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.

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.

Janet's Lovely Huswif

Janet G., who lives in a little village in the center of England, recently sent me some photos of her completed Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif.  She did a beautiful job with both the stitching and the assembly.  I'm particularly smitten with the tiny red and white checked fabric she chose for the huswif binding and the gathered pocket on the inside.  Janet chose a larger count linen than what I used on my model, but she said she was easily able to adapt the huswif lining to fit her linen.

Janet wrote, I love stitching on yellow fabric, so I bought a fat quarter bundle of cotton print fabrics on Ebay, in various shades of lemon yellow with pink/red flowers and fruits on them. I then chose some yellow 28 count Permin evenweave from my favourite online shop, called www.sewandso.co.uk. That was the easy part. I wanted to do the stitching in a darkish purply red hand dyed thread, but there are no bricks and mortar embroidery shops near me, so I had to choose online.

The first thread I bought was too brown, when I actually received it. So next I ordered Crescent Colours’ Ruby Slippers. But when I started to stitch with it, the variegations in the thread just seemed too predictable, with not enough variations. I’m sure it’s great when used on the correct project, but this wasn’t it. Before I’d got too far into this project, I had to choose something else, so I settled for a Thread Gatherer shade called ‘In the burgundy’.

This project was quick to do, and very enjoyable to stitch. I am really pleased with how this huswif has turned out, and especially the little needlebook, which is so tiny and sweet!

Perhaps some of you remember Janet's Ackworth Friendship Book that I showed you on February 23, 2012.  Janet decided to honor her female ancestors by stitching their initials on the book pages.  That was such a clever idea!

Thank you, Janet, for sharing your photos of another wonderful project you have created!  And just think--since your huswif is larger than mine, you have room for more needlework necessities!  That's always a good thing, isn't it?

Hanging Out With the Gibson Girls!

Yesterday I took two reproduction samplers up to Carol to be framed.  (Much to my dismay, some of my favorite frames have been discontinued!) 

The first sampler was Janet Gibson (from Hope's Dwelling Place).  I had started this sampler more than 5 years ago when it was one of my sampler newsletter SALs.  I got bogged down when it got to the large swan, sheep, and cow which had quite a bit of cross stitch over one thread and were then filled in with rows of buttonhole stitches.  I also still needed to stitch Adam and Eve.  Perhaps you may remember my showing you Janet here back in January.  You can see in the photo how close I was to having this sampler completed.

Poor Janet laid buried in my stitching basket until a few weeks ago when I decided that I had too much work done on her to let her languish any more.  I just needed to move forward.  The good news is that I finished stitching her about a week and a half ago, and here she is in all her glory.

You may wonder about areas where there appear to be missing stitches, such as the deer on the right who is missing a rear leg.  Yes, that is exactly what was charted on the reproduction. 

As I mentioned earlier, the swan is filled with rows of buttonhole stitches going in all sorts of directions--mainly horizontal rows, but there were some vertical rows, and a few that were even slanted!!  The hair on Adam and Eve was made from a fine twisted cord!  I'd never used that technique before for hair.  I must say it looks pretty cool.

Before retrieving poor Janet Gibson from my stitching basket, I completed Mary Gibson (from the Halsmere Museum in the UK). 

I'll post some more photos once I get the framed samplers back from Carol in a few weeks.

I'm very busy getting ready to teach soon in La Crosse, Wisconsin!  However, I'm still finding a bit of time to stitch on Mary Katz (from the Mercer Museum in Pennsylvania)  in the very early morning hours before beginning my work.  (Stitching keeps me "sane",  How about you?)

If you will be in either of my classes in La Crosse please bring any of your With My Needle projects you've completed.  I'd love to see them in person!

What A Lucky Gal I Am!

Those who attended the recent Weekend of Stitches retreat (sponsored by House of Stitches in LaPorte, Indiana) were showered with gifts.  Someone said it felt like Christmas morning.  Linda, the shop owner, had door prizes and a parting gift for all the attendees.  Even I got a parting gift!

Look what was inside!

Linda had wonderful wooden tool blocks with ruler/threadholders made for all of us.  Both the block and the ruler/threadholder are inscribed with the name and date of the event.  This will be a lasting keepsake from our wonderful weekend.  The block has holes in the top for scissors, needles, and other tools like my frog counting pin.   (Unfortunately, the frog pins are no longer available.)

Here is another view of the tool block and ruler/threadholder in front of the shaker sewing box I found antiquing in Connecticut in July!

I put my class kit threads on a paper hornbook to have them organized.  In class I talk briefly about the history and purpose of hornbooks and show a few images of antique ones.  Then I pass around some reproduction hornbooks.  One of the gals in my class, Ruth Ann (Fran) Russell, asked me if I had a copy of the little book, A Little History of the Horn-book.  When I said no, she gave me one.  WOW!!  I was blown away by her generosity. 

 Below is a photo of the front cover, and below that is a photo of the inside-back cover.  I love this image!

Fran told me later that she knew the book was meant for me--I love hornbooks, plus this book had originally been in one of the Cincinnati libraries.  (I think I need to visit library sales more often if such treasures are offered.)  Thank you, Fran, for this wonderful gift.  I will treasure it always!

I was so happy to finally meet Fran in person.  Many of her C Street Samplerworkes models are on display at House of Stitches.  As in so many cases, the models are so much more beautiful in person than in a photo.  Last year I stitched Fran's I Sigh Not for Beauty, and now have it hanging in my family room.

My last gift was from Pat G. from Michigan.  Pat's husband, Bob, does woodworking and has made a "perfect bow maker".  The four pegs are movable so you can make bows of different sizes.  Thanks, Pat and Bob.

I first met Pat a couple of years ago at A Stitchers' Gathering in Louisville, Kentucky.  A Stitchers' Gathering is a retreat put on by Rae Iverson.  The location may vary from year to year.  It was Rae who first encourage me to teach classes, and my first two teaching pieces, Call of the Sea and Long May She Wave, premiered at Rae's retreats.  Pat was in my first Long May She Wave class and sent me these photos of her completed class project.  Great job, Pat!

Charts for both the 13-star and 50-star flag are in the class kit. Pat chose to stitch the 13-star flag.   Both her photos show the little sewing case opened.  The first photo shows the case outside and the second the inside.  The scrimshaw pieces in her photos are from another project, My Favorite Things Stitching Basket, which is available at your local needlework shop. (The scrimshaw pieces can be ordered from me.  I can only ship them within the US--sorry!) 

Long May She Wave is available only as a class project.  You can check my teaching schedule on the left sidebar of my blog or on the teaching page of my website to see when and where Long May She Wave will be taught in 2013.  Linda and I are also looking into fall 2013 dates for me to teach both Long May She Wave and  Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif  for her Weekend of Stitches.  I'll let you know as soon as we finalize the date.