Filed under: Crewel Stitches - Judy Jerow, Embroidery Guild of America, Mid-Atlantic Region
The EGA Mid-Atlantic Regional Spring meeting was held Saturday May 6 in Wilkes-Barre, PA. I went up on Friday because the Take Home a Project (THaP) class, Stitching with Crewel Stitches, with Judy Jerow started at 8:30 am. THaPs are geared towards chapter representatives returning to teach it to their chapter members. It’s my 2nd class as a student after teaching Overdyed Spools as a THaP in 2021.
Judy published Creative Crewel Embroidery: Traditions and Innovations. I don’t own the book but wanted to mention it because she is extremely knowledgeable and talented. One student had just gotten a copy of the book (used for a steal at a library sale-lucky lady-Donna!) and got it autographed.
With this design, we learned to use stitches other than long and short to shade a floral design. We learned how Judy makes chain, burden, French Knots, Coral Knots, stem, and outline stitches. She was frank and funny particularly when she said you can show me how you make these stitches but I’m here to show you how I make them. Then, you can do whatever you want!
I bought polyester Twill tape to wrap the inner hoop. There are 3 issues with the hoop (that I can live with for this project but a purist might find troublesome). 1. The hoop is plastic. Wood is preferred because they grip the ground fabric better and apparently don’t distort as easily. 2. The Twill tape is polyester. Natural cotton is preferred. The ground fabric can grab the cotton better keeping it stretched better. 3. The fabric is linen Twill and so wrapping the hoop wasn’t even necessary!
It was a 3-hour class that felt like half that long. The first stitches, chain (right sise in photo) and Coral Knot (left side of photo), weren’t worked on the hoop. And, I didn’t get to stitch the others. So, I didn’t use the hoop! I can’t stitch and listen. As I heard someone in class say, it’s not a race. With that said, this was my progress in class (except for the French Knots that I practiced on a napkin). There is no shading evident. But, there will be.
Cindy, one of my tablemates from Williamsburg, joined me at my table – nice to see her again. Several of the ladies let me know how much they and their chapter members have enjoyed Overdyed Spools.
Class was over in a flash. I learned how to start a thread and Judy even discussed her blocking method. I’m glad I got to get a lesson from her before she retires. She recently celebrated her 64th Wedding Anniversary!
Using 2 stranded wool is required to make it Crewel. This design and techniques are applicable to other threads but then is would be called Surface Embroidery. Good to know. Appleton wool is THE wool to use. And, I don’t care for it. It feels almost rough. We had 2 colorways to select from. One had pinks and the one I selected had yellows. We got 9 needles. Once I start shading, I’ll need them.
Filed under: Embroidery Guild of America, Mid-Atlantic Region, Nature's Palette THaP - Catherine Jordan
The 2022 fall Take Home a Project (THaP) class, Blackwork on Nature’s Palette by Catherine Jordan, was today across the bridge in Mt. Laurel, NJ.
It was a full class and my first attempts were not good. I’d only done one small square of Blackwork quite some time ago. I was getting nowhere and finally asked Catherine what was I doing wrong. It turns out I was trying to do this on the diagonal. So, I grabbed a new Magnolia leaf (she brought extras – I actually will do 3 of these). The second leaf went easier on the front but it is not reversible. The lady bug is a cute embellishment. I will try the diagonal one again and a reversible one.
They were painted beautifully with acrylic paints. I grabbed about a half dozen green ones because I will offer to teach this to the Brandywine chapter. That’s the purpose of THaP. It’s like the ANG Chapter Project Book.
I taught the Overdyed Spools to the group last year and several of them commented on how their chapter members enjoyed it and several chapters have it scheduled for 2022 and 2023.
Filed under: Embroidery Guild of America, Mid-Atlantic Region, Overdyed Spools THaP, Petite Projects, Seminar 2022-NYC
Overdyed Spools was released today as an EGA Petite Project (https://egausa.org/new-petite-project-overdyed-spools/)! I taught it at the Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) Fall meeting in October 2021 and since then, at least 6 chapters have or will be teaching it to members. I have been getting photos by text and email showing me another one finished periodically – so cool. A couple of people changed the stitch to have the color flow differently which was wonderful. And, the center changed to 3 larger geometric shapes – so original.
Then, thanks to Jana (dual member) from the EGA Great Lakes Region (GLR) for asking if that region could share the design with chapters. Since ANG has the project in the 2017 Chapter Project Book (still available), I figured that maybe EGA would be able to share it through their Petite Projects which are smaller projects also intended to be used by chapters and/or regions as scheduled programs. Since I created diagrams for the Petite Projects, Favorite Medallion #1 and Technique Basics, working with Carole and Harriet, I knew who to contact. And, it was quickly accepted.
This is my newest colorway which is the one I used for demonstration for class and finished afterwards. You may have seen it at the EGA Seminar in NYC this summer as a “Coming Soon” piece – it’s here now!
Filed under: Embroidery Guild of America, Mid-Atlantic Region, Overdyed Spools THaP
In October, I taught Overdyed Spools to 31 students at EGA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional meeting and a few have finished theirs. They are turning out great. It’s so much fun and rewarding to see what others do with it. Donna shared hers in progress and is experimenting with shifting the color change on the diagonal. Love it!
I got mine framed at Michael’s – same as where I got the previous one framed. I wanted them to go well together. I’m happy with how it turned out.
Filed under: Embroidery Guild of America, Mid-Atlantic Region, Overdyed Spools THaP
On Saturday October 16, I taught this to 31 students at EGA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional meeting. About half are going back to teach it to their chapters. It was a great experience.
It’s not a complicated piece to stitch. The hardest part is finding the repeat of color within a skein. Some skeins work better than others. At least 2 people had to switch skeins. I brought a couple of extras and so did several people.
For this one, I am using Caron’s Watercolours Cantaloupe 079. The upper left area uses 11 strands before compensating but only 9 strands had color line up nicely on the horizontal. So, I had to run thread underneath until they lined up. And, I needed an extra strand for a couple of columns.
Since it is my third time stitching it, I tried something different than random in 2 of those sections. The top right has color matched threads moving left to right for 3 rows making vertical columns of matching colors. And, the bottom left area with the 6 x 6 Rice stitch has been stitched with the pink and light purple portions for the large crosses and the blue, green, and yellow portions used for the short over 2 diagonal stitches.
The bottom right area uses 6 strands for the vertical color arrangement and 3 strands for compensation. I think I used the designated compensation threads in the bottom left corner by accident. But, I managed to compensate the area with other threads.
The spools are stitched with DMC Floche 434 which is the same as I used in the other two stitched pieces. There is one hand-dyed thread in the spools. Can you find it without reading ahead?
Lucille C, one of the people who was in the ANG Delaware Seashore chapter when I led the project for them, brought her stitched piece and mentioned that she had padded under the wraps or wrapped extra to get a more rounded effect. Good idea and I padded under all but one spool (upper left corner).
The thread wraps include from upper left to right: The Pure Palette Baroque Silk 1192 (very subtle color change for the hand-dyed thread – really tough to see the color change in the small sample; plies not separated), Madeira’s Burmilana 3893 (two stands laid), Caron’s Impressions 1106 (one strand), The Thread Gatherer’s Sheep’s Silk SPS125; one strand) and from bottom left to right: four strands laid for each color of Rainbow Gallery’s Splendor S994, S977, S932, S1058.
The Pure Palette appears to have 6 plies but I read on several websites that it is has 3. It can be used as it comes off the skein on larger count canvas (13 or 14) or separated into 3. So, I contacted the company and was told, “If you separate it all the way down to the six strands, it becomes more difficult to work with.” It is kind of like Splendor which is a 12-strand skein. Initially it separates into 3 groups of 4 plies but is intended to be separated further into 4 strands. However, Pure Palette should remain in 3 groups of 2 plies.
I revised the text some based on feedback from the organizer of THaP and people can now see another stitched example. One of the messages that I hope I made clear is that one should feel free to experiment with the threads and have fun!
Filed under: Embroidery Guild of America, Mid-Atlantic Region, Overdyed Spools THaP
Today’s 3-hour class at EGA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional meeting was fun and challenging. There were 31 students – larger than anything I’ve done on the chapter level. Everyone was wonderful.
The piece labeled original was done for a purse for my sister in 2015 and the second for the ANG 2017 Chapter Project Book.
I started stitching it for the third time in order to refresh myself. It is intended to be a small project where many (about 20) of the students then go back and teach it to their own chapter. The main idea is to manipulate an overdyed thread in 2 areas to create a striped effect and place color randomly in the other 2 areas. I shared other pieces where I manipulated overdyed, demonstrated a quilter’s knot, and how to find the repeating color sequence.
I sent this photo out to get people excited. After class, the best comment I heard was, “I’ll never look at overdyed threads the same again.” That’s wonderful to hear and fun to open up possibilities for people.
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