a website and blog for members and potential members
The chart for a reproduction Australian sampler ~ Jane Marshall 1857 ~ is being sold to benefit the Rural Fire Services (RFS) of Katoomba/Leura and Wentworth Falls. The background on this project, including information on the RFS can be found at https://hands-across-the-sea-samplers.com/product/jane-marshall-1857-a-fund-raiser-for-two-brigades-of-the-nsw-rural-fire-service/
Woodlawn has announced the events happening during the 2020 Needlework Exhibition in March. Some of the topics, including a talk by Catherine Jordan on needlework maps, and the Shenandoah Tapestry are familiar to Loudoun Sampler Guild members, while others are farther afield:
Details about dates, time and registration can be found at Woodlawn’s website: http://www.woodlawnpopeleighey.org/annualneedleworkshow
The Loudoun Sampler Guild has been lucky to have amazing, talented members who have shared their work with us. Betsy Morgan was one of the original members the LSG, and we’ve often gotten a “first look” at her wonderful projects. Over the years, members have stitched her Toy Chest Etui, Virgin Queen’s Stitching Wallet and others. Her etui called “This One’s For Betty” was even named for our Guild founder, the late Betty Flemming. The one in the photo below is The Swan’s Bower Etui.
So we were delighted to hear that Betsy has partnered with Inspirations to publish a gorgeous, full-color, softback book of eight projects, which include 36 accessories. The book contains over 90 cross stitch charts using 36 different counted thread techniques. If you have seen any of Betsy’s projects, you know that the projects are creative; the colors are lovely; and — importantly — the instruction are easy to follow! Congratulations to Betsy for this capstone to her designing career.
More about the book, including a list of all of the projects, can be found at https://www.inspirationsstudios.com/product/willing-hands/
Another LSG member, Sharlotte DeVere of The Queen Stitch, has pre-ordered a quantity of the books and is offering them to LSG members only at a 25% discount. This puts the price at $30.00 U.S. Sharlotte can’t guarantee that she’ll have enough for every member of the guild, so get your order in soon if you are interested.
To finalize and pay for a book order (yes, this applies to those who did a pre-order in July) please fill out the attached form and snail-mail it with a check, request to pay cash when you pick it up at a meeting, OR for a PayPal invoice, to Sharlotte at the address listed OR send an email with the applicable information to queenstitch13@gmail.com.
Books will be available for pick up at the November 9th LSG meeting, the December 14th Christmas party meeting OR can be shipped to you for an additional charge. If you are having your book(s) shipped – please get in touch with Sharlotte to reserve your book(s), and she will send an invoice with the shipping costs so you can pay for everything at one time.
A postcard arrived the other day urging me to “Start stitching” for the 57th Annual Needlework Show & Sale at Woodlawn. This year the show’s theme will be “100 Years of Women Expressing Their Rights through Craftmaking. 1920 – 2020.”
There’s a form on the site to use to register to receive further information directly from Woodlawn at http://www.woodlawnpopeleighey.org/annualneedleworkshow
This year entries were accepted from January 5 – February 9, so expect similar deadlines for the 2020 show.
Needlework can pop up in the most unexpected places. Yesterday, my husband and I toured Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The fort changed hands between the French and British 13 times. We saw the fortifications, cannons, powder magazine, etc. on a promontory overlooking the Annapolis River. But the treat for me was the Fort Anne Tapestry, four panels of embellished needlepoint 8 feet high by 18 feet wide. It was stitched by 100 members of the community and depicts four centuries of history in this place.
Today in the Kanta region of Japan, the annual ceremony of Hari Kuyo is held at several temples.
Kuyo, generally, is a time when workers, artisans and artists who need specific items to do their jobs will express their gratitude to their old tools by attending a special ceremony in a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine. After the service, the utensils are gathered and burnt so that their smoke goes up to heaven.
Followers of Marie Kondo will recognize the concept of thanking old objects for their service before donating or disposing of them.
A specific version of this ceremony is held annually for pins and needles: Hari Kuyo, (hari meaning needle). Since pins and needles won’t burn, they have a different ending: broken and worn needles are placed into tofu (bean curd) or konnyaku (a soft jelly) on a small altar.
This ancient ceremony brings together fashion professionals: designers, dressmakers, kimono manufacturers, fashion students, as well as hobbyists. Everyone expresses their gratitude to the needles and pins that have enabled them to create their work, and prays for the skills needed for the work ahead.
