Shepherd's Retreat, Day 3

Saturday was the final day of classes, as well as the banquet. Our first class was with R&R Reproductions. I have to admit that they were not my favorite; we took them a couple of retreats ago and didn't care for the project. But, as Nancy reminded me, they had told us that they had had trouble that prevented them from getting together a better project. This time, I really liked their project. It's called "Quaker Lover Letters," and it's an envelope, basically, with a Quaker-style sampler on it. It was coincidental that it had many Ackworth Sampler motifs. I mean, coincidental in that they chose that style this year. Not coincidental, of course, that Quaker groups used the same motifs. The project is all done in cross stitch, in one color of thread, so even though the design is complex, the stitching will be easy. There is an accessories kits that we could buy--so I did. I bought it because it has a really cool nametag that says, "Mistress of the Needle," and I too want to proclaim my status as such. This is a project that I might get started on right after the Christmas projects.

For lunch we only had an hour, part of which was spent getting checked into our second room. Nancy and I shared a room the first two nights, but for the third night, we had people coming to eat at the banquet with us, so we got a second room. We had decided we would eat our veggie tray, and some fruits for lunch, but my cooler would not keep them cool enough, so I tossed them instead, and we ate unhealthy snacks.

Class three, the final class, was taught by Jacqueline Holdsworth of Needleprint. I believe she is not a designer, but she is an expert on and charts the Ackworth Samplers, and she brought one of her reproduction charts, Hannah Westcombe's Ackworth Sampler. It, too, is stitched in just one color, and I'm doing it in Belle Soie's Enchanted Forest. However it's over-one, and really large, and the fabric is Oaten Scone 34 ct, so it will be more demanding. Here's a link to a picture of the original, recently sold at auction--it's lot 200:

http://www.tennants.co.uk/Press_news/Press_news_10_03_08.asp

Jacqueline also gave us another slide show of the Ackworth Samplers. The quality of these really is very good.

After class, we had three hours to get ready for the banquet. I was so glad we hadn't had to check out. In previous year, we did come home after the banquet, which meant that we had to check before our first class (at 9 am), and then sit around after classes, unable to relax or get ready. I would generally stitch on of my new projects in one of the many nooks of the hotel. The chairs were always cozy and the lighting always bad. But this time, I moved all my stuff into my new room, met up with DH, and assembled my new charm bracelet:

OK, from left (below): Charland's charm from Shared Stitches (it says "Friends"); a small stitched (yes, it's stitched, and very tiny) charm and an English penny from the night of the lecture; a Quaker wreath motif designed by Jacqueline Holdsworth, and a typewriter key (because it's a "text" sampler) from the Hannah Westcombe class; a small bead that came with the bracelet.


And again from the left: The bead; a heart charm with a bird on it designed by Merry Cox and an antique button, from Merry Cox's class; a glass flower and a crown designed by R&R, from their class; a heart charm designed by Charland from her class (one of the ones I couldn't attend).


So, after that, the banquet. Here is our table:


And here you can see Nancy socializing, with Dan's and Erin's backs to the camera:

It was a nice banquet, and the entertainment was hysterical. Each table got up and did an entertainment of their choice: there were skits and songs. I read a poem by Emily Bronte about love and friendship and then another lady at the table read a Shel Silverstein poem about getting out of doing dishes, while the rest of us pantomimed. And at the end of the banquet, we each got a little gift:

It's a little sampler pendant. All in all, I really enjoyed myself; my only complaint is that it was too short. Teri and Tina of Shepherd's Bush always do a fantastic job!

Since returning home, I have been kitting the Christmas angels and ornaments. I had to order some threads, beads and buttons for those, so look for that update soon.