Apr 9, 2011

Mommy it's oveerrrr!!!!!!!

Our second Getaway has come and gone, and what a weekend it was.  We were pampered, well dined, and enjoyed the company of designers and stitching friends. 18 of us were returning retreaters.
Friday night at the Pajama Party, while snacking on gourmet pizza and melt in your mouth chicken skewers, we were all treated to an exclusive designer "Meet & Greet".


The exclusive Round Robin workshop was held after the Meet & Greet.  This Celtic Bellpull on the left is the collaborated creation of 4 Canadian designers, Jeannette Douglas (top), Laura Dickson (middle), Kathrin Ellison (bottom) and Brenda Franklin (tassel).  What a wonderful project to have as a remembrance of this weekend.


The Project Parade, photos on the right, was on display in the stitchers lounge for all of us to enjoy all weekend.  All the finished pieces were amazing,
what a special treat to see everyone's work.




The bowl of biscornus was adorable.  Except for one, they were all the patterns from my blog.  Everyone's colour choices looked great; you'd be hard pressed to choose just one.  The photo of the sampler behind the biscornus is made up of the same motifs, but with a border.  For all of these patterns visit Kathrin's Blog




Saturday morning we enjoyed a " Taste of Europe" breakfast in the  Breakwater Restaurant.  At 9:00am  the NeedleWorkers MarketPlace opened and my kids welcomed both Gitta's Getaway Retreaters as well as the public.  The Workshop models were on display and everyone that came to the Market could enter into our draw, visit with the exhibitors, and attend workshops.  From each designer you could also collect a free pattern, all together these free designs could be finished into a 15 sided Biscornu.


All day the Retreaters could hang out in the Stitchers' Lounge, shop in the Designer Booths, vote on their favourite name tags, win prizes, enjoy a "Bistro" lunch, and afternoon Tea.  In the evening we held our Banquette Dinner with more Prize Draws.  Afterwards we returned to our Stitchers' Lounge and stitched until midnight.
Sunday started with Breakfast, followed by our Random Act of Kindness exchange.  Everyone had done such a fabulous job at putting their gift packages together.  31 of our retreaters participated and we drew names to determine the order of who could choose a gift package first.  The Stitchers' lounge and the NeedleWorkers MarketPlace were open until 5:00pm.  None of us wanted to go home; but all good things do come to an end.  I posted a photo album on my facebook page.  To view all the photos click on this link.

We all had a great weekend and everything ran smoothly.  There is much preparation and planning involved in the Getaway, that I would not be able to hold such an event without the help of so many.  Barbara was instrumental in preparing all the Confirmation packages you received once you signed up for the weekend, she liaised with the hotel, and organized and wrapped all the MaggieB Welcome bags, prizes, and banquette packages.  Darlene kept the blog up to date, keeping you all informed on the happenings and preparations under way for the Getaway.

Banquette Prizes

 Helen won the Name tag Contest







                                                                                                    



Our suppliers this year once again donated a wonderful selection of prizes.  This year everyone won something.  Our suppliers that donated to the weekend were:


A Needle Pulling Thread
Christine's Swedish Weaving
BeadAddict
Black Tulip Designs
Brenda Franklin
Caron Collection
Crescent Colors
Daylight Lamps
Embroidery Canada
Enchanting Lair
Fleur de Paris
Gentle Art
Gitta's Charted Petit Point
Gloriana Silks
H. A. Kidd and Company Limited
Hoffman Distributing Company Inc.
Jack Pizioli Enterprises (Royal Paris)
JBW Designs
Jeannette Douglas
Kelmscott Designs
Kelsea sales (Loran Distributor)
Kreinik Mfg. ( Metallic Threads)
Lynne Nicoletti Designs
Norden Crafts
Rainbow Gallery
Rosewood Manor
Siemens Canada
Stoney Creek
The Printing Mill
The Thread Gatherer
Threadworx, Inc.
Victoria Sampler
Weeks Dye Works
Wichelt Imports
X's and Oh's
Zweigart

I would like to thank them for their generosity.


After dinner and all the prizes, everyone enjoyed looking through their Banquette Package 



Ietje was our only Stitch Wizard  in the Stitcher's lounge this year to help everyone with any of their stitching inquiries.  She had a great time with all the Retreaters; she is always welcoming and eager to share her love and knowledge of stitching.  Mary was unable to be with us this year, but she did manage to drop by for Lunch on Saturday.  It was wonderful seeing her.  
The rest of  Gitta's staff, including Gitta, were in the shop welcoming all retreaters and stitchers that dropped in over the weekend. 

  A special thank you goes out to all the designers that came to exhibit at the NeedleWorkers  MarketPlace.  They did a fabulous job decorating their suites, and added a new dimension to the weekend.  It was wonderful seeing all their finished designs and let's not forget the shopping.
                Oh, the shopping!!!!!





The Waterside Inn, as always made us all feel welcomed providing excellent service and food.  Their pampered rooms with luxurious bedding, extravagant decor, and scenic views, made us want to stay forever, well OK not forever, but atleast a little longer.  And the cute little washer/dryer in the kitchenettes were so tempting, that one retreater wanted to do laundry just to give them a try. Not me, I left all that at home.

And a final thank you to all our Retreaters and MarketPlace attendees.  Without our loyal stitchers we would not be here.  Many of you had commented on how wonderful the weekend was and that you were looking forward to next year.  All of the designers were just as enthusiastic about returning next year. They loved the concept of the Market and they loved all of you.

Not sure when, but as decisions regarding next year are made, we will post to the blog.  If you are not on our email listing please send us an email to add you, as I will notify everyone by email once we have more information regarding next year.

Thank you to all
Kathrin


Apr 3, 2011

Day Two

It's now the end of the second day and some of the stitchers were in the lounge until midnight again tonight.  After a wonderful banquet dinner with many wonderful prizes, a number of stitchers quickly got back into pajamas to continue the pajama party that started last night.

Here is a picture of the Gitta's Getaway Gang taken just after dinner.
Gitta's Getaway Gang 2011
As you can see the friendships from last year are continuing and new friendships are being made.  Everyone is enjoying spending a weekend with like-minded stitchers.  The MarketPlace meant a lot of shopping, comparing of new stash, trying new techniques and chatting with designers that we love.

Have lots more to say but sleep is calling and there is still another day of sharing good times and creating lasting memories.

Apr 2, 2011

First night of getaway

We are back in our room after a wonderful evening of stitching and getting to know everyone that is here.

The round robin with the four designers went extremely well and everyone seemed to really like the pattern.  "Friends Stitching Together" bell pull was a  beautiful piece and everyone enjoyed spending some time with each of the designers.

Another part of the evening was getting to check out what the designers had brought to show off at the Marketplace.  Can't wait for the shops to open in the morning so that I can spend some money.


The night ended with warm from the oven cookies and many prizes.   

The laughs started shortly after 6 and will be continuing for the rest of the weekend.  Will try and post more news through the weekend along with some pictures as time permits.

Apr 1, 2011

More Goodies

Well it's fun this morning in the shop and more goodies for the getaway arrived just as everyone is packing up stuff for the Getaway and Marketplace.

The package from Lynne Nicoletti arrived this morning and there were some goodies for the getaway in the package.

The vehicles are just about packed and ready to go so that Kathrin can get the shop set up and everything will be ready for when the everyone attending starts to arrive.

See everyone later today.