Meet Up and Giveaway

Yesterday was the spring meet up for Needlecraft Haven - we met here in Nuneaton in The Abbey pub where my son works. The new owner has changed the room slightly and repainted, it was so light an airy - perfect for stitching.

I arrived just after nine and set up the room before walking just across the road to the station to meet Julie, Angi and Gill. Lindsay, Tina and Lisa passed me on the way and when we arrived back at the pub my Mum, Angie and Lynn has also arrived making us a lovely group of 10.

All of us together
 (apart from the photographer hee hee)

Tina, Julie, Lynn, Lindsay and Lisa
 (along the back first)

Lynn, Lindsay, Angie, Gill, Angi and my Mum
 (going left around the table)

The meet up days are always so lovely - chatting, stitching, looking at each others work, goody bag exchange, book exchange and of course eating and drinking. It was great to meet Angi and Gill for the first time.

The Goody Bag theme this year was Nursery Rhymes - causing much brain power but the goody bags were all great fun. I made everyone a gingerbread man/woman with name tags and ribbon to fit the theme. Each man/woman had a raffle ticket and the corresponding ticket was placed on a goody bag. Whichever ticket your man/woman had you had that bag.

Goody bags and gingerbread people

Unwrapped people for the pub staff

Wrapped and tagged people for the goody bag exchange

My Gingerbread Man

 My goody bag was book heavy based on the nursey rhyme Mary Mary quite contrary. These are my interpreted goodies:

Mary Mary (two books by Mary Stewart) quite contrary (Marmite fridge magnets)

How does your garden grow (Jardin Prive chart with thread, fabric and backing fabric)

With silver bells (five silver bells) and cockle shells (a selection collected from our beach last weekend)

And pretty maids all in a row (a cross stitch book of maids and boys, a little like AOY)

Mary Mary goody bag - won by Tina

 Tina won my bag and I won Angi's which was on the theme of ring a ring a roses - it had a beautiful roses mug, roses tissues, roses kit, roses chocolates, Dragon Floss thread, roses notebook and a lovely card.

Roses Goody Bag from Angi

The book exchange is always fun as the books are wrapped so no-one knows what they are going to pick. I put in Delilah by Eleanor de Jong which I found so intriguing as I knew the Delilah/Samson story from the bible so really knew how the story would end. All the way through I was waiting and it was so well written it certainly kept me in suspense - Gill picked my wrapped book and hopefully she'll enjoy it  too. I picked Angie's book - 'To The Nines' by Janet Enanovich - an author I have not heard of,  it is always nice to read something new.

 Needlecraft Haven is a Yuku based forum and unless members pay contributions it does have adverts. At the meet ups we have a raffle and the money raised pays the contributions to keep the forum advert free. Everyone brought gifts for the raffle. Julie knitted a gorgeous Easter bunny and Lindsay made a chick bookmark. The raffle raised enough to keep the forum advert free until the autumn when we'll meet again and have another raffle :)

All the lovely raffle prizes

I managed to get quite a lot of work done on my Drawn Thread for August - I stitched the two tree trunks, flower stems and the daisy stitch flowers.

Drawn Thread - August

And in the last half and hour I did a very small amount on my Santa's Village tablecloth - just one window frame and the porch roof

Santa's House

We do have some stitching to do from the Meet Up as we have arranged another exchange. Everyone who wanted to join in wrote a few things about themselves in a card; three things they like about summer; favourite colour; favourite sweets and favourite smell. Those taking part then randomly chose a card and now need to stitch a coaster for that person using the ideas in the card. The coasters need to be with everyone by 30th June - I already thinking hard about my partners :)


The Meet Up was another lovely day with lovely people - thank you to everyone who came, most people travelling by train (Lindsay, Gill and Angi from quite a distance), and Lynn who drove down staying locally overnight. I'm looking forward to meeting again in the autumn

If you missed my last blog I am having a blogiversary giveaway at the end of March - to be entered just add 'Me Please' to your comment.