CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY CHAPTER
NEWS
May 2019
WEBSITE ADDRESS: WWW.CRVC-EGA.ORG

Remember that dues are now paid annually by May 1st as the membership year runs from June 1 to May 31.  Please use the coupon below to renew your membership as soon as possible.

Please note the new location for our meetings will be Thistle Needleworks at 506 Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield, CT.  The dates for meetings will be the first Saturdays of the even months (except August).  Directions to the store are on the Thistle Needleworks website.

Please note the change of date from June 8 to June 1^st.
Saturday, June 1^st, 2019     “Tea Cozy Party”

Hopefully each member will bring a tea cozy that they are working on as we prepare them for an exhibit at the “Boston Stitch Party.”  As a reminder, NER is pulling together cozies from the whole region for an exhibit at the 2020 National Seminar on September 4^th through 8^th.  A cozy can be any size, any technique, any motif or design.  A basic cozy template sketch is available in past issues of the newsletter on our website.  We could also share hints on how to assemble & finish a cozy.

If you don’t plan to make one, please join us anyway and bring whatever stitching you would like to work on.  We’d love to have your company!

Location:  Thistle Needleworks in Wethersfield, CT
Schedule for Saturday:
               10 AM                                        Board meeting
               11 AM to 12:30 PM                  Stitching Party
               12:30 to 1:30 PM                       Lunch, Show and Tell and short meeting
               1:30 to 3:30 PM                         Stitching Party (con't)
 

CRVC at the Durham Fair!

We have been asked by the Needlework Department of the Durham Fair to have a presence there this year, September 26-29.  This will happen in a couple of ways.  We will likely have stitch-ins in the afternoons on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (more on this in the September newsletter), and individual members can enter pieces finished in the last 3 years as exhibits.

Here is a link to the needlework page: www.durhamfair.com/exhibitors/needlework.  This page is a work in progress; however, the 2019 categories will be almost the same as 2018 and their Challenge Class is “100 Years of the Durham Fair” (which is an additional category in each class that would pertain to something within the 100 years of the fair).  Their online entries go live on July 1^st, so updating will be done by then.

To enter in the Durham fair here are the Dates:
Register between 7/1 and 9/14, 2019
Drop-off articles at the Fair on 9-21-2019 between 10 am and 4 pm. (one person can drop off other people’s entries)
Exhibitor Entry is free -- Cash prizes and ribbons are awarded -- Items are displayed in a secure, dry building -- Exhibitors are eligible to purchase a reduced 4 day entrance pass to the fair on the day they drop off their exhibits.

Even if you don’t have anything to enter this year, consider going to the fair and cheering on those who do!
 

Saturday, October 5^th, 2019     Autumn Fireworks

This design by Ann-Marie Anderson-Mayes at www.beautifulstitches.com.au is offered as a gift to all stitchers.  It is a great way to experiment with a range of canvaswork stitches using variegated thread and three coordinating solid colors.  It will work beautifully as a bookmark, as decoration on a journal cover, or perhaps as a beautiful accent on a small handbag or iPad cover.  We will supply the fabric and the directions, but you get to choose your colors, from your stash or at the store.

Here is some information from the instructions:
To complete this embroidery you will need:
            Congress canvas measuring at least 12 x 28cm = 4.7 in. x 11 in. (this will give you a minimum of 3cm (1.2 in) extra fabric all around the stitched area which measures 6 x 21.5cm (2.4" x 8.5").
            Size 24 tapestry needle
            Small, sharp embroidery scissors
            Your preferred embroidery frame (I like Q-snaps but please feel free to use your favourite framing system)
            Embroidery threads: This project is ideally suited to choosing your own threads.  I have included the threads I used, but you won’t be able to replicate them exactly as the variegated silk is a one-off that I dyed myself.  Choosing your own colours is very easy.  All you need is a variegated thread and three coordinating solid colours.  You can use stranded silks, cottons or a combination - they will be equally effective.  And your colour choices might transform this into Spring Fireworks or Beach Fireworks.  The creative decisions are in your very capable hands. :)

Name Used In These Notes     My Colour                                                                   Your Colour
Variegated                               My own hand dyed thread –
                                                  12 strand silk (red, yellow, green combination)
Colour 1                                   Threadworx 10051 - 6 strand cotton (red)
Colour 2                                   Au Ver a Soie No. 2533 - 7 strand silk (yellow)
Colour 3                                   Au Ver a Soie No. 2125 - 7 strand silk (green)

Since the chapter will pay for your fabric, please note on the sign-up form what color you would like so that it can be cut before class or choose your fabric ahead of time and let the clerks know that the cost of your fabric is to be charged to CRVC.  There are many colors available, but only a few will be listed on the form.

A coupon is provided for this meeting.
 

Saturday, December 7^th, 2019     “Elegant Diamond” box
                                                                                        from Denise Pratt

At this meeting we will begin to stitch this beautiful box, following Denise’s clear diagrams and directions.  She will prepare colors for the kits based on your preferences as noted on the registration coupon with lots of possibilities, not just those shown above.  The primary diamond color is worked in variegated floss weight silk, such as Waterlilies or Silk ‘n Colors, and the effects are so much fun to produce.  It may happen that we construct the box at the February meeting, unless you need to complete it as a holiday gift.

A coupon is provided for this meeting.