Monday, July 19, 2010

San Antonio memories...

What a delightful time I had in San Antonio! Things could not have been more perfect!

I thought you might enjoy seeing some photos. (I have to admit that seeing the drink cups on the work tables made me very nervous. Accidents can happen too easily. I always say it's bad enough when you spill something on your own work, and terrible to spill on someone else's work.)

Melba, the lady in the center, is a needlepointer and had never stitched on linen before. Boy---did she catch on very quickly!!
I'm not sure what's going on in the next photo, but I think you can tell that folks were having a good time. Mary Beth (from the San Antonio area) is in the front row, and Carol (from Baltimore) and Dixie and Cindy (from the Houston area) are in the back row.Heaven knows what Connie was saying in this photo, but she was clearly entertaining some of those around her. If you who know Connie, you're probably not surprised. Connie is a very proud Texan and always has suggestions for the best places to eat, shop, and visit!
Regardless of what the previous photos may suggest, there was some serious stitching going on (along with the good times and laughs).

I really like these photos of Nicole. She certainly made lots of progress on the dividing bands of her Fruit of the Vine needleroll.In class, I asked how we could attract more "young" people to needlework. Except for Nicole, her younger sister, Beth, and one other person, everyone was in my age group, give or take a few years.

In the front row are Helen (from San Antonio) and Lois (from Austin). In the back row are Anna (from San Antonio) Beth (from Dallas), Melba (from San Antonio), and Nicole (fom Dallas). Anna and her daughters Beth and Nicole organized the lovely event. Thank you!Since Sunday's class took only four hours, I had time in the afternoon to explore San Antonio. I went to the Spanish Governor's Palace. Parts of the building date from 1722. San Antonio became the capital of Spanish Texas in 1772, and the building then became the governor's home. In 1821, when Mexico gained its independence from Spain, the building became a private residence. Later the building contained shops until in 1929 when the city purchased it and opened it as a museum two years later.

I thought you might enjoy seeing these photos of the embroidered bedspread in one of the rooms. Sadly, there was no information about the textile. Isn't that too often the case?

Earlier today I visited a local shop, Stitcher's Hideaway. Sadly, Jenny, the owner, was sick so I wasn't able to get to meet her as we had hoped. (I hope you feel much better, Jenny.) Jenny's husband, Kyle, and her friend, Nancy, filled in. Tomorrow I'll post some photos of my visit to the shop and also to the Witte Museum.

7 comments:

Margaret said...

I'm glad your class went well and you enjoyed San Antonio, Ellen. Love the pics of the embroidered spread -- beautiful! Looks like everyone in class was having fun!

Missy Ann said...

I didn't seriously start stitching until I was 25. But at that point my son was already 3 and I was a full time SAHM. He was also a very good toddler, I didn't have to worry that I would find him on top of the refrigerator or painting the cat, so I could stitch when he was awake.

I think younger women are so busy with all the things they have to do to find time to stitch. But! I encourage all the girls I come in contact with to stitch. If we teach them when they're young I think that we'll get lots of them back when their children are older and their schedules have settled down and they realize needlework is the perfect thing to do while waiting for soccer/piano/swim/ practice to finish.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Looks like you all had such a great time!

What an incredible bed spread!

Sandra said...

Looks like the ladies had a ball. I think the youngsters nowadays are too busy with their careers but probably they'll start relaxing a bit as they get older and hopefully take up stitching, I can't imagine life without it. It's nice to see some more men coming out of the woodwork and showing their needlework too, as I've noticed some new 'man blogs'. I wonder if I need to get a light for next May?

Nancy said...

Thanks for sharing your pictures Ellen. Everyone looks very busy and that they are having fun! The bedspread is amazing! Too bad you couldn't find any information about it.

Denise said...

I loved reading about the 2 shops in Texas. It is always fun to 'visit' other shops!
I agree with needing to attract younger folks to stitch. I live in a small town and I don't know anyone at all, besides me, that cross stitches.
Seems like everyone is too busy...
We'll keep trying!

Anonymous said...

Ellen,

Thanks for the photos. We had a great time in your class and you have inspired me to get some of my unfinished works done and to stitch more. I am glad you enjoyed San Antonio. Please let me know when you will be back in the great state of Texas.

Nicole Rutledge