July 2015 Meeting

Our meeting was held on July 15 at the US Bank building in Ontario, California. Our President and other members were not in attendance. Poor babies, they were stuck in Phoenix, Arizona at the Needle Arts Mystery Retreat. Sorry Helen, Alice and Pam, we feel for you.

After a brief business meeting, Laurie McClellan from El Segundo Chapter presented part two of her emery bag project.

So why have an emery bag? You know that cute little strawberry often attached to a tomato pin cushion? That is supposed to be filled with a fine grit emery sand. Emery comes in black or white (there is no difference in quality). The purpose is to sharpen and polish your needles. You simply poke the needle into the emery several times. Laurie emphasized several points about good emery bags: 1. It should be packed in a tightly woven fabric then encased in another fabric. You don't want sand leaking everywhere, and if any does make it through the tight fabric, it should be caught by the second layer; 2. Don't use any synthetic fabrics in your bag construction. They will dull your needles, which takes away the benefit of using the bag in the first place; 3. Don't use the emery bag as a pin cushion. Emery has a small amount of moisture in it because it's sand. Your needles will rust left in emery; and 4. Only use your emery bag for sharp needles. Tapestry needles have a blunt tip and won't go through the bag fabric without making a hole. Since Laurie is the curious type that does unspeakable things like cut open little fabric strawberries to see what's really inside, she told us that a lot of those little strawberries are actually filled with wood shavings. They make the strawberry look cute, but they don't do much for your needles.

Our May meeting was covering a button with beads. Laurie's kits included a button she had covered for us in Ultra Suede with an initial button already glued in place, lots of different seed beads, some accent beads, needles, beading thread and a beading mat.

Laurie again came with everything all organized and ready so that the project could likely be completed during the meeting. She had made little yo yos of tightly woven muslin, filled them with white emery sand, and sewed the tops firmly shut. She had all-wool felt in different colors, charms, trims, and colored beading thread. We had to cut the right-sized felt circle, make a yo yo, tuck the emery-filled yo yo inside it, and then sew on the button. We then trimmed it out with something pretty and finished it off with a charm.

The bag is about 1 1/2 inch across. It's an attractive and useful addition to our stitching tools.

Thank you Laurie for such a fun and easy project. Our chapter always enjoys your programs. The mermaid design is a free chart at http://www.xstitchhappy.net/2014/05/mermaid-scissor-fob.html.
Don't forget to check out our stitch-in page. Our August meeting will be another session with Pat on the Hapsburg Lace Sampler AND our annual ice cream social. We meet at the US Bank building, 33 N Euclid Ave, Ontario, California. Social time is 6:30, the meeting starts at 7:00. Keep stitching!

June Meeting and some Stitch-In Photos

Our meeting on June 17 was pretty much the usual. First, people started drifting in about 6:30, found a comfortable seat (isn't it funny how we tend to prefer the same seat?), grabbed a snack from our new snack table, and started to talk. Then we started the business portion at about 7:00 and got the boring part our of the way ASAP. Then we got to our program.

Pat C. taught our new project, Hapsburg Lace Sampler by Tanja Berlin. She talked a bit about the background of Hapsburg Lace, about which frankly not a lot is known. She did point out that about 25 years ago, there was some interest by a local designer. Pat said there were knots used, oh so many knots. Here is a pic of one of the old design leaflets.

Click on any photo to enlarge

Our Education Director, Yvonne B., stitched up the sampler using overdyed pearl cotton, solid pearl cotton, and metallic. We thought the effect was lovely. 

 It's hard to tell in the photos, but she stitched it on iridescent canvas. 

I really like the way the overdyed pearl created additional interest in the larger areas.
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Dark Solid on Light Background

Light Solid on Dark Background

Overdyed and Solid Threads on Light Iridescent Background

The same section in three different thread/canvas combinations.







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Here are a few pictures from our Stitch-In on June 24. We have quite a range of techniques.

The start of Hapsburg Lace

Hapsburg Lace on Blue Canvas

Embroidery by one of our quilters

Redwork

A canvas piece from ANG

Stamped work on a tea towel

The beginnings of a sweet bag

Another stitcher working on that ANG piece

Counted cross stitch

Cross stitch by Ursula Michaels - finished and framed!

Cross stitch Flower Power by Crossed Wing Collections

Another start of the Hapsburg Lace

Counted cross stitch

Needlepoint piece of a Charleston house, a souvenir from a trip

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  Last, in May we started an emery bag project by Laurie McClellan. It is a beaded Ultrasuede-covered button surrounded by beads to top an emery bag. Those of us not named Darlene will be finishing up our emery bag at the July meeting.

Darlene V. always adds a little extra to make it unique

Darlene's finished emery bag next to Denise M.'s started button

Laurie planned it to go along with our mermaid project that was our January birthday gift to our members. We paired on online freebie with linen, threads, a jewel and teeny pearls.  The design is from from the blog Cross Stitch Happy. We finished it as a pincushion with the trim stitchers' choice.
 

 

 I wish I had a picture of the one stitched by Kendra - she sprayed her linen with blue floral paint first and it looked terrific.

Our next meeting is July 15, with optional social time (and a snack) starting at 6:30 and the meeting itself beginning at 7:00. We meet at the Community Room at the back of the US Bank, 333 N Euclid Ave, Ontario, CA, or as the locals call it Euclid and "D" Street.

A Brief Catch-Up and Future Plans

With a volunteer organization, sometimes things like a blog fall through the cracks. And so it went with this one. A brief recap is that we've been meeting steadily over the past several months and having fun.

That's pretty much it.

Now for the present and future, we are planning some fun things.

Tanja Berlin Hapsburg Lace Sampler, light background with dark thread

Tanja Berlin Hapsburg Lace Sampler, dark background with light thread

 This is the Hapsburg Lace Sampler by Tanja Berlin. We will be starting this at our June meeting. It will be stitched on 18-count canvas using #8 and #12 pearl cotton.

Here are a few detail pictures from Tanja Berlin's web page on Hapsburg Lace.

As with any photos on this blog, just click on them to enlarge in a separate window.

Our members were encouraged to choose canvas and thread of their choice that had a strong contrast. As long as the blog doesn't fall into any more cracks, we should have some more photos to post in a few months.




Our next meeting will be on June 17 at the US Bank Building at 333 N. Euclid Avenue, Ontario, California. We meet at 6:30 for social time and 7:00 for the business meeting and program. Stitchers of all experience are welcome. Remember, the EGA concentrates on any technique that uses a needle with an eye. See you there!

June 10 Stitch Gathering

Here are some of the projects our participants were working on at our June 10 gathering at the Hobby Lobby in Upland. We had a great time as always. Anyone and everyone interested in needlework is welcome.

 Ruth P. is working on a hardanger runner from Nordic Needle. She got all the way around the everything matched up, but when she started the inner section, it didn't fit. It turned out that she'd made the exact same counting error in the mirror image spot at the opposite end, so half of her stitching had to be taken out! But it will be very pretty when it's done. This is a beginner piece and is really fairly simple to stitch. Hardanger is quite sturdy.
















 Barbara S. is working on "Rainforest" by Kathy Rees on congress cloth. It's a lot of little samplers that make up one big canvas-work sampler.

Sally A. is trying to complete a project from Stoney Creek Pattern of the Month but keeps having to correct the count. When it's done it will be finished into a bell pull.



 

Denise M. is starting a new project by Dorothy Lesher called "Dragons Tea Party." This is from a recent workshop in Ontario.

 

Mary Lee M. had two little projects, a lighthouse by Stoney Creek and a small project from a Baldy View meeting.

We had a visitor today who received a needlepoint lesson from Denise M. We look forward to seeing her again.
 

Once again, thank you to Hobby Lobby and the Upland general manager Meribel for allowing us to use the classroom. Our next stitch gathering will be Monday July 8. Needle workers of all levels are welcome. We'd love to see what you're working on. Our regular meeting will be in Ontario on Wednesday June 19 at the US Bank building at "D" Street and Euclid at 7:00.

May Meeting

We've all been absorbed by our stitching for hours and ended up with neck or back pain or general stiffness. You may even know someone who ended up with a serious injury as a result of stitching in a poor position. Our May program addressed this issue. Baldy View member Marilyn M. is a physical therapist. She talked about the problem of repetitive injury.

Marilyn came with a variety of props from a tiny hoop to a model of the human spine. Did you know that the bone at the spine that supports your head is about the same size as a finger bone? Or that you are placing ten times your total body weight on the base of your spine when you are sitting down? No wonder we get stiff and sore sometimes!

After going over basic body mechanics, Marilyn began to give us some general guidelines on how to reduce the risk of injury while stitching. Since we want to see Marilyn at our meetings and not in her office, we listened carefully. Sit with your knees parallel to the floor with your feet on a footstool or flat on the ground. Use proper lumbar support. Take frequent breaks by putting a really annoying timer across the room so you have to get up to turn it off. Keep your chart close to your stitching so that you turn your head less and reduce stress on that tiny bone. Use a floor or lap stand to avoid clutching your hoop or frame and to allow both arms to move freely. Have your tools close by so that you don't have to twist or stretch to reach them.

I found this diagram from 1992 online. Check out the old monitor! But really, substitute "television" for "monitor" and "needlework" for "keyboard" and it's any of us on a typical evening of stitching.

Here are some links to useful equipment:

http://thefootbuddie.com/ a low profile footstool
http://www.kscreations.com/ floor and lap stands with available chart holders and a folding footstool
http://www.123stitch.com/item/Handeze-Single-Craft-Glove-Size-2-Beige/123-3586 gloves to help reduce stress leading to carpal tunnel syndrome
armless task chair easily adjustable for knee placement and with back support.
chart holders a few different ways to keep your chart close

This is not an endorsement of these items or vendors, just a start to get you thinking about what's out there. Useful items for stitching can be found in both local and online needlework stores. Office supply and hardware stores are also good places to find useful items. So many of us struggle to get time to stitch as all that it's a shame when we lose more time because we hurt ourselves so let's all stay safe.

Marilyn also had us all stand up and do this exercise.

When we were done, we all gasped in amazement. It felt really good!

We will have our next meeting on Wednesday, June 19 at 7:00 at the US Bank, 333 N Euclid Ave, Ontario, CA. Park behind the building and come into the community room just to the right of the bank's door. We are there starting at 6:30 for social time. Phebie of Brazilian Embroidery fame will be presenting a small project for those who signed up in advance. Even if you didn't sign up, come anyway and learn about this fascinating embroidery technique.

We will also be hosting our community stitch gathering on Monday, June 10 from 10:00-4:40 at the Hobby Lobby, 420 S Mountain Ave, Upland, CA. It's just off the 10 freeway at Mountain Avenue. Come all day or for a few minutes. We're in the classroom at the right rear of the store, just right of the framing counter. Lunch is available at one of the many restaurants in the area including the new Honeybaked Ham Cafe. Across the street is Handel's Ice Cream considered to be one of the best ice creams on the planet. And of course, there is stitching! See you all in June.

Final Photos of Garden of Delights in a Basket

Georgette B. lent me her finished basket so I was finally able to get some good photos.

Here it is!

The crewel flower

The deerfield embroidery flower

The pulled thread flower

The blackwork flower

Pulled eyelet to tie it together

Bargello medallions

Crewel Initials

 

 

 

  This was the last of the pieces for our basket. Here is the set.

Thanks to Georgette and to Helen for coming up with this wonderful idea. We loved it!