Grab a Cup of Tea and Get Ready for LOTS of "Eye-Candy"!

Bright and early last Friday morning I headed north to Onalaska, Wisconsin to teach two classes--the Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif  for the Coulee Country EGA Chapter and A Lady's Worke Box for Crosse Stitchery and Main Street Framing.  Attendees were from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.

I wish I had taken a photo of my car all loaded down!  I don't think I could have added anything else to the load.  (I knew things would be pretty packed, so I did a "test" packing the weekend before just to make sure I wouldn't have to ship anything ahead of time.)

Despite rain most of the day, there was still quite a bit of beautiful fall foliage along the way. 

Approaching the hotel, this is what first greeted me.



Was I at the right place?  Indeed I was!

Once inside, this is what I first saw!

While waiting in line to check in, I couldn't help but notice the group of ladies in front of me, all with their Vera Bradley bags.  I wondered if they were part of the class.  It only took a few minutes to find out.  One of them, Cathy B., turned around and greeted me.  Cathy had recognized me from photos she had seen.  Cathy and her friends, Chris, Judy, and Mary Kay, had driven from Minnesota for the classes.  They live about two hours away but made a full day of it with stops for shopping, including antiquing, and a stop at Crosse Stitchery in nearby La Crosse.

Bright and early the next morning (7:30am to be exact), it was time to set up the room with the class kits and trunk show.  The classroom was quite spacious.  The tables were arranged in a U-shape, which I've now decided is the perfect configuration when I teach.  It was easy to get around to everyone.

One of the benefits of driving is that I can take lots of models.  I took only 3-dimensional pieces and put them on a table in the middle of the room.  That was especially nice because the class attendees could walk completely around the table.

Below are some photos of the models I took.  Since the photos were taken on two different days, the layout is not the same, and some of the project pieces ended up being separated from each other.  (Things were neater earlier in the day.)

In the next photo, I'm explaining how I, along with nine other designers, created the collaboration sampler, A Most Noble Pursuit.  We did all the planning on-line.  Many of the designers didn't know each other before the project began.  We met in person the night before the tradeshow at which we released the sampler.  There is still a limited number of charts available, but once they are gone, they'll be gone forever.  Last year we gave our model to Jean at Attic Needlework to auction off at her annual breast cancer auction.

In my next blog post, I'll show you some class photos; I'm devoting the rest of today's post to photos of the wonderful projects the class attendees brought for me to see.

First up is Cathy B. holding her Blue House Needle Primer.  Cathy told me she changed the verse I had on my model from "parents" to "mother" because her father died when she was very young, and her mother raised her on her own.

Here is a close-up of Cathy's Blue House Needle Primer and her Ackworth Friendship Book, which she stitched with her friends Chris, Judy, and Mary Kay.

Next is Cathy's very good friend Chris C. with her completed Ackworth Friendship Book and her My Needle's Worke Box.  Chris, as you'll soon see, is not only a beautiful stitcher (and finisher) but is also very prolific.

And look what else Chris brought--her My Favorite Things Stitching Basket!  I love the basket she chose to showcase her stitching!

Here are some more projects from Chris--one of A Pair of Pin Cubes and one of the Floral Needlerolls.  (Both of these products have two versions.)

And Chris isn't finished!  Here she is with her friend Judy S.  Chris and Judy are each holding their own completed Petit Samplings Etui.  This was another collaboration piece I did--this one with three other design companies.  (I always chuckle when I hear the word "petit" associated with this project.  It sure isn't "petit" in my humble opinion.)

Wasn't it sweet that both ladies turned their etuis so the side I designed would be in the photo?

Below are two more photos of Judy's etui.  The first shows the side designed by my friend Louise Henderson (Cherished Stitches).  The second shows the inside of Judy's etui.  I'm sorry I neglected to photograph the other sides of both etuis.

I hope your eyes aren't getting tired, because I still have more to show you!

Here is Deb W. with  her Floral Needleroll and also her Acorn Sampler Sewing Case.  Deb did a different version of Floral Needlerolls than Chris's version which you saw earlier.  Deb chose to stitch the over-one version and used the other color palette.  I wish I had thought to take a photo of the inside of her Acorn Sampler Sewing Case.  It was just wonderful!

Here is another photo of Deb's lovely work--Flowers for Lily.

And now look at Linda B. and all her goodies!  Linda actually brought more than what is in the photos.  I'm sorry, Linda, that I didn't get photos of all your pieces, especially your Acorn Sampler Sewing Case.  The lining fabric you chose for that case is wonderful!

Linda's projects are Quaker Needlework Treasures, A Needleworker's Sampler Huswif (a class project), Long May She Wave (also a class project), and Quaker Hornbook (a group project).  Linda took the two classes several years ago when I taught for the Mississippi River Sampler Guild in Dubuque, Iowa.

Next is Sarah H.'s A Needleworker's Sampler Huswif.  This can be framed as you see here or made into a huswif as Linda did.  Sarah, who is the owner of Crosse and Main Street Framing, was in the same class in Dubuque as Linda.  Sarah's choice of a frame and mat are exquisite!  I couldn't take my eyes off of it.  I'm just sorry that this photo doesn't do her work justice.

And last, but not least, is Marybeth's pin cube which is one of the two designs in A Pair of Pin Cubes.  Like Chris, Marybeth chose to stitch the Quaker design.  The other design has strawberries on it.  You can see both versions on my website.



This is a view of the bottom of Marybeth's pin cube.

I think there may have been some more projects that I neglected to photograph. Please accept my apologies if yours was one I forgot, and please send me a photo.  I need to do better at remembering to take photos. 

Thank you to Cathy and Marybeth for sending me photos to augment the ones I took.  If anyone else in the classes has any photos from the weekend, please send them to me.  My next blog post will be about the actual classes.

A Weekend of Stitches!

I spent last weekend in LaPorte, Indiana teaching at House of Stitches' Weekend of Stitches.  What a great time I had with this wonderful group of women!

The drive to LaPorte on Friday was beautiful as the leaves are beginning to change here in the Midwest.  Even rain did not detract from the wonderful fall colors.

My first stop after getting to LaPorte was at House of Stitches.

I'm sorry I only thought to take a few photos inside this wonderful shop.  Linda, the shop owner, has been in business for 25 years!  Wow!  She certainly must be doing something right!  If she doesn't have it in stock, she'll get it for you, so check out her shop in person or on-line.

Here is a photo of Linda, who is always smiling.  This photo wasn't taken at the shop but at the end of the retreat on Sunday afternoon.  And look, she is still smiling for ear-to-ear!

I neglected to take any photos of the many models and charts she has available, but I did take these of her wall of fabric and her fibers (well, at least some of her fibers--there were too many to get even in two photos.)  Linda has to use a ladder to get to the top couple of rows of fibers and fabric! 

After a quick dinner, it was time to meet the retreat stitchers at the hotel.  They were from Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and even one from Alabama.  That evening I showed them the class model as well as other models I had brought.  Unfortunately, neither I nor any of them thought to take photos. 

We began the class the next morning.  We spent the day working on the back of the Jacob's ladder-style needlebook, which is part of the A Lady's Worke Box project.

Here are some photos from day 1.  As you can see, our room had lots of both natural and artificial light.

One of the ladies, Sharon H., brought in some of her completed With My Needle projects for me to see.  She was so sweet to let me photograph both the pieces and her. 



Sharon and her Quaker Turtles



Here are some more photos of Sharon's beautiful work.



Quaker Turtles, Floral Needleroll, Crown and Needle Etui, and Acorn Sampler Sewing Case



I wish I had thought to take a photo of the inside of Sharon's Acorn Sampler Sewing Case.  She chose such a pretty lining fabric.

view of the inside of Floral Needleroll



Quaker Turtles



Sharon, as you can see, is a very talented needleworker.  Her friends call her the Queen of Smalls. Like Linda, Sharon is always smiling.   I don't think she'll mind if I tell you that next month she will celebrate her 75th birthday!  Wishing you an early 75th birthday, Sharon!

And here are some photos of day 2 of the class.  Look at how much progress the ladies made on the back of their needlebooks!



Janet and her work



Terry's work



Gwen's work


In all my classes I demonstrate the assembly process with mock-ups.  In this particular class, the attendees were able to also make their own needlebook mock-up to take home.  (They used glue on their mock-ups, but will be stitching the ribbons down on their actual needlebooks to create the Jacob's ladder binding.)

And last but not least, we finished the day by looking at images of beautiful antique work boxes and their contents.  It was truly a feast for the eyes!

Here I am with Penny and Terry after we had packed up and were ready to go home.  In the bag in front of Terry is a parting gift from Linda.  (I got one too!)  I'll try to remember to take a photo of mine tomorrow along with two other gifts I received from class students.


Thanks everyone for a great "weekend of stitches".  Also thank you to those who sent me photos to use here.

And a very special thank you to Linda for hosting such a wonderful weekend!  I'm honored and thrilled to be returning next fall to teach two more classes!

Lots and lots of "eye candy" for you to enjoy from the needleworkers at Fobbles!

I thought you might enjoy seeing some photos from my classes at Fobbles in Gubbergill, in the western part of the Lake District in Great Britain.  I took so many photos that I'll split them up over several blog postings.

First is an outside view of Fobbles. The window on the right is in the classroom, which is adjacent to the shop.  In a few days I'll share some photos of the inside of this lovely needlework shop.

Today I'm sharing with you photos of some of the needlework pieces the ladies brought to show me.  What a marvelous array of projects!!  I was thrilled to see so many lovely works in person.  I'm only sorry that I neglected to take photos of all of the pieces.  Please accept my apologies if I missed taking a photo of your needlework.

Here are the projects I photographed. 

First are some Quaker Hornbooks.  On the left is Barbara R.'s version. Barbara stitched the second design in the package as a needlebook and attached it to her hornbook. How clever! On the right is Judith H.'s Quaker Hornbook. Judith chose the over-one-linen-thread version.  Judith and Barbara both live in Preston.



Here I am with Sylvie R. She lives in the southeastern seaport village of Deal. (Yikes on my hair--it was rainy and very windy everyday, and I had forgotten that day take to bring my hairbrush.) Sylvie is holding her Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif, and I'm holding her Mrs. Waddelow's Needlework Basket and accessories. What a beautiful job Sylvie did with both her stitching and her assembly!

Here is a better view of Sylvie's lovely workmanship.



 Next is Elsie M.'s lovely version of A Fair Maiden's Etui.  Elsie lives in Lytham.

And now look at the inside of Elsie's etui!



Somehow I neglected to get a photo of  Elsie's My Needle's Worke Box. I'm so sorry. Perhaps she'll send me a photo to share with you.

Elsie and her daughter, Janet E. of Freckleton, who I have known for quite a few years, were in all three of the classes.  On Saturday, Janet's daughter, Lucy W. of Preston, was in class along with her mother and grandmother.  It was so wonderful to have the three generations together!

Here is the outside of Lucy's Quaker Schoolgirl Needle Necessities.



And here is an inside view of Lucy's case. I wish that the photo better showed the luscious green thread and lining Lucy chose.

Lucy also stitched A Fair Maiden's Etui like her grandmother did, but sadly I neglected to take a photo of it.

And here is Elaine E. of Blackburn with her version of Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif. Elaine stitched her case on a larger count linen than I used on my model, which made her huswif quite a bit larger than mine and able to hold lots of her needlework "goodies".


Now wait until you see what Elaine did to the inside of her huswif. She completely changed it by putting a pocket at either end and a rectangular pincushion in the middle. Elaine also added a scissors weight and case using motifs based on the huswif design.  I love it when stitchers make their own creative changes and additions!



Here is another view with Elaine's huswif turned sideways.  Can you see the pincushion in the center?  Elaine told me she made it the way she did so her huswif can rest on her stitching armchair with the pincushion on the top and a pocket on either side.

And last, but certainly not least, are lots of "goodies" from Sandra C. of North Yorkshire.  I think I've shown most of them on my blog before, but I asked Sandra if I could photograph them together. The projects in the next  photo are her Quaker Ornaments from four of the Just CrossStitch Christmas issues, Maidens of the Sea, Crown and Needle Etui, Acorn Sampler Sewing Case, Flowers for Lily, and Busy Bee Sewing Case (to which Sandra added an extra little piece).

 

Perhaps you remember seeing Sandra's An Emblem of Love previously on my blog. Sandra stitched this for her parents' 60th wedding anniversary in 2010. She chose the lovely thread and frame colors because they match the carpet in her parents' living room. 



Thank you, ladies, for bringing your needlework pieces for me to see.  I'm looking forward to seeing other projects, including your class projects!  Please send me photos.  I'd love to see your accomplishments!  I know others would also enjoy seeing your work.