Nick's progress

Clox Sampler

One evening, while flipping thru some SAN-Q magazines, I came accross an article by Eileen Bennett on 'clox' and samplers. on page 30, I saw a photo of the blue clox sampler (courtesy Minnesota Historical Society) ... which looked kinda familiar to me. I pulled out my NeedleArts magazine, sure enough, there was a blue clox sampler for sale from the St Paul Needleworkers chapter of EGA.

Here is a picture from their web site:
Wouldn't you like to stitch it, too?

Near the end of the article, SANQ Spring 2003, the author made mention of clox patterns being available in knitted pattern books (or should I say books of patterns for knitting?). Guess what? I own one. And, now that I've read the article, recognize the clox patterns in the book I have by Carola Forg called Traditional Motifs for Needlework and Knittingc.1985 ISBN: 0-937274-65-8. Is that kewl or what???

Never mind, I'd love to get my hands on the Samplers of the Pennsylvania Germans book by Tandy + Charles Hersh. Anybody have a spare $300-$450 for a used copy??? Yikes.

-------------- also .... I forgot to add a link to my post re. EGA seminar. The class pieces on display for GLR are for a seminar they will be hosting. This is a link to the GLR -- which has an area for you to pop over to the class photos & registration info. Look HERE to find Threads of Friendship, 2008 stuff.

3 Aug 2007 - Demonstration

On Friday, Aug 3rd, Elaine, Deb & I were at the Lake County Fairgrounds, Heritage Stage, for a needlework demonstration. We had EGA brochures, information re NANI, newsletters, and donated cross stitch supplies [aida cloth, cotton floss, etc] I don't know if any of the guests in our small audience came to the chapter meetings since that date. I would have liked to have been there longer to just sit & stitch - chat with those who passed by.
It was hot & humid. Did I mention very very hot & humid? Think - slippery needles! Yeah, aside from that, I think we did ok. Would I do it again? Absolutely.

I had permission from Ruth Ann Russell of C Street Samplerworks to use her motif for Queen Stitch demonstration. I used DMC floss on 28-count waterlily evenweave. Also, SharonB In a Minute Ago gave me permission to use her stitch graph. Thank you both! It is a nice way to expand needlework from cross stitch - basic x - into additional stitches.

Personally, I like the texture the queen stitch adds to samplers. I realize many of my stitching pals dread the Queen Stitch : )

EGA Seminar, Chicago Illinois

Last Thursday, Melody, Sue D, & I went into Chicago. We wanted to take a look around at the EGA Seminar, located at the Marriott Hotel in the loop. None of us had ever attended seminar & with it being nearby, we thought we'd take a look around!
A special Thank you to Marjorie H for sending me the schedule of events for Thursday. It sure made it easy to find everything
We chatted, merrily away, on our commute. Enjoyed the walk from the station to the hotel, stopping along the way to see the beautiful floral displays in the garden planters.

I was gobsmacked by the EGA exhibit in Salon III. They had some of their textiles on display - from the EGA collection [housed in Louisville, KY]. Plus, the display of ICCs and GCCs were awesome. The photos in the magazines do not do justice to these projects. The tapestry panels were on the wall -- how fabulously interesting to look at them!! Next years seminars projects were on display -- loads of eye candy to view.

Another area had EGA merchandise for sale. Also, silent auction pieces ... opportunity drawing pieces -- what an outstanding assortment donated by various groups and individuals. I picked up a couple EGA charms [photo above]. I thought they would look interesting on a beaded or stitched scissors fob.

There was a large area full of books, on sale. Talk about a needleworkers dream library! I went over to the 'sale' table & pickedup one interesting book -- it was $100.00, so I quickly set it down : ) Yeah, this living within our means gets boring when there is so much I'd like to BUY! Some of the sampler books were on display - including the Maryland sampler book [exact title escapes me right now], taking orders for it, but it is a lovely publication. btw, imo - it is very hard to purchase a BOOK, full of photographs, when you can see the real textiles on display in the NEXT room.

Behind the registration counter, was a room with GLR projects. WOW. They had some unique & interesting pieces to sign up for! So, how do you decide?

The boutique was in full swing when we walked in. Loads of fibers, beads, beads, bead patterns, bead models ... did I mention the beading section??? I've never seen anything quite like it.

We crossed paths with a few of our NANI friends [Joan, Carol C & her friend Cathy, Aggie G] who were taking classes that day [sorry to have missed seeing Marjorie H and Sue H ... I heard Deb L & Linda H were there earlier in the week]. One friend, Aggie G, was the class angel for a painted threads class taught by Tanja Berlin Berlin Embroidery Designs. We were invited to come into the classroom after their lunch break to meet the instructor, see the class model - and other designs [oh, so kewl], and see how the stitchers in the classroom were doing! I was impressed : ) Each project was unique - even tho they all had the same pattern. I look forward to seeing some of them FINISHED : ) Yeah, you know who you are .... Aggie & Marjorie.

Again, thx Marjorie H for the information, emails, and I certainly enjoyed reading the seminar bulletins that you published. Outstanding!

On sale now!

I got an e-mail from House of Stitches ... it has arrived in LaPorte, Indiana ... my copy is in the mail. I can hardly wait : )