Medusa Sea Jelly at NJ Needle Fest

October 23, 2023, 1:51 pm
Filed under: 2023, Medusa Sea Jelly by Kim Griffin, Needle Artists by the Sea, New Jersey Needle Festival

Not much got done on the Sea Jelly the weekend of the Kelly Starke finishing class. Sue, Buff, and I stitched some Friday afternoon when we arrived but then chatted with Rosie, and we were too tired after the Saturday class – plus we were watching the Phillies win Game 1 of the playoffs against Atlanta!

This weekend, I was back in NJ and stitched on it during the 2023 NJ Needle Fest. This year, we’re at The Historic Women’s Club of Glen Ridge. Buff, Beth, Patrick, Lori, and Kathy D from ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter and Kathy’s sister, Veronica, shared a table.

We were right next door to 3 tables for the ANG NJ Needle Artists chapter. I enjoyed seeing what they were working on, including Jill’s neutral blue colorway of Crescent Journey. And it’s great to see Brenda from Delaware again. She brought A Spring Sampler and likes her colorway that Linda helped her pick out. It’s looking good.

Walking around the tables, there was more cross stitch pieces than canvaswork, but I did recognize a Laura Perin piece and saw a Toni Minieri piece.

Between chatting and visiting other tables, I did find time to complete the stitching on the exumbrella on Day 1. The beads will be added later.

On Day 2, I got most of the light blue pearl thread in the water stitch done. It wasn’t nearly as crowded on Sunday. Buff, Lori, and I joined Brenda and Dee from NJ Needle Artists for a nice day. It was much easier to talk and we were nearer the windows. The rest of the blue pearl was completed during the Sunday night Eagles football game, but compensation around the jellyfish was tough.

There are a couple of mistakes. One can be covered by a sequin. The other blends in well enough that it won’t bother me. Had I seen it sooner, I could have fixed it. I realize now why it happened. I miscounted from a compensation stitch. Oh well!

However, the larger issue wasn’t evident until I started the fill stitch. That’s when I realized that I hadn’t done the water stitch as diagrammed. Then, I looked closely at the photo I’d taken of the original piece at the EGA Seminar, and I’m sure that I stitched it the way the designer stitched it. So, I am leaving it and would have left it anyway because either way would have looked good.