Teaching in Onalaska, Wisconsin

Last weekend's class attendees made such great progress on their projects!  I can't believe I didn't take more photos.  I think you would have enjoyed seeing what they accomplished. 

Here are a few photos.  Thanks, Cathy and Marybeth, for adding to the few I had.

This photo was taken at Sunday's class, A Lady's Worke Box.  Don't they look diligent?

I always like to design my teaching projects so that we can work on small pieces with the specialty stitches in class.  That way the students can practice the stitches and not have to do very much counting.  Fruit of the Vine has 28 different stitches.  Yes, that's right, 28 different stitches!  In class, we work on the needleroll which has the majority of the stitches needed for the sampler/huswif. 

Here's a photo of Marybeth M.'s progress during class.  As you can see, she completed many of the narrow bands, but others are still in progress.  Marybeth emailed that she has done more since class.



Chris C. (whose beautiful work you saw in my last blog post) didn't attend the second class on Sunday.  Instead, she found a nice sunny spot in the hotel and stitched on her Fruit of the Vine needleroll, which she had started in class.  She was nearly finished by Sunday afternoon.  I wouldn't be surprised if she has it assembled by now!  Here is Chris' needleroll on Sunday...

...and here is what it will look like when it's assembled.

In Sunday's class, A Lady's Worke Box, the students worked on the back of the needlebook, which is designed as a small sampler. There are 19 different stitches used on this project, and most of them are on the needlebook.

Again, Marybeth, and many others, made great progress in class. 



This is what her needlebook back will look like when it's completed.

In class, everyone also got to make a paper mock-up of the Jacob's ladder-style needlebook to take home. 

I always feel like there is more to a class than just stitching.  In all my classes, I talk a bit about hornbooks and show images of a few old ones.  Most of the classes also have some more education.  In the A Lady's Worke Box class, I show more than 120 images of antique worke boxes and their contents.  Talk about amazing "eye-candy"!

I was surprised to receive a couple of gifts while on the trip.  Here they are on the spool cabinet in my family room.

Sarah Hall, owner of Crosse Stitchery and Main Street Framing, organized the two classes--one for the Coulee Country EGA and the other for her shop.  She gave me a basket full of Wisconsin goodies--chocolate candies, honey, a candle, and cranberry-rhubarb spread.  (The class attendees told me that Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state in the US.  Did you know that?  I had always thought New England produced more. It's always nice to learn something new.)  Since taking the photo, I've emptied the basket of its contents and filled it with mini-pumpkins.  It looks so nice sitting on my hearth.

To the left of Sarah's basket is a wonderful pincushion that Cathy B. made me.  The base is an old jar lid, and the wool pincushion is topped with a piece of Cathy's mother's beautiful tatting.  I had never seen tatting made using an overdyed thread.  It is so wonderful!  I now have the pincushion sitting on the small table next to where I stitch.  Below are a few photos of the pincushion in place, including a few enlargements showing Cathy's and her mother's work.  Cathy also included three color-coordinated pins.  I've added a few needles.

Thank you so much, Cathy, for your kindness and generosity!  I love the pincushion!  Please tell your mother how much I appreciate her tatting also.

For the first time in a few years, I've been able to do some fall decorating in the house.  I haven't been able to do anything the past two years because of family issues.  I had forgotten how much I enjoy looking at the fall decorations.  The photo earlier of my two gifts also has in it a Halloween piece that I stitched quite a few years ago.  I stretched a shiny fabric over a plain stretcher frame.  Next I mounted my embroidered linen over that, and then covered the edges with ribbon.  The shiny fabric under my linen gives a sparkly look to the piece.  I mounted a board, which I covered with greenery, on the bottom of the frame.  Then on top of that I added a small wooden fence, pumpkins, and  trees (actually twigs from our yard).  Then I placed a witch with a broom on the fence.  Last night we picked up Halloween candy, so I guess we're ready for all the trick-or-treaters in a few days.