Hand Embroidery Network

Amanda passed along this link to me. And I have barely begun to explore.

The Hand Embroidery Network

There are online courses. A blog. A digital magazine. An online exhibit of embroidery. A bookstore. A forum for posting.

This is their mission statement:

The Hand Embroidery Network (HEN) is a new exciting community for hand embroiderers across the globe. The HEN's aim is to encourage and promote the practice and knowledge of the art of embroidery for a new generation. We wish to bring together like minded people who enjoy needlework and who want to learn and share their knowledge.

The Hand Embroidery Network will showcase embroidery talent around the world by providing an online platform for embroidery artists and designers to exhibit their work together. Embroidery is an art that should never be lost and the HEN want to create an online resource for beginners to advanced embroiderers to develop and further their skills in hand embroidery. In a throw away age it is important that we create hand embroidered craft which can be passed on to our children and our childrens' children!

Go explore. May you be inspired.

Holiday Luncheon

It is that time of year. Time for "ho, ho, ho and mistletoe and presents for pretty girls."

Looking forward to our gathering this Saturday at the Heart in Hand in Clifton. Social time starts at 10:30 a.m.

Yes. There will an IFF table.

Don't forget ornaments for exchange. The rules are: for those who want to participate, make an ornament using any needlework technique you like, put your name on a note and add inside the package, wrap it up and put it in the exchange basket at the party. We will have a table to display these on after the unwrapping.

Our speaker is Sheryl DeJong of the Smithsonian Institute.

No Meeting In November

There is no meeting in November, but don't forget to mail your coupons for the holiday luncheon in December.

We will dining at the Heart in Hand in Clifton on Saturday, December 5th. Payment is due by November 15th. Mail coupon with luncheon choice and check for payment to Maura, our treasurer.

Our guest speaker will be Sharon DeJong who will talking about the samplers in the Smithsonian.

Don't forget to stitch an ornament for the exchange. The rules are simple; for those who want to
participate, make an ornament using any needlework technique you like, put your name on
a note and add inside the package, wrap it up and put it in the exchange basket at the party.
When the basket is passed around, help yourself to a new ornament, stitched by a fellow
member. Also don't forget to put your ornament that you received on the display later so everyone can admire them!

Tudor Rose Class

Maggie's beautiful piece in the gorgeous Sylvan Treasure's box.















Maggie demonstrates as we learn.












The doodle cloth.

Tudor Rose

Don't forget!

For those who signed up, Maggie Fraser's class - Tudor Rose - is this Saturday.

If you are taking this class and haven't received an e-mail from Dana with the directions to the school in McLean, please e-mail me, or Dana.

See you all there!

Some Photos of Barbara's Finishes This Summer

Our President has been busy.

Michael Boren's Arabella Reborn from our class last spring.













A yarmulke designed especially for her grandson to wear at his Bar Mitzvah.






Her towel from Phyllis' class on Swedish weaving.










And a framed piece celebrating her grandson's Bar Mitzvah.


Pretty impressive!

October Project

This is a Petit Project with painted canvas being taught by Jill Nedeau.

More Bookmarks

A couple more from Tinka's challenge.








Cat bookmark from Nancy W.











Mermaid by Melissa N.

Bookmarks and Crazy Quilt Stockings

Here are some of the bookmarks done by members for July's President's Challenge.

By Kathy M.

Apologies but I don't have the list of books.















Ann C.'s. We know the book associated with this one!













Marge K.'s - I think her book was Death on the Nile. If I remember correctly.

















Julie B.'s Crazy Quilt Stocking finish. Absolutely adorable.














Marge K.'s Crazy Quilt finish. Pretty!

Another Reason to Travel

The Blue Ridge Chapter of EGA, Roanoke, VA in conjunction with the Seven Hills Chapter of ANG, Lynchburg,VA will be hosting a month long exhibit beginning August 30, 2009 and running till Sept. 30, 2009. The exhibit will be at the Bower Center for the Arts, 305 N. Bridge Street, Bedford, VA. The hours are Wed.-Fri. 11 AM-4 PM and Sat. 11 AM-5 PM with Needlearts Demonstrations on Saturdays from 1-3PM.

The opening reception is August 30 at the Bower Center from 1-3PM.

July Meeting

Let the sale madness begin!









A lovely table setting by the hospitality committee. My apologies for the sideways photo.











What are these marching across our picnic?











One of Lucy's finished stockings from the class.













Three more by Lucy.
This was a terrific class.

Arabella Reborn Finishes

From our March class with Michael Boren:













This is the autumn leaves colorway by Donna.















Also autumn leaves by Marge with a terrific handmade frame by her husband!











Olive grove colorway by Maura.

Crazy Quilt Stocking Class

Our July meeting is on Saturday, July 25th. Lucy is teaching her Crazy Quilt Stocking.

We'll have juice and coffee and little nibbles for the social hour.

Anne and Phyllis, the Ways and Means Committee workers, will be running their stash sale. Bring cash to buy new or nearly new stash from other members. If anyone still wants to rent table space to sell some of their own excess goods, call Anne or Phyllis.

Don't forget to bring your bookmark challenge projects from Tinka's President's Challenge.

July Stitch In Public Day

We're having a July Stitch In Public Day. We'll be meeting in the Panera Bread in the Reston Town Center next door to the Hyatt Hotel on Wednesday July 22 which is our usual meeting day. Meet at 6:00 p.m. for stitching, and food and drink. If you don't have a project to work on, Jane will have some Kissing Pillows kits ready to go.

I've stitched in here with another group of ladies and the lighting is okay. Not terrific if you're doing over one on 40 ct, but adequate for most purposes.

June 24th Meeting

We're almost to the fourth Wednesday of June. Time for All Year Square, a design by Betsy Morgan. This is a pin cube with a scissor pocket stitched on six different colored linens with 19 Glorianna silks. What is not to love here?

Bring a 3" or 4" hoop if you prefer hoops to working in hand.

Don't forget to bring items to donate to the food pantry at the church. Items that are especially needed are jelly, Hamburger Helper, Pasta-a-Roni, canned Beans (refried, lima, great northern, pinto, black), spaghetti sauce, stuffing, cake or corn muffin mix, baking goods including flour and sugar, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, and diapers (size 4,5, and 6, as well as pull-ups).

Scarlet Thread Closing

Closing June 20!
When we close the door at 5 pm, Saturday, June 20,
it will be for the last time.

Everything 30%-40% off in June.

New Hours, starting June 1:
Thursday, 12-8 pm
Friday, 10:30 am-6 pm
Saturday, 10:30 am-5 pm
Closed all other days

For Your Calendars

The 14th Annual Needleart Show at the Montpelier Mansion in Laurel, Maryland.

When: Saturday, July 18th - Sunday, July 26th from 11:00a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily

Contact: www.pgparks.com or 301-377-7817

Montpelier hosts the 14th annual Needleart show. See the rooms of the mansion filled with a dazzling array of stitched art, from needlepoint to ribbon work. Judges choose winners in several categories, and you the visitor are invited to vote for the “People’s Choice” award. demonstrations of various needleart techniques are given daily.

Happy June and More on Swedish Weaving

For those interested in learning a bit more on Swedish Weaving after last week's class:

I found the issue of Mary Hickmott's New Stitches on the magazine stands right now with the White Cliffs of Dover on the cover, has an article.

She's calling it Swedish Darning. Same thing. And presents a few designs not on Huck fabric, but on Lugana and Aida.

Stitch N Pitch Photos

It was a very good baseball game.

May 27th

Tomorrow is regularly scheduled May meeting.

Phyllis is teaching us Swedish weaving. Toweling and needles provided. Look in your stash for some suitable threads to use - 6-12 strands of floss, #3 or #5 perle cotton or multiple strands of #8.

The project is a dish towel and if you intend to use it your threads should be colorfast. You
will need about 3 skeins of floss using all 6 strands for the towel.

Some interesting websites with information on this technique:

The Swedish Weave Connection

Avery Hill Designs

All Fiber Arts

Nettie's Needleworks

and of course, Nordic Needle

Stitch N Pitch

I'm all set for the game tonight at Nationals Park. My stitching buddy had another commitment come up so I'll be bringing my son who will not be stitching. His job will be to give me a heads up if a foul ball is coming our way!

Dan Steinberg, of the Washington Post, interviewed us for his online sports blog the first year we attended Stitch N Pitch. You can read about it here: A Near No Knitter.

Hope to see some of you there!

Discussion Groups

Did you know that EGA National has discussion groups on Yahoo! Groups?

One is a general EGA group. To find it, go to the EGA website. In the members only area, click on discussion group. You do have to join Yahoo! Groups to join this list. Recent topics have included discussions about graphing software, new courses being offered, news about National Seminar.

The second Yahoo! Group is for Correspondence Courses. You can find the link for this group under the Correspondence Courses page. Here you'll find topics such as suggestions for future Correspondence Courses and discussion of current courses.

Stitch N Pitch

May 23rd is Stitch N Pitch night at Nationals Park.

What is Stitch N Pitch? It is: a combining of two wonderful traditions — Baseball and the NeedleArts. Come to a ball game and knit, crochet, embroider, cross-stitch and needlepoint. Sit among friends, family and colleagues and cheer on your favorite Baseball Team. Beginners, intermediate and experts are all welcome.

Tickets may be purchased at our local needlework and yarn shops. Or buy online at the Stitch N Pitch website.

I've attended the past two years and had a marvelous time. There are demos and goody bags and lots of wonderful people performing their own needlearts magic. And, yes. There is baseball, too. Last year's game went into extra innings!

May Meeting

Don't forget our May meeting will be a class in Huck Weaving taught by Phyllis.

Arabella Class

If anyone from the Michael Boren class has a photo of a finished project, send it to me and we'll post it here.

Mine is stuck at the half-way point as other stitching has taken precedence.

Apologies

Apparently the comment function was turned off.

Comments are now enabled for anonymous users which means you do not have to have any type of Gmail or Blogger account to comment.

Some one give this a try and we'll make sure it works.

Kissing Pillows

As part of our outreach projects we are going to continue to make kissing pillows. If anyone needs the pattern, please send me a request here either by e-mailing me:

oatlandsega@gmail.com

or by posting a comment and I will e-mail a PDF of the chart.

Directions for finishing the pillows

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STITCHING SOLDIER KISSING PILLOWS:

1. Measure and mark 9 squares from each side of the heart and 9 squares from the top and bottom of the heart. Use the heart as your guide, not the center of the fabric or the edges of the fabric.

2. Cut backing 5” square. Place backing (patriotic) fabric, right side to right side of stitched piece. SQUARE IT UP using the aida lines. Even if the backing fabric is straighter than the aida, it will look crooked, you HAVE to line it up along the aida lines.

3. Pin and trim aida to fit.

4. Stitch around all 4 edges, using a 1/2 inch (7 squares) seam allowance (you will want to stitch in the ditch of the aida), and leaving an open space of 1 1/2 to 2 inches in which to put stuffing. You will want the finished pillow to be close to 4” square.

5. Trim edges, cutting across corners so turning is easier. Iron. Turn right side out. You may need to iron again.

6. Lightly stuff; pillow should be fluffy and squishy, not hard and bouncy.

7. Close open space using blind stitching.

PACKAGING INSTRUCTIONS:

Place pillow in a clear plastic sandwich bag. Seal.

For Your Calendar

If you are looking for a reason for a Sunday drive, why not check out this exhibit in Dowell, Maryland: Sailor Made: the Art of the Woolie.

This exhibit runs from October 2008 - July 5th, 2009 at the Annmarie Garden.

In April, we have The Expressive Needle: the 14th Biennial Exhibit of fine needlework by the Bucks County Chapter of the EGA. This event takes place April 23-25th at the James-Lorah Memorial Home in Doylestown, PA. for more information, e-mail: BucksEGA@verizon.net

And on Friday, May 15, 2009, there will be a Needlework Identification Day at the Lyceum in Alexandria from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information and a reservation call, 703-838-4994; or e-mail gsallen@aol.com

For the Sampler Lovers

The American History Museum has begun to document its sampler collection online. There are currently 137 samplers in the textile collection. The first 51 are available for viewing.

Stitch in Public Day

Please remember that this Saturday, April 4th, we're doing another Stitch in Public Day at the Ashburn Library from 10-1.

This is located just off the Claiborne Parkway at 43316 Hay Road.

Bring something to work on and if you like, something to display.

We had a wonderful time chatting and stitching in February at the Reston Library.

If anyone would like to volunteer to set up a location and time to Stitch in Public, contact our President, Barbara.

Classes in Lorton

Just in case anyone is interested: check out the classes and more at the Lorton Workhouse Arts Center at the site of the former prison. I see weaving and spinning and various knitting and needle felting classes.

March Meeting Redux

Let's up the font size. Is that better?

Yesterday I attended both the morning and evening meetings where we had the chance to exchange stories and laughs about some of our oldest UFOs. I have a feeling that we didn't see some of the oldest.

Joan M. won the morning's prize for the oldest for her stamped cross stitch piece that had the date of 1970 stitched on it. Truly priceless work. Her Xs were crossed in both directions - she pointed that out, not me. We may have convinced her to frame it unfinished for her anniversary. LOL

In the evening, Phyllis C. won the prize for a FIBUFO (okay, that's a fill in background unfinished object) from 1967. In this case it was a version of the serenity prayer on tan penelope canvas. As Phyllis said, I didn't win a prize for oldest UFO. I won for being able to locate the oldest.

I suspect Phyllis is right. And that some of us have older projects that we just didn't bother searching for.

Congratulations to our prize winners. You've both come a long way in your stitching journeys!

March Meeting 3/25

By now you've all seen your newsletter and know that the Copyright program was canceled.

So tomorrow bring your oldest UFO or a Christmas ornament that has slipped to the bottom of your stitching basket. Prize for person with the oldest. Extra credit possible for projects related to cherry blossoms or springtime in D.C.

Don't forget sign-up deadlines for Amanda Newell's lovely tulip bracelet and Michael Boren's canvaswork project!

Handy Website

Ever need perle instead of floss? Well, here's a place that shows you how to make your own. Handy for those of us doing Hardanger and canvaswork who cannot find the color of perle we so desperately want.

Make your own perle.

Crystal Bling Photo

My latest Crystal Bling bracelet from the class taught last year by Dana Cobert.

Anyone else want to send me some photos to post?

e-mail to me, Donna, at oatlandsega@gmail.com

Thanks for looking!

Tassel Earring

These are the earrings I made from the tassel class in January. If anyone wants to send me photos of finished projects, I'd be happy to post them here.

Donna

February Meeting, the a.m. Edition

We had a lovely time this morning sharing our own needlework stories. There was such a variety of techniques. Some sampler appreciation. Some punch needle. Some counted work. Some Japanese embroidery. Some surface embroidery. Some canvaswork. Some beading. Some designing.

There is such depth of talent in this group. It's truly amazing.

I should have tried to take more pictures. And tomorrow I'll post a photo of my beaded tassel earrings that I made after Elaine Evans class in January.

If anyone who attends the evening meeting wants to send me an update, I'll post it here.

E-mail to oatlandsega@gmail.com

February Meeting

This month we are sharing.

Share your favorite type of needlework.
If you have a favorite technique, favorite designer, or have an interesting story to share about
any of your pieces—come and tell us your story.

You may spark someone else to learn a new stitch or finish one of those “UFOs”.

And if you even have UFOs, bring them to share and maybe it will prompt you to get started on it again!

If you’ve stitched a piece for a special occasion and want to tell about that or have pictures to
share, bring them along! We’re anxious to hear about your stitching story.

We'll see you either in the morning or the evening in the usual spot. Don't forget to bring some canned goods to support the church food pantry.

Stitch In Public Day

The Stitch in Public Day has now become an annual event.

Since February is National Embroidery Month, the EGA Board has designated the first Saturday as being Stitch in Public Day, choosing a Saturday to allow more working stitchers to participate.

That means that this Saturday, February 7th, is Stitch in Public Day.

For anyone who wants to join in the fun, some of us will be at the Reston Regional Library on Bowman Drive in Reston from 12-2 p.m. in Room 1. We'll have a sign in the lobby. Bring your stitching and finished piece or two to display.

A Table Full

A table full of beautiful work.

What a talented group we are.












For those unfamiliar with blogger (which is this website that hosts blogs), I will tell that if you click on the photo you can see it in a larger format.

January 24th Meeting

We had a lovely meeting yesterday. Lots of beautiful IFFs to admire. Tons of terrific food.

Some of us took Elaine Evans tassels class and though I'm not certain I could make a great turk's head tassel, I am going to show up in February wearing my beaded tassels as earrings - one red and one white. Thanks, Elaine, for giving us something new to play with and investigate.

Our Mission

This is your first message from your new Oatlands EGA blogger. Because I have a limited amount of time at the moment, I am parking the mission statement of EGA and the copyright notice on the first post. These will move to a sidebar soon.

I will enable comments so feel free to post your questions or comments and I promise that I will check this page every day (unless incapicitated in some way.) I am online every morning.

Mission statement: to stimulate appreciation for and celebrate the heritage of embroidery by advancing the
highest standards of excellence in its practice through education, exhibition, preservation, collection and research.

Copyright© The Embroiderers’ Guild of America, Inc.
No part of this Web site may be published, reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or
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