WIP Challenge Wrap Up and 2014 Christmas Luncheon

On December 13th, the duClay Chapter of EGA hosted our annual Christmas Luncheon at the historic Bensel House.  Nothing like a day spent with needle and thread and like minded friends!

Our luncheon was catered by Brenda (on the right) owner of Fancy J Catering.  As always, the food was in abundance and absolutely delicious!

These photos do not do the food justice!

There were actually 3 desserts but the photo of the third one was blurry.

2015 Challenge Registration opened at the luncheon.  Will Loretta add Ann Dale to her list?

 

Will The American Sampler, with 1700+ queen stitches, make it to Carole P's list?

Registration for the 2015 WIP Challenge is open until 1/15/2015.  Your list can be emailed to Kris and your check can be mailed to Jackie.  Don't miss out!  This years winner - Kerrie - received $217.50!

Our members also brought some of their 2014 finishes to the luncheon.  Many of these were projects were on 2014 WIP Challenge lists.  You can see all the photos in our Flickr Album.  One thing is certain, there is a lot of talent in our guild!

Two Christmas Gardens!
 

Melody also brought two of her wool rug finishes - absolutely gorgeous!

Thank you all for a fun filled 2014!  We are looking forward to good things in 2015.  More to come!

If you're reading this post and don't belong to a local EGA guild, we would encourage you to visit your local chapter.  You also can join our guild, we welcome away members!  Of course, if you're in the Jacksonville/Orange Park area, we'd love to have you visit!

Member Spotlight - Kris

From time to time we'd like to feature one of our members here on our blog so we can learn more about each other.  Today's member is Kris who is our Chapter President.  We hope you enjoy learning more about her!

Introduce yourself to us!  Provide a brief introduction to share on our blog.   Family?  Profession?  Where do you live?  Pets?  Whatever you’d like to share!

I’ve been stitching for about as long as I can remember…let’s just say more than 50 years.  After working in retail management and moving throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, upstate New York and Kentucky, I permanently relocated to Jacksonville, Florida in 1977.  I had fond memories of a childhood vacation in St. Augustine and the beaches and knew I never wanted to leave here again. I loved trading snow & cold for hot weather & sunshine. I earned 2 degrees at the University of North Florida while working in finance.  I am currently Director of Finance for a management consulting company.  Always a cat person, I am currently sharing my quarters with Curtis Willis (a silver tabby with a lemur tail) and his adopted sister Maizie (a tortoiseshell).  They are both 4 years old and keep me on my toes.

Who taught you to stitch and when did you start stitching?

As a wee child I had a set of sewing cards (on heavy paperboard) with punched holes that I could thread different colored shoe-lace type strings through. (They can be found on eBay under “Vintage”!) I loved those cards and wish I still had them!  My Gram taught me to stitch on tea towels & pillow cases.  She & my mom taught me to knit.  I made Christmas ornaments & birth samplers as a teenager and sewed all my clothes.

What types of needlework do you do?

Counted cross stitch, needlepoint, crochet & knitting.

Baby Socks and Hat for Afghans for Afghans Summer 2014

What is your favorite type of needlework?

Through the years I have spent more time on counted cross stitch with a focus on band samplers & reproduction samplers.  I also try to allocate the same amount of time to knitting.

Susan Rambo

What other interests or hobbies do you have or what do you do for fun?

I converted my conventional suburban yard to a butterfly garden & bird sanctuary, so I enjoy watching the various types of visitors who come to feed or just pass through.  The back of my property is wooded with a pond, so I see turtles, armadillos, raccoons, possums, owls, and more.  I enjoy movies, reading & being outdoors in our beautiful North Florida area’s parks & beaches.  I volunteer for several local organizations and look forward to doing more of that when I retire.

Marjolein Bastin

How long have you been in EGA?

            This is my 4^th year.

Tell us about your EGA experiences, roles held (past or present), etc.

Learning from and being inspired by other members and their projects is a never-ending delight.  I currently hold the office of DuClay chapter president, supported by a great team of officers and a wonderful roster of local and away members.  We have been so fortunate to be able to offer a variety of classes with both local and national teachers and we reach out to the community to share our love of the needle arts through exhibits, stitching in public and our blog.

Nametag Project from Chapter Taste of Blackwork Workshop

Who are your favorite designers?

To name just a few…Teri & Tina of Shepherd’s Bush, Cynthia Zittel of The Drawn Thread, Nan Caldera of Just Nan, and Theresa Venette of Shakespeare’s Peddler for her original and reproduction samplers.

Shepherd's Bush Garden Gate

Favorite WIP/UFO? Why?

            Anne Dale from Shakespeare’s Peddler…because the colors and design are just stunning!

Favorite finish? Why?

The Just Nan humbugs are pretty darned clever. But finishing is not my favorite thing to do. And when I take samplers to the framer I need a lot of help selecting mats & frame combos.

Do you have a blog?  If you’d like to provide a link, that would be wonderful!

            krayolakris-acolorfullife.blogspot.com

What is your first or last concert you attended?

            First concert – Jimi Hendrix; last concert – Carolina Chocolate Drops.

What is a fun or unique fact about you that is not stitching related that you wouldn’t mind sharing?

            I’ve been on 7 mission trips to Cuba and count it as my other home.

Anything else you’d like to share?

            I have enough stash to allow me to stitch for at least a million years.

Mariners Pocket Class with Jane Timmers

On September 28th the duClay Chapter of EGA hosted Jane Timmers of Fancy Work for the Mariners Pocket Class.  Jane generously adapted this design for duClay so we could use it as our Chapter name tag.  The event started with Melody introducing Jane and Jane giving the group an overview of the day.   Please note that in a couple of pictures in this post, the members last name has been blocked out as most members chose to stitch their last name on their name tag.  Almost all local stitchers attended and two Atlanta area members travelled to take the class.

 

Jane's Mariners Pocket.  

Pre-stitching was required.  Members had a choice of their name being stitched over 1 or over 2 threads.   The verse on the back is from Tennyson.  

The picot beading along the bottom of the pocket was worked on first.

Next up was the beading the sides of the pocket.

We didn't get any photos of making the cording - that's always fun!  The cording was attached to the pocket with beads between the pocket and cording.  A really nice touch!

The lining needed a couple of seams sewn.

JoyceAnne adapted the back of her pocket to include a mermaid!  Very cute!  The mirror sparkles.

Melody finished Jane's name tag with an alternative finish.  She completely finished it by the end of the class.  It looks like it was professionally finished.    Most students had the pocket assembled and just needed to sew in the lining when the class was finished.

 

We can't forget lunch!  Lunch was catered by Brenda of Fancy J catering.  As always, Brenda took really good care of us - she served a delightful layered salad, warm chicken salad, freshly steamed broccoli, rolls, and dessert.  Dessert was individual chocolate pies, an Apple Cake with cream cheese frosting, and a sorghum cake.

It was as good as it looks!

 

The pig should be getting skinny since we won't have as many members attending events without a name tag!  The pig eats $1 bills when a member doesn't wear their name tag.  

The class ended with the presentation of a small gift from the Chapter to Jane.  At today's Busines Meeting and Stitch In several of the members had completely finished and wore their new name tags.  Thank you Jane for a delightful day and thank you to our members for their participation.  A special thank you to Melody for once again organizing a wonderful event!

Please also check out our Album of pictures from this event on Flickr where you can not only see more pictures of the event but also look at the other Fancy Work projects Jane brought in her trunk show. 

If you're reading this post and in the Orange Park or Jacksonville area, we'd love to have you visit!  If you're not in our area, we'd really encourage you to check out your local EGA Chapter.