I did manage to stitch a few things and it ended up being two small kits I bought from and her design she made especially for PALS 2014 Hands on Design they includ everything needed to finish the designs. I also bought a mess of trims from Cathy as well she has some lovely hand dyed pom poms and ric rak. You can never have to much. Cathy is just the sweetest person.
Another of my favorites was there again this year Beth fromSummer Stitch House Works She also designed a piece especially for this PALS retreat. I am working on that now. Beth is super sweet.
I will share a few photos of things I bought, recieved and exchanged.
My roommate Michele went to Paris last month and when I got to my room Thursday these gifts were sitting on my bed. I adore Michele, she is such a sweetheart and the only one who can call me BRAT and I let it slide :) You can read all about her trip HERE
Last year I did not participate in any of the exchanges, but I knew I had to do at least three this year. I am so glad I did. The grab bag exhange was the most fun. I will do this one again next year for sure. You place your things you buy in a container so no one can see the contents,stitching necessities, fabric, floss etc.
You are picking based on the contaier. Some are very small and some are very large. I will find some photos of the exchange table and post those tomorrow. It is like White Elephant you can steal or choose from the table and the next can steal from you or pick from table the third person must pick from the table so on and so on. I had my eye and hands on many awesome containers. I ended up picking a package that looked like a HoBos thing they carry over their shoulder. This is what was inside. LOTS of fabric and usefull stitching tools. I loved it
Next is a pillow I recieved from the Stitched exchnage. This was a fun exchange also. Everyone put their stitched piece in a bag so you could not see what was inside, you placed it under your chair and then basicly played musical chairs switching seats OFTEN. Eventually the game ended and you end up with whatever bag was under your seat. Let me tell you every item stitched for this game was beautiful. I absolutley adore mine.
Next was the Christmas Exchange. You stitch as many christmas ornaments as you want and then when your ticket number is called you get to go to the table and pick an ornament you want. I stitched a small pillow, small enough to be displayed. when my number was called I really had a tough time picking but in the end I went with this one. I tend to decorate in a woodsy rustic theme so I thought this would be perfect. The woman who stitched this stitched many other things that were the coveted items during exchanges LOL
And lastly here is a photo of the goodies I bought from the Vendors. I was pretty good and did not go overboard but I don't think that is the point of these things LOL Whenever anyone from our table came back from the vendor area we all got excited to see what they bought. It was like Christmas
I will share a few more photos tomorrow because this is already super long. Tomorrow I will share what Amy who puts this all together gave to us on our last day there. If you have stuck around this long then I thank you. I hope you enjoyed this post and if you ever get the chance to attend a PALS Retreat do it. It is so much fun meeting new stitchers and getting together with old friends.
Take Care and Happy stitching
Natasha
