Friday night at the Pajama Party, while snacking on gourmet pizza and melt in your mouth chicken skewers, we were all treated to an exclusive designer "Meet & Greet".
The exclusive Round Robin workshop was held after the Meet & Greet. This Celtic Bellpull on the left is the collaborated creation of 4 Canadian designers, Jeannette Douglas (top), Laura Dickson (middle), Kathrin Ellison (bottom) and Brenda Franklin (tassel). What a wonderful project to have as a remembrance of this weekend.
The Project Parade, photos on the right, was on display in the stitchers lounge for all of us to enjoy all weekend. All the finished pieces were amazing,
what a special treat to see everyone's work.
The bowl of biscornus was adorable. Except for one, they were all the patterns from my blog. Everyone's colour choices looked great; you'd be hard pressed to choose just one. The photo of the sampler behind the biscornus is made up of the same motifs, but with a border. For all of these patterns visit Kathrin's Blog
All day the Retreaters could hang out in the Stitchers' Lounge, shop in the Designer Booths, vote on their favourite name tags, win prizes, enjoy a "Bistro" lunch, and afternoon Tea. In the evening we held our Banquette Dinner with more Prize Draws. Afterwards we returned to our Stitchers' Lounge and stitched until midnight.
We all had a great weekend and everything ran smoothly. There is much preparation and planning involved in the Getaway, that I would not be able to hold such an event without the help of so many. Barbara was instrumental in preparing all the Confirmation packages you received once you signed up for the weekend, she liaised with the hotel, and organized and wrapped all the MaggieB Welcome bags, prizes, and banquette packages. Darlene kept the blog up to date, keeping you all informed on the happenings and preparations under way for the Getaway.
 | ||
Banquette Prizes  |
Our suppliers this year once again donated a wonderful selection of prizes. This year everyone won something. Our suppliers that donated to the weekend were:
A Needle Pulling Thread
Christine's Swedish Weaving
BeadAddict
Black Tulip Designs
Brenda Franklin
Caron Collection
Crescent Colors
Daylight Lamps
Embroidery Canada
Enchanting Lair
Fleur de Paris
Gentle Art
Gitta's Charted Petit Point
Gloriana Silks
H. A. Kidd and Company Limited
Hoffman Distributing Company Inc.
Jack Pizioli Enterprises (Royal Paris)
JBW Designs
Jeannette Douglas
Kelmscott Designs
Kelsea sales (Loran Distributor)
Kreinik Mfg. ( Metallic Threads)
Kreinik Mfg. ( Metallic Threads)
Lynne Nicoletti Designs
Norden Crafts
Rainbow Gallery
Rosewood Manor
Siemens Canada
Siemens Canada
Stoney Creek
The Printing Mill
The Thread Gatherer
Threadworx, Inc.
Victoria Sampler
Weeks Dye Works
Wichelt Imports
X's and Oh's
Zweigart
I would like to thank them for their generosity.
After dinner and all the prizes, everyone enjoyed looking through their Banquette Package
Ietje was our only Stitch Wizard in the Stitcher's lounge this year to help everyone with any of their stitching inquiries. She had a great time with all the Retreaters; she is always welcoming and eager to share her love and knowledge of stitching. Mary was unable to be with us this year, but she did manage to drop by for Lunch on Saturday. It was wonderful seeing her.
The rest of Gitta's staff, including Gitta, were in the shop welcoming all retreaters and stitchers that dropped in over the weekend.
A special thank you goes out to all the designers that came to exhibit at the NeedleWorkers MarketPlace. They did a fabulous job decorating their suites, and added a new dimension to the weekend. It was wonderful seeing all their finished designs and let's not forget the shopping.Oh, the shopping!!!!!
The Waterside Inn, as always made us all feel welcomed providing excellent service and food. Their pampered rooms with luxurious bedding, extravagant decor, and scenic views, made us want to stay forever, well OK not forever, but atleast a little longer. And the cute little washer/dryer in the kitchenettes were so tempting, that one retreater wanted to do laundry just to give them a try. Not me, I left all that at home.
And a final thank you to all our Retreaters and MarketPlace attendees. Without our loyal stitchers we would not be here. Many of you had commented on how wonderful the weekend was and that you were looking forward to next year. All of the designers were just as enthusiastic about returning next year. They loved the concept of the Market and they loved all of you.
Not sure when, but as decisions regarding next year are made, we will post to the blog. If you are not on our email listing please send us an email to add you, as I will notify everyone by email once we have more information regarding next year.
Thank you to all
Kathrin
