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.