Ocean City Stitcher's Jamboree

"Feather, Flowers, and Fruit" (Class Project)

I had a wonderful time meeting new needlework friends and reconnecting with many members of my stitching family while in Ocean City, MD for the Salty Yarns Jamboree! Salty Yarns is an extensive specialty needlework shop located on the Ocean City Boardwalk...nestled in with a hotel, apartments, and several other specialty shops, all owned by Sara and Sally (the hosts for the weekend). It is a great venue for such a large event, as there is an ocean view and three miles of boardwalk businesses/restaurants to keep just about anyone happy. The weekend event started on Friday evening with a dinner and reception...and classes were held on Saturday and Sunday. There were 54 fun and talented needleworkers in attendance and three teachers (myself, Theresa from Shakespeare's Peddler, and Donna from By The Bay) - the large group of 54 was split into three smaller groups...each group was in it's own classroom and each teacher rotated classrooms, having a half a day to spend with each group. This was a little different than my normal 1 1/2 to 2 day classes, so it was like Blue Ribbon Designs fast forward. My class project was titled "Feathers, Flowers, and Fruit" and included a framed sampler, a scissor fob, and a snippet (ort) receptacle. During class time we talked about finishing the small pieces, making twisted cord, a lots of my special tips and tricks...and the time flew by! During lunch breaks and after classes, attendees were free to shop, eat, relax, and stitch...and a big bonus was having tons of rocking chairs outside with an ocean view - perfect for stitching in the evening. In the morning, attendees gathered in the hotel lobby for breakfast...and after dinner each night, everyone would return to the lobby (and a special stitching room) to work on their favorite projects....food and beverage were readily available and everyone seemed to be relaxed and carefree.

Boardwalk Entrance to the Hotel

Hotel, Apartments, and Shops (including Salty Yarns) - my view standing at the ocean shore...

Rocking chairs in front of Salty Yarns...

More rocking chairs at hotel entrance...

View from the Lankford Hotel lobby window...

Attendees enjoying the hotel lobby...

 ...and I know many of you are interested in the needlework shop - here are photos taken in/of Salty Yarns (thanks to Sally and Sara who allowed me to photograph the shop)...this is just a few select photos - this shop is floor to ceiling charts, models, supplies, yarns, fibers, gadgets, you name it - it is a tad overwhelming to walk in the first time - my jaw hit the floor....

Salty Yarns Entrance

Blue Ribbon Designs Trunk Show on display....

So there you have it...a little tour of Salty Yarns and the Lankford Hotel...and I will try to be back later today with some of my favorite photos from the Ocean City Boardwalk...

Arriving In Ocean City...

The Lankford Hotel - Salty Yarns

I returned home late last night from my first trip to Ocean City, MD...I was teaching for Salty Yarns at their Ocean City Stitcher's Jamboree. I arrived in Maryland last Thursday night for my stay at the Lankford Hotel on the Ocean City Boardwalk (and home to Salty Yarns). Friday morning I woke up early and was ready to do a little exploring - after stepping out on the balcony outside my room for a few photographs, I headed down to walk the boardwalk to see the area....I walked to one end of the boardwalk and back (about three miles)...and took a little walk on the beach (where I was greeted by an adorable seagull). After a leisurely walk and a cup of hot tea, I met some of my needlework friends in the hotel lobby to go out to breakfast and take in an exhibit at the Julia A. Purnell Museum in Snow Hill, MD.

The view from the balcony outside my hotel room...

My first walk on the Ocean City Boardwalk...

A seagull that came up to greet me on the beach...

Angela, Joy, and Ramona (retreat attendees/stitching friends) were kind enough to invite me along to see some of the area. We ate breakfast at a place called Peppers Tavern...and it was delicious - I had a BLT breakfast sandwich (basically a BLT on an English muffin) and it was fabulous. We then headed to the museum in Snow Hill, MD. 

Here is a little information about the Julia A. Purnell Museum....

Julia was born in Snow Hill, Maryland in 1843. She married William H. Purnell, a storekeeper, in 1869 and had two sons. She created many types of needle art throughout her life, including quilts, cross-stitch and embroidery - then at the age of 85, she began embroidering scenes of homes, churches, and gardens in Snow Hill. Her works won the New York and Philadelphia Hobby Shows, and took the Grand Prize at the Wicomico Farm and Home Show - she became well known and in 1941 she was inducted into the National Hobby Hall of Fame.  Julia's son (William) was proud of her work and in 1942 he joined his mother in founding the Julia A. Purnell Museum. The museum housed many of Julia's works, her tools, and memorabilia from her long life. Julia Purnell died 2 months after her 100th birthday, in December 1943. The museum continued to grow as William added artifacts to the collection. He sought donations from the townspeople who gladly gave their old tools, toys, machines, cooking utensils, clothing, books, and curios - along with the stories behind them. William continued to accept donations until 1957 when he gifted the museum to the Town of Snow Hill. The museum is now no longer a tribute to one woman's art, but had a repository for the memories of the entire town. Today, the museum collection has over 10,000 artifacts, with about 20% on display at any given time - temporary exhibits are displayed each season in order to tell the abundance of heritage stories...

A photo of Julia and a display of her work...

A couple pieces of Julia's embroidery.

Crewel Embroidery by Julia A. Purnell

I loved this bicycle on display...
"Penny Farthing" Bicycle Circa 1880

Interesting "superfine sewing needles" that were 3"- 4" in length. (1914)

Mary Davis Sampler - dated with her birth of  March 22, 1803

Interesting display of early medicines, doctor and dentist tools, and signs
with healing instructions - a favorite:
Bleeding of the nose: Steep a linen rag in vinegar, burn it, and blow smoke
up the nose with a quill. (Click on photo to enlarge and read more)....

After touring the museum we continued on our journey...when seeing a sign for the town of Girdletree, we knew we had to visit...little did we know there wasn't much to see in Girdletree - we did stop at their post office (it was closed) and checked-in on Facebook at the Girdletree Volunteer Fire Department (the only place to check-in)...and then were on our way again. Next stop - historic downtown Berlin, MD (where the Julia Roberts/Richard Gere movie "Runaway Bride" was filmed)....a quaint area with antiques and shopping...and a tea room. We stopped in an adorable shop called TaDa (it was wonderful!)...checked out a few antique shops...and made our way to the Main Street Enchanted Tea Room for a late lunch. I loved this cozy little tea room....and as soon as I looked in the window I knew I had to step inside. We decided to stay for tea and lunch...lunch was a fabulous apple squash soup, chicken salad and/or ham sandwiches, choice of scone and tea. I had a cranberry orange scone (scrumptious) with Autumn Cranberry tea - it was yummy - and I loved my teacup with a little cottage scene. Sherry Gamble, the owner, was quite accommodating - she let me take an abundance of photos and shared lots of stories with us....it was an enjoyable visit.

It was then back to the Lankford Hotel for the event dinner, reception, and stitching...more on the event and the area tomorrow - for now I must get some sleep, as I leave for New Hampshire on Thursday...I have to get refueled for the next retreat...