One AWOL Project, Finished and SOLD!

As you saw in my last post, I spent last weekend at our guild "Arkansas Women on the Loose" retreat. I am already looking forward to the next one a year from now. In fact, I was just wishing there was another one THIS weekend too. No such luck, so I will be patient and plan on a great time next March. If there is a retreat like this in your area, by all means, try to attend. There is nothing as much fun as being with like-minded people, working, laughing, sharing and learning.

I thought I would show you one of the projects I worked on during the weekend. My goal was to finish three pincushions. One was a gift and two were to go to my etsy shop. I will show you two of the three in my next post. However, one of the two I meant to put on etsy is no longer available, so I'll tell that story too.

I finished the littlest pincushion, which was a gift to one of my readers. The second one finished I am putting on my etsy in the next few days. I will show both of those to you the first of the week. The largest pincushion (perhaps my favorite I've made so far) was the hardest to finish and is that second one I was going to list on etsy. This pincushion is one of the three I said a few weeks ago I would show you when finished. So here's the scoop on it:

I had all the embroidery done before I left for the retreat. My goal was to bead these three. Of course, when you go to AWOL, you generally take more work than you can actually DO, so I also had some crochet, some cross-stitch and some beaded flowers along "in case" I finished more than I thought I would. We forget how much time we spend talking, looking at other people's work, etc., so I always wind up taking more than I need. And, that's ok.

Now, back to the pincushion....I never know in advance how I will bead these things, so I did about two inches of beading and decided I didn't like it. Pulled it all out and started over...let's see...about three times. Later, getting frustrated, I thought if I didn't make a decision, I'd still be working on it when the retreat was over...so I went back to my original idea. ALWAYS TRUST YOUR FIRST INSTINCT!!! Hours later, it seemed, the pincushion was finished. And, surprise, surprise...I liked it! (I'm way too critical of my own work, so am rarely satisfied with the finished product.)

As we do at the retreat, we show and tell when something is finished, so as I was showing the pincushion to some of my friends, Carol Ann inquired as to whether it was for sale. As I stated, it was intended to go into my etsy shop, so yes, it was for sale. Long story short, she bought it right then and there. She loved it enough to give me money for it. I think that is the supreme compliment. And, I am glad it has a good home!

So, here you see the pincushion....some of my painted, vintage, dresser scarf fabric with silk ribbon embroidery and a beaded edge. I love the feather stitch circle within the square. The colors are "different" for me and turns out I really liked using these colors. And, you see my friend, Carol Ann, with her new pincushion. She was thrilled and so was I. How nice is that?

Yes, I did get to go home with my three main projects finished. Some make quilt tops while there, and I make tiny, hand-stitched, tedious things. As our youngest attendee said "Is that all you do is make pincushions?" Well, it probably seems that way as I've decided 2008 is my "year of the pincushion," however, I can and do make other things. Will anything top this particular one? I don't know, but you know I will keep trying!!!

A good time was had by all and many beautiful things were created and finished at this retreat. But, you know, the enjoyment we had of each other makes everything else pale in comparison. Loved it! Anyone else ready for next year? Pat