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.

Still playing "catch up"

Today I went to a stitch-in with members of my sampler guild.  Although I have a lot on my plate right now, I decided to take a few hours off and get together with my stitching friends.  It sure was nice to see so many of them. 

Would you believe that there were four of us stitching on I Sigh Not For Beauty?  It is amazing to see the differences between the four samplers because each stitcher has chosen a different linen and threads.  I took some photos of the four samplers side by side and will post the photos in a day or two.    I've asked each stitcher to email me with the name of her linen and threads so I can post that info along with the photos.

Quite some time ago, Dee from the Canton, Ohio area sent me this photo of her ES's Floral Sampler-- another lovely finish, Dee, and the frame you chose so nicely complements your sampler.  Thanks for sharing your beautiful work!  You are truly an inspiration to so many!

When cleaning out old emails, I ran across this photo our daughter took a few weeks ago of Haiden wearing the Batman cape she made him.  He seems quite taken with it, don't you think?



Carmen's lovely ES's Floral Sampler

Carmen from Venice, Florida, sent me this photo of her completed ES's Floral Sampler. This sampler is a reproduction of a sampler I own.

Carmen stitched her lovely version on 40-count linen. Wow--I wish my eyesight were that good, but, even with my glasses and my Dazor lighted magnifier, 36-count is my limit.
Carmen and her sister, Barb, used to live in Dayton, Ohio, and were members of my sampler guild, so we've known each other for years. In fact, we met before the guild was formed nearly 16 years ago.

After retiring, Carmen and Barb, moved to Florida. They've asked me to teach my Fruit of the Vine Sampler Huswif next year for their EGA group in Sarasota. The class will be Monday afternoon (February 28) and all day Tuesday (March 1).

Class registration is now open if you are interested in joining us. Check the teaching page of my website to see photos, a project description, and contact information. You have to be present to get the class kit.

Thanks, Carmen, for sharing a photo of your very sweet sampler. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing you and Barb and also seeing your ES's Floral Sampler in person.

ES's Floral Sampler by Danièle

Danièle from France recently sent me photos of her lovely ES's Floral Sampler. This is my newest reproduction sampler.

Danièle wrote me in French, "J'ai choisi de le broder sur du lin Permin 16 fils "teint-thé", au petit point; les fils utilisés sont les soies Needlepoint préconisées". (Danièle wrote that she tent stitched the sampler on tea-dyed linen from Permin using the same silk threads I did on my model. Maybe some of the French readers can help me figure out how the stitch count. I presume that 16 fils is per centimeter, but I'm not sure. In inches, I'm guessing this is somewhere between 32 and 35 linen threads. I could be totally off base in my thinking. EDITED--Jane wrote me that 16 fils is equivalent to 40 threads per inch--WOW!!! As you can see math is not my strong point! Thanks, Jane!) The chart lists DMC thread substitutions for anyone not wanting to use the silk threads.

In the first photo, you can see that Danièle replaced ES's initials with her own.

Here is a closer view of Danièle's sampler.

Don't you love the frame Danièle chose and the way she staged her photos with flowers? How perfect for a floral sampler! Perhaps the flowers are from Danièle's garden. Thank you, Danièle, for sharing photos of your beautiful work.

The original sampler, from which our reproduction was created, was undated, but thought to be from around 1840. The stitcher didn't sign her name, only her initials. Wouldn't you love to know more about her? Surely, she must have loved flowers, but what else do we know about her?

This sweet little sampler is so charming with its lovely flowers and irregularities, particularly in the border. My model hangs over the desk in my office where I can see it often.