CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY CHAPTER
NEWS
September 2010

WEBSITE ADDRESS: WWW.CRVC-EGA.ORG

Saturday, October 2nd, 2010

                Trip to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme

Arrangements have been made to have a special tour of the "With Needle and Brush: Schoolgirl Embroidery from the Connecticut River Valley" exhibit that will be opening on this date.  We plan to meet and carpool to the museum for a program beginning at 10 a.m. with lunch to follow at a local restaurant.  Information about the museum is online at www.FlorenceGriswoldMuseum.org.

There is a registration coupon at the end of this newsletter.  Please register by September 22nd so we can plan accordingly.  The chapter will pay for the program, but lunch will be paid separately by each attendee.
 

Saturday, December 4th, 2010

                Ornaments with Judie Solomon

Our meeting this month will be held at Thistle Needleworks.  Judie will teach a counted piece, the Danish Star Ornament, in the morning and a canvas piece, Top Hat Snowman, in the afternoon.  You may choose to stitch one or both on your registration form.  Information describing each ornament follows:

Danish Star Ornament

Using ecru perle cotton on gold-flecked 25-count Lugana fabric with satin stitch, cable stitch, and buttonhole stitch, we will work on a self-finishing ornament.  It will also be available in Watercolors and Wildflowers green and red threads on the same Lugana fabric. Don't want/need an ornament?  Then add some potpourri to the filling for a lovely sachet.

Participants should bring embroidery scissors and magnification, if needed.
Complete kit  --  $7.50

Top Hat Snowman

Using a variety of specialty threads, beads, and stitches on a lightly painted (by our own Susan Jones) winter sky grey 18-mesh canvas, we will build a snowman  --  sorry, no meadow included.  Your 3" square design could be finished as an ornament, doorknob hanger, or boxtop.

Participants should bring 6" x 6" stretcher bars and tacks, embroidery scissors, and magnification, if needed.
Complete kit:  $20.00

Danish Star Ornament - Ecru (front)  Danish Star Ornament - Ecru (back)
Danish Star Ornament - Green/Red (front)  Danish Star Ornament - Green/Red (back)   Top Hat Snowman

The deadline for signing up for this class is November 20th.  A coupon for registration is at the end of this newsletter.
 

Friday and Saturday, February 4th and 5th, 2011

                "A Field in Tuscany" - Lynn Payette

"A Field in Tuscany" is a (non-charted) design that is worked in a large variety of fabrics including sheers, crystalline (a sparkly sheer), fibers (novelty threads, Brazilian threads, machine embroidery rayon and metallic threads, pearl cottons #8, #12, flosses, and metallic threads, braids, and cords); silk ribbons (4 mm, and 7 mm.); and beads.  This combination of media will produce a lovely Tuscany (colored) landscape.  The colors used are rusts, golds, reddish-browns, mauves/purples, and greens.  Note: This design is pre-drawn on the white soft Congress cloth ground fabric.

The hills and the sky are created using layering of sheer fabrics, including chiffon, crystalline, and georgette.  This will create many different shades of rich Tuscany rusts, greens and golds.  The use of Wonder Under, a fusible web for appliquéing the fabrics on to the ground will be taught.  The use, stitching and manipulating of silk ribbon will be covered.

The 7 mm. silk ribbons will be used to create the larger flowers (fields of Poppies) in the foreground.  The mid-ground flowers and leaves will be created with 4 mm. silk ribbons.  The use of ombre ribbons (for flowers and leaves) will also be covered.  These will be created ‘in hand’ and then stitched on to the ground.  Beads will be used to further embellish the flowers in the field.

The ‘poplars’ will be created using flosses worked in layers of French knots.  These layers will begin with the heavier weight threads (more threads in the needle at one time) and work towards the upper layers of finer threads (less threads in the needle at one time).  Shadows will be heavily emphasized and will be created with the use of color in the French knots, using more intense stronger colors in the foreground and more grayed colors in the background.  Heavy emphasis will be placed on the use of foreground, midground, and background areas to create depth and perspective.  An in-depth discussion will be given about cast shadows, and their use to help create a sense of realism and distance in the piece.

"A Field in Tuscany" is part of a series, which was begun with "A Window in Provence". These pieces do not have the same exact same subject matter, but they are wonderful tools for learning about shadows, depth, and perspective, and their use in embroidery.

KIT CONTENTS:  pre-drawn Congress cloth, sheer fabrics, all threads, fibers, beads, Wonder Under, complete instructions and a color copy of the finished sample.

STUDENT SUPPLIES:  sharp, blunt and beading needles, small sharp scissors, invisible thread, beeswax, a few common pins, pencil, laying tool or small knitting needle, tweezers, glue stick (not blue or purple).

LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY:  Beginner/Intermediate
PRICE OF KIT:  $85.00
GROUND FABRIC:  White Congress Cloth (soft)
SIZE:  4" x 6"

A Field in Tuscany

The deadline for signing up for this class is December 15th.  A coupon for registration is at the end of this newsletter.
 

Friday and Saturday, June 10th and 11th, 2011 (note change of date)

                "Polar Shadows" - Caela Conn Tyler
 


NER Logo  

A Date to Remember.....

New England Region Day 2010
Saturday and Sunday, September 25 and 26, 2010
The Courtyard by Marriott – Natick, MA


Interesting Exhibit at CT Historical Society -

Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art, and Family, 1740-1840

October 5, 2010 - March 26, 2011

Early American needlework is an art form created almost exclusively by women and girls. As art, these needlework pictures and useful household objects burst with color, imaginative design, and evidence of close observation. As history, these same items reveal clues to the lives and times of the girls and women who set those countless stitches into cloth. The exhibition, Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art, and Family, 1740-1840, showcases more than seventy fascinating examples – many never previously exhibited.  Beautifully decorated clothing, bedding, and accessories, school work by children as young as 6 years old, and masterpieces of needlework art depicting classical scenes, bucolic landscapes, and perfectly-rendered flora and fauna will all be featured. The final gallery will display needlework dedicated to preserving family history and highlight the work of one remarkable family – and an even more unusual young woman within that family, Prudence Punderson.

This project is supported by generous grants from the Coby Foundation, Ltd. and the National Endowment for the Arts.  An illustrated catalog (forthcoming, distributed by Wesleyan University Press) by Susan P. Schoelwer will accompany the exhibition.


Upcoming Conference:
Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art and Family

Saturday, October 30
9 am – 4:30 pm

Scheduled in conjunction with the upcoming exhibit, this conference brings together noted needlework scholars and offers participants a chance to hear about new research and scholarship in the early needlework field and in women’s history. Registration is limited.

CHS Members: $100
Non-members: $125
Students with ID $50

For more information and to register, contact Mary Muller at mary_muller@chs.org or (860) 236-5621 x209.

The list of speakers follows:

The conference fee also includes morning coffee, lunch/reception with Glee Kruger (author and needlework scholar), tours of the exhibit, behind-the scenes tours, and a book signing (Susan P. Schoelwer).


Another Exhibit ……….in Boston

Our program will begin at 10:00 a.m. We will be having a speaker from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, who will speak about The Embroideries of Colonial Boston Series, which will be on exhibit at the Museum from Nov.20, 2010-May 27, 2012. The embroideries of colonial Boston girls and women have long been treasured family possessions and are now much sought after by collectors. The charm and craftsmanship of the Adam and Eve samplers, pastoral pictures with leaping stags and galloping hunters, as well as crewelwork bed hangings and delicately embroidered baby caps bring to mind a warm domesticity; however, as a group they also reveal much about the lives of Boston women and their role within colonial society.

This series of exhibitions will focus on three types of embroidery – samplers, needlework, and domestic textiles – revealing the role of embroidery in the education of women, in their domestic lives, and as an important source of household income. Colonial Bostonians brought their embroidery traditions with them from England and continued to import their supplies. Examples of related English domestic embroidery will be exhibited with those from Boston to show how the tradition continued into the early eighteenth century. Bostonians soon developed their own unique style of design by the second quarter of the century that is characterized by lighter, more delicate floral designs. The MFA's collection, which includes superb examples of Boston domestic embroidery, will be featured in this exhibition.


April 15-17, 2011

                "Pining To Stitch" - Region Seminar in Portland, Maine

MYSTERY DESIGN #1 & 2
The pattern for a needlebook is being offered to members of NER to bring excitement and anticipation for the New England Region Seminar 2011 hosted by SOME Chapter.  Three of the four designs will be printed in NER Newsletters and can be found at http://newenglandregionega.org, one in each of the three newsletters preceding Seminar 2011.  Those members attending Seminar 2011 will receive the final part of this exciting series.

Southern Maine chapter is now selling kits for this needlebook, that is, full kits including all threads, cashel linen and complete finishing materials including co-ordinating pinecone fabric for lining.  These kits are available for $10.  Please contact Barbara at Brit45@roadrunner.com if you are interested in purchasing.

We are hoping you will set aside the dates of April 15th thru 17th, 2011 to join us at the Eastland Park Hotel in Portland, Maine.


FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS   (All members are welcome)    
                        Tuesday, September 14th                             Tuesday, November 2nd  

Stitching Getaways:  The next meeting of the West Side Day group will be on September 14th 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 – Anyone who is interested can call Doris Boas at: (860) 572-8441 or Stephanie Thorp at: (860) 536-0912.


CRVC Program Registration Form -- October 2nd Trip to Old Lyme

Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 343 Seabury Drive, Bloomfield, CT 06002.  Make check payable to CRVC-EGAThe deadline for signing up for this trip is September 22nd.

Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme

              Please check the following that apply:
______ I'm planning to attend the museum tour.
______ I'm planning to join the group for lunch.
______ I'll arrange my own transportation.
______ I'd like to carpool.
______ I volunteer to drive and can take ___ passengers.

Name:     ___________________________________________________
 
Phone:    _______________________ Email:_______________________
 

CRVC Program Registration Form -- December 4th Meeting at Thistle Needleworks

Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 343 Seabury Drive, Bloomfield, CT 06002.  Make check payable to CRVC-EGAThe deadline for signing up for this class is November 20th.

Ornaments with Judie Solomon

              Check those that apply:
______ Danish Star Ornament Kit ($7.50): _______Ecru
                                                                                 _______Green/Red
______ Top Hat Santa Kit ($20)
______ Lunch ($12)

Name:     ___________________________________________________
 
Phone:    _______________________ Email:_______________________
 

CRVC Program Registration Form -- February 4th and 5th class at Duncaster

Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 343 Seabury Drive, Bloomfield, CT 06002.  Make check payable to CRVC-EGAThe deadline for signing up for this class is December 15th.

"A Field in Tuscany" with Lynn Payette

              Check those that apply:
______ Members kit fee $85;  Non-members kit fee $95
______ Lunch Friday ($12)
______ Lunch Saturday ($12)

Name:     ___________________________________________________
 
Phone:    _______________________ Email:_______________________
 

CRVC-EGA Membership

$50. Primary Membership
$15. Plural Membership (NER)
$18. Plural Membership (not NER)

For a membership card, please enclose a SASE.

Amt. Pd. ____________

Check #  ____________

Date Pd. ____________
    (keep as your receipt)

CRVC-EGA Membership and Address Change Form

The membership year runs from June 1 to May 31. If you are joining after
September 1, please contact the membership chairman for prorated dues.

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 ($50)
        __ 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 $___________