2012 Tri-City Chapter Retreat

About 36 members from three NY ANG chapters (Buffalo - Rochester - Syracuse) got together to stitch, show some needlework and have lunch. 



The Syracuse chapter had a painted canvas challenge.  Participants each received the same canvas of a Peacock with a long tail, and instructions to be creative.  It's hard to believe all the canvases started out looking the same.  What a great idea!



Close up of a peacock tail.



The Buffalo Chapter stitched from the ANG Project Book.  A basket of silk flowers with button centers.  To make it more personal, some stitchers used buttons from family clothing that commorated an important event like a wedding, and christening.  Each beautiful basket is unique.  A great project!

close up of flowers

These low-calorie treats are really needlepointed!

There was such a variety of needlework and beading on display....Enjoy!  Click on a photo to get a close up slide show.



A round robin sampler that Syracuse members did.



A four-legged friend in needlepoint

The Dutch Beast - almost finished in XS



Some stitched on a new piece



April - Speed Round Robin

Want to have some fun with needle, thread and your imagination?  No pattern or diagrams!  The Buffalo ANG Chapter "Western NY Needlepointers" invited us to lead their group in a creative Speed Round Robin.  Each member had to bring a 4" or 5" square of 18ct mono canvas and some different colored threads from their stash.  This is a timed excercise and it begins by telling them the first step to stitch the outline of the Aquarium then they have 4 minutes to stitch.  When the time is up, we ring a bell and they pass their canvas to the person on their left.  Again, we tell them the next thing to stitch within a certain time, then RING! PASS YOUR CANVAS!  You can choose any theme, we just liked the Aquarium.  Everyone quickly got the idea that this is fun and stitched some very imaginative scenes.  You can see crustaceons, treasure chests, plant life, anchors, fishing hooks and more. 

Imagine an Aquarium… 

With just a needle and thread we’ll be “drawing” a picture today.

You can use whatever stitches you know.  They can be straight or slanted, long and short, knotted or fancy.  Use them in any combination to paint the scene.  Think about stitches you’ve learned, your favorite, the easiest. 

1.       (4:00)  Stitch the outline of an aquarium.  Will it be square or rounded?  What color will it be? Blue, black, green?  Light or dark?  Define the boundaries of an aquarium.

2.       (4:00)  Add an underwater structure for the background.  An interesting rock formation, steps, a spout. Is it round, square, triangle, steps formation?

3.       (3:00)  Add some seaweed or vegetation. Is it floating on the top or along the sides or is it sprouting from the floor bed?

4.       (3:00)  Add some colorful coral. Dot the waterscape with several or stitch one large coral. 

5.       (2:00)  Add some fish to the aquarium.  Let them swim along the floor or sides.  Make some stitches that make it look like a school of fish.  Use different colors.

6.       (1:00)  Add some bubbles.  Blue/green bubbles.

7.       (2:00)  Add an undersea creature.  Lobster, crab, octopus, shark, dolphin, jellyfish, mermaid, etc.

8.       (3:00)  Add a man-made element to the scene.  A treasure chest, fish-hook, a boat floating on top, explorer robot, Jacques Cousteau, statue, etc.

9.       (1:00)  Add some bubbles.

A total of 24 minutes!

Here are the creative results:

April Meeting - Knotty and Nice

Why Knots?  Knots have been used in all kinds of needlework for centuries.  They add texture and variety to our needlework.  The French knot and Colonial knot are commonly used in our contemporary needlework, but I've read there are over 100 kinds of knots.  We learned a few knot stitches, some you know and one or two you may knot (pun intended).  Have you heard of the "Gordian", "Sorbello" or "Turks Head"?  Also learned the the “Forbidden Stitch” as it's known in China. 

Everyone is creating beautiful borders.  Here is one completely finished by Dorothy.

March Meeting - Unleashing Over-Dye Thread

Threads over dyed in an intriquing palette of colors.  They're inspiring and fun to see the colors change as you stitch.  Barbara's presentation taught us about the different kinds of over-dyes (Tone-on-Tone, Shadow Dye,  Variegated, Heather, Tie-dye, Tweed, etc).  On the left is a photo of the threads she used to show us the differences. 

There are silks, cotton, linen, wool, soy, metallic and ribbon.  They each present different challenges for dyeing. 

You can see different effects when stitching with overdyes, depending you use the strands in a needle and which stitches you use.

Here are some suggested books for reference:
"Colorful Stitches for Over-dye Thread", by June McKnight, 2010, self published.
"Getting the Most Out of Overdyed Threads", part One, by Catherine Jordan, Needle Pointers September 2006
"The Thread Thesaurus", 2002, Thread Techique Team LLC, Ann Caswell, Suzanne Howren, Beth Robertson

Here are photos of the lastest finishes from our Show and Share:
  

  

   





pattern is "Galaxy" by Needle Delights
Colorway was inspired by the quilt







February Meeting - Bargello Night

Suzanne gave a wonderful presentation on Bargello.  She displayed just some of her collection of books on Bargello along with stitched examples.  We learned some history of this stitch, and also technique, reading material, samplers, original work and some handouts to get us started.  The touching moment of the presentation was when Suzanne showed us a piece that her mother had stitched while she had Alzheimers. 

Some Bargello books from Suzanne's library

This will be an upholstered chair

Some Bargello Samplers

A lesson on counting the Bargello stitches

A beautiful Bargello piece stitched by Suzanne's mom

February Meeting - Finishes & Borders!

First we'll show some finishes for this month.  A real variety of items too!  There's painted canvas, some more Hearts, a Kumihimo necklace, counted canvas and some original work too.  Every month we bring our borders project to the meetings.  They're all so different in color and stitch choices.  Here is our progress in pictures.



A Kumihimo necklace - a local bead shop class!





ANG Stitch of the Month - 2011   by Norma

ANG Stitch of the Month 2012

This years design for the ANG stitch of the month is a heart with 12 areas for different stitches. Our chapter will stitch the piece as a group.  Each month a member will take home the canvas and get to stitch part of the heart. The design is done on 18ct white and silver mono canvas with a variety of threads in reds and silver. It's a mystery "stitch of the month", so we have to wait until next month to see what the next stitch is.  Visit the Ang website for more detail information.

January Meeting

Outside the meeting hall there was a cold wind blowing, but inside it was warm and cozy as we learned about needlepoint borders.  We had a table full of magazines and books on stitches for inspiration.  Borders add interest to your needlework, but where to begin?  We wrote a 2-page handout as a guide to making a border.  If you are stumped for a design then browse through your own bookshelf of needlepoint magazines and books on stitches. The ANG magazine "Needlepointers" has lots of ideas and articles on borders, particularly issue year 2006. Next month we'll post photos of your borders progress.