"Back in October 2006 a group of us were attending A Stitchers’ Gathering (ASG) sponsored by Rae and Ron Iverson of Moss Creek Designs. We were talking with Rae and Ron’s son, Geoff, who mentioned that their wedding anniversary was in October, right after ASG and that in 2007 they would be married for 40 years. He wondered if we could come up with something special to surprise them.
"Our “gang” got right to work and the planning started. We wanted to stitch them an anniversary sampler to commemorate the event. You might think that getting 6 women to agree on a particular piece would be difficult, but it really wasn’t. Ellen’s An Emblem of Love hadn’t been out that long at the time we started discussing the project. Someone suggested it and everyone was in agreement immediately!! Kind of hard to believe I know but it really was that simple. We thought that Ellen’s design was understated (i.e. not cutesy) and classic and perfect for Rae and Ron.
"The organizer of the “gang”, Stephanie, took over and got all of us organized. She purchased the fabric, the fibers, split
the sampler into 6 pieces, came up with a sequence for stitching, and sent everything off to the first stitcher, who happened to be her mom, Gail. Armed with our assignments, the fabric and threads traversed the country from Steph in Wisconsin, to Gail in Florida, to me in Baltimore, to Gwen in Georgia, to Dixie in Texas, to Deb in Arizona and finally back to Steph. If you look closely at the pic (click on the photo for a larger view), you might see little sets of initials where we all “signed” the sampler near the part we stitched. Steph was in charge of pressing, framing, and bringing the sampler back to Louisville in October 2007.
"The celebration was set for Sunday morning. In addition to the sampler, Dixie worked real hard at getting together a scrap book for Rae and Ron. There were some pics from ASGs past and plenty of spaces for notes of good wishes from all of the attendees. (We had given everyone little note cards to write their notes to Rae and Ron and then spent Saturday evening putting them into the book.) On Sunday morning, we “hijacked” the brunch, and surprised Rae and Ron with the sampler, the scrapbook and an anniversary sheet cake. They were totally clueless that any of this had gone on and a lot of the surprise planning had gone on right under their noses!!
"They just love the sampler we chose to stitch to them and have it proudly hanging on a wall in their home. I know I’ve seen it!!
"Thanks Ellen for a design that brought so much happiness to two of the “gang's” favorite people in the whole wide world!"
"Our “gang” got right to work and the planning started. We wanted to stitch them an anniversary sampler to commemorate the event. You might think that getting 6 women to agree on a particular piece would be difficult, but it really wasn’t. Ellen’s An Emblem of Love hadn’t been out that long at the time we started discussing the project. Someone suggested it and everyone was in agreement immediately!! Kind of hard to believe I know but it really was that simple. We thought that Ellen’s design was understated (i.e. not cutesy) and classic and perfect for Rae and Ron.
"The organizer of the “gang”, Stephanie, took over and got all of us organized. She purchased the fabric, the fibers, split
the sampler into 6 pieces, came up with a sequence for stitching, and sent everything off to the first stitcher, who happened to be her mom, Gail. Armed with our assignments, the fabric and threads traversed the country from Steph in Wisconsin, to Gail in Florida, to me in Baltimore, to Gwen in Georgia, to Dixie in Texas, to Deb in Arizona and finally back to Steph. If you look closely at the pic (click on the photo for a larger view), you might see little sets of initials where we all “signed” the sampler near the part we stitched. Steph was in charge of pressing, framing, and bringing the sampler back to Louisville in October 2007."The celebration was set for Sunday morning. In addition to the sampler, Dixie worked real hard at getting together a scrap book for Rae and Ron. There were some pics from ASGs past and plenty of spaces for notes of good wishes from all of the attendees. (We had given everyone little note cards to write their notes to Rae and Ron and then spent Saturday evening putting them into the book.) On Sunday morning, we “hijacked” the brunch, and surprised Rae and Ron with the sampler, the scrapbook and an anniversary sheet cake. They were totally clueless that any of this had gone on and a lot of the surprise planning had gone on right under their noses!!
"They just love the sampler we chose to stitch to them and have it proudly hanging on a wall in their home. I know I’ve seen it!!
"Thanks Ellen for a design that brought so much happiness to two of the “gang's” favorite people in the whole wide world!"
Thanks, Carol, for sharing the story of this special sampler made for two special people. Also thank you for keeping me updated with photos as you all each stitched your part. I am only sorry that I wasn't able to be present in person to see the look on Rae's and Ron's faces!!
This "gang" of needleworkers has become very close friends through their love of needlework. As I write this post, they are headed to Arizona for another A Stitchers’ Gathering. I know they will have a wonderful time!
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