This meeting will be a wonderful opportunity to work on a beautiful small piece of crewel embroidery.  Gerry Barbeau will be coming to teach her piece entitled "Purple – Is Fashionable Twice".  See the description and picture below:

"PURPLE – IS FASHIONABLE TWICE"

Length of Class :  One day
Proficiency Level:  Beginner/Intermediate

Class Description:  This delightful Keepsake Box will be decorated with a simple thistle design stitched in crewel threads on linen twill.  The royal purple and soft green palette is perfect for this interpretation.  Nine traditional crewel stitches will be taught, as well as how to make a twisted cord.  The fiberboard box will be painted in class by the student and directions for making a twisted cord and mounting the stitched piece will be included.

The April meeting will be in the Duncaster conference room.  On the registration coupon, please check if you wish to order a lunch ($10).  This will be a generous half sandwich, a cookie and a drink.  You are welcome to bring your own lunch if you prefer.  As always, you are more than welcome to attend if you only wish to join us and stitch on your own project.

What to bring:   1.  Show and tell – Anything you would like to share
                             2.  Usual stitching supplies
                             3.  Hoop

Cost of class:  $25 with the box or $20 without

Please fill in the registration form and send your check to Linda Berry by Tuesday, March 27th.

Schedule for the Day: 10 am to 3 pm
                10 AM to 12 noon       Morning program
                12 noon to 12:45 PM   Lunch, show and tell and a short meeting
                12:45 PM to 3 PM       Afternoon program

Here are directions to Duncaster:  (Official address is 40 Loeffler Rd, Bloomfield, CT, but we would like you to enter the building on the Mountain Avenue side)

84 Westbound from Manchester:
Take Rt. 291, exit 61. Follow Rt. 291 to Rt. 218 exit.  Take left onto Rt. 218.  Follow for about 3 miles.  Take right onto Rt. 189 and follow to the center of Bloomfield.  Take a left on Rt. 178.  Continue straight on Rt. 178 for 1.4 miles.  To use the new front entrance, turn right onto Mountain Avenue and continue approx. ½ mile to entrance on the left into Duncaster.  From the Loeffler Road entrance or the Mountain Avenue entrance, once on the campus, visitors should follow the signs to the Aquatics & Fitness Center Entrance.

84 Eastbound from Farmington:
Take exit 41.  Go left on South Main St. [which becomes North Main St. at West Hartford Center] for 4.6 miles to Rt. 185.  Turn left on Rt. 185 for 1.8 miles.  Turn right on Rt. 178.  To use the new front entrance, after about ½ mile turn left onto Mountain Avenue and continue approx. ½ mile to entrance on the left into Duncaster.  From the Loeffler Road entrance or the Mountain Avenue entrance, once on the campus, visitors should follow the signs to the Aquatics & Fitness Center Entrance.

91 [North or South]:
Take exit 36.  Go west on Rt. 178 for 4.5 miles to the center of Bloomfield.  At the traffic light continue straight on Rt. 178 for 1.4 miles.  To use new front entrance, turn right onto Mountain Avenue and continue approx. ½ mile to entrance on the left into Duncaster.  From the Loeffler Road entrance or the Mountain Avenue entrance, once on the campus, visitors should follow the signs to the Aquatics & Fitness Center Entrance.
 

Saturday, June 2^nd

Catherine Jordan will be coming to our chapter from Virginia to teach a one-day workshop.  Her expertise in the use of hand-dyed threads is well known on the national level, so take advantage of this opportunity to learn from her.  The class description follows:

Exploring Color!

Come to this exciting and fun-filled class as we explore basic color principles to help you make more effective color choices. This class will cover tips for using over dyed threads to control color, so you can more confidently select and use color. Students will select two thread (2) palettes of beautiful, colorfast over dyed cotton floss from Catherine's extensive collection to work with. We will cover how to decide where to cut in the color changes, color repeats, the right end of the thread, maximizing blending and color separation through the use of stitches selected, and techniques such as sequencing, pooling, striping, and random effects. Learn what to look for when selecting over dyed threads in terms of monochromatic, analogous, and polychromatic skeins as well as how value influences your work.

Students will have a choice of designs from basic spot motifs (as shown in photo) or may creatively work a free form design. Counted, pulled and surface embroidery stitches will embellish the design as many of the motifs are worked over 1 thread. If you wish to finish this piece and mount it in a box, you may bring a box that you have and design your piece to fit it, or the boxes similar to those shown in the photo may be ordered in class. Class time will cover many needlework finishing options available using commercially available boxes. When you register for this class, please specify if you wish to work on 28, 30 or 32 count linen. Your color choices are white/antique white or tea-dyed fabric.

If you want to refine and perfect your shading as well as take control of color with over dyed threads, this is the class for you!

Come to this exciting and fun-filled class as we explore basic color principles to help you make more effective color choices.  A registration coupon is at the end of this newsletter, but you may also register at the chapter meeting.  The cost of the class is $34 – how can you beat that?!  The chapter is paying for the transportation and housing of the teacher, so you reap the benefits.
 

Saturday and Sunday, October 13^th & 14^th

Another wonderful opportunity!  We have been able to hire Margaret Vant Erve to come here for a two-day class.  She is an exciting teacher that Julia met at the National Seminar in Richmond.  Her background as an artist makes her approach to stitching more interesting because of her perspective.  Below is a picture of the class piece that will be offered and a description of the class:

Spring Garden by Margaret Vant Erve

2 day workshop - basic surface embroidery knowledge required
Project size - 8" x 6"

The spring garden is probably the most delightful vision for the Canadian gardener.  After a long winter it is wonderful to witness the profusion of color that emerges from the ground.  This embroidered garden features some standard favorites; Siberian irises, tulips and daffodils nestle in front of bleeding hearts while scattered in the foreground are dandelions and forget-me-nots.  This class will teach the student how to use combinations of simple surface embroidery stitches to create each of the flowers in this dense garden.  DMC flosses are used on Habotai silk.

Registration is open now.  We are making all of our classes available to EGA members in other chapters so it is important to register early if you want to make sure you have a place in the class.  The cost of this class is $35.
 

Saturday, December 1^st, 2007

Our meeting will include a program at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford and a holiday luncheon in the area.  As you may recall, chair seats were stitched by CRVC members for the Governor's Mansion in the 1970's.  They now are in the collection of the Historical Society and will be preserved by them.

Please mark your calendars with this date as it is a special program on their collection of needlework that is being prepared especially for us.
 

Saturday, February 2^nd (Snow date – Feb. 9^th)

Karen Duggan will visit our chapter again, but this time she will teach us one of her pieces.  Last February we enjoyed her discussion on how to improve our needlework and what judges look for.  This time we will benefit from her vast experience in stitching and enjoy more of her wonderful sense of humor.  More information will be in future newsletters.
 

FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS (All members are welcome)           Tuesday, May 8th

Stitching Getaways:  The following is the schedule for the West Side Day group. They will meet in the months that we do not have a chapter meeting, and a focus for each meeting is listed below:

            May 8         Show and tell

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.

Pequot Colony - The New London Library has been undergoing major renovation that started in October of 2005.  Rather than trying to find another room where they can meet, they have decided to have their stitch-ins at various members' homes.  The schedule for March and April is as follows:

            March – Barbara Crum's

            April – Stephanie Thorp's

Barb Crum's house will be backup for any month that the hostess named isn't available.  Doris will be a backup for Barb, especially in the winter.

If more information is needed, call Doris Boas at 860-572-8441, or email at ndboas@sbcglobal.net

CRVC Program Registration Form – April 14th Meeting Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 203 Tunxis Rd., West Hartford, CT 06107-3201. Make check payable to CRVC-EGA.  The deadline for signing up for this class is March 27th. "Purple – Is Fashionable Twice" with Gerry Barbeau _______Kit fee of $25 with the box or $20 without. _______I have enclosed $10 to pay for my lunch. Name:     ___________________________________________________   Phone:    _______________________ Email:______________________

CRVC Program Registration Form – June 2nd Meeting Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 203 Tunxis Rd., West Hartford, CT 06107-3201. Make check payable to CRVC-EGA. The deadline for signing up for this class is May 5th. "Exploring Color" with Catherine Jordan Color of linen: _________white/antique white or ________tea-dyed fabric Count of linen: ____28-count _______30-count________32-count ______Kit fee of $34 ______I have enclosed $10 to pay for my lunch. Name:     ___________________________________________________   Phone:    _______________________ Email:______________________

CRVC Program Registration Form – October 13th & 14th Meeting Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 203 Tunxis Rd., West Hartford, CT 06107-3201. Make check payable to CRVC-EGA.  The deadline for signing up for this class is September 15th. "Spring Garden" with Margaret Vant Erve ______Kit fee of $35 ______I have enclosed $10 to pay for my lunch. Name:     ___________________________________________________   Phone:    _______________________ Email:______________________

CRVC-EGA Membership $47. Primary Membership $15. Plural Membership (NER) $18. Plural Membership (not NER) For a membership card, please enclose a SASE. Amt. Pd. ____________ Check #  ____________ Date Pd. ____________

CRVC-EGA Membership and Address Change Form Mail your completed form to: Suzanne Newton, CRVC-EGA Membership, 14 Madison Lane, West Simsbury, CT 06092. Make check payable to CRVC-EGA.  Enclose SASE for membership card.           __ Address Change           __ CRVC Primary Membership ($47)           __ Plural Membership, Primary Chapter in New England Region ($15)           __ Plural Membership, Primary Chapter not in New England Region ($18) Name:            ____________________________________________________ Address:        ____________________________________________________ City, ST,ZIP  ____________________________________________________ Phone:           ______________________  Email:________________________ Primary Chapter:   ________________________________________________ Membership No.  _______________________   Total Enclosed $___________