INDEPENDENT NEEDLEWORK NEWS

Cindy Valentine has organized a very special retreat to occur February 10 - 13, of 2008, with the help of an amazing group of HIGHLY in demand needlework designers — in one of the most amazing cities in the world – New Orleans, Louisiana. One of Cindy’s goals is to help bring tourism back to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and with that in mind, she has organized a retreat which welcomes spouses to come along, too.

Patricia Bage of Patricia Ann Designs, Thea Dueck of Victoria Sampler, Janie Hubble of The Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio (all the way from Australia!), Catherine Strickler of Indigo Rose (I really wish this wonderful designer would step into 2007 and get a website! That’s a hint for anyone who is able to go to this retreat … ), and, of course, Cindy Valentine herself, will be the five extremely talented designers at this retreat, offering you one very mysterious, but very lovely project which they designed together!

This particular project will be a hollow box etui with five sides stitched in a New Orleans theme (but six sides total), and be filled with goodies. If you take a peek at Cindy’s website, you’ll get a fairly good idea of what four of the five stitched sides look like.  The etui also comes with needlework smalls, one designed by each of the five fabulous designers especially for you, so there’s still a lot more mystery left! Don’t worry; I wouldn’t spoil all the good stuff for you — I’m here to tantalize and entreat, but you have to go to the actual retreat in New Orleans for the real thing. 

Included in your retreat price of $800 if sharing a room with another stitcher ($1100 for a single room, or $1100 to bring along your husband), you’ll stay for four comfortable nights at the Ambassador Hotel in the old Warehouse District of New Orleans. In fact, the Ambassador Hotel itself was once a coffee warehouse, and it’s also only a short three block walk to the French quarter! If your or your husband are lucky gamblers, a stop at Harrah’s Casino a block away may be worth your while to build both the stash fund and the any-other-kind-of-shopping fund in order to contribute toward Cindy’s goal of helping rejuvenate New Orleans tourism.

Ambassador Hotel rooms include in-room spa services, so you can even get that pedicure you’ve been wanting while you catch up on some stitching, or your hubby can get a massage prior to a nice afternoon nap before dinner while you surreptitiously slip out with the credit cards for some stash enhancement.

Or you can elect to stay elsewhere if that suits you better — and it might, as it means your retreat fee will be reduced to $550. However, I bet you’ll find it difficult to match the Ambassador Hotel’s price of $62.50 per night, especially when you’d also have to deal with additional daily transportation costs to the Ambassador Hotel for the retreat classes, and would most likely be paying for your own breakfast (which is included if staying at the Ambassador Hotel).

There will be plenty of opportunities for shopping, although since Cindy has designed this retreat to help the New Orleans area get back on its feet, some of those may not necessarily be needlework related — but I’m sure you’ll still love them! Cindy has promised a group outing to a New Orleans needlework store as well as the opportunity to buy direct from the designers (sort of trunk show style, but without the trunk show), too, so you’ll have oodles of opportunities for stash enhancement.

Make sure you save a few pennies, though, because Cindy also has a friend in New Orleans who is setting up an optional cooking class event at one of New Orleans’ finest restaurants. This would be at an additional cost, of course — but so worth it to be able to bring home a bit of New Orleans’ fine cooking to your own kitchen! Better yet, send your husband off to the cooking class while you put your feet up and stitch (or do a little shopping he doesn’t need to know about ), and then when you get back home, he can cook for you while you work on finishing your fabulous retreat project! It’s the gift that keeps on giving!

Don’t wait to sign up for this retrea!  It is very, very limited with regard to the number of stitchers who can attend.  As I write this, only seventeen sixteen fifteen spaces remain available.

You only need to pay $250 when you register, then half your retreat total (minus the $250 already paid for registration, that is) is due by September 15th, 2007, and final payment is due by November 30th, 2007.

Then you have a couple of months to save up spending money for while you are actually in New Orleans — and if you work out a deal with your husband that this is your holiday gift … or your holiday gift to each other if you both go on the retreat … it’s practically like SAVING money — and definitely like saving TIME — because you won’t have to fight traffic during the holiday shopping rush! 

Technorati Tags: needlework, cross stitch, retreat, Cindy Valentine, Catherine Strickler, Indigo Rose, Cat’s Whiskers Design Studio, Janie Hubble, New Orleans, Thea Dueck, Victoria Sampler, Patricia Bage, Patricia Ann Designs, etui, smalls, Ambassador Hotel

These scissors, made by Olfa, are recommended by Judy Odell of Just A Thought herself. She discovered them one day and shared with her EZBoard readers that she had started regularly using them in her finishing business because they made her work so much easier. If I remember correctly, as unfortunately I am unable to find the post where she discussed them, the wording she used to describe them was something along the lines of being able to use them to go back and forth between cutting mat board and fabric “like butter.”

Or, now that I think about it, especially since it was during this time that I actually ordered my own pair, it is also possible that where I recall Judy mentioning these fantastic scissors was in the now discontinued (because the class is completed) YahooGroup during the very first online class for My Treasures Workstation, which I thoroughly enjoyed taking (and I finished during the class, too, which is much easier than you’d think with Judy’s wonderful finishing instructions — and is also highly recommended because she gives everyone who finishes during the class a special prize very much worth trying very hard to complete that final finishing deadline).

This is the shop I ordered my pair from, and I was very happy with their service; however, I am located in the same state as this shop, so I would expect shipping to be very fast if the United States Postal Service is doing its job properly.

I got the 5″ pair about a year ago and have used them frequently for any number of cutting jobs. They seem as sharp today as they were the day they arrived on my doorstep and are certainly one of the best purchases I’ve made, especially since I started trying to finish my own needlework. Cutting mat board is far from the easiest thing in the world, but with these scissors, you’ll almost forget you ever knew that.

By the way, Judy has moved her bulletin board to a new location, since EZBoard announced some time ago they would close (to be replaced by Yuku).

[tags] Judy Odell, Just a Thought, Olfa, scissors, EZBoard, Yuku, needlework, finishing, My Treasures Workstation [tags]

Stitcher Wendy Jo Brees was selling off some of her stash at incredible prices to help finance her trip to Celebration of Needlework in Louisville, Kentucky, and I offered to help her out by advertising her sale here since many of the designers whose patterns she was selling are quite popular, her prices were really exceptional, and it was one way I could help support Celebration of Needlework in its midwest location even though I will tentatively only be able to drive down there myself for some shopping.

Quite a few of the designs being sold by Wendy were charts from kits, so this was your chance to pick those charts up for a significantly lower price than the kit, allowing you to kit the design up yourself using the fabric and fibers you most prefer. Also included in the sale were a handful of full kits as well as a good selection of charts from popular designers.

I have bought from Wendy myself, so I can personally attest to her honesty and the quality of her items for sale. All her stash comes straight to you from a smoke-free, pet-free home.

If you purchased any of the items on Wendy’s list for sale, thank you so much for your help financing her trip to Celebration of Needlework, and enjoy your new stash!

Technorati Tags:  cross stitch, needlework

Dyeing to Stitch is also offering a retreat — their first ever — called their Down By the Sea weekend, and apparently there are still a few openings.

This retreat will occur from October 4, through October 6, of 2007, and classes will be taught by Tina Richards Herman and Teri Richards of Shepherd’s Bush, Charland Garvin of Charland Designs, and the Dyeing to Stitch’s own Ann Robbins and Pat Ryan of R & R Reproductions.

Stitchers interested in attending this retreat should call Dyeing to Stitch as soon as possible on 757-366-8740 to sign up or for more information.

Technorati Tags: Shepherds Bush, Charland Designs, Charland Garvin, retreat, needlework, Down By the Sea, Dyeing to Stitch, cross stitch, R&R Reproductions, Tina Richards Herman, Teri Richards, Ann Robbins, Pat Ryan

Did you know Tracy Riffle of Hands to Work holds an annual retreat every year? Well, now you do.

Tracy mentioned this year’s retreat, which will occur from Friday, October 5, 2007, through Sunday, October 7, 2007, back in June on her blog. That’s when it was announced this retreat would feature classes from Kathy Barrick-Dieter of Carriage House Samplings, Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs, folk artist Maggie Bonanomi (whom cross stitchers may know best because her drawings have been interpreted in cross stitch by Blackbird Designs) — and Tracy, of course . Can you believe it’s actually possible to take classes from all of these amazing women in one place (and eat most of your meals, too!) for the low price of just $400?

Unfortunately, that amount does not include your hotel costs; if it did, the retreat would already most certainly be full. This exciting and educational event will be held at the Hotel Strasburg in Strasburg, Virginia, (a town known for its great antiquing, by the way) which is about a 45 minute drive from the nearest airport (Dulles International Airport). Be sure to mention that you’re participating in Tracy’s retreat in order to receive a 15% discount on your room costs.

Proving that it pays to know people in any business, a bracelet-making class will also be offered separately for an additional price during the retreat by Liz Mathews, a jewelry designer who also happens to be Kathy’s daughter.

The event will also offer significant stash enhancement opportunities with designer trunk shows open the whole weekend! (Could this be the real reason the retreat cost is so low? To give you the chance to collect everything else these talented designers have created?)

Tracy posted on her blog just yesterday that there are only four openings left for the retreat, so sign up right away if you want to go! She also showed us this gorgeous picture of Kathy Barrick-Dieter’s retreat project, which is called A Virtuous Woman:

Be sure to check out Tracy’s blog to see a picture of Maggie’s project, too, which looks really fun and just perfect for the fall!

To sign up for the retreat, contact Tracy Riffle right away. A deposit of $150 will hold your spot, with the final payment of your balance due in September.

At least one way Tracy is accepting payments is by PayPal, so you can be signed up in just about the blink of an eye and back to your stitching in no time!

Technorati Tags: retreat, needlework, Hands to Work, Kathy Barrick-Dieter, Barb Adams, Alma Allen, Blackbird Designs, Maggie Bonanomi, Carriage House Samplings, Virtuous Woman, Liz Mathews, Tracy Riffle, jewelry, bracelet, trunk show