Creativ Festival Fall 2015 – Day 5

I’m sorry that I’m so late in posting my day five recap. I got home around dinner time on Saturday, put in a load of laundry and collapsed. Sunday was spent getting caught up on housework and also a jaunt out to do some pumpkin picking.

A little pumpkin for a little man.

A little pumpkin for a little man.

It was very, very cold on Sunday. We even saw a few snowflakes. While I really do love snow, the middle of October is just a little bit too early.

Back to day 5 of the Creativ Festival… I spent the entire learning from the wonderful Kim Beamish. If you read Cross-Stitch and Needlework magazine, her name may be familiar. She was the featured designer and cover project designer for the fall issue.

Look: it is the start of a tatting project!

Look: it is the start of a tatting project!

The first class of the day was needle tatting. Now, I have tried to learn tatting, both needle and shuttle, at least four different times over the past 20-ish year. I have never been able to get it. But with Kim teaching, and a few small hints from the lady next to me (who took an even more basic needle tatting class the day before), I picked it up in a matter of minutes. I’m not kidding. Kim worked some sort of magic in that class, and ever single one of us were tatting away very successfully by the end of the class. It was amazing.

The &$%^ buttonhole border started

The &$%^ buttonhole border started

Unfortunately, some of that magic dissipated in the next class, Hardanger Pin Cushion. Kim provided great instructions, and the design was lovely. But, at the end of five long days, we all struggled doing buttonhole stitch on white fabric with white perle cotton. I’m a little embarrassed that I found it so hard. To be honest, I don’t really like button hole stitch, but it is personal now and I’m going to finish the darn thing (and a couple other projects that I’ve been putting off because of the stupid buttonhole stitch) and take it next year to show Kim that I’m not a dunce. 😉

And with that, yet another Creativ Festival is over. This year wasn’t perfect: dearly missed teachers, fewer vendors (partly due to the new, and one time only, location), getting caught in the rain without an umbrella, etc. However, it is always great to see friends that I only see for those few days every year, and I feel so inspired and in some ways totally re-energized.  I can’t wait to dive back into all my projects and get started on some new ideas.

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4 Responses to Creativ Festival Fall 2015 – Day 5

  1. Catherine says:

    Love the pumpkin picking picture, I bet that is the best pumpkin around.
    I have never tried tatting maybe someday.
    I do not do Hardanger but have done the button hole stitch, I hated it, got it done but not well.

    Blessings
    Catherine

  2. Christine says:

    Can’t wait to have you show us the tatting technique.

  3. Heather says:

    I think the buttonhole looks great! I totally am the same way when it comes to finishing something giving me trouble. I must prevail! I’m glad you had fun and got some lovely projects out of it!

  4. Joanne P says:

    Glad you enjoyed the retreat and hopefully next year’s will be even better.

    I have to say I’d probably have fallen asleep with all the buttonhole stitching. Couldn’t you do some of the more interesting bits in between?!

    Nice pumpkins!