It’s been awhile!

Thought it was time to sit down and write in the blog, and see how everyone else is fairing as well as what has been happening hear in North Bay!

As we all knew at the Fall retreat that Amanda might be going back to school for the new year, and she as at that – she is now working on getting her nursing degree, and is doing a very heavy 6 month pre-med course.  With her schedule she will be sadly missed at the Spring Retreat but promises to be there for the fall…….

As most of you know the website has been updated and changed slightly and more changes yet to come, just need to work out the kinks and bugs, and there have been a few…. Sometimes I find computers are not helpful in doing what you ask of them, lol!

Starting stitching again am currently working on 2 projects and nothing that I designed, isn’t that a little strange. Though I have to say, that since I have not been stitching for awhile  is nice just to enjoy the stitching without thinking about whether this colour works here or that!!!!

First piece I am going to finish for Janet as I promised it to her when we were at the Fall Retreat and it’s looking real good – not going to show any pictures of the stitched piece as I want Janet to have the first peek when I give it to her in April, but her is the picture from the designer –Mirabilia’s - "August Peridot Fairy"

My second piece is one of the Ink Circles -Cirque des Coeurs (Hearts) if I remember correctly Sally is doing the Circles, same as Amanda, though I thought I purchased the Diamonds but instead got the Hearts, which I am doing on my new Silvery Moon Linen with Epiphany from Carrie’s Creations – this is not my usual style to stitch but only spent 2 hours on it so far am liking it, cannot wait to see it finished – would like to say it will be done by the time we come to retreat but not to sure if that is going to happen!, but I am going to try!

And, if I am not feeling into either of these 2 pieces I continue to play in the fabric dye room coming up with new colours, though at the moment I seem a little dry since no new designs have sparked me to be creative, but there is still plenty of time before retreat for me to be creative. 

Anyway, I am off to do my Bookkeeping and then to sit back and maybe watch a movie and stitch. I hope everyone is also taking time to enjoy an evening of stitching since at the moment it is still winter out there and sitting in front of a nice cozy fireplace and stitching is a nice way to spend an evening!

Take care everyone!                                    Laura

Working Away

Well I have been busy working all the kinks out for the retreat in the spring and can advise that I will be mailing out to everyone a little pamphlet regarding the spring retreat. Yes I did say mailing , Amanda and I last weekend spent sometime together sorting through things and how the retreat will be this spring.

I am hoping everyone is going to be there and those that cannot attend will be sadly missed.  As mentioned previously I have the website set up to take registrations online if you wish to do it that way if not I will be sending along a new registration card for you to fill out and return, envelopes will be enclosed with your pamphlet this week.

In other news, I have been busy working on getting back to designing and stitching a lot more so am putting up a couple pictures of the new designs I have done so far.  One is for the Gitta’s retreat which is as well in April and they are doing a collaboration piece , the chart is free to those who attend.  I choose to call it Celtic Star.

Then after completing this piece. I could not stop designing and i went on to create a new design. Since this is the year of the dragon it is of course a dragon….. Watch Dragon is it’s name, I am also considering that I may possibly do 6 dragon designs this year and am already working on the next one.

But, while between designing a new piece I picked up and stitched a Mirabilia – Evening Primrose on Meadow and she looks great and nearly completed Elizabeth which I am doing on Parchment – boy she is a big piece but I love her.  Evening Primrose was a 2 day stitch and just something to do in between the dragon and Elizabeth.

Hopefully, everyone is taking some time to enjoy a nice relaxing evening and stitching!  Well I am off to work on your mailings!

Snow is here!

 

Well the year has definitely started off well or least the snow has fallen.  Started off with Christmas being almost green to less than 2 weeks later buried in plenty of snow.  Shovelling as I am sure many of us have had to do over the last couple of weeks has been hard, I only hope that it slows down and lets my back take a break!  Lazarus though has found the time to play soccer even though he hates to have to jump into those deep piles of snow! 

And,I do have to say that with all these snow filled days  I have also been a busy girl designing and crating a few new colours of fabric which I will ensure to bring to the retreat. 

Been busy putting things together for the Spring retreat and will be sending out to everyone a little something about the coming events.  Amanda and I will be spending this weekend together going over some of the details for the retreat, and will mail out a next week.  Most information will be coming by e-mail but I do want to send some by standard mail as the internet does not always make it easy to illustrate some things.

I hope everyone/s New Year’s was great and I wanted to thank everyone for commenting in regards to the fall retreat.  I had planned on putting up a survey to see what everyone felt but since everyone was kind enough to send me responses by e-mail, I find it not necessary.  I will say that the date for the fall retreat will move to the 26th to the 29th allowing us all to say money and enjoy the time stitching.

Though spring is a few months off and when I look outside at all that snow it seems like it is, but I know that is not so!  So I am off this weekend to get to work so that we can have a great Spring 2012 retreat, so I will keep everyone posted on what is coming!

Laura

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Just a quick note to all you wonderful retreat ladies!  Hope your Christmas and New Year’s is filled with love, happiness and joy! 

I am also posting a very in depth look into the comments made by you lovely ladies regarding the last 2 retreats.  I truly took the time and reviewed all your comments and have made some changes as you will see.  Should anyone wish to comment further please do not hesitate to respond.

Comments from the Feedback Forms for 2010

Well after spending several hours going over this year’s feedback forms I have listed below some of your most common concerns and comments.

Lunch

· This past retreat we tried a different approach to lunches and several of you gave very good and thoughtful comments in regards to the buffet lunch.

- Comments were that the lunch was just average compared to the 5 star meals we have had in the past

- Others did not like the buffet lunch at all

· I will discuss this further with Ami, but will be keeping the idea of a light lunch buffet style but with just a little more class per say, the lighter lunch is a much easier form of meal as some of the retreaters prefer to stitch rather than take a long time off for a big meal

Dinner

· Several of you commented that you did not enjoy the varied time schedule for the dinners and would prefer to eat all at the same time.

- To assist those who need to eat a little earlier due to health concerns, I have sat down with Ami and stated that we will be only working with 2 seating times – 6:30 and 7:00. I would love to have everyone sit down at the exact same time but if we would like to pick from the menu or have varied choices we need to have at least 2 sittings.

- As discussed with Ami there should be no problems with the kitchen and she does know our concerns and is working the best she can with the kitchen staff they have at the Inn.

· Tables at dinners will be set again as they were in the fall with varied settings of tables of 4, 6 and 8.

- I hope that everyone will make the most of it and try to mingle with each other during the dinners. It is nice to see everyone mix it up a little so that everyone gets to know each other, again your retreat director and her helpers will definitely be mingling between tables!

Market

· Comments were made regarding the posting of hours and that the market was not open long enough, also that lighting was not good enough to see fabrics while looking at them for purchasing.

- To fix this and make the market more a part of the retreat and a lot easier for everyone to get to, we will be moving the market to downstairs in the St. Lawrence room. Lighting here is much better and lights can also be set up for viewing fabrics and patterns. I spent some time on Monday measuring the area and feel we can set up the market in the corner where we had the Stitching Gallery.

- This will allow everyone the opportunity to see everything without having to go up and down the stairs, and allow both the market participants to be more a part of the retreat during the day. Hours can also be expanded as we will now be there within the room with you all.

Themes, Prizes and Stitcher’s Gallery

· Comments were made in regards to the themes and that they were not sure about them, we did want to say that they are just a way of making the retreat a little colourful and fun. We do not intend to ever let the theme take away from your initial reason for attending the retreat which is to stitch.

· Prizes are a part of every retreat and we have and hope to in the future have plenty more surprises for you . We may change the way we have handed prizes out in the past to ensure that everyone gets the opportunity to win a prize. Therefore as each name is pulled it will not be placed back in until the final grand prize, ensuring then that everyone gets a chance to win a prize. We will still keep on giving you that one gift that each of you will receive ensuring that no one goes home without something!

· The Stitcher’s Gallery at this point will still be a part of the St. Lawrence room on the one side of the wall where the store will be. Voting for the top 3 best designs will now instead of being voted by you the stitcher’s will be done by your retreat director and her assistants.

Again, to all I wish you the best and will see you in 2012! 

                                                  Laura

2012 Registration

Well I am back from a lovely vacation and fast at work trying to get organized for 2012.  The time just whips by so fast that you cannot dilly and dally around!

I have finally been able to set up a registration form online for you to fill out. I have put up both a Spring and Fall registration form.  I will say that as mentioned at the retreat the price for the fall 2012 Retreat may increase, presently the registration form has 2011 prices, the spring retreat price remains as is.  Amy has not at present given me the indication of the new rate but should have it any day, once I have the rate for the fall I will change it on the registration form and advise everyone!

Filling out the forms is quite easy and you can print a copy for yourself though you cannot save the file.  When it comes time to submit there is a button at the bottom to click on then you need to save the file to email to me.  Direct submission for some reason does not yet work, if I can fix this I will advise.

Amanda is already working on all the treasures and fun and frolic for the Spring retreat, though she knows to ensure that you gals have all the time in the world to stitch.  Since everyone was great about discussing the changes we would like to see in 2012 I can say that we are hard at work making those changes possible, will keep you informed of the changes as we implement them. 

I want to thank each and everyone for the wonderful comments and feedback that you gave during the retreat.  I will ensure that whatever changes that are necessary will be taken care of, as I want to ensure that we will see you in 2012.

Registrations have already started coming in for 2012 and those who have sent them to me already, there is no need to do the online form.  Watch for more changes on the website and further blogs regarding 2012 retreats!

Contest time!

Can you believe we’re only 24 days away from Retreat?  We’re getting pretty excited over here.  Laura tells me that lots of prizes have been coming in from various suppliers and sponsors.  I think we’re going to have a great time!

So, to get the ball rolling, here’s a survey for you.  Fill it out and we’ll enter your name for a chance to win $50 to spend in the shop!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/VJKR2L2

Remember that you have to be attending the retreat in order to enter!  We’ll announce the winner at the Retreat!

See you all soon!

Let’s Eat!

We’re starting to make our food selections for the Fall retreat, but we’d really like some input from all of you!  We’ve created a survey about our dinner menu.  Please take a moment and fill it out!  You can find the survey at:

 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5SL7WPH

 

We would appreciate your responses by September 1st so we can get the menu finalized!  Thanks so much!

And keep your eyes peeled for another survey next week.  I have a feeling we’ll be offering a prize to someone for the next survey……..