So we gathered and we stitched (thanks Sheila for that great sentence!), and we got an AMAZING goody bag courtesy of all our fabulous sponsors!
Look at all that booty! And I have saved one goody bag to give away to one lucky reader of this blog!
But first of all I'd like to take a closer look at all the goodies and thank our sponsors properly.
Liberty Lifestyle not only donated fabric but also enough beautiful needlecord fabric bags for us to use as the actual 'bag'. Here it is filled up with deliciousness!
We actually had a choice of tote bags, as Coats gave us a spacious cotton one which we filled with the rest of their kind donations: 2 FQ of Notting Hill fabric, Coats thread, Anchor embroidery cotton, Millward needles, a pen and a funky zip brooch!
The UK wholesalers of Robert Kaufman really knocked the ball out of the park with their incredibly generous donation of 7 FQs of Kaufman fabric, which we made into that bundle!
Sewing Machines Direct, my 'go to' place for sewing machines and a company I can wholeheartedly recommend for fantastic service and price, gave everyone a whole box of mixed Frister Rossmann threads each!
And there was more Liberty loveliness which a fantastic scrap pack of Liberty Tana Lawn from lovely Ali at Very Berry Fabrics (who was our first, and most enthusiastic, sponsor!), it even came in a little zip-lock bag! And was also very useful for my Fabric Origami and Japanese Embellishment class.
You can also see below a FQ of one of my favourite fabrics from Liberty Lifestyle Stile collection which Liberty donated along with their bag.
For some local Scottish flavour, our goody bag refreshments were donated by Highland Spring and Nairn's Oatcakes. These were all very welcome to help get us through the strenuous stitching! The Nairn's oat biscuits went down a treat with afternoon tea and the Highland Spring water kept us hydrated throughout the day!
The Button Company donated a bag of mixed buttons and a spool of Hemingworth thread which comes in this little clear plastic dome (which makes it look really cool and special!). I haven't tried this thread before so am looking forward to giving it a go and will report back.
And all the way from the USA, carried in Dolores's luggage, came these little hexy packs! Dolores had convinced her boss Carly, the owner of Web Fabrics (a fantastic online store which Dee says stocks more basics and blenders than anywhere else in the country!) to contribute towards our goody bags. Carly donated the fabric and Dolores donated her time putting the packs together! Thank you pal!
And here's some really useful stuff for your sewing room. A Frixion pen (my new best friend!), donated by Pilot. This pen is simply magic as all traces disappear once you iron your fabric! I now use this religiously for all my quilting and embroidery marking, and am constantly recommending it to my students.
Groves & Banks donated this daisy cutter from Sew Easy. This is a great little sewing aid with a cutting blade around the daisy and a threader cleverly concealed in the stalk, plus it comes with a lanyard so you can hang it round your neck while working.
Everyone also got a spool of Aurifil thread to try out, courtesy of the lovely Alex Veronelli, and Avery Homestore (basically me!) donated the button tin!
Phew!
I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to all our sponsors for helping make the Stitch Gathering such a special day and bringing such genuine delight to all our Retreaters!
Now, how do you lot get hold of this last bag?!
Pretty straightforward really, you have 3 possible goes -
1. Follow my blog and let me know that you do in a comment
2. like our Facebook page and let me know that you do in a comment
3. Blog about, tweet about, or share the giveaway on Facebook and let me know in a comment that you do. We are @stitchgathering on twitter.
Giveaway is open to international entrants and ends midnight next Thursday 5th September.
Good luck!
One more thing!
There has been some wonderful blog posts about the Stitch Gathering and I thought it would be a good idea to have them all in one place so I have managed, for the first time, to do one of these linky things.
If you have posted about the Retreat or the Exhibition please link your post below - thank you!
