Stitchin' (and Feastin') Charleston Style

Sorry for the long absence...I have so much to share!

My friend and I went on our much anticipated annual pilgrimage to Charleston February 13- 17th for Stitchin' Charleston Style with the amazing Laura Jenkins Thompson and I have spent the last week catching up on everything - work, sleep, chores.  

What is Stitchin' Charleston Style?  It is the most fabulous long weekend of heirloom handsewing that you can imagine.  Ladies come from around the country to learn from Laura Jenkins Thompson and work on the beautifully designed projects that keep us sewing for four straight days. Many of the ladies have come for all 11 years so we have become quite a tight group.  Here we are on the last day.  Do we look weary from so much stitching?

I have posted about several of the projects from past years here and here.  

This year we had two projects:  A linen bag with stump work (raised) embroidery and a white linen lingerie case (I'm going to make it into a pillow.)

Natural Linen raised embroidery bag - in process!   :-)

White linen lingerie bag/pillow (Laura's sample).
Mine is still very much in progress!

We stitch from 8:30am until 11:30 am and then have a wonderful lunch at the hotel.  Then we return to stitching until about 3:30.  Then Laura has an adventure around Charleston planned for us.  This year it was the Charleston museum to see textiles and a walking trip around Harleston Village.

As if that isn't enough, Laura hosts all of us for dinner at her house for a wonderful southern feast of barbecue with all the fixin's and the most enormous bowl of banana pudding you have ever seen!

Laura's husband Joe makes the huge pudding.

Praline toffee cupcake from a
bakery on King Street

And what would a trip to the culinary capital of the South be without some feasting at the local restaurants?!  Of course after all that stitching we are starving!!!

Locally sourced mushroom bruschetta 

And from my favorite restaurant of all...

Boiled peanut hummus with pickled okra

Magnolia's

The veggie plate

Flounder with rice pirlou and a
succotash of asparagus, tomatoes and corn

We just managed to squeeze in a late lunch at Magnolia's before our evening flight.  I think it was worth the tiny rush to make it to the airport on time.  Don't you?

So a perfect long weekend of fabrics and feasting and a bit of a hard landing to reality.  I was so thankful to have President's Day to catch up!

Why do four days away add up to almost two weeks of catch-up?  More mysteries of the universe, I guess...

I hope that you have some time away to do the things that you love!