Kathy A and Karen S are leading members in making Zokins. They didn’t think we’d want a traditional Japanese Zokin (layered pieces of fabric to use for cleaning). So, we made covers for a stitch booklet. Both sides get stitched together to make a lined cover. Then fabric pages attached.
I was going to stitch a diagonal grid going in both directions to stitch the small swatches in place. However, the 2 lines I started with were not straight so I ripped them out and attached each one uniquely.
I placed a layer of Craftex to each side held in place with fusible interfacing to make the cover stiff but with a gap in the center to attach the pages. It is not too thick and still will be flexible and not heavy. If I used magazine board, it could get bent. Foam board would be too thick and hard.
I am ready for Wednesday September 17 and the EGA Brandywine Guild session to add the pages and maybe add some stitches!
Besides working on my National Academy of Needlearts (NAN) which I won’t show until after the exhibit in March 2026, I will alternate stitching between three ANG Seminar projects. First up is Nautilus with Kay Stanis.
As this was a 1-day class, I didn’t get the basting finished. So that was first to stitch. Some of the basting lines were so close that getting the tissue paper off was tedious. I needed my Uncle Bill’s tweezers.
I wrote Mr. Bill’s tweezers first but realized that was wrong. Do you remember Mr. Bill?
Kay had us unstrand Trebizond to lay over the padding. I didn’t know you could do that and I’ve used Trebizond before (as supplied). So, this part was a completely new learning experience. I can’t say it is easy to work with but it is creating a smooth surface. Kay explained a little about different silks. Mary Corbet discusses them in great detail on her website and I’ll summarize her thoughts with, Trebizond is not meant to be taken apart but the three plies of flat silk can be separated. We also learned about using a sugar rub to remove any roughness from our hands and which lotions Kay likes for handling these silk strands. It’s not so much my hands causing a problem rather it was the Congress Cloth. I had to hold it as I passed it up and down with each stitch. I won’t be doing this too often! But, I am happy to have learned about it and even happier to have completed this part of the piece. And, it’s all going to get covered anyway. You would never guess this is Trebizond.
Everyone who exhibits gets the Judge’s Score sheet although the points vary by category (this is for original design). A summary of the critique which follows does cost $25 but is worth it to hear their thoughts about the piece. Always thoughtful, supportive, and offers constructive feedback.
The judge’s main comment on the design was that the curves at the start and the end are too abrupt which I can see. Also, the values of the greens do not have enough contrast. That is also a good point. I did not take the black and white photo of the threads before stitching (the judge did). The other comments on the framer (me) needed to align the top border – it’s off just a tad on one side. Getting 8 out of 10 is actually good – I usually get a 7 (even when I am not the framer)! There were plenty of positives such as:
- “The quiet color and sizes of the mats pull the viewer’s eye into the piece.”
- “The variety of threads and stitches are suitable for this canvas. They are controlled, evenly stitched, and very appropriate.”
- “The bright pink (I call them coral) stylized flowers are fun! Your stitching shows your mastery of those specialty stitches.”
If you submit a piece for judging, I highly recommend getting a critique. And consider sharing it with your chapter members as a learning experience.
For the artist statement and to see the lovely Creative Inspiration Ribbon, go to:
The Silent Auction at ANG Seminar had a lot of items! I got outbid on several counted pieces but did “win” Hearts and Flowers by Jim Wurth. It’s another octagonal-shaped ornament. Whoever donated it included their copper and blue thread choices. I’ll be pulling that colorway to see what that looks like (eventually). I’ve got a lot of stitching to do on my design from my other NAN class and my 3 ANG classes – my main goals now for the rest of 2025. Basically, 4 projects and 4 months!
The American Tapestry is telling stories from the Revolution to commemorate the 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. There are thirteen stories. Read all about them at https://www.americastapestry.com/about
Thanks to Amy and Becky who are leading the Delaware efforts. I joined them at The Chester County History Center in West Chester, PA today.
I worked on Delaware’s panel
https://www.americastapestry.com/tapestries/delaware
Yes, the panels are all that big! The ground is 32-count Belfast Linen backed with muslin.
Gretchen from Oklahoma stopped by after enjoying the samplers on display in the museum. She was in town visiting her sister and just happened to stop in the museum and was so excited to be able to contribute to the work. She and I worked on 4 x 4 cross stitches for the sky (they are small and tougher to count on linen). Gretch is in ANG too. Then, Marnie joined us. I enjoyed it.
To find where and when you can stitch on the Delaware panel in PA and/or Delaware, follow along at https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1JAADnKEG4/ I’ll join them again at some point.
I’m case you’re wondering, I heard about this through my EGA Brandywine chapter. The members of Brandywine are contributing as well. Karen S is stitching the sails for the British warship at home using silk threads with eventual plans for the sails to be applied to the panel. Tom is working on the main body of the ship using crewel yarn and Patrick is designing a British flag for the ship.
Pennsylvania has a panel too (https://share.google/qduFTN3S4sThOvcJj).
The PA panel is available to work on every Thursday from 5pm – 9pm and every Sunday 12pm – 5pm at The Glenshaw Public Library (1504 Butler Plank Road in Glenshaw, PA).
I hope these all get displayed nearby eventually. That will be impressive.
Filed under: ANG Seminar 2025, Nights in White Satin by Jennifer Riefenberg
I think we dove into the Jessica first, then overlapping Rhodes, and then moved to a few other areas. Working on tougher areas earlier was smart because after staying out until 9:30 pm ish, packing, getting up early, eating a Thanksgiving Day poboy sandwich, and the heat in the room (it went hot and cold in this room), I was fading by the afternoon.
This will be easy and fun to finish. Jennifer’s pace was quite calm compared to many classes. This looks like a lot more stitched than my usual for 2 days.
The speaker, Allie Pleiter, was quite entertaining as she discussed 5 primary types of Needlepoint friends. I got a signed copy of her first cozy needle mystery book. A second is coming out in 2026. Apparently, the NYAGs are quite popular characters. They are Not Your Average Grannies. Looking forward to reading it. If you haven’t read Monica Ferris or Lea Wait, you should.
Very enjoyable time in NOLA!
Filed under: ANG Seminar 2025, Nights in White Satin by Jennifer Riefenberg
With pre-work ready for Nights in White Satin by Jennifer Riefenberg, we dove right in.
David M isn’t in this class with me but Lori C, Linda M and Rosie L are!! About 6 other people I had met before are in it and I’ve met some new people. That’s part of the fun of Seminar. I just hope folks understand that names will not stick in my brain.
Kreinik is having issues. So, some of us, including me, were switched to a whiter Sparkle Rays. We all got a spool of the new Radiance Metallics by Meredith Willett. It’s not braided like Kreinik. You can strand it as can be seen at the end of a used thread. I want to finish the Criss-Cross Hungarian variation before adding more of the Radiance filler stars.
Jennifer kicked it off easy with Scotch stitches and ended easy with gobelin stitches. In between, we got through a waffle and Rhodes. I’m liking it so far.
No stitching tonight thanks to the margaritas at the Spotted Cat Music Club!
My second class at the 2025 ANG Seminar in New Orleans, LA was with Kay Stanis for Nautilus that has involves blending thread embroidery and beadwork.
Being just a 1-day class had me a little worried about how much we could accomplish but Kay did an excellent job of it.
I laced one side – she loves teaching lacing and it’s good to know how. But, I prefer Evertites.
We basted the square and large spiral portion of the design but still have lots more basting to do. Then, we carefully scored and ripped out the large spiral.
After cutting the felt padding, we attached it.
We basted tissue paper to outline the pears. And, after learning how to get 3 strands from Trebizond and Silk Serica, we started with the basic satin stitch. These are flat silks and are different from Splendor, Needlepoint Inc Silk, and others. These catch on EVERYTHING but are nice and shiny.
The morning of Day 2 of Walk in the Woods with Deborah Mitek was spent practicing ribbon leaves. I will practice more – probably with the River Silk ribbons and save the ones in the kit for the piece.
In the afternoon, I worked on the border. There was a party going on last night into the wee hours that kept me up and we are on the 27th floor! It’s New Orleans so nothing you can do. So, I was fading and the border was easiest. It really it first to be stitched anyway.
Eight of us from ANG Main Line Stitchers and Bill and Jean had a lovely group dinner right across the street at The Creole House. We had to dodge a parade to get back for EXPO!
The local ANG Streetcar chapter had a table with a partially stitched Dorothy Lesher piece. I may have to rip out what’s there because no threads are included. I’ve wanted to try one of Dorothy’s designs and this suits me. The little ornament rounded off the purchase nicely.
It looked like a good turn out for Expo!
There is music again outside our 27th floor. Not as bad at 8 pm as last night. Did I mention that I am not a huge fan of New Orleans? HOT and noisy.
For the 2025 ANG Seminar exhibit, I submitted Flowers Along a Rhode, an original design, Professional. It won a Second Place Ribbon! I was happy to see that.
The first award of the evening at the Welcome Banquet was the Creative Inspiration Award and I won it too. What a surprise and an honor! The special ribbons were designed and most of them stitched by Deb D. They are all lovely!
The design is slightly smaller than the 10″ x 8″ mat opening and is framed (16″ x 13″).
Here is my Artist Statement, a requirement for this category.
Debbie Rowley challenged us to be experimental during her “Explore and Design” class. In her 153-page booklet, she not only provides hundreds of stitch diagrams but explains how to understand the stitch so you can alter it when needed. Debbie had no input on my design.
The first section in Debbie’s booklet had 20 Rhodes stitch diagrams. That is when I envisioned a cobblestone walkway for my design. I ended up with more than 20 Rhodes stitches by searching through other books for more shapes and even making up a few of my own shapes. To line the far side of the cobblestone walkway, I saw stylized flowers made from the Waffle Star, Milanese Pinwheel, Walneto, layered Jessicas, and a combined Arrow Amadeus while the round Amadeus made bushes to line the nearside. The stems came from various sections of her booklet. And a flower garden would not be complete without butterflies buzzing around!
I did modify some motifs to my preferences such as placing the diagonal stitches on top of the straight stitches in the Waffle Star. And I shrunk two of the round Amadeus stitches and made small butterflies to add to the perspective. I added additional stitches to fill in the bushes carefully sliding the threads under the center line of the round Amadeus to maintain the characteristic appearance of the base.
Both the grass and the background combined an overdyed green thread and a matching middle value solid green to tone down the shifting color while conveying a breeze.
I enjoyed creating this contemporary garden stitched on 18-count canvas with a variety of threads.
End of artist statement. Additional information for further reference. Based on one of Debbie’s butterfly diagrams, I created the other four.
The grass and backyard stitches come from ANG Lone Star’s booklet, Grab -n- Go Stitches. The patterns have no names. These came from the section “Stitches That Read Straight”.
I have requested a critique and will post that and my scores once I get them after they are shipped home.
Debbie Rowley was so happy for me! And, another of her students won the Founders Award for the 4 colorways of a design of Debbie’s. That was quite an undertaking and they look great. Well deserved honor.
By the way, this completes Goal #4 for 2025.
Additional information is also available on the Judge’s Score and critique at https://melitastitches4fun.com/2025/09/02/flowers-along-a-rhode-the-judges-score-and-critique/
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