I’m taking Toni Gerdes’ class called Autumn 3 Ways. Believe it or not, we did no stitching until this afternoon as we spent the morning learning to attach fabric to the canvas and needle felting today. Just picking the fabric to use for the leaf on the top left was an experience! Learning to needlefelt the leaf on the right meant picking what colors felt roving we wanted, then figuring out placement on the canvas, as well as learning to use felting needles with the felting block (hint: the needle must go in straight!)

Learning to Needlefelt

Day 1 Progress

I’ve definitely been outside my comfort zone in this class but Toni is an excellent teacher. Her instructions are very clear, she repeats instructions, and she is more than willing to answer questions. I’m looking forward to Day 2 of this class.

Diane

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I arrived at the Sheraton this afternoon in prep for Seminar classes starting tomorrow. After checking in, I registered and then visited the the boutique, which is run by The Needle Nest of Columbia, TN. They have lots of painted canvases, especially some interesting ones that once stitched are finished as 3D sweater ornaments.

Then Sue, Rosie, and I found an interesting little restaurant called Croissants Bistro & Bakery and had an awesome dinner. It started with the fresh, hot baguette they brought to our table with cream butter with Maldon sea salt and black eyed peas hummus. For those who don’t know, Maldon sea salt is from England and is hand-harvested with the distinctive flaky texture and taste that lends a certain piquancy to virtually any dish.

Sue was looking for something light so she had crab asparagus salad with avocado and mandarin orange vinaigrette. Rosie was also looking for something lighter so she had 2 appetizers: mini crab cakes and then tuna poke with balsamic vinaigrette for which she also asked for some extra baguette, which was a perfect complement. I decided to go with a regular dinner of the Bistro Chicken, which was 2 large chicken breasts stuffed with prosciutto and cheese on a bed of pasta, spinach, dried tomatoes, and tomato sauce. It was to die for and I even have lunch for tomorrow!

Then Sue and I decided we needed to have dessert after looking at this wonderful display case for the entire meal.

Dessert case at Croissant Bistro

We chose the triple chocolate mousse cake, which like the rest of the meal was outstanding.

For those attending Seminar and looking for an interesting place for dinner, we highly recommend Croissants. Its website is http://www.croissants.net and it’s a 5 minute drive from the hotel.

Now, it’s time to get some sleep as class starts at 8:30 tomorrow. My stitching bag for Toni Gerdes’ Autumn 3 Ways class is ready to go!

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Today dawned a bit rainy and overcast. Lucky for us, it slowly cleared, a watery sun came out, and it started to warm up. I took a long walk on the beach which had a lot of others walking, relaxing, hunting for sharks' teeth, and even swimming! Despite a strong breeze from the north, it was a great walk.

Later, Carol and I decided to play tourist and played a round of miniature golf at the Hawaiian Rumble course, the #1 rated course in America and endorsed by the PGA. Unfortunately due to the rain, the volcano wasn't working so we didn't get to experience its rumble! Neither of us managed to hit par, however we did each get a hole in 1! It was a lot of fun especially since neither of us had played mini golf in years.

Meanwhile Sue did some more stitching on her humbug. Carol and I also got to do some more stitching before it was time to finish cleaning up and get ready to go to the Sheraton for seminar.

Thanks Carol for arranging a wonderful spot for us to relax and get in some stitching and camaraderie before Seminar classes begin.

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It is hard to believe that this morning I was sitting on a fifth floor balcony overlooking the ocean watching the beach walkers and waves, and now I am in my hotel room at the Myrtle Beach ANG Seminar, 2015! I did accomplish some stitching on my Summer Wonderful Humbug by Ada Haydon, a CyberPointers chapter meeting project this morning before packing and getting ready to leave our retreat hosted by Carol. I am currently working on the ladybug walk section.

Summer Wonderful Humbug

My first class begins at 8:30, my stitching bag is packed and ready to go!

Sue

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Rosie left Wednesday morning and Diane arrived in the evening after a minor detour inadvertently to the same address in Myrtle Beach, which unfortunately was 1/2 hour south of where she was supposed to be in North Myrtle Beach! When will I learn to check the map rather than just trusting the GPS?!

Carol, Sue, and I had dinner Wednesday at a lovely Bistro that Rosie and Carol had eaten at earlier in the week. The food was fresh, plentiful enough to bring home for Thursday’s lunch, and quite delicious. The apple vinaigrette salad dressing was unique and light but flavorful. We passed on dessert, although the tiramisu was really tempting.

Thursday was gloomy although the sun kept trying to peek through. Sue and I tried walking on the beach but were turned back by the rain. We enjoyed being inside stitching, listening to the rain, while staying dry. Diane made progress on another block of Serengeti and the first ribbon on Razzle Dazzle, Sue made significant progress on Summer Humbug and Kurdy Biggs’ Diamond design, and Carol has begun work on the sky on her Cow Jumped Over the Moon nightlight.

Thursday progress

We did venture out to do some food shopping particularly for breakfasts during seminar. Meanwhile, there were a few brave fisherman and others on the beach right outside our condo.

Looking North from our condo

Looking South from our condo

Dinner at Flying Fish was excellent. The fish was fresh, delicious, and plentiful enough to bring some home for lunch Friday.

Tomorrow we head over to the Sheraton for the start of Seminar and the arrival of many of our members.

Diane

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