April 2017 Meeting

It was a full house for our meeting day.   We had attendees as far as from Winchester VA and Gettysburg PA!  The meeting started with announcements,  Show and Tell and then we were treated to a demonstration from Betsy Morgan.  

Annoucements
Winners have been announced for the Annual Rehoboth Needlework Show.   This is their Seventh Annual Needlework Exhibit. The exhibit will be on display March 18, 2017 through May 21 at the Rehoboth Beach Museum.  Many of our members submitted pieces and received ribbons.   (a complete listed to be added when available)

Membership
Nancy F. reported we have 88 members.   

Upcoming
In September, Lauren Sauer will be teaching a class.  The date is the weekend AFTER our regularly scheduled meeting.  She will be teaching two reproduction samplers.   You can sign up for either sampler or both and Away Stitchers are welcomed.  Our Program Chair is considering the band sampler as a 2018 stitch along.   More information, photos and sign-up will be provided when available. 

For other 'things to come' please see our Calendar of Events in the sidebar on the right.  

Show and Tell
Stacy S. shared these four little pillows.   She said she followed the tuturials of Vonna at the Twisted Stitcher and picked up a lot of good hints that helped her tackle her finishing pile.  Visit Vonna's blog and click on the "Tutorials" tab or check her out on YouTube or FlossTube.

Liz C. completed this needle book featuring the Aztec stitch from our Betsy Morgan class in April 2016.

More from Liz C.   She adapted this from the deep cranberry red floss from the pattern.  The beaded scissors fob she designed herself.  I like her changes!  I think this is called Icelandic Christmas (heck I should know-I stitched it too!)

Evelyn C shared these adorable pieces.

????  My notes don't say who did this.   Anyone?

Debbie S. shared the Strawberry Book, a Catherine Theron project.   We were lucky enough to have Catherine Theron at our meeting as she was taking the afternoon class with us.   How cool!

Patty H. shared her Catherine Theron piece - just lovely!

Pat L. stitched up two hand towels with an Hawaiian theme.

Every year Pat Y. generously takes our Woodlawn entries to Virginia and makes the return trip to pick up our pieces after the event.   She also delivers and picks up pieces for her NJ EGA Chapter.   Below are some of the pieces from her EGA

Marion S./Lamplighter's EGA  An anniversary sampler she stitched.

Another Marion S., Lamplighters EGA

This was stitched by a 91 year old who uses NO magnification!

Karen K. DVHSG and Lamplighters Member, with a ribbon.

Karen K. DVHSG and Lamplighters, Woodlawn piece.  Sorry for the glare.

Speaker
Designer Betsy Morgan spoke to the group sharing with us she started stitching as a child of 6 or 7 when she would do a blanket stitch around felt for her dolls.   Around 11 or 12 she was taken by a family member/family friend who was stitching and asked if she would teach her.   The friend bought Betsy her first kit and the rest, shall we say, is history.   Betsy never planned to be a designer.   She started in the 90's by designing a piece for her EGA Chapter.   She entered that piece in a show and won first place.  Quickly people were asking if she had charted it for sale.   Soon came another piece and another and another.   She has traveled and taught in Australia, New Zealand, England, Canada and all over the United States.   She says she has the best job!

Betsy had a bit of Show and Tell herself.   The pieces were beyond lovely.   She shared her design process on each.   Look for her newest piece, the Swans Bower, a soon to be announced class piece.

  Sorry, but out of respect for her designs and copyrights, we are only posting photos of the class and free designs.

This is Betsy's 100 Day Project Piece.    The hundred project is a New Zealand project in its 7th year.
Visit:  100 Days   The newest 100 Project starts on May 17th and runs.....for, you guessed it, 100 days.  I remember following some of the posts last year and it was so very interesting to see the different creative things people were doing.

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The concept is to commit to do something creative every day for 100 days.   It could be photography, it could be writing a verse, it could be drawing.   Betsy chose to stitch a blackwork motif every day for 100 days.   First she collected all the motifs and put the little slips of pattern with the design in a bag to carry along with her.   Each day she would reach in and pull out the random design of the day.   She offers this pattern free.   Visit her blog to request a copy.  I think this could make a great stitch-a-long!

Betsy taught us her method for making twisted cord and tassel making.   The hints she shared absolutely assure you will succeed.....making with practice, but you will be able to make great cord and beautiful, consistent tassels.

Class
The meeting was over, we took time for a lunch break - which was quite tasty! - and then those who had enrolled, took part in the Betsy Morgan class.

Our class piece was the Virgin Queen Stitching Pocket.   Originally designed her her guild, The Louden Sampler Guild, she adapted the pattern to fit our Delaware Guild.  Instead of foxes, our design has the Delaware Blue Hen.

It was ANOTHER great meeting/great day.   Thank you so much to our officers that continue to make DVHSG the greatest!

A Spot of Tea

Several of us treated ourselves to lunch at a Tea Room in Mullica Hill, NJ.   It was Amelia's Tea Room.   But alas, they are closing on April 30th so no point for me to add details or a hyperlink to their website.

Our field trip was for guild members to join Betsy Morgan  for the day before our class with her on Saturday.







If you have never been to a tea room, you are missing out.   What an elegant, relaxing, enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.

Attention to detail right down to the napkin rings.

The food was delicious.   And we left there quite satisfied and very full.

Following tea, we went to the Gloucester County Historical Society to see their current exhibit, White Lace and Promises:  Bridal Gowns from 19th and 20th century.   Please click on the link above for more information on this Gloucester County treasure.

These are the front doors to the museum.  I forever marvel at the detail of woodwork of years ago.   The detail, the precision, all without computers and the internet!  Handwork of another kind.  

Below, is the wedding dress of Fannie Mae Watson, married to Edward Bradway in March of 1882.  This is the show stopper.

Above, her under pinnings; below the bead work was  exquisite.  This must have been a heavy gown.

They are quite lucky to have all these pieces to make this a new complete set.

The hand sewn wedding gown from the wedding of Eunice and Ephraim Goulding from 1818.  Before the Victorian Era, wedding dressed were not necessarily white.   Girls often had a new Sunday dress made for the wedding.

These are the embroidered shoes worn by Eunice Goulding at her wedding.

This groom's vest, sparkled with the gold thread work embroidery.

Hair combs and other pieces of finery.

From 1911, the gown of Laura DeHart who married William Elmer Haines on June 1st.  On the piano is Laura's wedding portrait.

Wedding accessories from 1808.

The trio below are the wedding dress, the going away dress and bridesmaid dress for the wedding of Mary Elizabeth Holstrum when she married Oliver G. Rose, Jr.  in 1960

Much of the charm of the display was the pairing with the actual wedding photos and seeing the dresses captured on the wedding days.

This one was truly beautiful and maybe my favorite.....if it is possible to have a favorite.

Another gown with a bridal portrait.

Onto the Civil War era.   This is made entirely of hair.   It may seem gross but it was quite common to create from hair.

A civil war era dress.

The 3rd regiment flag from the civil war.   Following a battle, the name of the battle was stitched on the flag.   This flag would not have been in battle but kept in the hometown of the soldiers.

One of three fabulous dioramas.   This one of a civil war battle.

An actual chair from the Ford Theater at the time when President Lincoln was assassinated in the Ford Theater.

Now, a bit of stitching in the sampler room.   The Museum has a sizable collection of samplers from stitchers from the county and south Jersey.  Not only is their collection lovely, they are very fortunate that their employee, Patty H. charts them for sale.   Many of the samplers have already been charted and are available for purchase at the museum.

Above is the Sarah Fortiner (1802-1858)   Patty H. is on the process of charting this sampler for sale.  A number of us were interested in this sampler when the charted has been completed.  

Two 19th century samplers, the bottom of which is a Westown Sampler

The wedding theme carried into the children's display.  A bride doll below.

And ring bearer and flower girl dress with the photo of the wedding party.

Back downstairs, we were in the roaring twenties.

The beaded bags were fabulous.

Flapper style wedding gown.

Sequined hat.

Another pretty hat.....

From the 1950's, the wedding gown of Nancy Garrett who married William McMaster in September of  1955.

Again, the absolute awesomeness to have photographs from the wedding day.

This seems a bit short because it is missing a tier.   The tier is removed when the first child is to be born and it is used to make the bassinet skirt.  What a neat idea.   

It was a great day.   So much detail and a large lovely collection of wedding dresses.  Patty H. (and the others) are meticulous about researching the origins and details of the dresses, the samplers and all the other items in the museum.   It is truly a hidden secret destination and a great day trip.

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