Melitastitches4fun's Blog

Woodlawn’s 61st Annual Needlework Show

Bill and I visited the Woodlawn & Pope Leighey House for the 61st Annual Needlework Show. It was a sunny day yesterday. It was great for driving, but it caused glare issues with the photos. Glass on pieces is allowed at Woodlawn.

If I knew the designers or if they were mentioned in the docent’s notes, I will provide that information.

I already discussed several pieces in my previous post (https://melitastitches4fun.com/2024/03/07/fireside-sampler-at-woodlawns-61st-annual-needlework-exhibit-2024/), and they did not disappoint, especially Deborah Merrick-Wilson’s goldwork (original designs, so I won’t show photos).

It was nice to see my piece framed! I’d forgotten I had selected one with gold and silver to go with the mirror and candles. Mine was slightly below eye level, and you could get a good look at it.

Many of the canvaswork pieces I enjoyed seeing were either from New Jersey Needle Artists Chapter members or Colonial West Jersey EGA members. I don’t want to leave anyone out, but in August, NJNA will be reviewing all the pieces, and I don’t want to spoil the meeting by showing them all here. I will share 2 photos here.

Diane Burgess knocked it out of the park with her choices for Razzle Dazzle by Ann Strite-Kurz. Ann visited the exhibit, and she enjoyed seeing it in person. I learned that Ann chose the original stained glass colors because the original design was adapted from a scarf pattern in the Smithsonian Christmas catalogue that was inspired by cathedrals. 

Bill and I both voted for Ellen Briggs’ (also from NJNA) Swan Song as our People’s Choice. Pam Miller of Edwardian Needle gave stitch suggestions and lace from her own wedding gown. It’s so beautiful and interesting.

Pam also helped Amy Bretan with a Bride and Groom, but the lace came from a dear friend of Amy’s. She akso went very colorful with Pyramids of the Oasis by Wendy Moore.

Too many pieces were up to high. All of Sue Chadwick’s especially Raffie, the adorable giraffe, by Kurdy Biggs were way too high to appreciate the complicated stitches. But, it’s a stunning piece and nicely framed.

Rosy Lunde’s Africana by Lorene Salt and Confetti by Ann-Marie Anderson-Mayes are great and the framing is too. Very colorful designs with deep colored mats and wood would allow displaying these together possible without overwhelming each other.

Barbara Levy (NJNA) has to have stitched the largest kimono I have ever seen! It’s a counted design called Kimono Revisted by John Wadell. Amazing!

Cathryn Curia’s colorway for Northern Lights would look wonderful in our bedroom!

Linda Mosch has a couple of lovely samplers as well as a crewel embroidery piece, Jacobean Fantasy.

Linda Pleyer’s Designer Handbags and Black Party Dress are stunning.

The EGA Colonial West Jersey (CWJ) members had a variety of pieces on display. There were quite a few impressive cross stitch pieces, including Nancyanne Carkeek’s Sunflower Bee.

Here’s a close-up. The shading is amazing.

Louise Wilson is a prolific stitcher also from CWJ. She had 8 pieces, including 3 versions of an EGA Petite Project, Landscape Series by Karen Wojahn. I got photos of her fall and spring version, but not winter. Love them.

Patti Tidemann, current President of CWJ, stitched a wonderful piece by Carole Lake, Anasazi Dream. Carole passed away earlier this year, and it’s wonderful to see one of her lovely pieces here.

There were several other large cross stitch pieces worth mentioning including Barb Meier’s Bathtime (designed by Heaven and Earth), Meghan Benson’s Autumn Trails (designed by Charles White), Kim Smith’s Seashell Wreath designed by Janlynn/Nancy Rossi), Elizabeth ONeal’s Cross Stitch Tiles, and Ronald Walker’s Portrait of a Horse which could have jumped off the canvas. The shading on each piece was incredible.

Several people I run into at the EGA Mid-Atlantic Regional meetings (hopefully, I’ll see them April 6 in King of Prussia), including Judy Herrick and Donna LaBranch who exhibited too. Here is Desert Strands by Judy. That is pulled work. She also did a lovely Ukrainian whitework tray.

Donna always has great pieces on exhibit. My favorites were her Little Red Rooster that was a heavily beaded surface embroidery and original design (so I won’t show a photo). Her Loudoun Sampler Guild Mystery Sampler has lots of interesting motifs.

Christin Louden stitched a lovely Kurdy Biggs Rescent Angel. It makes a perfect stand-up figure.

It looks like the eastcoast stitchers are quite taken with Ann-Marie Anderson-Mayes of Beautiful Stitches (several designs were shown). Here’s Versailles, which will be one of the pieces Ann-Marie will be offering to NJNA members after the ANG 2024 KC Seminar. Sherri Gordon with the EGA Mollies chapter (who have stitched my Overdyed Spools and A Spring Sampler) exhibited hers.

I was really taken by the head of cauliflower done by Marian Smith! It was stitched in shaded wool on cotton homespun and uses wire to hold the shapes of leaves.

My ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter is going to be doing Fibonacci Swirls by Olivia Hartshorn from the ANG Needle Pointers magazine (March-April 2022 issue). Beth Peternell’s color choice is fantastic and beautifully framed.

I saw Pat Mazu’s purse/jewelry roll that she designed for her journeyman level Master Teacher Program and named it Flowers on a Trailing Vine. Pat taught it 3 times, once in the Potomac/Washington DC area. I bought one a couple of years ago and use it for my paper piecing project (that I need to get back to doing). Lovely design! Pat remembers Sandra Erb from several of her classes and is delighted to see another one finished.

A few people in our area have been doing the needle felting projects by Brenda Stofft. Elizabeth Dietz made a great Splendora the Witch. The detail and finishing is mind-boggling on these 3D characters. Cleo of Busy Lizzy helped with the finishing.

An always amazing category is the miniatures  (32 count or less). Besides Norma Campbell’s The Majesty which you can see got a Director’s Award and is posted on Woodlawn’s website, there were other notable miniatures including Arlene Cohen’s Summer Rose, Sharon Fullerton’s Cardinal Crystal Jar, and Alison Kearney’s Rose Window (designed by Mary Hickmott).

Haystacks of Giverny by Katheine Diuguid was an online EGA class. It is interesting that Julianne Otto’s is more yellow (top photo) and Regina Thek incorporated more red tones in the Haystack (bottom photo).

This year, Norma Hiller stitched Safari by Terry Dryden and one of Gail Stafford’s lovely landscapes, Fog in the Mountains. I am looking forward to an online landscape class in May with Gail offered through ANG Cyberpointers.

In the non-judged areas, the EGA Washington DC chapter displayed some lovely pieces of all types.

There were antique tools collected by Nelly’s Needlers displayed as well. They did a wonderful job with the displays. All the birds were in the Hall. I like the theme approach. And, they serve as docents keeping a watchful eye and offering comments about some pieces from the notes they have on all the pieces.

Most of the beadwork and mixed media embroidery pieces are original designs and so I won’t show them. There were some really great pieces.

Another nice exhibit, although I wish they had opened one of the two unused rooms upstairs in order to lower many of the pieces. It’s especially great seeing pieces from people I know. There are still a few days to get there!

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