Spook 2 09

Stitcher’s Hideaway
Mystic 2009

Spooky Retreat
Fun Report, Continued...

On Saturday night we had a Spooky Exchange!! All those who wanted to participate stitched up something spooky and gift wrapped it for the exchange. I know that none of these pictures will really do these ornaments justice....but here’s my humble attempt!

Here are the gift wrapped packages for the exchange. It was very hard for anyone to select one with such unique packaging! Below are some close ups of the contents.

It was a lot of fun watching each person open up their gift and finding out who made what! There was a lot of creativity!!

Donna

Laurel

Denise

Regina

After our Spooky Ornie Exchange we had Show ‘n Tell. WOW, WOW, WOW!!! We are wicked talented!! I’ve created a separate page for you to view some of our works of art: Spooky Retreat SHOW AND TELL.

This retreat was a blast from start to finish! But now I think I’ll let the attendees tell you all about it in their own words! Besides, if you look below, you’ll see that I croaked. {giggle}

Enjoy!

Sue

Peggy, Ann, Yvonne

I really enjoyed the Spooky Retreat with Brightneedle. Being a big fan of Halloween we were so excited to get to go. Thank you so much for putting together a great retreat filled with fun and fun people. The exchange was great there are some pretty talented stitchers out there and the show and tell was fun too. I love, love, love the project and really hope to get it finished one day. All the little goodies and giveaways were just awesome touches! The "Nautical Nightmares" was an A+ attraction and I'm really glad you arranged for us to go, they did a superb job. The hotel and staff were wonderful and took very good care of us. How sweet was it that they made us cookies! And what would a retreat be without good food and we certainly had plenty of that. Looking forward to seeing some of the ladies again at another retreat in the future. Many Thanks! ~ Yvonne

As usual, this was another fun Stitcher's Hideaway retreat. Teacher, food and stitchers were awesome! Friday night's outing was lots of fun and was something different to do. How generous of Ann to donate a $150 gift certificate to a future retreat to a lucky stitcher and I just happened to be the lucky one! I've already put the gift certificate towards the next Alumni Retreat in February. Thanks again Ann!! Thanks to Chris and Pam for feeding our addiction! Thank you Sue for all you do to make your retreats sooooo much fun! See you in February. ~ Linda

Linda with doorprize from monsterbubbles.

I had a great time. Yes, I was one of those that went over on the weight limit for my luggage. They wanted $90 for the 3# I was over, so I put things in my coat pockets and in a plastic bag that I carried on along with my regular carry-on. I was still over 1#, but they let it pass.

I couldn’t get over the great lighting in the rooms and in the conference room where we met. And the food from Mystic Catering was soooo good. Really enjoyed meeting all the passionate and creative stitchers. You put on a wonderful retreat!! Ann’s project was perfect. Thanks again for everything.

~ Sheri

Thanks to you! Great job as always organizing and getting everything ready. I have missed you wacky, wild and crazy stitchers, thanks again for letting me come. I had a marvelous time as always! See ya soon. ~ Laurel

Thank you Sue, for asking me to teach in Mystic. And thank you most of all for all your tireless efforts to put on such great retreats. I hope you know how much you are appreciated. I just loved the retreat. I can't tell you how much fun it was for me. You attract the nicest stitchers. Thank you for your gift. I still have it out even though Halloween is long past. Can't help it as it's so cute. Thank you again for the best retreat ever!!!! Take care.

~Ann Pettit, Brightneedle

Just a quick note to thank you for a wonderful retreat. The class was perfect and the special treats and surprises were delightful. The meals were delish (and never-ending!) Thank you again and I hope "The Jersey Girls" will see you again next year! ~ Denise

I can not tell you how much fun we had. Everyone who could not make it to Spooky is now PEA Green. They are so bummed they missed such a grand time. You did an outstanding job planning. I know all the details that go into such an event. All your hard work paid off. The weekend was fabulous. Thank you so much for SPOOKY!!
We all had such a fabulous time. Still buzzing about it. AND you most definitely will see us again. We are already humming about next October. But it may even be sooner, who knows. Have a fabulous November and thanks for being there for us. ~ J. Lee

Thanks so much for everything Sue! I just wanted to let you know I appreciated everything you did and enjoyed myself a lot! And next year I hope my friend Mare will come too. ~ Terri

Firstly a huge thank-you for organizing the retreat so well. I was struck by how much effort you must have put in and how professionally it all ran - I'm so glad there was a space so I could come. Thanks again for your kind offer of dining with you, Ann and Deb on my first night in Mystic but I still think you should have let me pay my way!! It was very kind of you and the company was fantastic.
      Thanks again for my furthest traveler prize as well as the door prizes from the various supporting companies. Chris also was wonderful in providing such a comprehensive shopping experience.
     Thank Richard Branson for a very generous baggage allowance but ditching 20 magazines that I brought with me balanced out the extra stash.
      One small quibble - my Weightwatchers scales positively groaned when I stood on them last night! I don't need any help in being a pig and the food was just too good - I'm still dreaming of the ginger/molasses cookies and will have to embark on a really stringent fast before coming to the US again.
          Another vote of thanks to the ladies on the retreat. I left Mystic with a handful of e-mail addresses, gifts and lots of invites/instructions to 'come stay' and really felt 'adopted' by the group. In total the experience was a real joy and I definitely plan on coming to another one - I just don't know which year and whether to do a summer one or stick with Autumn.
        Thanks again or perhaps I should say Diolch yn Fawr and good luck in organizing the next one - I'll keep looking at the reports with envy until I can return.
    All the best, Lynne (Wales)

What great fun we had at your Spooky Retreat. It was fun seeing old friends and meeting a lot of new ones! Can't wait to work on this project. ~ Chris (Chris’s Collection)

I just want to thank you so much for such a wonderful class and retreat - after the first afternoon of everyone counting so hard and getting the "frame" in for the actual cross-stitching, everyone opened up and the fun conversations took off!   I would certainly love to come back again - will see what the next few months bring. It'd be a lot of fun to do the retreat with Belinda from Blue Ribbon Designs!
        I enjoyed our whole week there - we loved the drive you told us about, we did Sturbridge Village on Tuesday - that was a wonderful autumn day with the leaves falling and the sun shining!    I enjoyed Mystic Aquarium, we went to see the lighthouse in Stonington, and I enjoyed Mystic Seaport too..............all of these things were worth seeing!   We hit a few of the antique stores over in the Old Saybrook area too the day we did the scenic drive you told us about..........
     I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Connecticut and would love to see more! ~ Tedra

Just getting around to saying thank you for a wonderful time. My first retreat was everything I had hoped. I had a great time and met some really nice stitchers. Hope you come again soon. ~ Connie

Thank you for a great weekend in Mystic. Everything was top-notch as usual - project, food, doorprizes, Mystic Seaport Halloween event, stash shopping. Looking forward to the alumni retreat in February.
I've attached a picture of the ornament I finished from the retreat. I actually got the stitching done on Sunday and did the finishing this past weekend. It's cute. Thanks for designing. Happy stitching. ~ Cynthia

Judy, Barbara, Yvonne, Patty and I had a blast in Mystic! Not only was the project fantastic but our instructor, Ann, was just wonderful. For me personally I just had the time of my life. I made more new friends and saw some old friends I haven't seen in awhile. The California gals adopted Lynne from Wales. I have made a new friend overseas and look forward to having these friendships for the rest of my life. It's funny how stitchers get together and you leave with about 20-30 new friends! Thank you to all my friends for making a trip much more rewarding. I also wanted to say what a treat it was to meet 2 other Denises!
     As for the teacher, Ann, WOW! What patience. I love the design and have stitched a few inches each week. When the holidays die down I look forward to really getting into the project. Thank you Ann!
      Also thank you for the wonderful goodies you gave us. And thank you for bringing things for us to buy. Yes, more for the stash! Woo hoo! Chris's Shop was once again outstanding! You know I never knew how many Halloween designs where out there til I saw the shop. I did my part to keep Chris's shop open! These 2 ladies work hard to make sure we get almost anything we want in needlework supplies and charts. Thank you ladies! I look forward to visiting you again in future retreats.
      Sue, thank you again for such a wonderful retreat!! I loved every bit of it. The doorprizes were great! I love esp the scissor fob from monsterbubbles. The time you put into the retreat and show how much you care for each stitcher is very overwhelming; you make sure each of us are taken care of and nothing to worry about. I wanted to thank you for all that you do behind and in front of the scenes. I am so glad I can call you my friend.
         Now I have to say that I really enjoyed the mystery trip-it was a who dunnit in old Mystic Seaport. It was AWESOME!! We couldn't have asked for a better night and weather for that -- cold, eerie, corny comments -- the whole thing. It was also a treat to meet your husband Michael. What a great guy! You two make a cute couple.
       The 5 of us did get to wander around the CT seaboard for 2 days. We wandered up to The Thistle needle shop and Sudbury Co. Outlet. Let's just say we took a lot home with us. We had a fantastic lunch at a restaurant called the Hideaway in Olde Lyme, CT. The peach pumpkin soup was a hit with us. We actually got the recipe. We also had the Famous Mystic Pizza-that was yummy. We spent a day wandering around the Mystic Seaport and the old town shopping area. You just never know who you will bump into while enjoying a piece of fudge listening to the church bell and enjoying the sunshine. Sue comes by! What a nice surprise!
         After the retreat, Judy and I went up to Sturbridge, MA for 2 nights stay. The drive was great-- your Fall is fantastic-I never knew there was so many colors in oranges, yellows, reds, browns. We loved every color, tree, and scenery we saw. I took over 900 pics alone!! Judy took some fantastic pics while I drove. We did manage to hit Old Sturbridge Village. All we could do was say, "WOW! Oh my, look at that!" The colors we saw there in the noonish hour were unbelievable.
       The day we headed for the airport we went to the Russian Icon Museum. The paintings and the eggs just were breathtaking. All too soon our trip was coming to an end, but what a trip! I smile often of the memories I have and the fun we had at the retreat.
      Again Sue it was a treat to come visit you twice in one year. Thank you for treating each of us like royalty!
                                                                                                                           ~ Sincerely, Denise M, California

Three Denises at one retreat!! Kinda...um...spooky!

But wait!! There’s more!!!!

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