March turned out to be an even busier month than I expected so this blog has been languishing in the “Draft” folder for a few weeks. Since today is the last day of the Woodlawn Needlework Show, it seemed appropriate to post it today.
Once again, Mr. M and I traveled down I-95 to Alexandria to visit the 59th Annual Needlework Show at Woodlawn & Frank Lloyd Wright’s Pope -Leighey House. We had a glorious day – a perfect Spring preview – for our travels. What a change from our trip in February during which I had to drive through torrential rains and cold!
Our new favorite place to stop for lunch is Matthew’s 1600 in Catonsville, MD. It is an easy drive off the highway and located near several needlework shops. I did not indulge this trip as my project backlog is staggering and I will be attending several Seminars and Workshops this year, which will add to the inventory.
The weather in Alexandria was definitely a harbinger of Spring with temperatures in the mid-50s. We stayed in Old Town Alexandria and were able to comfortably walk down King Street to The Warehouse for dinner, following up with dessert from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on our walk back to the hotel.
Our tickets for the Woodlawn Show were for 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. I was so happy I decided to reserve in the morning because Mother Nature sure had a nasty surprise waiting for us that day. Temperatures dropped more than 20 degrees overnight and a winter weather advisory was posted for the area. Yes, it actually snowed!
Fortunately, we were still able to view the Show although Woodlawn did close at Noon that day due to the icy conditions. With the timed tickets and the weather, there were only a few of us walking around and admiring the needlework, so it made for a very pleasant experience.
There are approximately 300 pieces on display this year as well as four special exhibits – From the Woodlawn Collections: Needlepoint of Martha Washington and Nelly Custis Lewis, Historic Samplers from Around the World and at Home, Needlework Connections, and Winchester Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America 10th Anniversary Exhibit. There were also four Virtual Programs and two In-Person Programs throughout the month.
NJNA members contributed 25 pieces to the Show – I am thrilled that we were able to support Woodlawn again this year despite only recently starting to meet again in person. I am also happy to report that our members received 13 ribbons – four First Place, two Second Place, three Third Place, and four Honorable Mention. One of our members, Barbara L., received Best in Show for her beautiful execution of Gay Ann Rogers’ Eleanor of Aquitaine and Ellen B.’s monogrammed pillow received a First Place in the Embroidery category, not a category we usually enter. All of the pieces are spectacular so I’m sure the judges had a difficult time deciding on the ribbons.
Woodlawn will be presenting a Virtual Show in April for those who were not able to attend in person. Since we will have a Chapter Meeting to showcase our members’ pieces (either July or August), I’m including photos of just a few pieces to whet your appetite!
Thank you to everyone who supported this year’s Show! We hope to have even more pieces for next year’s 60th Show.
WOW – what a meeting we had. Cathryn did a presentation on “Idea’s For Finishing Needlepoint” – she had so many slides with so many suggestion’s we couldn’t finish !!!! People were commenting that they were going to send in more ideas so her 180 slides will most likely grow !! Who knew there were so many avenues ?!?! She will finish the rest of the presentation next meeting. Next month we will also be kicking off the chapter bargello project. Can’t wait to see what everyone will be stitching along with all those ice cream cones.
The Woodlawn Annual Needlework Show will be over on March 31st. NJNA entered 25 of the 300 pieces on exhibit and took quite a few prizes – 13 in all. Everyone needs to be congratulated for such a strong showing. What will NJNA come up with next year ???
The latest edition of the Needle Pointers magazine by ANG is due any second in your mail box. You can look at it online however and it has some wonderful articles. Don’t forget about the new dues schedule based on your anniversary month. At the end of this year our dues will all be due to be paid at the same time.
While on the subject of magazines – the new Needlepoint Now has an article called Framed Sevens by our own Melita Glavin. An amazing piece to stitch – read how she came up with the pattern.
NEW/OLD – A new shop is opening in Manhattan that is called West Village Knit & Needle. Home | West Village Knit & Needle (wvknitandneedle.com) The House of Needlepoint in Darien CT is up for sale. It has been there more than 18 years. We also just heard that Luv 2 Stitch in CA is closing. Dale Lenci has decided to retire. He too has been in business for 18 years. We wish them all well.
The needlepoint world has come to help recognize the dire straits the Ukrainian people are living under in the best way they know how – stitching Sunflowers ! The blog post from Chilly Hollow on 3/24 has a list the length of your arm of various designers that have created canvases with all sorts of things to show support, from flags to sunflowers and more. Check out the list WELCOME to the CHILLY HOLLOW NEEDLEPOINT ADVENTURE (chillyhollownp.blogspot.com) Jane – glad you got as big a giggle as we did with that list !!
It’s that time of year again !! Time to see what we will be buying next !!! The show had many participants. From canvases to bags to needle minders to Ka-Tzu Kazoo beads & fobs. Melissa Shirley was not a participant this time but does have some new offerings. SO – let’s see some new canvases !!
Let’s start backwards and look at some new things from Zecca:
Stitch Style had some great small items !!
Another favorite is Pippin with those seagulls that make you smile.
Melissa Shirley as usual has timeless canvases:
Jean Smith is not just flowers and Kate Dickerson has some whimsical items:
So this time, I AM GOING TO BRAG about the talented stitcher’s in NJNA. They showed their creativity and versatility at the Woodlawn Pope-Leighey House 59th Annual Needlework Show. There were many ribbons won on the entries from our guild, which will be revealed when the show goes virtual in April. However, posted on their web site is a button for “Special Award Winners” and the first one you will see is our own Barbara Levy. She won the Eleanor Curtis Lewis Award for Best In Show for her Eleanor of Aquitaine. Congratulations Barbara !!!!! We also have to give a big thanks to Linda M. for all her coordinating and delivering everything to the show for us.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
A quick welcome to our new member Karen. Glad you decided to join in the fun !!!
Our next meeting is this week and is one we have been waiting for ! Come to the meeting ready to be dazzled as Cathryn is doing a presentation on “Ideas For Finishing Needlepoint”. We all fall into the same rut as to how to finish what we have labored so hard over. Cathryn will have a wide variety of interesting and unique ideas to get you out of that rut. I’ll bet none of her ideas were on that list from the last blog.
Uh Oh – next weekend starts the new market – more to buy and lots of things we never dreamed we needed ! It goes from March 19 thru 20 and we should be seeing dazzling new things shortly.
Next week is also St. Patrick’s Day when everyone is Irish.
Diversions Needlepoint is having a Limerick Contest. Your entry must be in by 3/31/22 and if chosen you will receive a $25 gift certificate.
The Needlepointer has launched their updated web site. Needlepoint Supply & Accessories Store – The Needlepointer It is still a work in progress but easier to navigate. They also just announced a new monthly club – Funky Pumpkins by EyeCandy. It runs for 7 months of fun and it starts in Sept but there are a limited number of spots. And thank you to EyeCandy for the kind words in your blog about NJNA !!
Funky Pumpkins by EyeCandy
Are you a Lowrey Groupie?? It took me a while and some major enabling but I have to admit, it’s a great stand to work on, especially with the corner clamp. I was looking at the web site because mine squeaks so badly that my husband wants to throw it out the door. Turns out Lowrey has a “Care Kit” to solve that problem. It comes in a drawstring bag with their logo on it to keep everything together. In the bag is a container of their “wax polish” and a brush to apply it with along with an instruction card. You can watch the video below on how to do it.
In poking around Lowrey’s web site I found several other items that are either new or I had just never seen them before. They have a set of parts to take the base and turn it into a table stand. They also have a table clamp and an actual furniture cabinet that the stand is a part of, not to mention the storage. When you have a moment browse their web site, their story alone is interesting. Lowery Care Kit (workstands.com)
I came upon a very interesting tray to hold your stitching items. It’s by the Floss Queen who is also the owner of the store Needle In A Haystack. It looks sturdy and has slots for most everything you would need while stitching along with magnets to hold your needle or other items. https://needlestack.americommerce.com/the-floss-queen.aspx
The Floss Queen
Finishing is one of those magical things. We bring our work to the LNS and it disappears, sometimes for an eternity and then most times you get an amazingly finished piece back. BUT, I’ll bet you have some questions to help the finisher make your piece what you expect to get back. Needlepoint.com has a list of the 5 top Finishing Questions they get and the answers. “Should I add extra rows?” Which kind of ornament do you want? etc. https://needlepoint.com/blogs/needlepoint-know-how/top-5-finishing-questions
The 2 Handed Stitcher has also offered a pattern free for anyone to copy for a Ukrainian Egg Ornament. She used 18 ct eggshell canvas and #5 Pearl Cotton to create beautiful ornaments that are 2″ wide and 2.75″ tall. She is finishing hers as ornaments to hang in her home and remind herself of all the brave men and women that are fighting for their country.
2 Handed Stitcher Ukrainian Egg ornaments
TIPS & TRICKS: Do you love how it looks to stitch a project on black canvas?? YES! But do you want to do it???? No Way !! Until now ! Give it another try by putting a neon color place mat underneath the canvas on your lap or table. Magic !! The holes are so much easier to see. Check out Amazon for My Drap placemats. They come on a roll that you rip one off to use it. They are washable and reusable cloth. Make sure you look for either pistachio or fuchsia colors for the best effect.
My Drap washable and reusable cloth place mats 17.7″ x 12.6″ 12 to a roll
The famous stitcher’s from last time were: Doris Day. When Doris Day’s estate went to auction one of the items for sale were several pieces of Laurel Burch Jewelry.
Doris Day jewelry
Dr. Irwin Wiliger. The doctor was a staff surgeon at Chicago’s Weiss Memorial Hospital. He was in his 50’s when he saw a woman doing needlepoint at a wake for a friend and he asked her about how it was done. He took a class and eventually joined ANG. He went on to create hundreds of canvases many of which were award winners. Several have been chosen as permanent displays at notable venues like Blair House and the United Way of America’s training center. He said that doing needlepoint relaxes him and would stitch between surgeries. He lived to be 101, read more about him, he was a fascinating man. Dr. Irwin Williger, a surgeon fascinated with needlepoint, dies at 101 – Chicago Tribune
Do You Know These 2 Famous Stitchers:
looks like some bargello being done
Daylight Savings time is Sunday – an extra hour to stitch !!!
NJNA is Blogging! 
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