More from the Amazing Donna!

I'm always excited to hear from Donna G., who lives in Berkeley, California, because I know she's most likely sending me photos of a completed project. 

Donna's most recent completion was Flowers for Lily.  Donna wrote that the stitching went quickly. It just took a while to find the time to do the assembly. 

Many of you may be familiar with Donna's work already because, not only is she an incredible needleworker, she is also very prolific.  You can see more examples of her completed WMN projects by typing "Donna G" in the Search This Blog box just left in the sidebar.

Donna also wrote me that she is now working on Friends in Stitches, a teaching project.  Knowing Donna, I should soon have photos of that project to show you also.

Thanks, Donna, for the photos.  Your work is truly an inspiration to many!  Please keep those photos coming!

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.

Catherine's French Version of Flowers for Lily

Catherine B. from Caen, France sent me these photos of her lovely completed Flowers for Lily which she stitched for a friend.  Catherine stitched the case on 40-count linen using Aurifil threads--a very pretty combination I think you'll agree.

Here is her case closed with a pretty little bow added for embellishment.

Now a view of the entire outside.



 And now the inside where Catherine made quite a few changes to both the needlepage and the pincushion to reflect her own taste.

Catherine, merci beaucoup, for sharing photos of your work.  I hope your friend is enjoying her special gift made with love from your heart.

If you want to see other versions of Flowers for Lily, just click on the words Flowers for Lily in the left sidebar of this page under Blog Topics.

Now that the stitching is completed for my new A Quaker Worke Box, I've begun work on a new teaching project that will be in a black wooden box with ball feet and  also a lid.  The project will premier next May at the Inn Stitches retreat in Ohio.  I'm still trying to come up with the perfect verse and name for this project.  Think carnations, cardinals, and perhaps ladybugs, deer, and house, and who knows what else?

Until I get the project charted, I'm stitching for fun on the Ann Rayner sampler from Threads Through Time.  After having stitched A Quaker Worke Box over one linen thread, it feels strange to be stitching over two linen threads.  My friend Bethany has reminded me that there are some spots of Ann that are over one thread. I'm just not to those spots yet.

Several people have asked about the release of A Quaker Worke Box.  I'm afraid it will be several months off.  The finishing and directions still need to be done.  Also I like to release at least two new projects at a time, so I need to design another one for the retail market.  I'm debating between a trio of pincushions and a sampler.  Thanks for your patience.

Wishing you a great weekend with lots of stitching time. 

Dee's Flowers for Lily; Newsletter Problems

Unfortunately, the issues with my newsletter subscription list at Yahoo have not yet been solved. Because of problems that AOL subscribers have receiving my notices, I have to maintain 4 separate Yahoo groups for the newsletters. The majority of the subscribers are in the first group. However, I had to set up 3 smaller ones (limited to 99 name each) for AOL folks and others who have problems getting my notices. (AOL is convinced I'm sending spam if the lists get any larger than 99 names.) The 3 smaller groups are still around, but it is the largest one that has around 1800 names that is missing.

I will keep you posted as things develop. Please bear with me. As you can imagine this is a very busy time for me between Christmas and getting ready for the Nashville Tradeshow in February and teaching a new project for the first time in March.

Now on to much more pleasant things...

Below are photos of Dee's Flowers for Lily. Don't you love the beads she added to the mattress pincushion shown in the second photo? And her lining fabric is quite striking.

On a personal stitching note, I'm nearly done with Mary Busby, the 4th of my Ackworth gals. Earlier this week I went to see Carol, my framer friend, and picked up My Quaker Lady which she had framed. While there, Carol measured Mary for her frame. You may remember that my hope is to hang my 4 Ackworth gals over our bed. The other 3 gals are patiently awaiting for Mary to join them.

I hope you're having an enjoyable weekend! It has been a lovely one here.

Today Tom and I drove to Richmond, Indiana for an antiques show. I had heard for years how nice this one is, but had never been before. I couldn't believe all the samplers we saw! I didn't buy any, but want to share a story with you.

The tag on one of the samplers said it had 3 spiders and 2 beavers on it. After talking to the seller and finding out he knew nothing about samplers, I told him I believed that what he called spiders were honeysuckles, and that his beavers were really squirrels with very large tails. I wish I had asked him if I could take a photo to share with you. Anyway, the man seemed most appreciative and said he was going to change his tag.

Does this photo of a honeysuckle look like a spider to you? This particular honeysuckle flower is on one of my teaching pieces and resembles the ones we saw today.

I am really enjoying getting photos from so many of you. Please keep them coming. Here are some photos I received this week.

The first photos are of Maria's Flowers for Lily. Maria is from Italy. Didn't she do a lovely job with the stitching and finishing?

Maria wrote that she and and two friends are now working on Quaker Schoolgirl Needle Necessities. Maria, I'm looking forward to seeing your photos when the three of you finish your new project. Enjoy!

Donna Granger from Berkeley, California was inspired to stitch Eliza's Pyn Pillow after seeing the completed ones in my blog post from May 19, 2009. Donna wrote that she likes to stitch using materials in her stash. She used Silk and Colors lavender honey thread. Another lovely job, Donna.

The chart for this little design is at my website under Complimentary Designs.

In my last blog post I mentioned friendships that have been formed over the internet. Today I am focusing on one such special friendship.

Sandra Carstairs from North Yorkshire, UK and Chrissie Frew from Queensland, Australia first met several years ago on one of the needlework boards. Chrissie wrote, “Since then we have kept in touch, becoming great friends, emailing each other most days. Through our mutual love of stitching, have become great buddies and last year we stitched your series of stitching accessories from the JCS Christmas magazines. We thought you might like to see our photos. Sandra’s is the purple and mine the black and the background fabric is the fabric we lined them with.

"Sandra and I love doing our SAL together and last year we stitched a different ornament each month for the year and enjoyed it so much that this year we decided to do another SAL together and this time we are doing bigger projects and each of us have turn about at choosing what that project will be. Because we both have the same tastes in stitching, this is always an easy choice.

"Thanks again Ellen for the beautiful charts you design for us (we have several more waiting to be stitched.)”

Sandra and Chrissie recently completed Flowers for Lily. Aren’t their pieces lovely? Both ladies decided to tuft their pincushions and tie the cases closed with a ribbon. Each chose a pretty floral print for the case lining.

The first two photos are Chrissie's work.










Here are photos of Sandra's project. Look at what she added to the side of the pincushion.

Thanks, Chrissie and Sandra, for sharing photos of your beautiful work and telling the story of your special friendship. I know that you all are excited about being able to meet in person later this year when Sandra and her husband travel to Australia. What a wonderful time that will be!!

Here are some more projects for you to enjoy.

A couple of years ago, three friends stitched Flowers for Lily as a birthday gift for another friend, Leigh P. of Louisiana, who had mentioned this was one of her favorite charts. Jennifer C. of Virginia stitched the scissors fob, and Jodi B. of Wisconsin stitched the needleroll. Then they sent the piece off to Rachel H. of Utah who assembled it. Nice work, ladies!

Here are two more examples of Californian Donna Granger’s beautiful work.

The first project is Beauty and Grace. Donna’s photos show the front, back, and inside of the case with its mattress-style pincushion and ribbon-embellished needlepage.

Next is Donna’s Strawberries So Faire sewing roll. I particularly love the way she attached the ribbon to the sewing roll.

Donna, you did an exquisite job of stitching and finishing on both projects!

I always enjoy hearing from stitchers with notes and photos of your work. Please keep them coming.