Aren’t these just adorable? I found these on the 3rd floor on Designers Desk & a steal at $3.85. It makes giving ornaments as gifts much more affordable to use these for finishing. I love finding unique items!
I am kind of jumping back & forth chronologically. But, I was busy with setting up, meeting people including fellow Distance Learning colleagues, CyberPointers folks, teachers, pilot stitchers, & chatting with people from previous seminars.
Can you guess this will be for Bill? I got it at Designers Desk in Geneva, IL. I’ll probably have threads in my stash. We drove out from Chicago on Saturday & stopped at the third magic store for Bill. Later that evening, the Magic show at Magic Inc with Tony & Josie was incredible. We ended another great day in Chicago at Billy Goat Tavern.
Filed under: ANG Seminar 2014
I can’t take a photo inside the exhibit area so I can only describe what I saw. The white ribbon for third place in the original design non-professional category hanging from Crescent River was quite a thrill. I can’t wait to read the judge’s critique and will share that after I get home.
Seeing Traditions by Liz Morrow in person after following her progress as she stitched it on her blog is exciting. Love the beads.
Catherine Jordan has a different piece, The Gift, which are stitched ribbons wrapped around a glass block. Catherine always comes up with interesting ideas!
Bill & I both walked around twice, together & alone. We both had our People’s vote selected and it was for the same piece, Multicolored Floral by Brenda Hart, a painted canvas design without stitch guide. The autumn leaves shimmer with gold work played on top. That won a Judge’s Choice Award.
Arlene C stitched Rhododendrons on 40 count gauze beautiful with shadowing of the blues to match her first place ribbon & purples to match the Small Masterpiece Award.
There were about 125 newtimers at the Welcome Banquet & 3 got Arad’s:
Violet A – Hilton Award for Mulberry & Lime designed by Jeanne Polzin.
Vicky B. – Nina Goerres Christmas Theme Award for Frontier Santa
Barbara V – Sampler Award for In the Footsteps of the Pharoahs. Barbara should get an award for sending in 8 pieces!
I could go on about all the pieces but have to meet my husband at Billy Goat Tavern! It is only about 2 blocks away!!
Congrats to everyone – all entries are so pretty. Non-seminar people wandering said what I always say… How can the judges decide?
North Shore Needleworks had some pre-kitted Chicago ornaments & I got one of the last (Fri afternoon)! It is by Kirk & Bradley. I got soie d’alger & Needlepoint Inc Silk which I have not worked with much so that’ll be fun.
I attached the braid and am pleased at my results. It was a learning experience. The only way to improve is by practice. I have said this before when I finished other items & will say it again – it certainly makes me appreciate paying for finishing when done by professionals. So, when something is more complicated, I will continue to use the skilled professionals & be happy to pay for quality work!
When we arrived, I added the seminar pin. Working off my husband’s tablet because my “smart” phone has decided to be dumb as it nears the 2-year upgrade. I don’t know how much I’ll be able to blog. Already met people from past years & new folks! When you see me say Hi!
I bpught the magnets, Stitch an ANG design & Chicago, but seminar gifts also included the other items (mints, eye glass wipe, & door tag). Yes, I went to the Boutique and got some shopping done with the nice ladies at North Shore Needleworks.
Thee Wendell’s cruises took us along the river & into the lake. Great view & first day in Chicago!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Thanks Jill from NeedleLittleMore .com for the handwritten note that came with my Needlepoint Nation Shield magnet designed by ROGUE designs which is very strong & cute.
Needlepoint Nation is a Facebook page where people post wonderful things all needlepoint related!
Filed under: ANG Chapter Book Projects, ANG Keystone Garden Chapter, ANG Main Line Stitchers Chapter, Chapter Book Project, Jeannie's Windmills
Both my local ANG chapters, Main Line and Keystone, are going to do the Chapter Book Project, Jeannie’s Windmills, by Pat Mazu (http://needlepoint.org/CPB/images/Project-4—Jeannie’s-Windmills.jpg). And, I volunteered to lead it for each group.
I picked up the threads from Karen at Nimble Needle – love the ANG 10% discount she gives! Even so, I’ll keep track of the amount of thread needed & we may make mini kits for folks to keep costs down. We can get 5 kits from the bag of beads. And, we’ll split up a spool of beading thread. It doesn’t seem like this piece will use a ton of thread. And, as Pat suggests, this makes a great stash project. Some may opt to go that route.
Initially, I was going to jump in with both feet today until I decided to practice the crescent stitch. And, I’m glad I did. I kept missing the 3rd hole because I couldn’t see it do to the angle & because the thread covers the hole from the bottom. So, I practiced until I finished this little guy (2″ square).
Filed under: "Faux-Berge" Orange Tree Egg by Michele Roberts, ANG Seminar 2014
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!!
Filed under: ANG Keystone Garden Chapter, Triangle Santa Ornament by Peg Dunayer
The instructions of Peg Dunayer’s Triangle Santa ornament called for a satin stitch for the hat trim but the picture used a more decorative stitch. I decided to try a new stitch after thumbing through Stitches To Go by Suzanne Howren and Beth Robertson. It is the Triple Cross Stitch done over 4 threads wide as shown in the diagram but vertically over 5 threads. As you may have noticed in the last posting, I layer some threads to give the trim some height. And, thanks to the stitch, it created a layered effect. It is also non-directional and filled the space up fully.
And, rather than leaving the threads of the mustache in a figure 8 as shown, I cut the ends. I also layed a thread below the satin stitch for the eyebrows for some height.
Now, I’m ready for our September class at Keystone when we learn some finishing techniques and do some braid making!
I finally went through my needles and am throwing away the old ones of which I had a good number of bad ones. Since I don’t have a “sharps” container, I decided to google disposing of sewing needles. Once site recommended wrapping in a rubber band and placing that bundle into a disposable receptacle such as an empty take out box, makeup compact, or pill bottle. Keeping them contained prevents them from poking out of the garbage bag.
As I do this, in the spirit of Hari Kuyo, a Japanese festival of Broken Needles that has been celebrated for over 400 years, I will ask for improved skills, acknowledge my work over the past years, and thank each for their help and service. Hari means needles and Kuyo means memorial service. Traditionally, they were stuck into tofu and floated down a river annually. The tofu served to soothe the needles after their labor and protect from the points of the needles from doing harm. Read all about it at http://issuu.com/audsomee/docs/hari-kuyo
Since no sewing takes place on this day, I picked a good day to celebrate my needles because we are heading out to watch Monty Python live (Mostly), a 3-hour Fandango event with our Delaware friends, and dinner. Early birthday present for Bill!
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