"I'm A Fan of Pam" Club

Pam, who works with me at the shop on Thursdays, has ongoing practical jokes with a co-worker at her full-time job. Debbie learned about this joke and figured we could extend the fun to the retreat. Imagine Pam's surprise when three of us came to lunch one afternoon with our "I'm A Fan of Pam" buttons!



Pam was a good sport about it as we razzed her all weekend about being her fans! Here we are, paying homage to Pam, but by the time this was snapped, we were falling over each other, hysterical with laughter! It does one good to kick back, relax and just laugh. We love you, Pam. Thanks for playing along and letting us have some fun!

Count Me Inspired Needlework Retreat 2012

It's hard to believe another retreat has come and gone. That makes three. We had such a fun time and this was the largest group by far. The first year we had 32. The second, 36. This year, there were 53 attendees! We doubled the room size and it led to a cavernous feeling in the room. We set up the boutique in the room with the round tables for our meals. This left plenty of room between our three sets of tables, with no one feeling cramped or unable to comfortably get out of their chair. The picture below will give you an idea of the layout of one side of the room.



Each retreat I try to have the group work on a little project, something needlework related but not cross-stitch. I want them to stretch their comfort zone a bit, but nothing too difficult or tedious. It should be a remembrance of the retreat. This year, the group project was a little wool pumpkin needlebook. Here are some attendees working on the pumpkins.



And some finished masterpieces!





The food out in Shipshewana is always spectacular. We found the Garden Gate Cafe last year and returned again this year. Trust me, the food is as delicious as it looks! These are the Cafe Cherry Chicken Salad and the Chicken Salad Wrap.





The dinner bell rings and it's only a few steps away to our buffet line! How easy is that?



Dinner Friday night was at the Blue Gate Restaurant. I make a point to stop here every chance I get when in the area. The food and service are always excellent! I was so overwhelmed by how they served us with such precision and speed, that I totally forgot to take pictures!



Something we look forward to each year is the "smalls" exchange. If you want to participate, you stitch a small (ornament, needlebook, scissor fob, etc), wrap it up and bring it to the retreat. Here we gather everyone together and if you have a small to exchange, then you pull a number. When your number is called, you get to select a wrapped small from the table. Once everyone has taken a small, we open them one by one and then try to guess who stitched it. Sometimes we get it right but many times, we are surprised! Such creative gals attend the retreat and we are bowled over by the fun ways we see things finished and assembled.







That's enough for today! Next post, I will show you some photos of what the gals were stitching on at the retreat!

Cathy