CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY CHAPTER
NEWS
May 2004

WEBSITE ADDRESS: WWW.CRVC-EGA.ORG

ABOVE IS OUR WEBSITE ADDRESS:  Just a reminder....Let Lisa Green know at klg7641@comcast.net if you have a new email account.

June Meeting: Saturday, June 12th

Everyone come to our last meeting before our summer break.  For those who would like to participate, Rachel Atkinson will teach "Slow and Steady", a portion of the piece below.  As you can probably guess, it's about the tortoise!  His shell is a padded applique of UltraSuede, embellished with applied bits of transfer-painted velvet and stitched accents in metallic thread.  His body is tramed in a hand-painted stranded cotton thread worked over a matte cotton base; then, the head and legs are given added height by surrounding them with rows of firmly tensioned double back stitches.  The eye is a copper-colored spangle held in position by a tiny bead.  The pebbled path is worked with a stranded, over-dyed cotton and is bordered by leaves and grassed executed in several different canvas stitch patterns.  The cost of the instruction is $20, and a kit fee of $20 will be collected at the class.

"Tortoise and Hare" by Rachel Atkinson         Please bring something for show and tell.
We suggest your first piece of embroidery or one of your earlier pieces.

We plan to meet from 10 AM to 3 PM, and, weather permitting, we will be outside for lunch, which will be at noon.  Please contribute by bringing a salad or dessert for 4, and note on your registration coupon what you intend to bring.  This meeting will be at Julia Appell's home in Farmington.  Please contact her at juliaappell@comcast.net or 860-677-9125 for directions.  All members are encouraged to come, even if you only wish to sit and stitch.

October Meeting: Saturday, October 16th (Note: 3rd Saturday)

Join us as we begin a new year at Linda Berry's home in West Hartford.  Rachel Atkinson will be teaching "Snooze and Lose", another part of the piece above, if you wish to join in.  The napping rabbit in the foreground is surrounded by flowering plants, worked in cross stitch, padded slanted Gobelin whipped spiders, and needle-weaving with leaf forms in both counted and free stitches.  The hare is worked using shaded tent stitches with two different threads in the needle (stranded cotton floss and a mohair/nylon blend) which will be brushed to resemble fur when the stitching is completed.  With all of the stitches in place, the canvas will be backed with muslin so that the hare's body may be raised and stuffed in trapunto.  His fore parts will be padded more fully than those in back.  A fine velour thread is used for the inner ears and nose.  The cost of the instruction is $20, and a kit fee of $20 will be collected at class.

These are two separate pieces: you do not have to stitch one to stitch the other!

We plan to meet from 10 AM to 3 PM, and, weather permitting, we will be outside for lunch.  That will be at noon, so bring along a bag lunch.  For directions to Linda's, please contact her at dlberry1@aol.com or 860-521-9709.  All members are encouraged to come, even if you only wish to sit and stitch.

Please bring something for show and tell.  We suggest a stitching tool that you find useful along with a piece that you have finished recently.
 

Stitching Getaways:  Our area groups are continuing to meet each month.

On Tuesday, May 11th, the West Side Day group will be meeting from 10 am to 1:30 pm at Suzanne Newton's house in West Simsbury.  Bring along your lunch and a project you are working on and/or any project you would like to share.  Please email or phone Suzanne at sfnjsn@sbcglobal.net or 860-658-2037 if you plan to attend.  The June date for this group is June 8th.

The East Side Day group will meet at Susan Jones' house in Manchester on Wednesday, May 19th.  They will begin at 1:30 pm and work through the afternoon.  Please bring a project you will work on and any other information you wish to share.  Contact Susan at Sjones7@aol.com or 860-643-8119 if you plan to come.  This group will meet again on June 16th.

On May 25th, the West Side Night group will meet at Linda Berry's house in West Hartford from 6:30 pm to 9 pm.  For those coming from work, bring your supper or a sandwich.  Also, bring along a stitching project or something you would like help with or are willing to share.  Please contact Linda at dlberry1@aol.com or 860-521-9709 if you plan to be there.  The June meeting will be on June 22nd at Julia Appell's home.  If you plan to attend, please contact Julia at juliaappell@comcast.net or 860-677-9125.

Pequot Colony Group is a local area group that meets from 9:30 am to 11:30 am on the third Thursday of every month (May 20th and June 17th) at the New London Library.  They work in different media, most of them stitching on workshop pieces that they have started.  The set meeting day provides a time when old friends know they can meet for a morning of work and visiting.  They welcome anyone who would like to join them.  The library is easy to find, and Doris Boas (ndboas@worldnet.att.net) will be happy to send instructions to the building.
 

EGA Exhibit news:  You may view the pieces that were sent for display by our members by clicking on www.CRVC-EGA.org/EGAexhibit.html.
 

NEW ENGLAND REGION SEMINAR - APRIL 1-3, 2005

Hooray!!!  We're very happy to announce the faculty for the 2005 NER Seminar to be held in Newport, RI, on April 1st - 3rd, 2005 (No Fooling!).

Gay Ann Rogers (CA)- "Golden Acorn Sampler" - Sampler on Congress Cloth

Kathy Fenchel (MI) - "Is This Seat Taken?" - Canvas/Stumpwork

Deanna Powell (FL) - "Free Form Fashion" - Embellished Beading

Susan Goodman (CO) - "Laura's Garden" - Design Embroidery

Lynn Payette (CT) - "Dragon Fly" - Surface Embroidery

Rachel Atkinson (MA)  - "Silver Simplicity" - Pulled Canvas.

These selections were made from among the hundreds of proposals submitted by 50 teachers.  We worked with the NER board to make these selections.  It was a tough assignment.  As you can see we have a good national representation as well as a couple of our best "home-grown" teachers. 

We are all really excited about this seminar.  We've got a great stitching experience planned for you.

 All the best,

 The 2005 NER Seminar Steering Committee

________________________________________________________________________

THE COUPON BELOW IS OUR WAY OF SHARING WITH YOU, OUR MEMBERS,
THE PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF OUR COLLECTION A FEW YEARS AGO.

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$10     CRVC Program Coupon     $10

This coupon is valid for $10 OFF the June or October 2004 class fees.

Name____________________________________________________________

Event______________________________

Coupon is not redeemable for cash.  Good for all CRVC-EGA members.
Submit coupon with program registration.

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CRVC-EGA Program
 
Saturday, June 12, 2004
 
"Slow and Steady"
with Rachel Atkinson

 

Amt. Pd.______________
 
Check #______________
 
Date Pd. _____________
    (keep as your receipt)

CRVC Program Registration Form - "Slow and Steady" with Rachel Atkinson

Mail completed form to: Laurie Roys, CRVC Registrar, 70 Kimball Lane, Torrington, CT 06790. Make check payable to CRVC-EGA.

______ Class fee - $20   Kit fee of $20 will be collected at the class.

________________ Potluck item I will bring (salad or desert for 4)

Name:     ____________________________________________________
 
Phone:    _______________________ Email:________________________
 
Total Enclosed $_________________

Questions? Contact Laurie at 860-489-0225 or E-mail groys@snet.net

CRVC-EGA Program
 
Saturday, October 16,
2004

 
"Snooze and Lose"
with Rachel Atkinson

Amt. Pd.______________
 
Check #______________
 
Date Pd. _____________
    (keep as your receipt)

CRVC Program Registration Form - "Snooze and Lose" with Rachel Atkinson

Mail completed form to: Laurie Roys, CRVC Registrar, 70 Kimball Lane, Torrington, CT 06790. Make check payable to CRVC-EGA.

______ Class fee - $20   Kit fee of $20 will be collected at the class.

Name:     ____________________________________________________
 
Phone:    _______________________ Email:________________________
 
Total Enclosed $_________________

Questions? Contact Laurie at 860-489-0225 or E-mail groys@snet.net

 

Region Day - September 11, 2004 - Sheraton Framingham Hotel, Framingham, MA

CRVC is arranging carpools to Region Day in September.  If you are interested in attending and would like to be part of the group that will be traveling from here for this day, please contact Chris Paul at cmpchris02@aol.com or 860-688-0899.  We hope to see lots of you there.

                  
Saturday, September 11, 2004
The Sheraton Framingham Hotel
Framingham, MA
10 AM - 3:30 PM

Our program for Region Day this year will be a round robin of classes.  In the morning you will attend either Class A or B, then switch in the afternoon for the other offering.

Class A . . . . . . A small piece of corded French whitework taught by Marie Yolande.

This embroidery technique may look intricate, but it is easy to execute with a few simple embroidery stitches.  You will learn the basics of marking, stitching, stuffing and cording the fabric layers.  The piece you work on this day may be finished as a pincushion.  This will be an exciting introduction for many of us to an embroidery method developed and perfected in southern France in the 17th and 18th centuries.  Boutis was used to lend beauty and longevity to such items as bed covers, layettes, and wedding petticoats.  The March 2004 issue of Threads magazine has an article on page 52 you may wish to read.  Marie has taught for over 20 years, including quilting, French Heirloom Sewing, hand embroidery, dressmaking and other types of sewing and needlework techniques.  Among other teaching experiences, she has taught many times for SAGA (Smocking Arts Guild) and was a teacher at the recent EGA National Seminar in Rye, NY.

Class B . . . . . . A small piece of crewel embroidery taught by Gerry Barbeau.

"Perhaps You'd Like to Buy a Flower?" is the name of a wonderful design, naive in its simplicity, that will be a gentle introduction or review of some basic crewel stitches.  Gerry is the recipient of a scholarship from National which she is using to pursue her love for crewel.  We are lucky to be exposed to her enthusiasm and expertise as she also includes the beauty of Emily Dickinson's poetry in her class presentations.  This 6"x6" motif can be finished as a pocket calendar cover.

As a bonus for Region members NER will pay the teachers' fees and travel expenses, so your cost for this program is $40.  That fee includes both of your kits and a wonderful lunch.  Please register by filling out the form below.  Participants should bring the usual sewing supplies (scissors, thimble, clear ruler with grid), a 6"-8" wooden embroidery hoop with adjustable screw, a fine point lead pencil marker, light and magnification if necessary, a pad and pencil.  Deadline for registration is September 4, 2004.

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                NER Region Day - September 11, 2004

Name__________________________Chapter_______________

Address______________________________________________

Telephone______________________Email_________________

Please make check for $40 payable to NER-EGA.
Send to:  Lisa Green, 14 North Drive, Simsbury, CT 06070-1214
 

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Traditional Japanese Embroidery

The Merrrimack Valley Chapter is hosting classes for you to learn Traditional Japanese Embroidery.  The following is information relating to these classes:

Embroider two or three times per year.  The upcoming schedule is:

May 12 - 16, 2004    Sept. 22 - 26, 2004    Jan. 14 - 17, 2005    May 18 - 22, 2005    Nov. 9 - 13, 2005

The registrar for the course is Marilyn Shesko, who can be contacted at mmshesko@rcn.com or (781)444-8404, or 70 May Street, Needham, MA 02492-3137.  Classes are taught at multiple levels, with each student working on a project appropriate to his or her level.  Any class but the January class is suitable for a beginning student.

Join us for our next general meeting on June 12th!