Blog #56 - 'Celebration of Needlework' Retreat : 2017

Thursday,  18 May 2017

At Nashua - continuing on from my last blog - after a few hours nap,

a yummy dinner (pictured below)

and a good nights sleep, woke on the Tuesday (2nd of May)

to begin a days work of unpacking all my stock items

and pricing each item and returning all to the suitcases.

 

By late that afternoon most of my fellow designers,

tutors and exhibitors had arrived at the hotel.

 

Lots of hugs and kisses and chatter!

After all, we hadn't seen each other for a year and so had a lot to catch up on!

 

Many of the retreat attendees

- some of whom who have been attending every year for the last 20 years -

were also at the hotel. 

 

For many of them this retreat has become their annual weekly holiday.

There were groups of ladies sitting everywhere

happily stitching their needlework projects

and enjoying each others company.

 

Pictured below is a group of ladies on one part of the hotel lobby.

Wednesday was the day to set up my exhibition booth.

 

This year I had a corner site -

towards the back of the ballroom/convention room.

 

I enjoyed having a corner site.

 

Across the aisle from me was 'Silk Weavers'

and beside me was lovely friend,

Karen Kluba of 'Rosewood Manor'.

 

(Note:  Above two photos were taken a few days after the Merchants Mall had opened.)

 

That evening was the first of the events - the 'Vendor Round Robin'.

 

Six designers/exhibitors each presented a little design & kit

to the attendees

(of which there were about 75 ladies)

and explained the project they were presenting,

plus the finishing of it while giving an insight

as to how they began in business and/or what inspires them.

 

This was an 'optional' event.

 

Following the above event was the 'Meet N Greet' event which was free to all attendees,

therefore attendees would have been almost 300!

 

Format was tea and dessert and a welcome to everyone.

 

This was also the time for all attendees to have the opportunity

to meet all the tutors and see the class projects they were to be teaching

or hear about the lectures to be given.

 

The tutors/lecturers (15 of us) sat at a table in a row at the head of the room

with our projects in front of us and we had to give a synopsis of our class, etc.

 

Quite a daunting task for me as I do not like being the focus of attention!

I'm sure everyone heard the tremor in my voice

and saw my hands shaking!!

Just as well they couldn't see my knees.

 

At the conclusion, attendees could register for additional cases

if there were any vacancies.

I had four more ladies 'sign-up' for my class

but others missed out as I had not prepared for any more than 12 students.

 

Really quite encouraging as I wasn't sure how my class would be accepted

as the Fisherton de la Mere technique is "NEW"

to most American needleworkers.

 

 

Thursday morning was the time scheduled for my class.

I have to confess to being a little apprehensive as not taught in the States before,

but all students were lovely and we had a good time together.

 

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the whole class.

 

Thought of it after most had left, however, pictured below are some of the girls.

 

These girls have become lovely friends and were responsible for me

being a tutor this year

due to their gentle persuasion at the 2016 retreat.

 

The pic below is of a mother and daughter who also attended the class.

Lovely ladies too.

At the end of the class everyone was asked to evaluate the tutor and make comments.

I was quite humbled by some of the comments.

Many of them wrote on these sheets - "Please Come Back".

 

That evening, before the scheduled events, the girls who had been in my class

and their friends that had been in other classes

asked me to join them for dinner.

 

We had an enjoyable time together.

 

More news about 'Celebration of Needlework' in my next blog.

 

 

Blog #55 - Ready, Set and Go ...

Tuesday,  16 May 2017

With all the stitching of all the class models

having been completed,

it was time to prepare the kits
i.e. cutting fabric pieces;

cutting thread lengths and winding them onto cards;

printing design charts & instructions

and then packing everything

all neatly into individual packs for the class attendees.

Below are a few pics of the preparations.

 

Fabric & threads  (Silken Pearl  &  DMC)

for 'Thankfulness'

& threads on cards for the fob design

Pics below are fabric & threads for the fob design

 

and finally, packaged fob kits

 

I LOVE the headings of two blogs that my friend,

Bonny Woomer,

 

of  'The Nebby Needle'

 

used about her preparations for the needlework retreat  -

 

"I'M SO BEHIND"  and  "CREATIVE CHOAS"

 

I'm so pleased to know that I'm not the only one that struggles with not enough time.

Some of the quotes/comments from her blogs  ....

 

"My house looks like a bomb went off and all my craft supplies flew everywhere ...

projects here ...  projects there  ...  merchandise bags  ...  price tags  ...  signs  ..."

 

"I've had to dig through the rubble on the dining room table

to clear a spot for us to eat each night"

 

"There are battle scars from carrying bins around and running into doorknobs

and a cut here and there from rotary cutters

and other sharp tools of the trade"

 

But the one that amused me the most,

and the one which Keith totally agreed with was -

 

"I told the hubs last night that I probably make about 10 cents an hour

when you figure all the time spent getting ready for these shows.

He said, 'You think it's that much?'"

 

LOVE her response -

 

"Why then do I do it?  'It's fun' I keep saying!  Well some of its fun.

The events are fun!  It's the people!  I get to hang out with my design friends  ...

I get to see kindred spirit customers that have become friends  ...  and meet new ones.

They're 'my people'.  They share my passion."

 

Oh - how true are her words.

To read more of this blog and others, go to Bonny's blog  ...

 

www.thenebbyneedle.blogspot.com

 

You will enjoy what she has to share.

 

After preparing all the kits

it was packing all the stitched models of all my designs,

sorting out all the printed designs to take

and the quantities of each design to take,

the threads required for these designs,

display items such as decorative display cloths, easels, flowers, baskets, ribbons, etc.,

price tags, merchandise bags, business cards, brochures, order forms,

set-up items (pins, Sellotape, Blu-tack, rubber bands, etc.)

and so on  ....

And then the worry of will everything fit into my three suitcases

and one hand-luggage case.  And will they be overweight!?

 

WHEW  -  all done!

 

Sunday the 30th of April arrived.

 

Once on board the Air New Zealand plane at the Auckland International Airport

I could now relax and put my feet up for the next twelve hours

before facing US Customs

(which was a horrendous and unnerving experience

for almost an hour of questions and explanations),

walking past the various LA airport terminals,

waiting in lines for security checks,

walking miles of airport corridors to board another six hour flight,

humping heavy suitcases from conveyor belts onto airport trolleys,

travelling over an hour in limo transport from Boston to Nashua

and arriving at my destination -

The Courtyard Marriott Hotel.

After almost 40 hours from leaving home and checking into my hotel room,

I completely unpacked my clothes suitcase

and tumbled onto the bed for a few hours sleep.

Bliss.

 

More next time.

 

 

 

 

 

Blog #54 - Stitching ... and More Stitching

Monday,  27 March 2017

Every spare moment of this month

- and moments when I should have been doing other things (e.g. ironing) -

have been taken up with stitching and finishing stitched pieces.

 

A few blogs ago I mentioned that I wanted to have several Fisherton de la Mere fobs

made so that the attendees in my class could see finished examples in various colours

and so that each one could have a finished model in front of them during the class

as they learnt to stitch one for themselves.

 

Pictured below are some of the fobs in the process of being made -

 

And, here is a pic of all the fobs finished -

 

And too, I have finished  the two versions of the antique sampler that I wrote about in Blog #50,

had them framed, written the instructions and printed the design.

 

Here again, is a pic of the original sampler

and below the two reproduced versions.

 

The first reproduced version has been worked with DMC  Stranded Cotton threads

and the second reproduced version has been worked

 with an overdyed silk thread by The Thread Gatherer

(SNC 083  -  Finnegan's Fog)

and solid coloured  DMC  stranded cottons.

 

Charts and instructions and thread and fabric choices for both versions

are given in the one pattern.

 

Design Code:   BARB 2007

Design Title:   Hannah's Simple Sampler

Design Cost:   $21.50

 

I enjoy accounting.

At the age of 16 - when I left college at the end of the 6th form,

for a few years and before I began nursing training and was married -

I worked for the first few months as a junior and from then on an intermediate

at an accounting firm in Upper Hutt.

 

Those were the good days when one learnt by 'on the job training' and experience.

Loved it!!

 

When Keith and I began our business partnership with the establishment of

'Crib Retaining Walls' in Dunedin

on the 3rd of March 1981

I went to night-school conducted by an Otago University lecturerer

and obtained my Stage One Accounting degree.

 

Pictured below -

our truck, our business yard, cribwall stock & our manufacturing building,

and

inside the factory building - steel moulds, concrete hopper & fork-lift

and - sometimes Keith couldn't work!

 

However - sometimes - nowadays - I'd much rather be stitching.

 

BUT, the Inland Revenue does not see this

and they were strongly requesting our income information

for the past income year of 2015/2016.

 

And so I had to spend a lot of time this month preparing,

writing and calculating our tax obligation.

This I still do completely by hand - no computer -

 right up to Balance Sheet stage

 before sending it to the accountant for them to officially file with the IRD.

 

And now, here we are, almost at the end of another financial year!

Time to count all the stock in the Needlework Gallery

and excess stock stored in various drawers and cupboards throughout the house.

Oh dear!!!

 

That's all for the moment.

 

 

Blog #53 - 'Celebration of Needlework' Class Project

Monday,  6 March 2017

In Blog #49 I gave you a sneak peek at my 'Celebration of Needlework'

class project and here it is again.                                                          

 

  

I have named this piece, 'Thankfulness' as the verse on it reads,

"Hem your blessings with thankfulness".

 

Once stitched it will be a daily reminder for you to give thanks for your many blessings.

 

The verse is stitched in Cross Stitch with a muddy/murky green coloured

DMC  Stranded Cotton  (#640)

and the decorative stitches between the two rows is created

with the English needlework technique of Fisherton de la Mere

with DMC  #12 Coton Perle  (#642)

and a silken pearl thread by The Thread Gatherer.

 

The colour of this thread is 'Desert Moss'

and the fabric is Belfast Linen  (32 count)  in the natural / raw colour.

 

 

As this project is a teaching piece, this has to remain an exclusive piece

until the beginning of next year.

I will advise when it becomes available but should you wish,

I can "hold" a design for you and send it to you at the release date.

Please let me know if you like me to do this.

 

Design Code:   BARB 1018

Design Title:   Thankfulness

Design Price:   $22.50

 

As well as the 'Thankfulness' piece I will teach the Fisherton de la Mere fob design

that I also mentioned in Blog #49.

 

To follow are images of the front and back of this fob design.

 

Fob front

 

Fob back

 

I have named this fob after the distinguished embroiderer,

Josephine Mary Newall

of Fisherton House

in Wiltshire, England

who devised this needlework technique.

 

History of this amazing lady is included with the design.

 

Design Code:   BARB 1025

Design Title:  Josephine's Fob

Design Cost:   $25.00

 

Materials as per the chart design are -

 

FABRIC:   Belfast Linen  -  32 count  :  Platinum  (#770)

THREADS:  Silken Pearl  -  SP10  9713   :  Desert Moss  by  The Thread Gatherer

DMC  Coton Perle  -  #12  :  3033

DMC  Stranded Cotton  :  3033

 

As a colour comparison, pictured below is the same design

using a blue Silken Pearl thread -

SP10  048  -  Pearled Blues

and a blue/grey fabric  -  Cashel Linen  :  Confederate Grey

 

Also note that I have placed the tassel and the scissors cord on the points of the fob

so that it hangs diagonally. 

 

Fob front

 

Fob back

 

This is an excellent little piece for learning the Fisherton de la Mere stitches.

 

That's all for the moment - so much to do - so little time  ... !!