Spending Time with the Austin Stitchery Guild

I'm sorry to be so remiss in updating my blog.  I got home from Austin last Thursday, and there has been a whirlwind of activities since then.  On Saturday we went to an antiques show in Indiana and to a party for our priest who has retired after 23 years at our church.  Then on Sunday we had a family birthday celebration for me in Yellow Springs.

The antiques show is always wonderful.  Of most interest to me were the textiles.  There were lots of quilts, coverlets, and samplers, and I was delighted to come home with one of the samplers, that of Janet Harvie.

 

What a pleasure it was to once again return to Texas to teach for the Austin Stitchery Guild.  Several years ago I taught Call of the Sea and Tokens from the Sea at their annual retreat.  This time I taught Long May She Wave and A Lady's Worke Box.  It was so nice to see old friends and make new ones. The bad news is that I was very negligent in taking class photos.  I'm hoping some of the class attendees will send me some of their photos, but until then these few will have to do.

The first two photos are from the second class, Long May She Wave.  I have none from the first class--phooey!

 Look at the progress one of the attendees made on the front of her flag needle case.  I wonder if she's completed this diminutive project yet.

Here I am after dinner on the first class day with Lauretta, who organized all the classes.  We had dinner at a yummy barbecue restaurant.  If we look a bit "spent" it's because this was after a long day of class (9am-5:30pm).  The room was quite warm, and after class we had to rearrange the room for the next day.

Several of the ladies brought in show-and-tell pieces for me to see.  I neglected to get photos of all the pieces; in fact, you'll only see work from Marilyn and Sheila.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that those who don't see their work here will send me some photos please.

Below is Marilyn N.'s ES Floral Sampler and her Quaker Hornbook, which her guild did as a group project a few years ago.  On the ES sampler, Marilyn decided to stitch her own initials instead of those of ES. 

The next photos are of of Sheila W.'s Quaker Turtles.  Sheila wasn't in either of the classes, so she sent her pieces with a friend so I could see her work.  Here are her turtles in the basket that she so beautifully lined.

Here the turtles are after they escaped their basket.

And look what Sheila did for the lid of her basket.   I'm blown away by the creativity of some stitchers!  Sheila, thank you for sending your project for me to see in person.

And look at the "Texas gifts" the guild gave me!  At the top is a Texas snap-it pocket.  I love the creative closure on it.

On the left is a Texas scissors fob complete with Texas charms.  On the right is a necklace with a cowboy boot, complete with spurs.  In the middle in a tissue holder than Yvonne, one of the class attendees, made me.  How nice it is to have these wonderful reminders of my time in Austin. 

Thank you to the members of the Austin Stitchery Guild for the very nice few days and the thoughtful gifts.

I added a few extra days in the area after the class visiting such places as the LBJ Library, the Capitol building, and Homestead Heritage.  I'll share some of the photos in a few days.  I also got to meet my friend Anna one night for dinner.  Anna had already taken both of the classes I taught so there wasn't a need for her to go to Austin.  Since she lives in San Antonio, which is a couple of hours south of Austin, we met about halfway between in San Marcos.  On the way to meet her I was able to squeeze in a trip to the Vera Bradley outlet shop to replace my stitching bag, which after nearly twenty years of use is showing its age.

I'm looking forward to returning to Texas next April when I teach for the Tudor Rose Sampler Guild in Dallas.  I'll let you know which classes they choose.