We started day 2 of Creative Collage this morning with a discussion of threads (which are made up of fibers) by Suzanne Howren. What a wealth of knowledge she has in terms of different types of threads and the full range of available threads for needlepoint.

She and Tony Minieri then turned us over to our canvases to begin stitching. While they each provided us with a stitch guide, the goal of this class was to figure out for ourselves what stitches to use in different areas to make it our own. They gave us a wide variety of threads in our kits so we had a lot of flexibility in what we did.

Using the many ideas and techniques they discussed with us over the 2 days, it was still difficult for me to decide what to do. I realized I still think in terms of rather simple stitches and do not always think about breaking some areas into smaller blocks that could use some combination stitches. However, I’m realizing more of what I need to do and, of course, practice makes perfect.

Tony and Susan were both extremely helpful in getting me to flesh out my ideas and to help me better understand how to see an area as well as decide what weight thread was appropriate.

While it doesn’t look like I accomplished much, I did flesh out lots of ideas, ripped out a bit, and experimented a bit on the doodle canvas.

Creative Collage – Day 2 progress

I wish I’d taken pictures of Suzanne’s and Tony’s stitched canvases in case i need ideas in the future!

Overall, this was a wonderful class where I learned a lot, got outside my comfort zone, and expanded my needlepoint skill set. Suzanne Howren and Tony Minieri are excellent teachers with a lot of brilliant ideas and needlework knowledge.

This evening, I decided I wasn’t very hungry and wanted to see the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, which is supposedly rated #2 or #3 in the country, so I took a long walk up and along the boardwalk. Having grown up spending summers on south Jersey beaches, I’m not sure I’d even begin to compare it to them! Still it was fun to see it, although I was definitely feeling the humidity on my way back.

Myrtle Beach Boardwalk

Tomorrow I’ll be heading home, hopefully after visiting Pawley’s Island in the morning.

Diane

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