Mystic 2004 II

Mystic, CT 2004 Fun Report, Continued!

That evening we returned to the classroom and I presented them with a surprise I had created just for them – a remembrance of our time together that I called “Whale of a Good Time.” Old Willow Stitchery donated beautiful skeins for this project.

We had more door prizes, stash enhancement, snacks (!), and time chatting and stitching together. Some of us very reluctantly headed for bed that night! Jeannette left with a box of Good ‘n Plenty in her hand for a nighttime snack! Some thoughtful stitchers stayed behind to help Lisa pack up her “shop” so she could get on the road at a decent hour.

Juana with Door Prize from Full Circle Designs

The next morning I gathered my things and then headed for the elevator. I guess I don’t need to tell you who got on with me again!!! This time I pretended I was part of the elevator wall!! I kept thinking, are these people ever going to check out of this hotel?!? Of course I told everyone what happened once again, and noticed that everyone seemed to enjoy my embarrassment!!

We began our morning session with more freebies and more door prizes, and then Jeannette guided us through our next sampler section. I had been in and out of the classroom the previous day taking care of various things and had been very distracted. Here on the second day I removed my fabric from my Q-snaps to move it farther down to work on the next row and it suddenly seemed too short to me to complete the project. Jeannette must have seen my puzzled look because she came over for a look and then gently told me that I had started my sampler too far down on the linen!! Well, I guess I wasn’t surprised with all the distraction I had at the beginning of our class sessions. I got the giggles, and Linda next to me did, too. Then with sudden revelation I blamed it on Dawn! Sure, she was sitting several rows in front of me, but every time she’s around I get into trouble!! And she blames it on pina coladas!! Heh-heh-heh! And so I began the tedious work of frogging out every stitch I had made on my sampler!!

Lunch arrived from Mystic Catering and we enjoyed cookies that some of the stitchers brought to share with us. Mmmm. We returned to more freebies and door prizes in class, and a wonderful afternoon of stitching on our beautiful samplers. Midway through the afternoon I informed everyone that I had completed my sampler!! I held up my now completely de-frogged linen proudly and Jeannette took a photo of my “finished” work while everyone else had a good laugh. Amazingly enough, I somehow managed to complete the tree at the top of my sampler that afternoon and was so glad I had something to show for my time in class!!

During our class time Jeannette told us about some of her adventures on the road – some very hilarious stories!! We learned how she began designing and a bit about how she creates her designs and chooses linen and threads. I wish everyone reading this could have seen her trunk show! Jeannette’s color choices and designs are fantastic!

That evening we had a big pizza party. Michael and Dale arrived with 10 large assorted pizzas from the famous Mystic Pizza (of Julia Robert fame), chips and sodas. It was delicious! Then we had extremely yummy assorted cakes. Most of us were unable to choose just one type of cake, so of course we had samples of several! I went for a coconut one and a deadly chocolate delight.

That evening we gathered in the classroom for Show ‘n Tell – and more freebies! Weeks Dye Works provided us with beautiful skeins to complete a design, and I provided linen for it from one of my grandmother’s antique linen tablecloths in just the perfect color.

Show ‘n Tell was wonderful!! There were many different design styles to see, a variety of stitching and finishing techniques. Some brought in beautiful quilting and knitting to share with us. We had a great time sharing about our masterpieces. We learned that several in our group stitch samplers to go into the new homes built by Habitat for Humanity, and they shared how appreciative the recipients are of their handiwork. What a great thing to do!

This masterpiece was stitched by Grace from NJ

After Show ‘n Tell we stitched and chatted for quite awhile, reluctant to say goodbye. So many of the stitchers told me what a great time they had, how it was just what they needed, that it was heaven for stitchers, that they couldn’t get over all the freebies, and they couldn’t wait for the next retreat. I find myself already counting the days until the Minnetonka retreat in April 2005! I wish I didn’t have to wait so long to do it all again!!

The next morning (figures it would happen after the retreat), I finally saw “Jeannette” and “Dale” checking out of the hotel!! Ha! Much relieved at their departure, I had breakfast with some of the retreat attendees and we chatted about our plans for the day. Some were leaving early to catch flights home. Dawn (FL) and Diane (MN) and I spent the day shopping and eating in Mystic Village. We ran into some of the other stitchers in the village, too. The real Jeannette and Dale went to Downtown Mystic and then we ran into them in Mystic Village. Dawn, Jeannette, and Dale spent a couple days at our home where Chef Michael continued to spoil us with delicious breakfasts before we took off for more sight-seeing fun. It was so sad to see everyone leave on Tuesday morning!!

And now, here’s what some of the stitchers had to say!

“Thanks Sue. I still can't believe the amount of stuff I came home with. It was insane. Barely got it in my suitcase and carry on. I laid it all out in my living room and just sat in the middle of it and giggled. As soon as I'm done with my sampler I'm stitching your Whale.” ~ Lisa, CA

“Sue, I just wanted to thank you for such a fantastic time at Mystic. This was my first time at Stitcher's Hideaway and it was awesome. Jeannette was great and seeing what everyone else had stitched during the year was inspiring. I could go on and on about how impressed I was with the event. Everyone was so friendly. I look forward to attending your other Hideaways. What a great job you have done!!!!” ~ Juana

“Fabulous!!! Sue, thank you for this wonderful idea of yours. The weekends are SO much fun and the women are the best. The door prizes are amazing and all the freebies are so much fun. I have already bought fabric and silk to stitch the Hope tree ornament and the fabric from my Monsterbubbles pillow door prize. I can't wait till July for Sturbridge and I just want to keep sending you hugs for all you do. I have attended 2 hideaway weekends and I can't wait for the next one I can attend. The stitching is only part of the fun, it's the camaraderie of other stitchers, the door prizes and goodie bags, and all the just plain fun (and of course, the food!).” ~ Peggy

“I've been told that if you learn one new bit of information at a retreat, then your time was well spent. If that is true, then what a bargain I got at your 2004 Mystic retreat! Everything was well planned. Jeannette is a fabulous designer and teacher. The host hotel was easy to get to for someone flying in and the staff was friendly. The vendors were excellent and had a great variety of items and nicely presented. I'm so glad I came and will definitely attend future retreats.” ~Kathy, Lino Lakes, MN

“Jeannette was wonderful! She has a great attitude and I (the beginner that I am) was able to keep up pretty good. The sampler is beautiful. I was able to get at least a few stitches done for every line we worked on. (It's not perfect, but that's the whole idea -- to learn and practice the stitches, right?) I'm hoping to complete this one and use it as a seasonal autumn piece in my home. I really enjoyed spending time with all the stitchers and seeing the different methods, preferences, and styles used across the country. Of course, I enjoyed shopping for more stitching stuff. And even the food was delicious. Thank you for making it all happen.” ~ Marie, Stitchin’ Witch

“Well, Good and Plenty, Good and Plenty. Just a few lines to say that I had a great time at Stitcher’s Hideaway. I think it's the best since I started going. Maybe because I can really understand the stitches or just being with other stitchers who are as crazy about stitching as I am.
Jeanette is a wonderful teacher and designer. Her designs are wonderful. She was always smiling. I'd definity take another class with Jeanette. I can't wait to finish this Sampler, hopefully before the next retreat! Thanks Sue, for everything you do. Kuddos to you. Thanks for the great surprise gift. I can't wait to find a pattern to stitch for it. Thank you again. I can't wait until Sturbridge. Happy Stitching.” ~ Liz Loper of the Stitchin' Witches.

“Hi Sue, We had a wonderful time at Mystic and can't wait till the next retreat in Sturbridge. It was great seeing some of the same stitchers from previous retreats and we met a lot of new ones and hope to see them at upcoming retreats. The food was great as always. Thank your husband for lunch again! Jeannette was a wonderful teacher and I hope she comes back for another retreat!! Well Happy Holidays!!! I can't wait till January when I have more time to stitch!!!” ~ Donna

"Once again, I had a wonderful time at the Mystic Retreat!!! Jeannette's project was wonderful and her instructions were very clear and easy to follow. She made the class fun with her easy going manner and wonderful sense of humor.
This is the fourth retreat I've attended with Stitcher's Hideaway and it’s still as much fun as the first. It just amazes me what Sue gets for donations for our goodie bags and the door prizes are great! And the food!!....what more does one want but a weekend of eating and stitching! And of course, I already signed up for the Sturbridge Retreat in July 2005!
Thanks Sue for all of your hard work and time in putting these retreats together! You do an awesome job and we all appreciate it!!" ~ Linda, ME

“I really enjoy your updates about Stitcher's Hideaway, and as a first-timer in Mystic, I have to say I'm spoiled for LIFE!! I had the BEST time in Mystic, and I've been telling all my friends how you spoiled us all weekend! Jeannette Douglas was wonderful, and our sampler is so beautiful, isn't it? Stitcher's Hideaway was probably the single best stitching event I've ever been too, and for so many reasons. The projects, the stash enhancement, getting together with and making new friends, the food....WOW. Thanks again for all your hard work and the thoughtfulness you put into our Mystic Retreat; I'm so looking forward to Sturbridge!” ~ Karin

“I really enjoyed your Stitcher's Hideaway. I normally shy away from such type of get togethers as I usually have nothing in common with the women who attend. This was such a great mix of people from 22 year old Nicole (my newly adopted daughter) to 70 some year old Grace - the minister in her new condo. I can't wait for the next one or two next year! Thanks for everything.” ~ Joanne

“I had a great time and it was so good to get away from everything. I really relaxed and stitched every night while I was there. Then I came home and back to the madness. I really appreciated you inviting me to tag along on Monday and going to Sudburry. And I went over to Needle Pulling Thread and saw the rest of Jeannette's Trunk Show. They were really neat to see in person. Lisa is very nice and I hope her shop grows. Connecticut is beautiful and I was glad there was still some fall color left. It was nice to be able to drive through some of the towns and also the countryside. I drove up to Sturbridge Village and wish I could come to the Sturbridge retreat and see the historical samplers. Maybe in 2006.
I had a great time at the hideaway and really enjoyed meeting all the stitchers from New England and those of us from the other states. What a surprise that three of us came from Minnesota. And Jeannette was so much fun, as I expected after meeting her in Minnesota. She is such a delight and so nice to have as an instructor. I still have a long way to go on my sampler, but I am making time to work on it so I can have it done by the Minnetonka Hideaway. And maybe for show and tell in Florida.
The food was great and now I have had the famous Mystic Pizza. The hotel was very comfortable and easy to get to and I enjoyed my morning complimentary waffle. ~ Diane, MN

Dale, Jeannette, Sue & Michael