Shopping Experiences at Seminar

Cathy and her crew at the Golden Needle in Port Charlotte did a fantastic job running the Boutique. This is the one store I always visit when I go to see my Mom in Florida. It's two stories of fun! Opening day I think was a bit overwhelming and they were having credit card problems. But other than a little extra time dealing with that it was always a treat to go into the Boutique. 

They had a few special items available for purchase. Here's a Teresa Layman knot kit. Everything included for finishing. Provide your own DMC. I brightened up the colors on mine and decided I would use this piece to master the Colonial Knot. I find French Knots simple to stitch, Colonials always confuse me. I've started my outline. You might not be able to tell, but inside the flamingo's body are the letters "EGA." Also how adorable is that little thread holder. There's a toothpick in photo for size comparison.

One of my finds Merchandise Mania night. This is a Joan Thomasson angel from her Fun Angels series. I know own the three that I love the most - this one is the Fallen Angel. Fifi LaFleur I bought from someone. And The Merry Widow I found at the Quarter Stitch in New Orleans last fall. Now to find the time to stitch them all!

In this photo some more exclusives:  Puffin & Co. designed some scissor holders and needle minders with mermaids and flamingos. Erica Michael's did a silk gauze kit that came with finishing materials also. The bag on the right was filled with things including the Alice Peterson piece. I bought this from Stitchers' Paradise, a shop outside of Miami. These are all on a stitchers' lap cloth that was our opening banquet favor. My favorite things here are those two spools of gold thread. I've been casually looking for TIRE silk sewing thread from Japan for a while now. Happy to have it and will be putting it to good use very soon! 

This is a kit that I purchased from Cindy Valentine for her needlebook that was in Needlepoint Now a few months ago. Where did my magazine go? It's not in my bookcase. Uh oh. Something else missing.

As you can see there are plenty of shopping opportunities and I took full advantage. I could have really smoked the credit cards when I hit the Tanya Berlin and Marsha Papay-Gomola booths, but I didn't. Next year, I'll be prepared!