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 our previous Chapter President (2012-2013) Teresa B. Thank you Teresa for your service to our Chapter and for being willing to be our very first Member Spotlight!
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!
This is always the fun question for me. I have family,
mainly my mom and dad who live with me, or is it I live with them? It’s often
hard to tell, especially since they are both getting older and I have taken on
more of the responsibilities for them. I work in IT Security and am blessed to
be able to work from home. I love it because I don’t have to drive all the way
into an office for 30 or more miles. The down side is that I don’t go in to an
office and see other people face to face. However, when I’m done working I
close my office door and I’m just 15 seconds from my stitching chair! I don’t
have any pets, well unless you count those parent’s I mentioned.
Who taught you to
stitch and when did you start stitching?
Initially my maternal grandmother taught me to stitch. She
was bed ridden for about 9 months when I was 6 years old and we stayed with her
while she was recovering. I loved to sit on the bed with her, and she did
embroidery. To keep me “quiet” she took an old pillowcase and drew flowers on
it, threaded a needle (a sharp!) with floss and showed me how to do a stem
stitch. Once I had that down it was on to satin stitches and French knots. Her
style was to show me, let me try and then rip it out until it met her standards
of acceptable. Not sure why I kept at it, but I did. When I was in college one
of my dorm-mates was stitching without anything being stamped on the fabric and
I was hooked on counted work from then on out.
Teresa's Christmas Trees filled with stitched ornaments
What types of
needlework do you do?
Well there is “do” and there is “tried”. On a regular basis
I “do” counted cross stitch (including things like blackwork and lots of
specialty stitches) and needlepoint/canvas work. On a less regular basis I “do”
hardanger (which I love but don’t think I do very well) and pulled thread work
(which I do think I do well). I’ve “tried”, but can’t say I “do” crewel and
gold work.
What is your favorite
type of needlework?
Whatever I pick up at the time! Seriously, I really do love
it all and depending on my mood that’s my favorite type, even hardanger.
What other interests
or hobbies do you have or what do you do for fun?
I love to read, that’s a huge passion of mine. I also
crochet, which I learned not long after learning to embroider at about 7, and
knitting which I only learned about 6 or 7 years ago. I also learned to make
jewelry and do beadwork which I very much enjoy but haven’t had a lot of time
for lately. And I can’t forget traveling. I love to go places and see things that are both near and far.
I was fortunate as a child to travel because of my father’s job and I think
that colored the way I see the world and why I love to travel.
How long have you
been in EGA?
I believe I’ve been in EGA about 3 or 4 years. I’m
embarrassed to say I’m not positive.
Tell us about your
EGA experiences, roles held (past or present), etc.
I joined EGA because I wanted to be around other people who
loved needlework, of any kind, as much as I do. To learn from their experiences
was my goal. I am the outgoing President of the chapter and am looking forward
to being a worker bee again. I’ve enjoyed serving the chapter as it has grown
and seen some changes, but I also believe that nothing should stay the same
forever.
Who are your favorite
designers?
This was the question I dreaded the most. I have several
designers whose work I love. If you took a tour through my stash you would see a
lot of Rae Iverson’s and Ellen Chester’s design, partially because I love what
they do and partially because over the years I’ve taken a number of classes
from them and of course because I’ve purchased other items to supplement my
retirement nest egg. Then you’d also see a lot of other designers that I’ve
collected in my stash, like Plum Street Samplers and La-D-Da. The other group
of designers would be where over the years I’ve taken a number of classes from
certain people and also purchased their pieces, so in that group you’d see
Linda Driskell, Indigo Rose (Catherine Strickler), Suzanne Miller, Jean Farish
(from my days going to Heart of CrossStitch for you old timers out there), and
some Eileen Bennett.
Teresa's Traditional Elegance II
Pat Taff/Golden Thread Designs
Are there certain elements that draw you to
a design, or some that you avoid?
Sometimes it is
color, other times it’s the design and sometimes the stitches draw me to a
particular design. I think we all have “favorite” colors that if used well in a
design will pull us in. For me it is jewel tones, or shades of red/rose, or
blues and greens. My friends know that if a design has a bunny or rabbit on it
I may be a goner. I’ve also started collecting samplers with Noah’s Ark because
my maternal grandfather was Noah and I was born on his birthday however I never
knew him since he died in WWII. I also have a fair number of Adam & Eve
samplers as well as a few Quaker types in my stash. When it comes to
needlepoint I’m a bit all over the place, but a lot of holiday pieces seem to
find their way to my canvas stash.
What are you working on now?
This is a trick
question right? Honestly I haven’t been stitching as much as I would like. At
the beginning of this year I started having a fairly bad RA flare that kept me
from being able to hold a needle much, if any, at all. A great doctor and some
fantastic new medicine and I think my hands are back to stitching shape, only
to have my job blow up to the point that by the time I finish in the evenings
I’m incapable of doing much other than sleeping. Oh well, I have managed to
work some on Tocatta #1. For the last few weeks if I stitch I’ve picked up Adam
& Eve’s Christmas which was on my challenge list and I really would like to
finish it. I’ve also done some really simple stitching on a small Halloween
ornament. My stitching bag is full of things that I want to work on…
The Daughters of Longbourn in progress
The Stitching Parlor
Favorite WIP/UFO?
Why?
(I’m not sure I like these hard questions…who thought these
up?) Ok, if I have to pick favorites, which to me is like asking people with
children to pick a favorite child, I’d say that right now…at this moment…if you
really are going to make me choose…it would be Blackwork Band Sampler by Rae
Iverson/Moss Creek Designs and The Daughters of Longbourn by The Stitching
Parlor. They couldn’t be more dissimilar choices. I choose the Blackwork Band
Sampler because it’s just a beautiful piece and one that, for whatever reason,
I find hard to finish. I will pick it up and work on it for a few weeks then
put it down. It’s like I don’t want to let go of it. It’s all silks and just an
amazing piece. I’d pick Daughters because I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen and the
idea of stitching something that relates to my other love of reading just is
perfection. Plus my dear friend Melody gave me the pattern and the linen for my
birthday several years ago and when I stitch on it I’m reminded of how
wonderful it is to have friends who understand your passion for putting needle
and thread to linen or canvas.
Favorite finish? Why?
Finally an easy question…I think. Normally I would whatever
I finished last, but that’s not really true. I think my favorite finish was the
Quaker Sampler I did for my parent’s 50
th wedding anniversary a few
years ago. I decided to stitch Ellen Chester’s An Emblem of Love in my mother’s
favorite color of purple. I used a beautiful deep color and then made a few
changes to how Ellen charted it originally. I made all the hearts “gold”, since
it was their golden anniversary and I added the year they married. On top of
all that I managed to completely surprise them both with it, which is hard
since we all live in the same house together and I usually stitch in the family
room while watching TV.
Teresa (left) with Ellen Chester of With My Needle
Holding Teresa's An Emblem of Love stitched for her parents 50th Anniversary
Do you have a
blog? If you’d like to provide a
link, that would be wonderful!
I have a blog, that hasn’t seen much action lately. But
there is always hope….
What is your first or
last concert you attended?
So the last concert I attended is really the Jacksonville
Symphony. However, if you mean the type where there is really loud music and
stuff that would be Eric Clapton in March of this year.
What is a fun or
unique fact about you that is not stitching related that you wouldn’t mind
sharing?
As I mentioned earlier I lived in Europe when I was a small
child however my parents are not military. My father worked for a large
engineering firm out of NYC who had contracts all over the world. Before I was
born my parent traveled all over the U.S. and had just returned from New Mexico
and found out mom was pregnant with me when my dad was offered a job in
Amsterdam. They could have gone, but decided to stay in the states until after
I was born and wait for the next group of people who would be sent over. They
waited and instead of going to Amsterdam they sent him to England. We spent 3.5
years there and were lucky to travel to The Netherlands, Spain and Italy. My
mom spent a lot of time soaking in all the culture of the countries we visited
and instilled a love of museums and old homes in me from our time there.
Anything else you’d
like to share?
I hope that everyone will take time and answer these
questions to share on our chapter blog. We have quite a few members who are not
“local” and it would be wonderful to hear about each person and their
stitching. I’m so happy to be part of a community of stitchers like duClay EGA.
Happy stitching everyone!
