November 2023 Retreat and Meeting

President Linda D called the meeting to ordered, welcomed all.   Ask for any new members present but, being shy, no one responded.

The monthly WIPGO number pulled was #1.

Treasurer’s Report was read.  Robin reported all items paid and all deposits made during October.   The only outstanding item is the money due to Kimberly Nugent for the Hummingbird Sampler.  The amount available in the Conservation Fund was shared.  We have 195 current members.  

Nominating Committee - Kathy R worked with Evalyn G on the Nominating Committee.   The offices of President and Secretary positions are open for re-election.   Having no names from the floor a motion was made to close and second the slate of the elections a s presented.   Evelyn C for President and Caryl C for Secretary.    A voice vote of those present was held with all in favor of Evelyn C for President and Caryl C for Secretary.

Secret Stitcher - If you do not have a FB account, please notify Susan H and she will post your acknowledgement or thank you on FB for you when you receive a ‘gift’.

Designer of the Year - We currently have 10 names on the list.    Please send in any ideas you have.   The Board will meet and pare the number down from ten prior to the December meeting.   We will vote at the December meeting.

The Green Book - The Green Book or Patrick’s Book was explained for new members.    It is an ongoing book where members can log their completed projects.   Each person’s list is filed alphabetically in the binder.   Members can review the binder and see a listing of what they have accomplished in any year.    Members should email their list to Linda Daeleman’s before the end of January.   She will print and prepare for Patrick to file in the binder.   Numbers will be reviewed and participation awards will be given.   Following Linda’s term as President, she will continue to collect and prepare these each year for Patrick.

Conservation Committee - The Conservation Committee is preparing a report for the Board with their recommendation for the annual donation.

Patrick was recognized for being featured in the Needlepointers September/October ANG publication. Kudos to Patrick.

Tech Person - Susan H. has volunteered to create power points as needed for the Guild meetings.

Spring Date for the Spring DVHSG Retreat is being finalized.

A road trip to Hobby House Needleworks in Fairport NY is in the “interest”  stages.   The trip will be stitching at Hobby House, tour of the Ontario County Historical Society and their collection of samplers, lunch together following the visit to the historical society.     Each participant will be responsible for their own lodging and transportation to and from Fairport.  More details on dates, etc., and local places of interest will be provided if the trip is arranged.  

Programs
December - Zoom and Live, Annual Holiday Exchange and Luncheon,   2 away stitchers participating.   No sign up necessary if those attending in person.   The item should be a sampler themed stitched small and include your initials, the Guild initials and the year.   Bring your wrapped gift to the meeting.  Include a card with your name and pattern information. 

The guild will provide wraps and paper products.   Members should bring their own beverage and a covered dish to share.  

We will be voting on the Designer of the Year for 2024

January - Zoom only - Members will be sharing any stitching related holiday gifts received; review of Designer of the Year finishes.    We will have a slide show of all the Plum Street pieces stitched in 2023.  Paulette Stewart of Plum Street has been contacted and may be able to join us for the meeting.   Please send pictures of any stitched items to Linda D before January 1st to be included in the January Meeting slide show.  Participation awards will be given for those on the slide show.

February - Zoom only - Kimberly Nugent of Samplers Not Forgotten will review the 2024 SAL the Hummingbird Sampler.   Linda has a stitching schedule for the completion of the sampler by February 2024 that she will share.  Sign up has closed and the numbers have been provided to Kimberly.

March -  Live and Zoom -  Susan H will demonstrate how to convert a jewelry box to a stitching kit.   More information will follow.

April - Live and Zoom - Jackie DuPlessis Sampler Class.  This will be an all day class.   There are two options.  The piece can be stitched as a Sampler or stitched over one and finished as an etui.  Sampler will be taught in the meeting and the etui will be in the afternoon.   The piece is called Cherry Berry.  Away stitchers will be permitted. More information and sign ups will follow.

May -   Live and Zoom - A therapist will be at the meeting to show us exercises to help with our necks, shoulders and arms that grow sore and tired from sitting and stitching.

June - TBD

July -  Beth Seal of Summer House Stitche Workes hold a discussion on Susquehanna Samplers.   More information will follow.

August - TBD

September - Live and Zoom - Teresa Miller of Teresa’s Prim Treasures will be teaching a small piece.   Away stitchers will be permitted.   More information will follow.

October - (garage sale) ?

November - Live and Zoom - Kim Young of Sassy Jacks will be teaching the Mabel Tuke Sampler.  Count options are 32 - 36 - 40.  More information will following

Today’s Progam

Janis Note of Noteworthy Needle taught the DVHSG Thimble Box.   Janis provided her history and anecdotes.   Janis custom designed the box for DVHSG.    The demonstration was both live and via Zoom.    Janis also had a small trunk show.   

Forty-four members enjoyed the combined Meeting/Retreat Combination.   It is always fun to see members in person and having the Meeting/Retreat combo offered a chance to really get to know each other that just doesn’t happen during a regular meeting or via zoom.   Thank all who made it possible.

Meeting attendance:    66.   44 in person and 22 via Zoom.    Way to go stitchers!  

Thank you also to Amy G for taking and posting photos on our Facebook page.

October 2023 Meeting

We were called to order by Vice President Patrick B who lead our meeting. Patrick welcomed all and asks any guests/new members to introduce themselves.  

Treasurer’s Report was provided.

Conservation Committee - Marnie B provided a recap on the applications the committee has received and will be reviewing.  Three applications have been received:   Schwenkfelder Museum, Winterthur Museum and Concord Museum, Concord, Massachusetts.  The Committee will forward their recommendation to the Board for review and final approval.

Nomination Committee - Evalyn G and Kathy R presented the pending slate of officers for review.    The positions of President and Secretary are open for election.   Evelyn C has been listed as President and Caryl C has agreed to continue as Secretary.   The floor was opened to nominations for the offices.   The final slate will be presented and voted upon at the November meeting.  Patrick asked Evelyn C to introduce herself and tell everyone about herself.

Patrick asked that anyone who has finished a pattern from Plum Street Samplers, our Designer of the Year for 2023, to send pictures to Linda D so they can be incorporated in the power point for the January meeting.  If you have a suggestion of a designer for our 2024 Designer of the Year, please forward it to Stacy S before our December meeting.

The Thimble Kits from Noteworthy Needle arrived and were distributed to those present.   Kits were mailed to members not in attendance.

Patrick reminded everyone to submit their list of completed projects in an email to Linda D who will print out for filing in the Green Book.

The WIPGO Challenge piece number for October is #5.

Programming - Patrick shared information on upcoming programs which was provided by Stacy S.

November - Semi-annual DVHSG Retreat at Salty Yarns in Berlin, MD.   This will be a Live and Zoom meeting.  It is a members only event and there was a registration deadline.  Following the Business Meeting, Janis Note of Noteworthy Needle will lead a class on a custom designed thimble box.  Pre-stitching is required.

December - Annual Holiday Exchange and Luncheon.  This will be a Live and Zoom meeting. The Guild will provide wraps and paper products.  Please bring your own beverage and a covered dish to share.  The Holiday Exchange will take place.   If you are participating in person, you only need to bring your  sampler themed small to the meeting.   Your small should include your initials, the DVHSG initials and the year on it.   Susan H explained how Away Stitchers can participate in the exchange.

We will also vote on the Designer of the Year for 2024.   Please submit your suggestions to Stacy S.

January 2024 - This will be a Zoom Meeting.  Members will share any holiday needlework related gifts they received.    We will have a slide show of the 2023 Plum Street Designer of the Year stitched pieces.  

We will also draw a name from the list of members who hosted a meeting during the year.

February 2024 - Kimberly Nugent of Samplers Not Forgotten will introduce our 2024 Stitch Along - The Hummingbird Sampler   This is a companion piece to Garden of Stitches but one can definitley be stitched with stitching the other.  Linda is working with Kim on a suggested schedule for the SAL to enable its completion by February 2025.

March 2024 - TBD

April 2024 - A sampler class with Jackie De Plessis.  More information will follow.

May/June/July/August Meetings are open.   Stacy is talking with several designers/presenters and will be finalizing arrangements for these months shortly.

September 2024 - Teresa Miller of Theresa’s Primitive Treasures will be presenting a small project.   More information will follow.

October 2024 - TBD

November 2024 - Kim Young of Sassy Jack’s will be instructions the Mabel Tukes Sampler. 

Today’s Program  

For October, we held our Garage Sale or Stash Re-allocation Sale.   Members bought in patterns, kits, fabric and needlework related items they no longer wanted and offered for sale to other members.    At the end of the sale, members were asked to contribute a portion of their profits to the Guild’s Conservation Fund.   

I captured these photos from the internet but it gives you an idea of what we had.   

(Photos from www.thehomesihavemade.com)

The members present were beyond generous and the Conservation Fund received over $450.    Following the sale, if members did not want to take home upsold items, they were boxed up for delivery to Fireside Stitchery.  It was the first since before Covid so there was a lot to ‘shop’.   Bargains were found and donations were made and all enjoyed the Garage Sale. 

September 2023 Meeting

I was not able to attend the September Meeting, however I am sure we ran through all the normal reports and notices.   What I do know for sure is about the program held at the September meeting.  I had previously participated in a class with Michelle Ink at Jamboree at Salty Yarns,  and I knew all about the process.   

We hosted Michelle Ink Designs for a class in silver making.   What?   It was an introduction to silver alchemy for stitchers.   The options of what to make varied from silver strawberry toppers to needle minders to jewelry.  

Michelle starts the class with her history and her journey.  She then walked you through the process, explaining each step the class would follow and what she, herself, will do after the class.    

Everyone received their clay in the foil package.  The clay had to be worked until it became a creamy consistency.

Michelle had an amazing number of molds to choose from.   The clay was rolled in a ball.  It was then placed in the center of the mold and pressed from the center out.  This was to avoid seams or cracks and to allow the excess silver clay to be pressed off the edges.  A paint brush and small amount of water was used to brush and smooth the edges.  No worries.   There was no waste.  Any extra was removed and rolled into a smaller ball to be used with another mold. 

Because the need to be fired, once each student finished with their molding, their pieces were left for Michelle to take back to her studio.   Michelle painstakingly did fine tuning on each molded piece, smoothing the  edges and rounding out any holes made in the piece.    She then fired each piece.  Polished each piece.  Finally tenderly packaging each class attendees piece and delivering it directly to their home address.   The follow-up process took about 6 weeks which was made clear before the class so everyone realized they would not be walking out with their pieces.

Use your imagination to see how a finished topper fits a strawberry.

Michelle can be found on Facebook at Michelle Ink Designs.

August 2023 Meeting

Our August Meeting was via Zoom only.   The meeting was called to order by our President Linda D. and following our Committee Reports, etc. our program was launched.

We were treated to the knowledgable and fabulous Jennifer Richardson of Violets and Verses.   She spoke on the Shakers and particularly, the To Emeline Sampler.  So what are “Shakers” you may ask.   They organized in the United States in the 1780’s.  They were first called the “Shaking Quakers” because they actually shook their arms and bodies during singing to cast off the bad thoughts and ill will.  They practiced celibacy and lived in a communal, utopian society.  They were pacifists and believe in the equality of the sexes.  They were known for their simple lifestyle, their thirst for technological innovations, their music, they were avid gardeners saving seeds for the next season and also known for their furniture making.  There is only one Shaker settlement still in existence today and since Shakers are celibate…..well, I need not say any more on that.   

One particular Shaker settlement is the Enfield Shakers, Enfield, New Hampshire.   They owned and  farmed over 3,000 acres.  In Mount Lebanon, NY, they had a successful seed business.   The Shakers were the first to package seeds for sale. They create innovations in marketing seeds, distributing them, packaging and cataloging which lead to lasting change in the horticultural business forever. 

They also did broom making.  On site at Enfield, is a building that is being renovated to house the broom making.     Did you know a good broom will stand up on its own?   Their’s all do.   They sell all the different varieties of brooms they make in the gift shop and they also offer a 3 hour class to make your own broom!

Also onsite, the 1854 cow barn…..mainly full of pigeons now.

In the next building, Shaker clothing is on display as well as The Tempestry Project.

The Tempestry Project started in Washington State in 2017.   Because climate change is always a difficult topic, crafters used their medium to ‘chart’ temperature patterns and changes.  In Enfield, they knitted with worsted merino wool using a key with a different color to represent every degree.  

Done in 10 year increments, they knitted a row to represent the average temperature for each day of one of the years in that decade.

The original site in Enfield had over 100 buildings which included  the “Great Stone Dwelling”. The largest ever Shaker building which now houses the Museum.  Due to declining membership, they were force to sell  property in 1927.  In property was sold again in 1985 by a private group of investors.  In 1997, the Museum was able to repurchase the Chapel as well as other Enfield buildings.  

This is the Chapel on the left and the Great Stone Dwelling on the right.  The Chapel was build on a piece of land that was sold to the Our Lady of La Salette, an order of Catholic priests.

The Museum tour offers some great finds.   Original “Dorothy” cloaks.  Typical construction with hood and cape.   These cloaks have “The Dorothy” labels inside the neckline.  One of a couple different cloak patterns they used.  Using this photo, the scene was re-created in the museum.

Shaker furniture 

In the Dining Hall there are several examples of perforated paper stitched pieces.

 

Walls of built in cabinetry.  Not a bit of wasted space!

 

Storage closet for dinner ware.

Shakers set their tables in sets of four so everything was in reach of each diner.  Shakers ate in 15 minutes and there was no talking at the table.   With everything within reach it wasn’t necessary to ask to have something passed to you.

Thick walls and their shutter ‘storage’ built in to the window casing.

The built-ins found in the bedrooms.

So much for a Shaker Village, now on to the project.  

                                                        To Emeline - AW 1847

This sampler is believed to have been given by AW as a token of friendship to Emeline.   Jennifer did extensive research and can determine that AW is most likely Ann Maria Wheeler.   She lived in the Shaker Village for about a year.  She left the Shaker Village near Albany, NY to rejoin her husband in Oswego, NY.  Jennifer admitted the her’s is just speculation as far as the identity of AW.   Emeline, on the other hand, has more information.   She was born in 1793 and lived to be nearly 80 years old.  She is buried in a Shaker Cemetery near Colonie, NY.  Emeline would have had a busy life working various jobs as women played an active role in the Shaker community.  Emeline served in a leadership role as an eldress of the community.  

The original sampler is owned by the Western Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.  

Dedication to a Founding Member

On the last Saturday of July 2023, several members of the DVHSG met at the Salem County Historical Society for the dedication of the Sarah Thompson, 1775 Sampler.  

The Conservation Committee set out to find the perfect sampler to conserve in honor of one of our founding members, Patti Hrynenko.   Patti was a great asset to the south Jersey sampler world.  

Her love of historic needlework started long before the guild. Patti had a long-term affiliation with the Gloucester County Historical Society where she dedicated her efforts to seeing that their collection of samplers did not remain in storage. She spent countless hours researching the girls who stitched these samplers and was able to tell a story about each one.  She has charted several of them with the proceeds from sales benefitting the Society's Sampler Collection Designated Fund to b used for the continued preservation of samplers in their collection.The first sampler she charted was Lucy Hugg, in 1999.  This same sampler would become the Guild's first stitch-along.  There are six samplers available on the Gloucester County Historical Society website.   Many of us enjoyed the tours she lead at the Gloucester County Historical Society.  

Nine of the pieces in the Society's collection were included in the 2014-15 New Jersey Sampler exhibit at the Morven Museum, and can be seen in the exhibit catalog- "Hail Specimen of Female Art". The 1788 Sybil Tatum Quaker medallion  catalog- "Hail Specimen of Female Art". The 1788 Sybil Tatum Quaker medallion sampler was included in Carol Humphrey's book, "Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth".

Patti's contributions to our Guild over the years were many, including private tours of the Gloucester County sampler collection and other textile exhibits.  A favorite memory is the fabulous talk she gave when we celebrated the Guild’s 20th Anniversary in 2022 - delayed for two years because of Covid.  It was full of history for the new members and fun memories for the veteran members. 

Sarah Thompson Sampler, age 10, 1775

Many thanks for the Conservation Committee for their work and to Marnie B. for the wonderful tribute she made, part of which I used to create my comments above. 

Those who attended the dedication had a chance to tour the museum while there. 

The museum is located in the Alexander Grant home, erected in 1721, with portions erected in 1690.  The building itself has a lot of history.   In addition to being a family home, it once was a temperance hotel and also medical offices.   In 1850, John S. Rock, studied dentistry here.   Mr. Rock was the first African-American attorney admitted to practice law before the U. S. Supreme Court.  

Above, the Alexander Grants House, Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson, 1821 and the Salem Oak - all from the Cat’s Meow Collection of Salem County

Directly across the street from the museum are the courthouse steps where Col. Johnson took a bite out of a “love apple” or  tomato and did not die!   

SALEM OAK

This area is rich in history and the Salem Oak is part of that history.   This large oak tree is the site where John Fenwick signed a treaty with the Lenni Lenape Indians in 1675 when he arrived and founded Salem, NJ.   The oak was over 600 years old.  It is believed to be part of the original forest that was part of John Fenwick’s land.    It measured 22 feet in circumference and stood over 100 feet tall with a span of over 104 feet.   It was located in the Salem Friends Burial Ground in Salem NJ, before is just fell over one day in June of 2019.  Before that it was one of NJ best-known trees and ranked among the largest white oak’s on NJ.  

Other notable history for Salem County is that Betsy Ross used to summer in Mannington, NJ just a few  miles from the Alexander Grant House. 

The chair below it believed to have belonged to William Penn.  Although mainly associated with Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, William Penn had many ties to Salem County.  The chair was brought from   Philadelphia in the 1870’s by Jesse Bond, a respected Quaker School Teacher.  His family were friends of the Penn Family.

 For a small historical society, there had a lovely collection of 30 to 35 samplers.  

Another early sampler from the collection is this alphabet sampler. It is signed “EB”.   The stitcher is unknown.  The sampler is dated 1793.

This lovely sewing stand was located in the sampler room.

Mary Tyler, Westtown Sampler, 1820

Elizabeth Fogg sampler, 1846

Eliza Gamble, 1848 Sampler

Sampler and painting.

Elizabeth Goodwin, a Westtown Sampler, 1820

Hannah Abbott sampler

Mary Jane Williams, 1840’s

Lydia Fogg, 1835

Peyote bag, undated

Margaret Denn, 1829

GLASS WARE

Salem County was the ‘cradle of glass” in America.  Casper Wistar, from Philadelphia, started a glass factory in Alloway in 1738.  They produced window panes, bottles and other glass containers for the next 40 years.  In the mid-19th century the local industry employee 24,000 employees.  (2023 census puts the current population of the county at 65,000). Operating several  glass factories:  Wistarburg Glass, Gaynor Glass Works via Holtz, Clark & Taylor,  Salem Glass Works, Quinton and Elmer Glass works as well as Anchor Hocking.

Large scale production of glass is no longer done in Salem, however, Salem Community College  offers degrees in glass blowing a glass artistry at a much lower cost than it’s rivals of Rhode Island School of Design and Tulane University and provides the nation’s only degree program in scientific glass blowing.  

Samples of glass from the Wistarburg Glass Works

Canton China, from the Port of Canton, China.  Imported for 400 years, up to the 1940’s.   Collection of local resident donated to the historical society. 

On the lower shelf, silver sugar tongs from the early 19th century by local silversmith Charles Ramsey.

What a crazy claim to fame….glass coffins!?

NOBEL PRIZE WINNER

More 20th century history is Salem had its very own Nobel Peace prize winner.   Mr. Charles J. Petersen was awarded Ed the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987.   He won jointly with Donald J. Cramer and Jean-Marie Leon for “their development and use of molecules with structure-special interaction of high selectivity.”

Madame Duval’s Cameo Collection.  

Local resident, Sarah Hancock Sinnickson was the daughter of Judge Willam Hancock. Killed in the Hancocks Bridge massacre, March 21, 1778.  She was married to Captain Thomas Sinninckson of the Caleb County militia.   During the Revolutionary War, her home was occupied by the British and her husband forced to serve or suffer imprisonment and lost of land and all property.   The dress below is the dress Sarah wore to the inaugural ball for  George Washington as President.

QUILTS

Outstanding “crazy quilt”.   Also known as the Lafayette Quilt, 1890.  It is called the Lafayette Quilt because there is fabric from Revolutionary War General Lafayette’s sash in the quilt.

This museum packed a lot into its humble space and much more than I have shared here.    Soon to open is a room that will be dedicated to all things children - toys, beds, clothing, etc.