On Monday, the last day of Seminar, I took Cynthia Thomas’ Thread and Stitch Manipulation class. The main purpose of this class was to look at basic stitches we all know and see how you can manipulate it. For each stitch, we were to look at changing/adding one element at a time – color, orientation (vertical, horizontal, diagonal, oblique), spacing, size, etc. to see what effect we could have. While a relatively simple concept you would think, this was difficult for me to see on paper. I was able to create some potentially interesting stitches that I can play with. It was fun to look at what others were creating.
While I expected this to be just a notebook class, she did include canvas and threads for 2 ornaments – either Christmas or Halloween – and I chose Halloween. However, I decided to play with trying to modify stitches rather than actually stitching one of the ornaments, especially since all the stitches I was coming up with did not work with the threads in my kit. What a challenge it was thinking not only of the effect you want but what threads you need to create that effect as you design the stitches for a particular area.
I am very glad I took this class even though it meant 5 days of classes. It is triggering me to look at stitches differently and think about how I can really make a piece my own.
Overall, I had a great experience at this seminar, even though 5 days of classes in 5 days is very tiring In addition to the other seminar activities. I thought the hotel had great amenities and was well situated to find restaurants and a grocery store and talk walks in the evening. I loved the lazy river and hot tub and tried to enjoy them each day after class to work out the sore muscles from sitting in class stitching.
After leaving Seminar on Monday, I caught a bus to Austin to spend a day with my newest grandson before heading home. A win-win week for me!
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