Visiting the Azalea Sampler Guild

Recently I spent the day with members of the Azalea Sampler Guild in Jacksonville, Florida. What a fun day it was catching up with old friends, first over lunch and then at their monthly stitch-in at a local library.  I thought you might like to see some photos of these lovely ladies and some of their beautiful handwork.

First are Carol R., Jackie K., Theresa R., Teresa B., and Nancy S.  My Ann Rayner sampler is in the foreground.

Here is a close-up of Carol R. at work on the needleroll for her Fruit of the Vine, a class piece. Carol is from Orlando and was in this class in February when I taught for the Sarasota EGA.

I didn't get a close-up of Jackie K.'s work. What a shame. She was working on Anniversaries of the Heart by Blackbird Designs, a wonderful sampler. 

Here is a close-up of Theresa R. and Teresa B.

I neglected to get a close-up of Theresa R.'s Marriage Takes Three, a Stoney Creek design.

Teresa B. was working on a lovely needlepoint mermaid-angel and also on Call of the Sea, another of my class pieces. Teresa was in my very first class. The piece shown in the photo below is the class examplar which has the majority of the stitches used on the sewing case.

Perhaps you remember previously seeing Teresa B.'s An Emblem of Love, which she stitched for her parents' 50th wedding anniversary. Teresa borrowed the finished sampler from her parents so she could bring it for me to see. Also her mother wanted her to get a photo of the two of us with the sampler. Teresa stitched her sampler with Eggplant Belle Soie from Crescent Colors. As you can see, she added a little bit of gold thread; how perfect for a "Golden" anniversary sampler! I think you'll agree (despite my lousy photo) that the frame with its gold fillet is absolutely perfect. I just wish you could have seen it in person.

Nancy was working on Rhapsody in Blue by Four Oaks Design. Below is her Quaker Hornbook, a guild project, resting on top of her needlepoint project.

Here are Kerrie L., Linda P., and Ellen L., and in the foreground is Jane H's Birds of a Feather mystery sampler. (I'm sorry I didn't get your photo, Jane.)

Kerrie was working on Peaceful Sampler. She also brought her nearly completed Jane Rees, a large Bristol Orphanage sampler stitched all in red.

Linda P. brought a couple of samplers for "Show and Tell". Here she is with her lovely Ann Rogers sampler.

And here she is with her Papa sampler, which shows a collection of patterns from the old Sajou pattern books. As you can see, this is an enormous sampler. I can't remember if Linda used 45- or 50-count linen.

Here is a close-up of Linda's incredible sampler.

Next are Kris K. and Henri.

Kris was working on Susan Rambo, and Henri was working on Hannah Gilpin.

Henri also brought this sampler for "Show and Tell".

And last but not least is my good friend, Melody. I can't believe it is the only photo I got of her.

Melody was working on her Quaker Hornbook. This is a group-only project from With My Needle.

Thank you, Melody, for inviting me to join you and your guild friends for a fun day. And ladies, thank you for making me feel so welcome. It was wonderful that my trip to Jacksonville to see my father-in-law coincided with your guild meeting. Enjoy your time with Lori Mootz next month. I certainly wish I could be back for her lecture.

For some strange reason, I'm no longer to receive or send email from my computer or phone.  Heavens knows why these things happen "out of the blue".  I don't know how long it will be until we can figure out a solution.  At least I can get to the internet and update my blog.

Miss Trenner's Needlework Academy

Over the past couple of months I've been delighted to see a couple of stitched Miss Trenner's Needlework Academy, but Dee L.'s is the first one I've seen assembled. As you can imagine, I was particularly excited to receive her photos.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have become well aware of Dee's beautiful stitching and assembly.  Her Miss Trenner's Needlework Academy is no exception!

The first photo shows the inside of Dee's large box as well as her needleroll and scissors weight.

Next is the inside of her smaller box.  You can see the stitched designs in the box bottom and the lid.  You can also see Dee's needleroll opened up so you can see her embroidery.

Now here are all of Dee's pieces in a single photo.  Wonderful, Dee!!

Dee told me how much she enjoyed stitching this project with its variety of stitches.  I think she also got a kick out of the fact that she knows the real Miss Trenner for whom I named the project.  They both live in Canton, Ohio.

Thank you so much, Dee, for sharing another of your fantastic needlework projects!!  I'm now busily working on my new teaching project that will premier in Canton next May. I know I'll see you there.

It was reassuring to read that some of you too have been plaqued by those pesky stitching frogs.  What a pain they can be!  Lori wrote me that she has tree frogs.  I wish I could send me frogs outside to live in trees, but they seem to prefer my stitching instead.

Little Boys and Frogs

I just had to share this photo of our two favorite little boys--together!!  Yesterday on her way to Columbus, Ohio, our daughter stopped by Fort Wayne to see our son and his family and she took this photo.

I'm so tickled to at last have a photo of our two grandsons together. I don't know how Carolyn got a 3-1/2 year old and a 9 month old to cooperate so well.  Just wish we could have been there also.

Carolyn's husband started his new job in Columbus a week ago. She and Haiden stayed behind another week in Chicago, but now their family is reunited. We are so excited to have them so much closer to us. Haiden is excited about getting a bike.

As to frogs, I can't seem to get rid of them!!!  I discovered yesterday afternoon that I was off one stitch on the house on Ann Rayner.  That may not sound bad, but my goodness it was.  The house ran into the flower vine.  So last night the house walls were ripped asunder.  Hopefully I can begin anew tonight.  No new photo as my piece looks exactly like it did the last time I showed it to you.  (The steps were in the right place.  I was off with the house walls, windows, door, etc.) 

I'm trying to figure out what is going on that I can no longer count.  Earlier this year, I made another big counting mistake.  In fact, it was so bad that I haven't even told you about it earlier. Perhaps one day I will.  It is so big that it turns my stomach.  I keep thinking perhaps it is just a bad dream.  I will be doing major ripping once I can face the piece.

On the good news front, I heard from Teresa about the give-away prize so the goodies will soon be on their way to her.  I feel terrible that I heard from Jonette six plus hours after the deadline and after I had chosen another name. 

I hope your week is off to a good start.  Please wish me luck that the frogs have left my area.  I'll try not to send them your way.

Shall we try again?

I had a great afternoon stitching with some wonderful folks.  I took lots of photos which I hope to share in a few days.

After I got home, I checked my email a final time to see if I had heard from winner #2.  Since I hadn't heard anything (and the deadline had passed when I was out), I once again chose another name. 

This time the person chosen is Teresa (Heartfelt Stitches).  Teresa, you have until 12pm (noon) EST on Wednesday, June 29 to email me your shipping information so I can send you your prize--the boxes, lining fabric, wooden ruler, sheep waxer, and chart for Miss Trenner's Needlework Academy.  If I don't hear from you by noon on Wednesday, I'll chose another name.

Speaking of Miss Trenner's Needlework Academy, I recently received some photos from Dee of her completed project, so next week I'll share her photos with you.

I hope you'll enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

Oh what a relief it is when....

I'm looking forward to spending the day stitching with friends. I'll be working on the lovely Ann Rayner. I haven't made much progress on her since I last showed you a photo, but here she is as of a few days ago.  As you can see I've gotten in the bare essentials of the border, and it met on the first try!  Oh what a relief that always is!  The border had a few irregularities, but the designer (Nancy Sturgeon, Threads Through Time) was kind enough to mark them.  Thanks, Nancy.  Perhaps you see the beginning of the red house.  Since the photo, I've gotten in about half of the first floor.

I'm still waiting to hear from the second blog give-away winner.  I've given her until noon today (an hour and a half away) to send me her mailing address so I can send her the prize (which I thought was a pretty nice one).  If I don't hear from her, I'll try another time to give away the prize.  Don't know what is going on.  Have you ever heard of anyone having such a problem giving away a prize!  Stay tuned to see what happens.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Sandra S. from "across the pond" shows off two of her completed projects

When I taught at Fobbles in the UK last month, Sandra S. of Harrow brought in her completed Crown and Needle Etui for me to see.  Unfortuntely, I neglected to take a photo of Sandra's lovely work.  So, I asked her to send me some photos.  Much to my delight, Sandra sent photos not only of her finished Crown and Needle Etui but also of her Friends in Stitches Sewing Case, a class piece.  Thanks, Sandra.

The first photo shows the front sides of both projects.  If you look carefully, I think you can see that Sandra added facial features to her ladies...so cute.

Here is the reverse side of Sandra's Crown and Needle Etui.  I doubt you can see it in the photo, but the lady is holding her needle in the air like a scepter.  She is wearing a crown on her head.

Sandra sent a photo of the inside of her Friends in Stitches Sewing Case. On the left is a pincushion, and on the right is a divided pocket holding Sandra's scrimshaw pieces. 

And here is the back of Sandra's sewing case.  As you can see, it looks like a small sampler.  Each of the diving bands uses a different stitch.

Thank you, Sandra, for sharing your beautiful work.  I hope our paths will cross again in the not-too-distant future, either on your side of the "pond" or mine.

During my recent blog give-away, many of you wrote that you had stitched some of my designs.  I would love it if you would email me photos so I can see your work and share it with others.  Thanks in advance.

Will the second time be the charm?

I've been in a real dilemma as what to do about my last give-away winner. I announced her name on Thursday and asked that she contact me by 12pm (noon) on Monday. It is now more than 20 hours past that time, and I still haven't heard from her. I don't feel it's fair to wait any longer, so I've decided to choose another name.

This time I used a random number generator. The number it chose was #20 which is Jonette. Jonette, your prize is already boxed and ready to mail. Please email me your mailing address so I can send you the decorated boxes and the other goodies. If I don't hear from you by noon on Saturday (June 25), I'll chose another name.

Hopefully, I'll hear from Jonette. If not, I'll keep drawing names until someone claims the prize.

The rest of the story....

I hadn't planned on making a posting today, but I just got some class photos from Christie.  Christie caught everyone busily stitching.  I think her photos show better than mine how hard everyone worked during class.

Perhaps you noticed that most of the ladies wore red or blue to coordinate with the class project.  You may have also noticed the cups on their tables....that is always a concern to me, but it didn't seem to bother them.  Luckily we didn't have any accidents.  Whew!!

Although this wasn't a QCSG class, everyone who attended is a member and all but two live close enough to make it to our monthly stitch-ins.  We have our stitch-ins on the second Monday morning and the third Wednesday evening of each month (except December).  This month was one of those rare ones when the second Monday and the third Wednesday fall in the same week, so I saw almost everyone earlier in the week.  Sue and I laughed that we had seen each other three times that week since we both made it to the two stitch-ins.

Lisa just emailed me that she finished her needlecase cover last night and hopes to start on the other pieces tonight.  I'm looking forward to seeing her progress (and that of the others) at our guild stitch-ins.

Thank you for your comments about our little Garrett. We can already tell that he is going to be a character.   He's also growing like a weed.  He was 23 inches (yes!!) when he was born and is now 30 inches.  This is 2-1/2 inches taller than our son was at the same age and the same height our daughter was at 18 months.  I wonder how long it will be before Garrett starts looking down on me.

I promise my next posting will have some needlework photos---I have some photos on file from Sandra S. of Harrow in the UK.  Lovely work!

Our weekend in review

Guess who spent the weekend in Cincinnati?

We were tickled pink that Garrett, nearly 9 months old, spent the weekend here.  He and his parents arrived late Thursday evening and just left--boo hoo.

This was Reunion Weekend at Miami University, Stephen's and Michelle's alma mater.  Late Friday afternoon, Stephen attended a wind ensemble rehearsal in Oxford, so Tom and I took Michelle and Garrett to a nearby park.  Garrett has just begun to enjoy swinging.  He was "eyeing" the nearby squirting water fountains, so perhaps he'll be old enough for that later this summer.

We think Garrett is very close to walking on his own. Watch out world!

On Saturday, Stephen, Michelle, and Garrett went to Miami U for Stephen's concert, and I taught a class (Long May She Wave) in Cincinnati.  This class had originally been scheduled for last fall, but I had to cancel it because of my back problems.

All of the ladies are members of the Queen City Sampler Guild, although this wasn't a guild class but rather one organized by four of the ladies.   Everyone was either from Northern Kentucky or Cincinnati except for Judy who drove up from Tennessee and Deborah who drove down from Columbus.  

Near the end of the day, I asked everyone if I could take their photos for my blog, and they all graciously obliged.  When I got home I felt stupid that I negelcted to take any photos of their work.  Most of them made tremendous progress on their needlecases.

Here are Lynn, Mary Beth, and Sue.  It is a small world--Lynn used to work with Tom at P & G.  Perhaps you remember seeing Sue before.  Last week I showed her photo at a guild stitch-in, and before that I showed her photo with her completed A Needleworker's Sampler Huswif, which I taught a few years ago for the Queen City Sampler Guild.

Here are Adele, Patti, Lisa, Christie, and Marsha, all hard at work and still smiling.

Next are Deborah, Pam, and Rita.  Deborah drove from Columbus and was the only person I didn't know before the class.  However, she knew most of the ladies through other stitching events.

And here are Judy and Christy.  Judy is the lady who drove from Tennessee.  She was in one of my very first classes.

And that brings us to today, Sunday....Father's Day.  After church I snapped a few more photos before we had a nice lunch, and our "guests" were on their merry way home.

Here are father and son.  We can already tell that Garrett is going to be quite a character.

And isn't this the perfect photo of our son on his first Father's Day?  We just don't know who the #1, 2, and 3 fathers are.



Happy Father's Day to fathers everywhere!!

Marie P, don't forget to email me with your mailing address so that I can send you your prize from the give-away.  Please remember that I need to hear from you by 12pm (noon) on Monday.

And the winner is...

Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to enter my give-away by writing which is your favorite WMN project. So many of you wrote such nice things.  Your notes really touched my heart. Thank you.  I wish I had enough prizes for everyone, but I only have one set of the boxes left.

I printed out all the comments and then cut them into paper strips.  Then I asked Tom to draw one from of the pile.  The name he chose is Marie P.  Marie, please email me your mailing address, and I will send you your prize, a special edition kit for Miss Trenner's Needlework Academy.  I hope you'll enjoy your prize.

I certainly enjoyed  reading all your notes.  One that I particularly enjoyed was from Lyn who wrote,  My favorite is "Quaker Turtles" (this was a tough choice!) I picked up the pattern because it was an unusual and useful use of quaker motifs. Also, the turtles reminded me of a gift my brother gave me over 40 ago when he went to college and I was a little girl...a small turtle filled with sand, with the name of his university on it. It'd be about the size of the pincushion turtle, and I kept it for many years.

Lyn, when I designed the turtles, Tom said they were sentimental because they reminded him of those little turtles so many of us had as pets when we were children.  Over the years I've gotten inquiries about doing another set of animals.  I've pondered the idea, but am not sure that there are others animals that would be as cute.  For example, one of my ideas has been a set of ladybugs, but they would be enormous compared to the size of real ladybugs.

I hope you'll enjoy the weekend.  I know it is only Thursday, but we  have a lot going on over the next few days.  We have some very special guests arriving tonight, and then I'm teaching on Saturday.  I'm looking forward to seeing some of you on Saturday.  It should be a fun day!

Long May She Wave!

I’m looking forward to spending Saturday with some needleworkers right here in Cincinnati where I’m teaching my Long May She Wave needlecase. What a perfect time to present this project—right between Flag Day (June 14) and Independence Day (July 4).

Although the finished case is only 2-7/8 x 1-7/8 inches it has 21 different stitches! Yes, 21!! Two charts are provided—one for the 13-star flag attributed to Betsy Ross and the other for our current 50-star flag. Because the project is so small, I think lots of those in class will easily be able to have it completely finished in time to display on the 4th of July.

I’ll share some US flag history while the class is stitching.  I’ve been brushing up on my facts including the roles Francis Hopkinson, Rebecca Flowers Young, Betsy Ross (of course), and Mary Pickersgill played in making flags for the US. I’ve also practiced cutting out a perfect 5-pointed star with one snip of the scissors.

I learn some new historical facts to add to my presentation each time I teach the class. For example, this time I finally figured out why both the Quakers and today's Episcopalians (derived from the colonial church) claim that Betsy Ross worshipped with them. This fact had puzzled me ever since we visited Betsy's home and Christ Church in Philadelphia ten years ago.

Betsy's parents, Samuel and Rebecca Griscom, were Quakers.  Betsy was the eighth of their seventeen children.  Betsy met and fell in in love with John Ross, the son of the assistant rector at Christ Church. John and Betsy were both apprentices to William Webster, a local upholsterer.  The Quakers did not approve of inter-denominational marriages. Betsy and John eloped.  They had to go across the Delaware River where they were married in a New Jersey tavern by William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s son. Betsy’s and John’s marriage caused Betsy to be cut off from both her family and her Quaker meetinghouse. Betsy and John worshipped at Christ Church. They sat in the 12th pew, and on some Sundays George Washington would be in a nearby pew.  John was killed in 1776 in a munitions explosion.  Betsy returned to the Quaker faith after his death.

I wonder what new facts I'll learn the next time I do this class.

What a nice day I've had! This morning I went to one of the Queen City Sampler Guild's monthly stitch-ins. I hadn't been to one in quite some time, so it was especially nice to see my stitching friends.  Our attendance was down today--there were only 11 of us there.  Regardless we had a great time and were able to catch up on things.

I asked my friends if I could take some photos to share with you, and they kindly obliged.  Thank you.

Here are Judy L. and Karen M. just settling in for the morning.  Judy is our current guild president.

I wish I had thought to take a photo of their projects. Judy is working Mermaid's Grotto, a teaching project from Tricia Nguygen of Thistle Threads. Wow--what a magnificent project!!! You can see photos of some completed grottoes here. I can't remember what Karen was stitching, but I bet it is a reproduction sampler.

Next are Edith B., Pat A., and Martha D.  I can't believe that I didn't take photos of their work either. 

Edith usually works on very intricate reproduction samplers and had just started a new one from Essamplaire. For "show and tell" she brought in an beautiful sampler in an incredible frame that her husband had carved. I had never seen anything like it--WOW!! WOW!! I was so blown away that I didn't even think to ask her if I could take a photograph of her piece.

For "show and tell" Pat brought in her completed Petit Sampling Etui that I designed along with some friends.  Here is Pat's box closed.

Here is the panel I designed.



Pat chose a very pretty light blue dupioni silk for her lining.  She decided not to use gussets on her etui and also came up with a different way to hold the sides in place.  Pat told me it was her husband who suggested attaching snaps to the ribbons.

Now look at Pat's etui fully open!! She made some changes to the inside also.

What a beautiful job, Pat!! 

I also neglected to take a photo of Martha's work.  She was stitching a beautiful stumpwork lion piece designed by Tricia Nguygen.  What a masterpiece!

Next are Sue B. and Carol H.  Sue was working on Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif.  She took the class from me in Sarasota earlier this year.  Carol is just beginning to start on the Frances Burwell sampler that was reproduced by Joanne Harvey of The Examplarery.  Carol told me that she fell in love with this sampler when she saw the original in Williamsburg.

For "show and tell" Sue and Janis (whose photo I neglected to take) brought in their completed A Woman’s Garden Band Sampler.  Catherine Theron designed this beautiful sampler to celebrate our guild's 15th anniversary.  Both Sue and Janis made a few changes to the original design and also chose other verses than what Catherine had on her model.

Ladies, thank you for indulging me with some photos.  I'm only sorry that I didn't get photos of all of you and your beautiful work--truly inspiring!!

And what did I stitch on this morning?  Ann Rayner from Threads Through Time.  I'm sorry this photo isn't better....the colors are really very pretty, and the sampler would look better if I had pressed my linen before taking the photo.

I hope you too have some special stitching "buddies" with whom you can share your passion!