Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Gilded Acorns by Deborah Wilson
Yesterday ANG Main Line Stitchers joined with EGA Brandywine to host Deborah Wilson (a recent Woodlawn winner & author of the goldwork chapter in Amy Bunger’s Cookbook). Linda & I were fortunate to have visited Woodlawn the day Deborah was demonstrating. So, we saw Gilded Acorns on display & thought it would be a great piece for our chapter.
Class got off to a flying start when I learned about my Elan lap stand from Nancy who had one too. She showed me how the base expands (out to 29″). I have had this stand for at least 10 years & never knew about this feature!
It was interesting to learn slightly different techniques from different teachers. Deborah stretched the pearl purl by holding the end with a pair of scissors instead of by her fingers. And, she couched the end about 3 twists in but gently twisted the pearl purl to make the couched stitch on the first twist. Very cool. I learned that the tweezers I bought was really a burling iron. And, I had the opportunity to work with different types of gold including broad plate, whipped broad plate, bright check purl, and wire check purl. A wonderful follow-up class to the one I took at seminar. Deborah will be teaching a wonderful piece at NAN in 2017. Watch for that!!
We got a lot done despite the fact that we had to stitch the leaf first with Waterlilies. I wonder if most beginners of goldwork start with leaves. Both of my goldwork pieces are leaves. Or, maybe, I was drawn to them because they are leaves – fall is my favorite time of year! I am so excited that the 2 goldwork pieces are not so tough or large that I will finish both. They will look nice framed.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter
Thanks to Linda for walking the Main Line Stitchers through some goldwork basics at our first meeting of the year. I feel better about being prepared for a one-day basic goldwork class at seminar & the November one-day class our chapter will be taking. We used 2 weights of pearl purl, several check purls, and smooth purl.
I can see some canvas where I didn’t carry the gold piece far enough. But, that takes practice.
I’m more curious about than interested in goldwork. And, I’m sure that the 2 classes will allow me to appreciate that much more every one else’s goldwork.
Most people think needlepoint takes patience but I think goldwork takes much more. And, working with tweezers under a magnifier using a small, very sharp needle with a tiny eye isn’t relaxing. Tapestry needles with blunt points don’t hurt. As with most things, once you get used to it, it becomes easier!
I finally made a trip to Needle Me to use my gift certificate from our Christmas exchange. I found a purse half off (& with the gift certificate was half off again). While the piece of needlepoint isn’t a perfect fit. It will be fine for a while.
And, look at what 40 yards of Watercolours looks like!
To thank members of the Board for our efforts, our President Patrick B, gave us laying tools that he made from an African porcupine quill. He added the decorative top bead. Some people are so creative & handy! Thanks again Patrick.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Pansy Secret Garden by Laura Perin
I finished Laura Perin’s Pansy & loved seeing it come to life. It would be interesting to see this stitched with some silks. Before I take it to the framers, I want to stitch a companion piece. I have the threads ready to go. However, I have a few other pieces have to get done first. Hopefully, it’ll be done before next spring!
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Color Inspirations by Orna Willis
I think I should explain that we had 2 photos to select from. I selected 1 of the 2 most difficult pictures of the 15! The combo of different greens is challenging for me to do. But, going out of my comfort zone was intentional. And, I think I included all the colors. I found the overdyed green Edmar thread in my stash that I loved for the wallpaper after I had stitched the top portion or else I probably would have placed the Edmar under the 2 rows of Rhodes. By the way, the Edmar was in a thread package I had purchased from Orna’s Etsy site! She is an excellent teacher and I learned a lot from her demonstrations of French Knots, Jessicas, and laying threads!
Here’s the final piece (photo on the left & stitched piece on the right).
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Color Inspirations by Orna Willis
A very productive day!
I stitched a little more after class.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Color Inspirations by Orna Willis
What a great class at Orna’s studio today. All those threads right in her own home! All you need to do is google her name to find her blog, Adorn, to see pictures of her studio & our class set up. Here’s my picture & my interpretation of the picture in materials I had around the house.
My stitching in the afternoon after selecting threads:
And, what I did after dinner! Looking forward to day 2.
Filed under: ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Or Nué Star Lily with Brenda Kocher
A little over 2 years since I’ve finished the class & I finally found the right frame! It’s such a cute design & it was an interesting class. So glad Brenda was able to join us that day! It makes me want to find the other design she gave me for organizing the class – that was such a wonderful surprise!
As Projects Chairman for ANG Main Line Stitchers chapter, I have enjoyed taking information provided by National on our website. This project (http://www.needlepoint.org/Archives/RecoloringYourCanvas/index.php) will allow us to do some stitching during the meeting. No doubt we will finish at home. Perhaps we can donate them to our gift tag project.
The project “allows the color of the canvas to optically mix with the threads to create a new color” – I have the 3 colored canvases & matching threads mentioned in the article (by Kathy Holman which was originally published in NeedlePointers in September 1997).
I am looking forward to seeing these stitched!
Lavendula (210, surrounded by 209, 211, 340, 917)
Rose blush (778, surrounded by 3688, 224, 758, 3042)
Aquamarina (993, surrounded by 598, 504, 958, 943)
I stitched mine but the other ladies haven’t made it back to a chapter meeting yet. It’s tough to see the color variation in the canvas sections even in person & more so on the blog. But, I can see differences in the color of the canvas caused by the threads easier in certain sections more than others. It really is more than just the variations of the thread.
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