You do know that I was teasing about filling up the whole car with my purchases, right?
I just filled up the trunk.
I'm kidding!
I did shop but I didn't buy enough to fill a car or a trunk... not even close. It was a very big trunk.
Again! I'm kidding! I did fill and send a medium-sized box from a FedEx place in Madison on Tuesday morning and then I shipped another medium-sized box from Spring Green on Saturday afternoon. Oh... and there was the box that Lisa shipped from Menasha. That was medium-sized too. By shipping everything I bought my bag only weighed 48.5 lbs. at the airport!
But that's getting ahead of things...
I arrived back at Country Sampler on Tuesday afternoon. After stopping by the shop to see what time we needed to return, I headed over to the Hill Street Bed & Breakfast to check in.
The turret in the upper left corner ~ that was my room. Kelly ~ the proprietess ~ is a sweetheart and a wonderful hostess. She made a delectable breakfast for us every morning and she tempted us with coffee, tea and sweets when we returned every evening. It was ~ IS! ~ a lovely place to stay.
When we gathered at the shop on Tuesday evening, Jeanne had snacks, drinks and sweets for everyone while she welcomed us to Boxwood & Berries and outlined the coming days' events.
Do you see the gray-green building behind the store in the far left of the picture? That's the new schoolroom. This event was the maiden voyage for the schoolroom and we christened it well!
A quick FYI ~ if you're going to be in Spring Green, call ahead and see if the 2nd Story is available for a retreat or a sleepover. It's a lovely "apartment" above the shop ~ those four windows above the shop are the windows in the living room area of the 2nd Story. There are three bedrooms and lots of space for sewing and stitching.
This is the schoolroom ~ this picture was taken Wednesday night... I sort of forgot to take it any earlier. Oops.
The first class started Wednesday morning at 9:00 am ~ though the schoolroom opened at 8:00 am for a lovely Continental breakfast.
Waiting at each seat was a primitive toolbox tied with greenery and a red ribbon, and filled with a linen apron and a couple of brown-paper packages tied with string. :::hanging head::: I was so excited about opening my goodies that I didn't think to take a picture of it until after... please forgive me, I'll try not to do it again.
This is what the box looked like though...
Our first project was a Book of Days from Maggie Bonanomi. (Hi Maggie! Cranberry jelly from a can is right and good! The rings from the can are what make it so special! You didn't do anything wrong, you raised those girls exactly right!)
The whole book is made by hand. The front and back covers are wool applique and the pages are hand-bound using gauze, cardstock and all sorts of wonderful embellishments.
This is my finished book.
Okay, this is Maggie's finished book. I've finished the wool applique on both covers but with the ceiling and all the renovations, can I get an extension on finishing my project? It is going to be seriously wonderful when it's done though.
All of these ladies finished their books by lunch.
(Not really but I told them that I would tell you they did.)
These are the lovely ladies who put up with me for four days ~ they're trying to figure out how to change tables without hurting my feelings. That's Linda on the left with her hair in a knot, and that's Kathy facing the camera. Edie is in the center of the picture in the beige sweater with her back to the camera and Becky is sitting next to her. If you've ever heard horror stories about folks not being friendly to strangers in a class, then these four ladies weren't there. They're all sweethearts ~ as is the lovely lady whose head you can see right behind Becky, she's in the stripe sweater. That's Julie! She's from Indiana and she's got Labs! But I would have liked her anyway.
Jeanne had a local tea shop come in for a tea-tasting on Wednesday afternoon and then we had a very fun-filled pizza dinner at a local restaurant. The truth is, we were incredibly well-fed for the entire retreat. Continental breakfast every morning, tasty sandwiches, soups and salads for lunch and then dinner on top of all that!
Thursday morning brought Stacy Nash of Stacy Nash Primitives ~ she's an incredibly talented cross-stitcher and cross-stitch designer. This is what awaited us...
More brown-paper packages tied up with string...
Yes, I cross-stitch! Okay, it's been awhile but I have done it and I know how! Of course, my eyes were better then.
Since it had been awhile, I decided to start small and start with an ornament... which I've finished, thank you very much!
It loved seeing the dedicated cross-stitchers go to work. They quickly got out their Olfa lights and magnifying glasses and went to work. One incredibly skilled cross-stitcher finished her sampler by that evening and several others were finished by Saturday afternoon. Their work is amazing ~ and incredibly inspiring. I've got the itch again.
This is what the finished sewing box will look like with the sampler attached ~ and this is Stacy's...
I would show you a picture of Stacy but she managed to disappear every time I took out the camera. I have been a fan of her work for several years and I think I was looking forward to her class the most. Even though I haven't cross-stitched in a few years, I have several of Stacy's pinkeep patterns. I love how she ages her stitchery and she has some of the most wonderful little "finishing" embellishments for her sewing rolls and pinkeeps, and I was dying to know how she stuffed her pincushions with sawdust.
If this has piqued your curiosity too, Stacy is planning to do some tutorials in the coming months on her website and/or blog showing how she ages things with walnut dye and how she stuffs her pinkeeps.
After a terrific Chicken Artichoke Casserole dinner on Thursday night, we made boxwood wreaths with fresh boxwood that Stacy brought with her from Illinois. (Yes, it's the same recipe I posted some months back. The recipe originally comes from Lynette Jensen of Thimbleberries and I was introduced to it by Jeanne a few years ago. It is one of my favorites.)
I loved this project! No matter how much boxwood you chose to use, the wreaths turned out beautifully.
On Friday morning, it was Maggie's turn to babysit us again. She brought sticks to make sure everyone behaved!
Instead we used them to make feather trees...
I loved this project too.
And since I know you'll ask ~ the Acorn Penny Rug is one of Maggie's designs, I think it is exclusive to the Maggie Club for Country Sampler. The wonderful little snowmen pillows are in one of Maggie's new patterns ~ Jeanne has them at the shop.
My favorite part of making the trees was this...
The top of the tree needs a tapered end so Maggie was whittling everyone's stick. She was laughing so much I was worried she was going to whittle something other than the tree but she's clearly had practice.
Friday night ~ a fabulous dinner at a local fish restaurant and then back to the shop for a Maggie trunk show. I would show pictures but all I got were pictures of other people taking pictures. If you want to see all the wonderful things we saw, they're in Maggie's glorious new book, Nature's Offerings. Jeanne has them in the shop...
Saturday... Barb and Alma of Blackbird Designs. Or Alma and Barb. They arrived on Friday night after driving all day from Kansas City.
Alma... sitting next to my empty seat. And that's my kit on the table. Kathy is paying very rapt attention.
And Barb.
Their project is a beautiful applique table runner made with Jeanne's fabric collection, Worn & Loved II. Alma made this with her scraps...
This lovely pincushion really wanted to go home with me... it kept jumping into my bag all by itself. Fortunately, Kathy/Becky/Linda/Edie kept seeing it there and returning it to Alma. Grrrrr...
I wish I could show you all the wonderful things Alma and Barb brought with them but (1) I couldn't do it justice with the pictures and (2) this post would be ten times longer than it already is. Let it suffice to say that they have lots of wonderful things "in the works" and they have more amazing ideas for things you can do with finished samplers and quilts than you would think possible. They are amazing. And inspiring. And really, really nice.
And funny!
Seriously, they kept everybody laughing all day.
And there you have it ~ my trip to Wisconsin.
On the drive back to Madison on Saturday night, I had company. Diane ~ from North Carolina ~ was one of my fellow Hill Street B&Bers and she also had an early morning flight so she rode back with me so that she wouldn't have to worry about making her flight either. We talked about how much fun we'd had and when she asked me what I had enjoyed most, I told her that I loved getting to spend several days with so many other like-minded women. No matter what our backgrounds or where we came from, everybody there loved to create... to "make stuff". With fabric, thread, wool, whatever... every one of us shared the same love of handwork. That was my favorite part.
And all the wonderful ladies I met. And the friends I made. I loved those parts too.
If you're interested in going to the next Boxwood & Berries, here's what you need to know:
Dates: October 5th through 9th, 2010
Teachers: Maggie Bonanomi, Stacy Nash and Blackbird Designs
Jeanne is already taking sign-ups for next year and it sounds like they are already half-full. For more information ~ Country Sampler Coming Events
If you go... I want to hear all about it! And take lots of pictures!
Oh, Carrie. I love your blog so much, and of course all your fabulous patterns! Love.Them.!
Posted by: Live a Colorful Life | December 05, 2009 at 01:58 AM
Carrie this is the most incredible post...WOW! what an awesome event. Thank you so much for taking us along.
Posted by: Carol | December 05, 2009 at 04:13 AM
Can Wisconsin get any further away from Oregon?! It looks like a terrific time with some wonderful designers and lovely ladies.
Be sure to post photos of your finished projects. I'd love to see them.
Posted by: Lori | December 05, 2009 at 07:34 AM
Wow what a fabulous time you had. Great fun with like minded women :-)
Posted by: Jocelyn | December 05, 2009 at 08:29 AM
Carrie... your package arrived today!!! You are amazing... I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present!!! What great gifts!!! The absolutely best prize I've ever won!!! I see in your blog that you also have a treasured Bernina 830!!! I love that machine... I have others but it's my favorite and most loved. Did you know it's worth more now than when it was new!!!
Anyway... thanks again for the wonderful gift/prize... Merry Christmas!!!
Posted by: jeanette in Placerville, CA | December 05, 2009 at 11:42 AM
You all looked like you had a fabulous time. Jeanne really knows how to put on an event! Thanks so much for sharing your special long weekend with us... I loved reading and looking at your snaps.
Posted by: Laurie in Iowa | December 05, 2009 at 03:12 PM
All I can say is...........WOW!! and my mouth is still hanging open with drool!! I'm sure it was hard to capture so much, but you sure did a great job.... and to think you had it all bottled up during the blog hop!!! Well bless your stitches!!
I would have devoured every minute, and am so happy you were able to go and bring it back to us. Sounds like a great great trip!!
No.... I didnt really think the car was full - I was all ready ahead of ya - thinking you would be smart to ship back - haha!! *wink, wink*
I'm going back now to devour all the photos!!! Thanks
Posted by: lovetostitch | December 05, 2009 at 05:59 PM
Carrie, what a great chronicle of a fabulous weekend. One of my favorite parts was getting to meet you in person and wasn't our table/vicinity just the absolute best! Hugs, hugs, hugs, Edie
Posted by: Edie Gottschall | December 06, 2009 at 06:17 AM
Carrie, I can't thank you enough for the wonderful prize package that arrived today. Thank you so much!!!! What a wonderful surprise to come home to. Christmas came early this year. Everything is so terrific I'm lost for words. You are so generous! It's the best prize ever! May you and Rosie have a beautiful holiday season and happiness always! Thank you again,
Karen M and my quilting dog Lucy the labradoodle.
Posted by: Karen M | December 07, 2009 at 05:09 PM
What a fun post, Carrie! I think I'll print it out and retrace your steps sometime this summer (not now when we're expecting a blizzard... today and tomorrow are good days to stay home and quilt or cross stitch!) -- anyway, it sounds like so much fun! I've been to each of those stores once (except the one in Menasha, which - GASP - I didn't know was there!) on a shop hop a number of years ago. I learned how to do punchneedle in that little second story apartment over Country Sampler and have the table runner that I made from the JJ Stitches kit on my piano. :-) Good memories!! Thanks so much for sharing and I'm so glad you enjoyed Wisconsin!! I'd love to meet you if you ever come again!!
Posted by: Tricia T | December 08, 2009 at 08:02 AM
I really cannot find the chicken artichoke recipe in your blogs. Please help!
Posted by: Jane Anderson | January 05, 2010 at 09:17 AM