I’ve probably mentioned this in the past but  my bucket list includes attending an ANG (and an EGA) National Seminar. I can only imagine the thrill of being able to take a few classes, chat with fellow stitchers, shop, and retire to a room that has been prepared by someone else. It sounds like heaven. Alas, I am resigned to waiting a few more years to experience that pleasure. It just won’t happen with college move-in occurring at the same time as ANG Seminar and having to budget vacation days for all those other college-oriented events. However, I do keep my eyes open for classes offered locally (and those held on weekends are an added bonus) or by mail/on-line.

This weekend I was able to attend a two-day workshop organized by the ANG Central Jersey Chapter: The Wright Friends designed and taught by Tony Minieri. You can read about the piece on Tony’s website. As many of you know I have taken more than a few of his classes and always learn so much.

The workshop was held at the Colts Neck Library and the venue was just amazing. The room was large enough to provide ample room for about 15 stitchers at tables and we were all able to spread out comfortably. Although plenty of extension cords were provided for additional lighting not many of us needed it; the overhead lighting was sufficient for stitching. Additional tables were set up to allow us to enjoy bagels and other goodies before the class as well as our lunches and more goodies during breaks.

Stitching started promptly at 9:30 a.m. and we worked one of the four windows. The windows are stitched alike but with variation on the four colors – fuchsia, turquoise, purple, and lime green. As always, Tony’s designs feature unique stitches as well as familiar stitches used in unique ways. Those of you who attended our August meeting saw Cathryn’s beautifully stitched and finished piece up close.

At the end of the two days my first window was about 95 percent complete, although I do have to admit that I found a few mistakes that needed to be ripped out before I could complete the window. Here is what the fuchsia window looked like at the end of the second day. You’ll note that there are accents of turquoise to the right and lime green to the left –  the adjacent windows will be turquoise and lime green.

I am planning to work on The Wright Friends this week before starting on Class 2, which will be the subject of another post.

Kudos to ANG CJC for organizing a fantastic workshop. I enjoyed stitching with this group and hope to participate in other programs with them.

Happy Stitching!