Melitastitches4fun's Blog

The Faux-Berge Orange Tree Egg was designed by Michele Roberts. I enjoyed meeting her during a great ANG Seminar class in Chicago (2014) & it was fun to stitch. I have been enjoying it again now for a couple of weeks – good timing to be here for the upcoming spring & Easter. I wanted to show it to my ANG chapters before posting here. And, I am glad I waited to post because I came across a photo showing the real egg in a brochure from 2001 when a Faberge exhibit came to Wilmington, DE.

Karen at Nimble Needle took a great photo when it came back from the finisher who did a fantastic job! It has a little puff to it!! I really love that I had it done as a stand up piece. It uses a plastic stand that inserts into an opening at the bottom of the piece. It can be removed for storage. I first saw the stand used in a piece I bought at the silent auction in Chicago. And, Karen had it at her store!

I can’t say I labored on Labor Day because it was too much fun to finish “Faux-Berge” Orange Tree Egg today! My 2014 ANG Seminar Class with Michele Roberts was eggcellent & I’ll be taking it to get it finished later this week when I get an ornament that is ready for pick up.

It was wonderful to finally meet Michele. I stitched her Breastplate Exodus some time ago & have worked with her on ANG Correspondence Courses for 2 years now. She introduced me to the class & gave me this very cute laying tool. Very sweet of her!

When Michele wasn’t teaching the project, she was sharing tidbits all sorts of from her vast knowledge & travels. Very enjoyable but the day went so fast. And, I never stitched so much on one day! I did come back to my room at lunch in order to kick my shoes off, put my feet up, & stitch like I was at home! By doing that, I was able to catch up & get most of the sky done so I could put beads on in the afternoon. The beads went on easier after I got the hang of it, as with anything, but I didn’t quite get done. One young lady did finish & it looked great. It won’t take long to finish this now.

My pre-stitching packet for “Faux-Berge” Orange Tree Egg arrived last weekend. I stitched most of it Thursday night & finished it tonight. It is a 4-way Bargello pattern done with a beautiful dark green Neon Rays Plus (NP32) that has a subtle sparkle to it.

It is a shame to cover most of the circle up with beads. But, I am grateful to the pilot group who suggested students get that part done before class because you can’t apply any beads until the Bargello is finished. It is really exciting to think this (http://needlepoint.org/Seminar-14/classes/images/12716-Faux-berge-Orange-Tree-Egg.jpg) can get done in one day by doing that pre-stitching although I am not a fast stitcher & will not rush it just to get it done.

While this picture may not be particularly exciting, Seminar in Chicago is only a month away & that is very exciting!!