Stitching in the Valley Retreat ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk!

Oh what a wonderful time Joan & I have had this past weekend ~

Jennifer Cave, owner of Valley Needleworks in Middletown, VA 

...was our gracious hostess for the retreat.

Jennifer could not have chosen a more beautiful, inspiring place for us ~ which happens to be right down the road from her needlework shop!

we stayed at the beautifully historic

Wayside Inn 

where we were pampered with comfy beds, fabulous food 

 ~ and good 'spirits' ;)

Classes for the retreat, and the Merchant Mall were held right next door to the Inn…

a sweet place named 'Worlds Away'.

this is a blurry shot of my booth  ~ the interiors of these ancient buildings are dark, 

but oh ~ the atmosphere is so warm & welcoming!

One of the Merchant Mall vendors brought along tow of her angora goats…

and angora rabbit.

{of course I was in my glory }

When you step into the front door of the Wayside, 

you are instantly transported back in time…

we were even happily greeted by a little spider I named 'Charlotte' 

who had spun her web near the front desk…

Jennifer made sure all of the students {and teachers} were in well-lit rooms...

Classes were held upstairs in the two rooms of Worlds Away ~

the rooms are also available to guests and are loverly!

I can say that 'most' of my students were well-behaved, and the classes went smoothly...

but as usual ~ there were a couple that caused trouble.

{and you know who you are!}

;)

orange eyes?   black eyes? 

...one of each!

Oh sweet Martha ~ we love you!

after classes, 

we went back next-door to the Wayside ~ 

… where we dined on comforting foods ~

chicken pot pie

sweet potatoes 

glazed carrots

yeast rolls

and

thee best warm bread pudding with bourbon-sauce.

oh my stars.

the decor of the Inn is stately & elegant ~

with memories of the past, still present in the furnishings and walls…

the Wayside holds secrets too ~

some believe it is visited still by those who have crossed over…

{I believe!}

I took lots of photos in hopes to 'capture' one of them perhaps…

I took this snapshot {below} without a flash in a multi-mirrored room 

~ that was purportedly used for seances during the Spiritualist movement….

can you see anything in the photo below?

{I CAN!!}

everywhere we looked, 

gentle reminders of Colonial Times caught our eyes.

George & Martha bid you well on your travels…

making sure you abide by the Tavern's rules:

Here are a few of the Guest Registers ~

with guests names and where they were from…

 ~ some dating back hundreds of years.

This page was filled in 1916.

…and this one, below, was filled in 1944 ~

**note the  make of car the guests drove in, located inn spider-y script

on the left side of the page:

Studebaker

Ford

Packard

Our weather was beautiful, perfect for October.

here is Joan, wishing this sunroom was her very own :)

as I mentioned earlier, there are rumors of spirits & plenty of stories of sightings ~ 

the Inn even holds Ghost Hunting Tours!

I took the photo below, of a bookshelf off a hallway leading to the Tavern,

there are two photos on the middle shelf that were taken by guests long ago…long before Photoshop and other computer software was available…

in one photo, you can see a figure looking out from one of the Inn's windows.

The photo to the right of that, shows a shadow-figure in one of the guest rooms.

COOL.

I tried to get a better picture the 2nd time, but this is what happened:

another view of the Dining Room ~

no truer words….

The decor included hand stitched needlework from times long ago…

a beautiful wool rug….

and another…

these stairs led nowhere, 

except to a small, almost hidden doorway…

{that I would have loved to have opened up and entered into!}

Room accommodations took our breath away…

did George & Martha sleep here?

;)

another beautiful hand stitched wool table rug…

and Colonial crewelwork ~

every nook & cranny held little touches ~ 

… pleasing to the eye and soul.

...bringing us back to a simpler time 

and refreshing us with inspiration for the future.

I would like to thank Jennifer Cave for holding this, her first inaugural retreat…

Jen, we are so proud of you! 

You really worked SO hard to make sure everything was perfect 

for your teachers, students, retreaters and guests… 

~ your energy & positive-ness is remarkable!

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such a memorable weekend ~ xoxox

and to the owners & staff of the Wayside Inn 

for putting up with the shenanigans of stitching-crazy folks!

PLEASE remember to VOTE for Notforgotten Farm in the Martha Stewart American Made contest!

With your continued help & support we have a great chance at WINNING!!!

Click HERE to VOTE 

for Notforgotten Farm, SIX times a day, EVERYDAY!!!

~ Blessings from the Farm ~ 

 Lori