I am thrilled to see that Pat Donaldson thought my stitched pilot piece was good enough to include in her booklet of instructions! The project was lots of fun. Read all about it: https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/patchwork-quilt-ang-correspondence-course-pilot-project/
You may recall that a previous blog was about the process of pilot stitching for ANG (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/pilot-stitcher/). Well, I finished that blog by saying, “My hats off to the folks who match people & courses – it must be quite a challenge!!” Little did I know that person was Christine, or know that she’d ask me to take on her role of Correspondence Course Chairman (CCC) one year later while at seminar in Philly, or that the role involved matching select courses with pilot stitchers. And, I must say that being CCC is a bit more involved than I’d expected. But, I decided to take it on because I’d gotten so much out of the 3 correspondence courses that I’d taken shortly after joining ANG (https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/my-first-ang-correspondence-course-first-steps-with-nanette-costa/ and https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/01/30/understanding-design-by-mary-shipp/ and https://melitastitches4fun.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/understanding-color-by-mary-shipp/). This year’s Seminar was certainly a whirlwind of activity!
So, I am certainly glad that I have had the experience to pilot a course now that I will be more involved with the process. Christine has been great showing me the ropes and walking me through each facet of the position. It’s going well so far. And, come November 1, it’s going to get more busy as many of you enroll in one of the 10 new courses being brought to you by ANG. Basically, I act as liaison between the Rees Group, the teachers, and the students for the Correspondence Courses.
That leads me to the main subject of this blog, Patchwork Quilt by Pat Donaldson. Now that Patchwork Quilt has “gone public” and I have permission from Pat, I can blog about Patchwork Quilt. Had I thought she would be at seminar, I would have shown it to her in person. Oh well. I did meet Pat at Teacher Expo night and told her that I’d enjoyed doing the piece. She also has my permission to share my picture with anyone if they want to see a different color combination.
What a wonderful opportunity to use my stash! At first, I was worried about picking threads too thick or thin and would have to rip it out. Or, that I’d end up with an unbalanced piece. But, Pat said there were few rules except to have fun! So, one Saturday with Bill golfing, I sat down and spread out ALL my blue and green threads because I had the most of those 2 colors and they look good together. I began by dividing them by value (light to dark). She suggested 10 or more threads in each of the 2 families although less was ok – it would be more fun with more. I never expected that I’d end up using a total of 84 different threads including 36 fiber types across the 2 color families & the neutral. As you can see, I got over my reluctance and just had fun!!
Hopefully, some of you take Pat’s course and use it as an opportunity to experiment. If I do Patchwork Quilt again, I would do it in smaller units for gifts and donation pieces. I still have plenty blues, greens, and whites. My next largest stash is of different blacks, grays, reds, and purples. But, I have very little of yellow or orange. Bottom line, I could stitch a lot more squares in a variety of color schemes. Many thanks to Pat for designing Patchwork Quilt and Christine for selecting me to pilot this piece. It’s really a small world.
First color family is blue:
Second color family is green:
Neutral color is white:
All the threads are listed below (the 2x and 3 x in the parenthesis indicates how many time I repeated the thread somewhere in the piece):
Burmilana 3873
Designers Dream D02 (2x)
DMC #3 319, 336, 367, 368, 823, 890, 895, 939 (2x)
DMC #5 blanc, 334, 367, 890, 3346 (2x), 3348
DMC Floss 336, 3755
Flair F502
Fleur deParis 24
Frosty Rays Y042, Y090 (3x)
Grandeur #5 G802
Gumnut Yarns 369, 629 (3x)
Impressions 5133
Kreinik #8 braid 051HL
Kreinik #16 braid 393, 622 (2x), 4639 (2x)
Kreinik #16 ribbon 032
Merino Wool 98R
Needlepoint Silk 823
Neon Rays N68 (3x), NP02
Pebbly Perle P061, P66, P76 (3x)
Petite Very Velvet V634
Rainbow Linen R430 (2x), R445 (2x)
Rainbow Tweed RT14 , RT38
Sheep’s Silk SPS036(2x)
Shepherd’s Silk SS045
Silk & Ivory 02 (2x), 17 (2x), 55, 56, 70, 86 (2x), 102, 1063, 1316
Silk Lame Braid SL02
Splendor S860 (2x), S1026
Thread WorX 200
Vineyard Silk Shimmer S537
Watercolours 041 (2x), 065, 121, 127, 129, 140 (3x), 159(2x), 169, 228, 242, 254, 256 (3x)
Wildflowers 041, 127, 228, 254, 0076 (3x)
Not only is this a thread sampler but it is a stitch sampler incorporating over 16 different patterns. I learned a lot stitching the diverse blocks. And, with permission from Pat, I am very happy to share a photo of the finished piece:
Another aspect I understand better now is the ANG Distance Learning Programs. ANG has 2 different people who coordinate the Workshops by Mail Program (http://www.needlepoint.org/byMail/ChristmasHeartland/index.php), and a third (separate from CyberPointers) for CyberWorkshops (http://www.needlepoint.org/CyberWorkshop/Geo/geo.php). Apparently, I have not been reading Needle Pointers as closely as I could have been. The third person handles the Correspondence Courses (http://www.needlepoint.org/corr_reg.php) with more coming soon! Whatever you find to stitch, have fun!!
I want to discuss the Pilot Stitching process for ANG correspondence classes. This process is meant to ensure that the courses when offered to ANG members are error-free with clear instructions and accurate graphs/diagrams. This also helps determine their conformance to the level of proficiency definitions as set forth by ANG. If selected, everything about it is confidential and not for publication.
After I expressed interest, I was sent a “Pilot Stitcher Registration/Preference Form” but that is also available online (http://needlepoint.org/forms/Pilot-Preference-Form.pdf). On there you need to select your proficiency level: Basic, Basic-Intermediate, Intermediate, Advanced-Intermediate, Advanced based on the definitions for the student proficiency levels at http://needlepoint.org/corr_reg.php on the ANG website.
I was going to select Advanced Intermediate until I read the definitions. While I’ve done 5 workshops/classes & have no problem with diagonal patterns, I took a long, hard, honest look at the familiarity with “at least 4 techniques” for Intermediate and with a “wide variety of techniques” for Advanced Intermediate and the types of techniques listed for both. I also didn’t want to overestimate my ability and be placed on a project that I would struggle with and become frustrated. Also, time is limited to complete the task & the teacher needs constructive comments about the instructions. So, I determined I am more comfortable with being an Intermediate stitcher.
I have done some work in the underlined techniques:
Intermediate: pulled thread, pattern darning, Florentine (Bargello), blackwork, free stitchery, beading, introductory silk and metal thread techniques, Hardanger, and mixed media
Advanced Intermediate: appliqué, attaching found objects, cut work, raised work, needlelace, needleweaving, silk and metal thread techniques, laying silk and stranded threads, and couching
Student Proficiency Levels:
The following description of levels is provided to assist each student in judging her/his level of expertise:
- Can thread a needle, and begin and end threads correctly
- Works tent stitch (half-cross, continental, and/or basketweave)
- Can read and work from diagrams and charts
- Possesses skills outlined in previous level
- Has participated in at least one (1) formal workshop or class or has had at least six hours of instruction in a class setting
- Works diagonal tent stitch (basketweave) beginning at a corner of curved line and understands basic compensation
- Can work at least six (6) different decorative stitches
- Understands and works from stitch diagrams and charts with confidence
- Possesses skills outlined in previous levels
- Has participated in at least three (3) formal workshops or classes
- Has stitched with a variety of threads such as cotton, wool, silk, synthetics, linen, metal and metallics, and is familiar with their characteristics
- Confidently works complicated stitches from diagrams and is comfortable with their compensation
- Has worked at least four different techniques on a readily counted grounds, such as pulled thread, pattern darning, Florentine (Bargello), blackwork, free stitchery, beading, introductory silk and metal thread techniques, Hardanger, and mixed media
- Possesses skills outlined in previous levels
- Has participated in at least five (5) formal workshops or classes
- Has worked a wide variety of techniques on a readily counted ground, such as appliqué, attaching found objects, cut work, raised work, needlelace, needleweaving, silk and metal thread techniques, laying silk and stranded threads, and couching
- Confidently stitches diagonal patterns
- Possesses skills outlined in previous levels
- Has participated in a wide variety of formal workshops in different techniques and has experience with many different types of grounds and thread
- Is interested in developing skills and pursuing solutions to problems in design, color, and techniques>
- Is interested in developing original designs, colors, and/or styles
Then, I had to mark my needlework preferences that I would be willing to stitch (I have done some work in underlined items): Needlepoint, Geometric, Goldwork, Blackwork, Surface embroidery, Pulled Thread, Petit Point, Drawn Thread, Silk & Metallic, Japanese embroidery, Stumpwork, Laid thread, Couching, Beading, Florentine, Bargello, Hardanger, Ribbon embroidery, Assisi, Oriental openwork, Other. But, I only said I was willing to stitch Needlepoint or Geometric because that would be my most proficient areas.
Lastly, I had to mark what I would prefer to stitch on either Canvas: 18 ct Mono, Congress Cloth, 22 ct, 24 ct, and/or Linen: 18 ct, 20 ct, 22 ct, 24 ct, 26 ct, 28 ct, 30 ct, Silk Gauze, 25 ct, 32 ct, 40 ct, 48 ct, 56 ct.
In additional comments, I indicated I would prefer to kit a project myself or use my stash although I would buy a kit if required.
I selected either Needlepoint or Geometric on 18 count Mono Canvas. As you can see, those are now quite specific abilities & preferences! My hats off to the folks who match people & courses – it must be quite a challenge!!
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