Once settled, I started stitching Halloween Alphabet by Primrose Cottage. 

Here is the progress I made.

Notice the big project bag matches the small bag that was in our gift from GaRon. I received the larger bag when I was in the GaRon bag-of-the-month. It was a coincidence I selected that one for the retreat.

Our tablemates also exchanged gifts.

My gift to Table 2 was a jar of apple butter from our local orchard (no photo), Waynesville sticker, candy and a beeswax thread conditioner.

Gift from Linda and Dianne was a printed Pinkern Punkin’ chart, called for floss on Halloween floss drops and delicious Key Lime cookies.

Robbie had a Halloween theme for her gift which was socks, orange Sharpie marker, orange post it notes and pumpkin spice Werthers…what?!? Werthers and pumpkin spice are two of my favorites, and together??? So good.

Maria and Kristine gave us an adorable crocheted doily and ort bag, counting pin and scissor fob.

A friend who was not in attendance sent a gift for Ronny to pass along to me. A floss bling with my name on it. Jackie made the rings for everyone but personalized one for me.

Some attendees brought a little something for everyone, not just their tablemates. My gift was candy and beeswax floss conditioner.

I received several useful handmade gifts.

I won’t show you my embarrassingly large haul but there is one item I must show.

I mentioned Stephanie of Fabricsby Stephanie was one of my tablemates. She dyes the most beautiful fabric and was a vendor at the retreat. I already have several pieces of her linen and added three more to my stash.

36 count Bewitched, 40 count Chocolate Milk, 40 count Friendship Greene

I couldn’t resist getting a photo with Stephanie, Gary and Ronny on Saturday evening.

There were approximately 120 attendees. A great group of stitchers!

Sunday was the last day. As much fun as it was, it was also very nice to be home.

The eight hour drive home was easy. I quickly unloaded the car and unpacked. By Monday evening I had worked a full day, done all the laundry and organized everything I brought home.

Now I am in full cruise prep mode. We leave next Wednesday on a 10-day New England and Canada cruise.  I haven’t even made a packing list yet…geesh!

The next few days will be work, prepping for vacation and catching up on blog reading and flosstubes.

If you finished to the end…thank you 😊

Enjoy your day!

August Stats, Two Big Finishes and Sampler September

Hello Friends!

I hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend, and this short week has been good to you.

I completed 9,120 cross stitches on six different projects during August.

I had three finishes: Honey Bee Quilt, Sweet Friendships and Crows & Sunflowers. Clicking the name will take you back to the post where I shared those.

I made progress on one WIP during August: Olga’s Autumn Stocking

And I started two small projects that I will share later.

There was an event last Saturday that I participated in, and I’ve been preparing for it all summer.

Lake Junaluska’s Friends of the Lake 5K

Now, I know a 5K is not a big deal for most. It was for me. I ran one other 5K and that was eleven years ago.

This was the lake’s annual fundraiser to help maintain the beautiful property and various recreational activities.

I had a decent finish, fourth in my category, and look forward to the next race.

Another big finish recently is…

Olga’s Autumn Stocking by Plum Street Samplers

I used the designer’s called for threads but stitched it on 36 count linen, Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions. 

This was my selected stocking for the #RonnySockItToMeSAL hosted by Ronny Hovatter from GaRon Stitchery. I started on December 2, 2023, and finished September 4, 2024.

I had intended to just complete three hundred stitches per week, per the SAL. But I was stitching with a group of friends on Zoom last Sunday, and once I got to the chevron pumpkin, they encouraged me to power through and finish.

There are people that will fully finish cross stitch projects for you, but I think I will attempt to do this myself.

Next plans for the scroll rod are Ann Harper 1839.

There is a thing (?) called Sampler September in the cross-stich community. You select a sampler to start. Some may finish theirs…it won’t be me. First, she is a big girl. The stitch count is 297w x 413h and I’m attempting to stitch is on 40 count linen, Dust Bunny by Fox and Rabbit. Fox and Rabbit are also the designers of the chart.

Not much stitching or sewing will be happening in the next week because we are having company. My daughter, her boyfriend and our grand dog will be visiting from Florida. They hoped to arrive this Saturday, but Matthew received a jury summons. He will call Sunday evening to see if he has to report. Fingers crossed that he does not so they can get here on Monday.

Oh, and hubby and I celebrated our 31^st wedding anniversary. We combined efforts for a delicious dessert.

I made Lemon Butter cake to accompany his homemade peach ice cream.

So, that was my August wrap-up and my immediate September plans. I also have a cross-stitch retreat in Montgomery, AL this month, which I am excited for!

Until next time…have a great weekend!