Saturday, February 14, 2015

February Meeting

Before I get into a re-cap of our meeting......I moved the list of upcoming events to the sidebar on the right under the heading "Needlework Events and News".......and there is a lot of needlework places to see and go to!

So, onto our meeting and some needlework news.....

Chester County Historical Society - Ellen Enslow of the Chester County Historical Society now has framed and unframed samplers viewable in a drawer system.   Ms. Enslow thanked the Delaware Valley Historic Sampler Guild for our past donation towards conserving samplers.  


If you signed up for the Catherine Theron needle roll kit, they arrived and were distributed at today's meeting.  If you weren't at the meeting, I am sure Deb S. has yours safe and sound!

New procedures are in place!   First up - starting this month, a table will be set up at the front of the room at each meeting.  We ask that you place your Show 'N Tell items there for display for everyone to enjoy prior to and during the meeting.   When it is time for Show 'n Tell, each item will be held up while the stitcher gives a description.  We think this will be a way for everyone to better see stitched pieces.    And, it makes this photographer happy.   It will sure make it easier for me to photograph everyone's work.    Here's todays Show 'n Tell.  (disclaimer!! - I can't catch every name and designer.   Please do not hesitate to provide corrections via email or by way of comment to this blog post. )  
Stitched by Caryl C. - Autumn Christmas Tree

Stitched by Jane G. - Elephant Walk by Fern Ridge and an americana sheep by Homespun

Stitched by Carolyn N. - Needle wrap case by Blue Ribbon Designs

Inside of Carolyn's piece

Who else but Stacy S. would stitch a beach peice?

Stitched by Carolyn N. - Sea Serpent by Sam Sarah Designs

Stitched by Patty H. - The Peacable Kingdom by The Good Housewife

Stitched by Jean T. - Looks like Little House Needleworks

Stitched by Jean T. - one the left.....Threadworks??, on  the right, Jeannette Douglas Designs

Stitched by Jean T. - one is Chessie & Me, the other ??

More from turbo stitcher Jean T. - from Needleprints

Needleprints - stitched by Jean T. 

Stitched by Pat Y. - Sue Hillis Designs

Look at the pretty crochet covered button Pat used.


The other new procedure  will be the requirement of members to wear a stitched name tag.  Starting with the March Guild Meeting, members who do not wear a name tag during the meeting will be assessed $1 'donation'.   The money collected will go to a conservation fund.  New members will get a two-month pass until they are required to wear a name tag.

We are past due on our annual donation towards sampler conservation.  Per our by-laws, a portion of our annual dues is designated to an organization working on the conservation and the preservation of samplers.  We need to designate the donations for 2013 and 2014.    The Committee has created guidelines and will ask organizations to complete an application that will outline how they would use a donation from DVHSG.   Our by-laws allot for $10 from each membership/dues paid annually.  The current membership is 65 or $650 for 2015.   (amounts for 2013 and 2014 may differ)  In the past we have donated to Winterthur, Chester County Historical Society, Gloucester County Historical Society; if anyone would like to suggest a worthy organization, please submit it to the Committee for consideration.  If you would like to join the Committee, please contact Ann S.

Susan shared the DVHSG Sampler.  The piece is nearing completion.   All the threads are included and members stitch sampler related motifs recording the info about what they stitched in the journal that accompanies the piece.  Liz and Debbie took the piece so they can each add a little something.

The Girls of the Guild Stitch-a-long was distributed.  Stacy provided an outline for month-by-month work on the project.  Caryl will make sure the newsletter has a list of what rows we are working on each month.  It was suggested the those of us participating (29 of us!!) bring our work each month to share our progress.  The project calls for silks (Gloriana) using one strand.   Stacy has started hers and likes the coverage with TWO strands.  

Stacy S. provided info on the guild retreat at Salty Yarns in April.   Stacy S. will handle all the reservations.   The retreat is the last weekend of April.  

Next month, Francine will lead a PUNCHNEEDLE demonstration.   If you have done punchneedle before, please bring in your pieces to share.     

April MeetingKatie will present information on Assisi embroidery which is a form of counted-thread embroidery based on an ancient Italian needlework tradition.

May Meeting - We will have a teacher at the May meeting.   Kim Nugent of Kennett Square and Samplers Not Forgotten, will teach the first part of a three piece project - a velour strawberry - during the meeting.   There will be a $10 fee for the strawberry.   The other two pieces will be taught in an afternoon class that will follow the meeting, 12:30 to 5 p.m.   Sign ups are needed in advance.   Deadline for sign up is March 23rd.  The Needle book and Pin Cushion Class are $70.   There will be a $10 lunch fee.  Kim will be bringing a Trunk Show to the March meeting.  (For more information and registration information, select the "classes" tab above.)
   





Our class this month was to make a button scissors fob.   We all brought in a selection of buttons from our stash and Stacy provided the instructions.  Once the girls from New Jersey managed to understand the directions, they caught up with everyone else.  
 Look at the variety!    

 I wish I have thought to bring a charm to add to my fob.   The lobster claws for finishing are being shipped and will be provided at the meeting next month.



Upcoming Events
Stacy's winning work
  • The 52nd Annual Woodlawn Needlework Exhibit will run March 1 through March 30th.   It is a great trip and so very inspiring to attend.   Pat Y. will again take any pieces.   Please remember to include your completed paperwork (2 copies), enclose the fee and add the extra $$ for transportation.   Woodlawn does so look forward to our items.   And last year - remember that our own Colorado Stacy took the top award!  
Scissor's Block Display from January 2014
  • The Rehoboth Beach Historical Society 5th Annual Needlework Exhibit will run March 14, 2015  to May 10, 2015.  Entry fee for members of the historical society is $10 for members and $15 for non-members per entry. (please use the link above for the form and fees).  Stacy S. will be taking any items down for display.   Please bring your completed paperwork and entry fee to the February meeting.   We discussed as a group that possibility of sending our group project of the scissors block and the Eileen Bennet stitch-a-long piece so bring them along ready to go if you'd like to participate.  
For submitted items to either Woodlawn or Rehoboth,  wrap your pieces in towels.  There have been issues with bubble wrap.  Using painters table or packing tape to secure the towel works well on smaller pieces; for larger, use twine or string to secure your towel.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Buttons, Buttons - Don't Forget Your Buttons (now including some finishes)



Our February Meeting Program will be to make a button scissors fob.

Please bring 6 or 7 NON-SHANK buttons, a pair of needlework scissors and a pair of non-sewing scissors. Everything else will be supplied.

After the meeting I will share photos of our creations!














No matter how your store your buttons........it can be fun to sort through them!



No buttons with shanks.

Look at some of the results of our class......

The designs are only limited by our imaginations and of course our button stash!


Some are so clever to have added a charm.   Better did through my stash to see if I have a charm or two to add.

Snowflakes!  Very appropriate for the northeast USA!  Ah, but the hope of springtime too.

Friday, February 6, 2015

January 2015 Meeting

Another full meeting, let's get some business out of the way first......
  • The money is due TODAY (January 10, 2015) for the Catherine Theron Winter Needle Roll.   The kits are not expected for a couple of months. 
If anyone is not going to do their Quaker Needle Roll from Catherine Theron, contact Liz Christopher at the next meeting. She is interest in doing the project.

Upcoming Events


  • The Pennsylvania German Textile Conference is scheduled for February 21 at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center.  Tickets are $30 and will include lunch.  Some of the topics include Pennsylvania German weaving; patchwork pillow cases; 19th and 20th century quilts; and Schwenkfelder townscape needlework pictures. You can register by calling Joanne Jalowy at 215-679-3103 or emailing her at joanne@schwenkfelder.com  (Wow! That's a lot!)
Stacy's winning work
  • The 52nd Annual Woodlawn Needlework Exhibit will run March 1 through March 30th.   It is a great trip and so very inspiring to attend.   Pat Y. will again take any pieces.   Please remember to include your completed paperwork (2 copies), enclose the fee and add the extra $$ for transportation.   Woodlawn does so look forward to our items.   And last year - remember that our own Colorado Stacy took the top award!  
Scissor's Block Display from January 2014
  • The Rehoboth Beach Historical Society 5th Annual Needlework Exhibit will run March 14, 2015  to May 10, 2015.  Entry fee for members of the historical society is $10 for members and $15 for non-members per entry. (please use the link above for the form and fees).  Stacy S. will be taking any items down for display.   Please bring your completed paperwork and entry fee to the February meeting.   We discussed as a group that possibility of sending our group project of the scissors block and the Eileen Bennet stitch-a-long piece so bring them along ready to go if you'd like to participate.  
For submitted items to either Woodlawn or Rehoboth,  wrap your pieces in towels.  There have been issues with bubble wrap.  Using painters table or packing tape to secure the towel works well on smaller pieces; for larger, use twine or string to secure your towel.


Williamsburg, VA (copied directly from their website)
March 15 - 17

Stitching Together A National Identity

American home furnishings, quilts, needlework, and clothing reflect great diversity and regional variations. Many factors influenced distinct regional characteristics including the ethnic origins of the makers, trade and migration patterns, influential teachers and artists, geography, and even climate. This symposium explores these regional variations in American textiles of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries and the forces that molded them. Through a series of formal lectures and juried papers, the symposium will address the question of what is American in American quilts, clothing, and needlework; provide updates on the latest research techniques and databases; and dispel myths about homespun and Yankee thrift.

The cost of the lecture is $295.   This is the lecture only, no lodging or food is included in that fee.  Speakers include Kathy Lesieur and Candace Perry.
  • Morven Museum—now through March 29th—schoolgirl display of New Jersey samplers. Amy Finkel will be presenting on how to determine real or fake samplers. Those who attended the symposium can attend free of charge. 
  • With Needle and Thread  The Monmouth Chapter of the EGA will be celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.  As part of our anniversary celebration they will hold an exhibit, With Needle and Thread.  The exhibit will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 10 am to 4 pm and on SundayApril 26, 2015 from 11 am to 4 pm at the Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ.   Everyone is welcome to join them!  
  • The Baltimore Museum of Art Exhibit  "Lessons Learned: American Schoolgirl Embroideries"  will run from now through May 13
  • The Penn Market Days will be at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, May 15 & 16.  There will be presentations including  “Berlin Work” by Candace Perry; “Intro to Sampler Connoisseurship” by Amy Finkel; and “Threads of Time: Needlework and Quilts of Aging Women”.   
  • EGA International embroidery conference—May 14-16—Williamsburg. They will have 6 speakers—lectures on silk embroidery, Williamsburg collection, lace making to name a few.   
  • Upcoming stitching classes: Salty Yarns—Sherrie Jones in April; Betsy Morgan in June; Jackie DuPlessis in September.
  • Retreat at Salty Yarns—Last weekend in April and first weekend in October. More information coming next month.
Member Info -  Some things for members to know......
  1. Just in case there is a need to cancel a meeting for inclement weather, Officers will do their best to make a decision by 7-7:30 a.m. and an email will be sent to the group. If the weather looks questionable, be sure to check your email before leaving home!  
  2. Dues is now due.  If you have not already done so, please mail your check for $25 to 

DVHSG 
PO Box 1292 
Hockessin, DE 19707-5292







  • We completed our 2014 UFO project with a drawing from all the entries.   Prizes were gift certificates for the Strawberry Sampler.
  • Orders were taken today for our guild stitch-a-long: Girls at the Guild by Sharon Verbos. The project is stitched on 32 count linen and a 15 x 22 with a 3 inch margin.  This stitch-a-long will start in February 2015 and be completed in February 2016.   Anyone who completes the piece by the February 2016 meeting will be entered in a drawing for $50 gift certificate which could be used toward the framing of the piece. Karen K. will be ordering supplies.  Please make sure your name is on the her list! Cost is $14 for the fabric and $15 for the chart.  The pattern calls for one skein each of two different Gloriana silks.  Of course as our ladies are famous for....different fabrics, counts and flosses can and will be used!




And now some stitching to share......the topic for the program for the January meeting was to share new tools or needlework items received for Christmas.


 A friend found this needlepoint stool and gifted Patrick with it.  Look how clever it is as it comes apart.


Patrick also received this "Pen Wipe" or at least that was our guess as to what it is.


 More from Patrick - Check this out!  It's a "Nanny's Pin".  Needle and thread were stored in the cylinder part so Nanny was always at the ready to stitch up a tear to mend a seam.


On to the work of our hands----
Francine's adaptation of the Lizzie Kate Halloween Mystery Sampler



 Carol's Elephant Walk by Fern Ridge.   This was a darling little kit that was complete with scissors, winder and waxer.



 Look what Stacy did with the painted linen from the class last year.





 Look at this beauty by Caryl C.   I am sure this will be even more stunning when the linen is folded and finished.