Still stitching!

I am continuing to make progress on my Dresden Garden piece. I have only one more specialty stitch to do before filling in the background and then doing the flower petal outlines. Right now it doesn't look much different than my last photo so I'll update it when I have more stitching completed.

I have also made progress on my other correspondence course. I need to do four different pieces for this course which focuses on finishing techniques. I have started two of them. One uses hemstitching and mitered corners. I am just about done with the first side of the hemstitching, right along the hemline, and will need to do the other side of the open space so the stitches on both sides are the same. This sample needs to be left half undone so it can be checked for proper stitching methodology. 

The first photo shows it from the front side and the second photo is of the back side. You actually do the stitching on the back side.

The other piece has a picot edging. You need to withdraw threads and in between one set of withdrawn threads you pick up four threads and make two buttonhole stitches. You then fold this over so the picots are on the very edge and then do some hemstitching. I am not quite to the hemstitching part of that one.

If you look closely you will see the stitches on either side of the corner have three threads and not four. That is on purpose! You have to do a little compensating so the picots don't look odd against the open space at the corners.

Now, this next part should be filed under, “You must be joking!” because I signed up for one of the EGA’s Master Craftsman programs. Crazy, I know. It isn’t like I don’t have enough to keep me busy, but I thought it would be a challenge and stretch my stitching skills a bit. I enrolled in the Counted Thread program. I can’t share all of the details because that is against the program rules, but I can share my progress and the program info that is publicly available.

The program I’m in has six steps. Each one must be passed before moving on to the next. In the first step I need to stitch a piece that can have family or historical significance. I have several ideas rolling through my head but think I will likely do something with a German theme as both my husband and I have family that came from Germany. I have ordered several books on old German samplers. They are actually in German so I will seek out the help of my German speaking daughter to assist me with a little translating.  I do have up to two years to complete the first step so I should make that deadline!

Stitching progress!

So, I am finally back to working on my projects! I’ve been finishing up a number of project keepers for the region meeting in October. Some I’ve done from start to finish and others come to me almost complete and I cover a tube with batting and attach them.

I made two embroidered towels for our Meet and Greet night at the region meeting. I gave up on the strawberry design I started. It was way too detailed for this purpose. These designs are very simple and stitch up quickly. I have a third design ready to stitch that will wait until after I finish up my two correspondence courses.

I’ve been getting some work done on the Dresden Garden piece. Some of the stitches are a bit challenging, especially when you need to work compensation stitches around those curved edges. I have to admit that I did the frog stitch (rip-it, rip-it) on more than one occasion. I am pleased with the way it looks so far, but still have no clue what I will do with it when it is complete. (Don't mind the shadows in these photos. I couldn't seem to get myself positioned correctly with the overhead lighting.)

I have been working on a project from Milady’s Needle. It is a ruler holder. There are other pieces you can make that compliment it, like a scissor fob and needle book. I pick it up and stitch on it when my eyes can no longer take looking at that high count Dresden Garden fabric.

Now, don't think I've made all of this progress in just the last week! I've been working a few minutes at a time on them and it all adds up. Several years ago I was in an online group that had the goal of finishing up all of those UFOs we all seem to have. The group suggested  a goal of stitching one length (12-18 inches) of floss/thread a day. You won't see much progress day by day, but over time those inches add up to a finished piece.

San Francisco: Part Two

This has been a busy week! My folks and my daughter and her husband have been in town. We've spent a lot of time visiting with the (great) grandchildren so I haven't accomplished much stitching.

I'll give you the last bit on my trip to San Francsico and then I'll be back next week with more stitching updates.

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I had a little time between sessions one day and stopped at a small museum in downtown San Francisco called the Museum of Craft and Folk Art. It was located just steps from our hotel on Yerba Buena. It has limited hours being open only Wednesday through Sunday. There is a small gift shop at the museum that you can visit without paying the $5 entrance fee.

Getting into the museum, which was really more of a one room gallery, was a little challenging as the three young ladies behind the counter were more interested in chatting amongst themselves instead of greeting the people entering the shop/gallery. But, I did manage to get their attention, pay my fee and enter the small room. 

The display was Korean Textiles Now. It was a nice display and would have been much more informative if the young ladies had told me there was a printed gallery guide describing each piece.There were no signs saying otherwise, so I took several photos.

These first three photos give you a good sense of the room and the textiles displayed.

 

This piece below was absolutely covered with hand stitching.

The squares in this piece are small and you can see the fine hand embroidery 

done in the center of several of them.

The gift shop was small and had a few unique pieces. I didn't buy anything but will visit the shop again the next time we are in San Francisco.

San Francisco: Part One

We are finishing up a trip to San Francisco for a business conference. Most of the time we’ve been here our days have been full of either driving along the coast, which we did pre-conference, or attending sessions and various other conference type activities. On Monday I had the day free to roam and found, just a couple of blocks from the hotel, a needlework shop. 

Needlework, Inc. is the company that produces the Needlepoint, Inc silks you may have used in some of your stitching projects. The skeins are very expensive, around $5, so I have rarely used them. The shop is on the third floor of a small building in downtown San Francisco across the street from Union Square Park. When you enter the building the very small lobby has a very small staircase and a very small elevator. You would almost think you are in the wrong place if it weren’t for the placard on the wall indicating the businesses located on each floor. Needlepoint Inc was listed for floors 2, 3 and 4.

I stepped into the elevator and pushed the 2 button. Nothing happened. I did this a couple of times before finally hitting the number 3, and then I was off. The door opened into the shop. The shop is small but very colorful and full of samples and canvases. One corner holds mostly Christmas, and a few Halloween, designs. Many of the designs were done in 3-D, some as ornaments, others as purses and boxes, and still others as lady bugs and other critters. While the designs were very enticing, the cost of the canvases was not. Many of the canvases were running close to $100 and up for designs that were about 5 x 7 inches in size. The least expensive one I could find was $20 and it was for a small (maybe 2 inch by 1.5 inch) egg design that they had finished with a backing as an egg ornament. 

Interestingly enough, I found they did carry some cross stitch patterns. They had several designs by Milady’s Needle, The Drawn Thread and Jeannette Douglas, as well as a few other miscellaneous designers. While I didn’t examine each pattern, it did appear that these were designs that featured Needlepoint, Inc. silks. I did pick one up by Milady’s Needle along with a few of the silks to complete the design. 

I've read other online reviews about this shop that indicated they were not friendly or helpful. There were two women in the shop, one younger and one older. Perhaps they were mother/daughter. I was greeted by the younger as I entered the shop. As I wandered the shop I was asked how I was doing by each of the two women. The younger woman helped me get a couple of skeins of silk as they were shelved too high for me to reach without a ladder. As I checked out, she engaged me in conversation about where I was from, why I was in town, etc. 

While no one was out right rude to me, I did get the distinct impression that they were not very receptive to those new to needlepoint. I overheard another woman ask about what could be done with a particular canvas. She was told she could do anything she wanted with it. She asked the same question later about another canvas and was again given the same response. She was clearly looking for a suggestion from the shop ladies, but it wasn’t forthcoming. I also overheard the two shop women speaking about another customer in not so nice terms. They several times mentioned she was “new” to needlepoint.  These overheard conversations, plus the costly canvases, lead me to believe they cater to the serious and experienced needlepointer. Still, it was a nice shop and a place I would visit again to see the many displayed samples.

In addition to doing a little shopping, I was able to finish reading the book Lye in Wait. It is a cozy mystery based upon a woman who makes soap as a home business. The book was free for the Kindle in August (though I did just check and it is still showing as free). The book was enjoyable and a quick read. I especially enjoyed the little tidbits about soap making the author tossed in throughout the book. I like learning a little something while also enjoying a good mystery. The story held my interest and it is definitely something I would recommend if you want something light to read.

Fun at the Fair!

It’s the end of August and that means it’s time for the great Minnesota get-together, otherwise known as the State Fair! Where else can you see Princess Kay of the Milky Way and her royal court get their heads carved in butter?

One of my favorite things to do at the fair is to see the many exhibits at the Creative Activities building. Each year a number of people who belong to my local EGA guild enter their stitchery in the fair. This year, as always, I found several of our members on the list of ribbon winners. One member won a sweepstakes prize for her stumpwork piece. This was a correspondence course a number of our members worked on this last year. It’s hard to really see the project in the photo as I had to take it through the glass, but trust me when I say it is truly lovely!

Another favorite stop is the Rosebud’s Cottage booth in Heritage Square. Each year their email subscribers receive a coupon for a free, special edition pattern designed by This n That just for the state fair. This year’s pattern was for a fun quilted and embroidered table centerpiece done in fall colors. I was told that a photo of the project will be put on the This n That blog after the fair ends on Labor Day, but the pattern is only available at the fair.

While at the booth I bought a new book called Fresh Fabric Treats. The projects use those Moda precut fabrics, though you could use any fabric at all from your stash. I linked to the book description on Amazon, but I must tell you that the book preview does not show the best projects from the book. I would venture to say that the projects they do show are the least “fun” ones from the book! 

I need another book like I need another toe, but I couldn’t resist this one! Included are very cute bags, a clear zippered supply pouch, a “book” for storing your in progress quilt blocks, and several other delightful patterns. I paid (gasp!) the full retail price of $21.95 and think it was a good buy.

In addition to going to the fair, I managed to finish reading The Lacemakers of Glenmara. I need to give it a rating of fair. I am told the story itself is loosely based upon a true incident that happened a number of years ago in Poland. It seems a group of ladies adorned lingerie with their lace to sell and the local church leadership thought it was somehow a problem and excommunicated them! This particular story happens in Ireland where a young lady from America travels to after losing her mother and breaking up with her fellow. The story isn’t a bad read, but the ending was somewhat abrupt. It seemed like the author needed to end the story and had to hastily get rid of a couple of the main characters with no warning. I would suggest borrowing this from your library if you would like to read it. 

A few good books

There are a number of books, and book series, out there that have “crafts” as their main theme. I’ve read a number of them and thought I would share my responses to them.

First, if you have a Kindle or use one of the Kindle apps, you may be interested in a free book- Lye in Wait is currently on Amazon as a free ebook. It may not be free for long so check the price before you click on Buy. I downloaded it but haven't yet read it.

If you haven't read the Shenandoah Album series by Emilie Richards, I do recommend it. Each title is a quilt name with the first being Wedding Ring. The series began as a trilogy but the author decided she needed to explore the characters a little more and it ended up as a five book series. The story starts with a somewhat cranky woman named Helen. Her relationships are explored with her wedding quilt as the centerpiece of the first book. I’ve read the entire series and enjoyed them all. The last one was written in 2009 so I expect that is the end of the series. There are quilt instruction books based upon the series available at a variety of booksellers and quilt shops as well as at your local library.

Another series that is current and ongoing is by Betty Hechtman and uses crochet as the center of the story. You can find them as either Crochet Mystery Series or Tarzana Hookers Mysteries. I’ve read the first two books and so far am enjoying them. They are based upon a woman, Molly, who is the event coordinator at a book store. One of the events she organizes is a crochet group that gets together to create projects for local charities. Molly is new to crochet. Other members of the group have much more experience with, and opinions about, crochet which makes for some interesting interactions. And, of course, someone is murdered and Molly helps track down the killer. These are quick reads and are a good take along for vacation or for when you want something light to read. Each book includes a recipe and a crochet pattern.

Not to leave knitting out, there is another mystery series that features knitting and is authored by Maggie Sefton. These are very similar to the crochet series in that they are quick reads and mostly enjoyable. She is on book 9 in the series. I have read through book 7. The story is about Kelly who inherits her aunt’s property after she is murdered. Her aunt was a knitter but Kelly is a novice. She ends up developing a relationship with the women and men of the local yarn shop and tries her hand at knitting while also solving murder mysteries. I really liked the first four books or so, but somewhere around book 5 or 6 the author took a turn and I found myself reading more of a Harlequin romance than a cozy mystery. Book 7 backed off a little bit from that and I truly hope the rest of her books will go back to the mystery focus. Romance is just not a genre I read and I really don’t care for it when I’m reading a mystery. Each book includes a recipe and a knitting pattern.

One last series I’ll mention today is by author Monica Ferris. She writes what has become a very popular series that is set in a small town in Minnesota. Similar to the previous two series, these are fun mysteries that are easy to read. The main character is Besty who has inherited a needlework shop from her murdered sister. Betsy is a complete novice in the world of needlework. She decides to keep the shop and with the help of her staff she learns what she can about the needle arts while solving murders. What I like about this series is that the author delves into a different type of needlework in each book. You not only have a good mystery to read, but you learn about a needlework technique. Monica includes a small pattern at the end of the book in that technique. She is currently working on book 15 in the series which will be out later this year. If you are in the Twin Cities area you will want to watch for Monica’s appearance at one of the Textile Center Library author bag lunches later this year. She was our guest speaker at our EGA chapter’s luncheon last December and is a joy to hear.

There are other crafting type novels out there and at some point I’ll do a review of those as well. For now, I continue to work on my EGA related projects and will have an update on those next week!

Kalona, Iowa

This past weekend we drove to Iowa for a family wedding. We stayed at a small hotel in Kalona, Iowa.  This community includes many Amish and Mennonite families. The downtown is small but has a number of fun shops and eateries. Because of the wedding schedule and the shop hours, we didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but I still managed to visit two quilt shops and take a few photos on the Kalona Quilt Block Walking Tour.

Our two children, their spouses and our two grandchildren all went to breakfast at the Kalona Family Restaurant. The food was good and not very expensive. Best of all, there were two quilt shops within easy walking distance! My daughter-in-law and I took the youngest grandchild and headed for the shops while the others went off and explored outside of the downtown area.

Our first stop was just around the corner at the Willow Creek Quilting & Gifts. (I couldn’t find a website for them but they do have some basic info about the shop on Facebook.) Both of us thought this was a great shop! They have a lot of samples on display and featured not only quilting projects but embroidery and wool projects as well. I must say I succumbed and purchased a fun wool embroidery kit for six cute little Christmas mittens. They have a nice selection of reproduction fabrics- Civil War, Jo Morton, etc.- and a good variety of patterns, books and notions. There was a little room off to one side that was full of baby/child fabrics and projects. The front of the store had several nice displays of gift items, candles and the like.

The front of the store is very deceiving. Once inside you discover that shop is very long and deep, allowing plenty of room for many bolts of fabric. The ladies in the store were very pleasant and welcoming. They all stopped to see the baby and ooh and aah over him. Always a nice touch for any grandma! I think we could have spent a lot more time in this shop but we had one more stop to make before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

The next shop was about a block away and off the main street area. Stitch ‘n Sew Cottage was a very bright and roomy shop. They had a very large selection of quilt stencils which are becoming more difficult to find. I bought two but could have easily purchased several more. I also found a new fabric that I liked and picked up two yards to add to my stash. That said, we were both somewhat disappointed with this shop. The woman who checked us out was very nice, but not a single person approached us as we walked through the store to ask if we needed help. The samples on display were very limited, mostly panels that had been quickly assembled and hung on the wall. There was nothing that either one of us saw that made us say, “Oh, I need to make that!” Would I go back again? Probably. It is so close to the other Kalona shopping so to walk past it seems a little silly. Plus, I am always looking for new quilt stencils.

It has been a number of years since my last visit to Kalona and apparently they were in need of a refresh to their downtown area. Just a couple of months ago they finished up a revitalization program and, being the Quilting Capital of Iowa, used a quilting theme. Signage in town now features various quilt blocks and they have a Quilt Block Walking Tour, complete with its own brochure. 

The brochure features a photo and brief description of each block. After the wedding I drove the couple of blocks to the downtown area and did most of the walking tour. Local businesses sponsored the 42 blocks that grace the sidewalks. A couple of them are outside of the main shopping street, one being at the Historical Village where the Quilt and Textile Museum is located. I didn’t have time to visit the museum so that means at least one more trip to Kalona in the future!