Lots of Finishes to Share!

Grab a cup of tea, sit down, and enjoy these photos of some wonderful projects created by some very talented needleworkers.

Here are some items from Julie H. First is her Ackworth Friendship Book. Since Julie and I know many of the same needleworkers, it's been fun trying to figure out whose initials are on her various book pages. I got half of them right away, but I'm still working on the others.

Julie also completed Kindred Spirits. She was in the premier of this class last November when I taught for the Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild.

I saw both of these projects a few weeks ago when Julie brought them to Stitchville USA's Spring Fling. Thanks, Julie.

Next is Kim's Hannah Cummins, 1828. Didn't she pick the perfect frame to highlight her sampler?

Next are photos from Pam Z. The first three are of her Kindred Spirits project. Pam was in the same class with Julie last November. She is giving the completed worke box and accessories to a friend.

Look what Pam created using one of my Mini Quaker Samplings and snippets from my Quaker Pattern Book.  I love to see such creative finishes!!

Pam wrote, For this project I used 36 count HD Linen (LSL) in Vintage Tarnished Silver, and I stitched it with Gloriana Silk Northern Lights. The inside is a light blue Dupioni silk. My husband is a woodworker, and he made the double frame in Maple. It has a little magnet to close it.

      We live in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and I am a member of the Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild. I am also a quilter and knitter. 

     I learned a lot from your fabulous instructions on Finishing when doing A Lady's Worke Box. So glad I took that class when the guild had you come teach for us last November. I plan to stitch more of your other patterns soon.

And last, but certainly not least, are photos from Barbara R., who lives in the UK. Barbara was in my classes when I taught at Fobbles in 2011. She and some of her friends get together regularly to work on the class projects.

Here is Barbara's A Needleworker's Sampler/Huswif.

Thanks Julie, Kim, Pam, and Barbara for sharing photos of your work.  I'm just sorry that it's taken me so long to get the photos posted.

I think that I'm now caught up on posting photos that have accumulated in my mail box. If you've sent me a photo and haven't yet seen it on my blog, please resend it.

The Queen City Sampler Guild 2014 Christmas Party

On Saturday I attended The Queen City Sampler Guild annual Christmas party. This is my local guild, and their party is always a fun time with lots of socializing, show-and-tell, an (optional) ornament exchange, lunch, and lots of door prizes.

Here are a few photos of the ornament exchange tree.

This year there was a Quaker challenge: stitch something Quaker during the year. I didn't participate because I have already stitched lots of Quaker samplers and other Quaker-inspired projects. In fact, there are already seven Quaker samplers (five Ackworth reproductions and two others) hanging in our bedroom. There are six more Quaker samplers hanging in my office (With My Needle models) and nine three-dimensional Quaker projects (sewing cases, boxes, books ,etc.) in a glass-front bookcase.

I thought you might enjoy seeing photos of some of the Quaker show-and-tell projects that were on display at the party.

In the photo above on the right, you can get a glimpse of An Emblem of Love (one of my designs) stitched by Sue H. I hope to soon get a better photo of her sampler so I can share her lovely work with you.

Charts for both multi-color and single-color versions of the design are included in the chart package. Sue B. stitched An Emblem of Love in two shades of blue and put the finished stitched piece in a Whitman candy tin.

Lynn K. stitched my Quaker Pattern Book for the guild Quaker challenge. She personalized the book cover with the year, our guild's initials, and also the words  "Quaker Challenge".

There were only a few non-Quaker projects on display.

Lynn K. also brought two of my other projects she had stitched. She told me that this was her With My Needle year. Here are her Strawberries So Fair and her Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif.

Earlier in the year I showed you two other With My Needle projects (A Lady's Worke Box and A Work'd Pocketbook) Lynn had completed. This year she also stitched Family Ties as a gift for her son and daughter-in-law. She didn't have the project with her on Saturday because she has already given it to them.

Last year I taught A Lady's Worke Box for my guild, and I was thrilled to see five completed ones on Saturday.

Here are some close-ups. First is Susan W.'s box.

Next is Ann M.'s box.

And here is Sue B.'s box.

This is Janis R.'s box. (I'm sorry that the photo of Janis' box is so blurry.)

And last is Diane L.'s box. (Janis and Diane are sisters.) Diane likes to make lots of changes to designs, and this project was no exception. Diane changed the color of the house from blue to yellow, and added a verse to the linen panel on the inside box lid.

It was so much fun to see the five boxes side by side!!

You may remember that several months ago I finished the Snooty Parrots sampler. Jana B. also stitched this sampler. Here is a photo of our two samplers side-by-side. I stitched mine on 36-count linen, and Jana used 40-count on hers. We both made some changes to the original design.

I co-founded the Queen City Sampler Guild in 1995, and January will mark our 20th anniversary. Many of us will be stitching a special five-part mystery sampler in commemoration. The sampler was designed by Theresa Baird, Heart's Ease Examplar Workes. We hope to have many completed ones on display at next year's Christmas party.

Teaching in New Zealand

What a treat it was to have been asked by Sherelyn to teach a class sponsored by her shop, Heirlooms, in Napier, New Zealand. Sherelyn picked a wonderful class venue, Mission Winery.  How much fun it was for me to present Fruit of the Vine at a winery!

In my next blog post, I'll show photos of Heirlooms.  Today's blog post contains miscellaneous class photos.

Here we are headed off in the morning.

Almost there...

And here are some classroom photos.

Here are some views of the shop boutique and also some of the "show and tell".

Here are some of the class participants.  I'm sorry I missed getting  photos of everyone.

Don't let the seriousness in the previous photo fool you.  Below are the the same two ladies
right after I took the previous photo.

Here is Sherelyn loading up her car at the end of the day.

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful day,  but especially thank you to Sherelyn for inviting me to teach for you!

Quaker Needlework Treasures by Chi

Chi, from Japan, recently sent me photos of her lovely work. What a thrill it was to hear from her! Chi did a beautiful job with her stitching, her finishing, and even her photography. I think you’ll agree.

The first two photos are of Chi's Quaker Needlework Treasures. She used Deep Sea overdyed thread from Weeks Dye Works and 28-count Summer Khaki linen from Zweigart.

Next is Chi's Remember Me Sewing Pocket--another lovely job! On this project she used Deep Sea overdyed thread from Weeks Dye Works and 32-count Lambswool linen from Wichelt.Here is yet another project from the talented Chi--her Quaker Pattern Book. The three photos below show you her book folded and then opened to reveal both sides. Chi used Cupid thread from Crescent Colours and 28-count Antique Ivory linen from Zweigart.
And last, but not least, is Chi's Quaker Hornbook. For this project, she used Garnet thread from Hand Dyed Fibers and 32-count Maple Sugar linen from Lakeside Linens, Inc. You may recall seeing Chi's wonderful Petit Carnet d'Ouvrages, Livre I and II on May 26, 2009.

Thank you, Chi, for sharing photos of your beautiful work!

Isn't it wonderful how, thanks to the internet, our world has definitely become smaller? We are easily able to share our love of needlework with others all over the world.

There will be more Quaker Hornbook photos in the next week or so.