Friday, May 15, 2015

Stitchville USA 2015's Spring Fling

How much fun it was to be amidst 58 enthusiastic and talented needleworkers at this year's Spring Fling sponsored by Stitchville USA! I had heard how wonderful this retreat is, and now I understand why. 

The retreat is held annually at a wonderful conference center not too far from Minneapolis. The class room was large and had wonderful lighting, both natural and overhead. The meals were yummy! The conference center is located on a lake. Quite a few of the retreat attendees took a walk around the lake. I wish I had done so myself, but after standing on my feet all day during class, I was too tired to think about a walk. Maybe next time....

The class project was Kindred Spirits. It was nice to have the time to go at a more leisurely pace than is usually possible. There was a short lesson Friday afternoon, and another that evening after dinner. Then on Saturday we had a morning and afternoon session. Sunday there was a morning session during which I went over the assembly process with lots of mock-ups. After lunch, we just wrapped up things.






I was delighted to see so many completed With My Needle projects on the Show and Tell table. It was a pretty impressive display! Thank you, ladies, for bringing your work for all of us to admire.


Deb, the owner of Stitchville USA, ran a boutique in the back of the room.  I brought quite a few of my models.


At the end of class on the last day, I tried to get photos of as many of the students as possible.  (I fell quite a bit short of getting everyone's photos.)


Most of our class time was spent working on the pincube part of the project.  The students made amazing progress in class.  A few days after I got home, I received this photo from Bev of her completed pincube. I bet there are others who have also completed the pincube.


Thank you to everyone who made my time at this year's Spring Fling such a wonderful experience! I hope our paths will cross again in the not-too-distant future.

6 comments:

Marie said...

It looks like the retreat was a great success. I do wish there were stitching retreats closer to where I live (in the Northeast).
I would delight in spending time looking at all of the finished pieces along that long table.
Bev's pincube is beautiful.

woolwoman said...

looks like a fantastic time for all and a great experience for you ellen. Enjoyed seeing the photos and hearing about it. Mel

Ann said...

It looks like a wonderful retreat in the perfect setting. This is another design to go on my bucket list!

Marilyn said...

That looks like a great time, with great projects too.
Glad you had fun.
Marilyn

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

OH GOSH! That looks like so much fun! And look at all of those sweet finishes that people brought to share...that is so wonderful!

Jackie's Stitches said...

58 students?! That seems like a lot but you are the one teacher I know that can handle that large of a class so very well. It looks like everyone had a great time!