What a whirlwind last day at Seminar. I had to get my suitcase to the car and check out of the hotel before heading off on the tour of Winterthur with Rosie. As I am sitting on the bus, I questioned if I had pack my jewelry pouch from the safe or if it was in the room still. There was nothing I could do about it until I returned to Philly. Rosie and I talked needlepoint and canvases almost the entire way out to Winterthur. I reflected that on my canvas, pictured yesterday that it looked like I had covered a lot of canvas, but, as I said to Rosie, I only did maybe two of the 4 to 6 stitches that are layered in each area. That’s why I’m taking it with me to Sanibel. I’m excited by the piece which is such a welcome response after that Orna Willis, Grace. It is also why I am so eager to see everyone else’s canvases at the Sept. meeting. I can tell that pictures just don’t capture the visual well enough. I am also dying to learn from Sue about her vinyl covered Leaves of Autumn. And that is only the beginning. There will be Carol, Robin, Ellen and Diane’s canvases to pour over. I’ll be checking the blog each day to see how everyone is doing! What fun.

On to Winterthur. Wow, what a man Harry DuPont was! The grounds are beautiful, and we were seeing them in the green period of summer instead of the colors of spring and fall. First we went to the home which was turned into a museum when the DuPonts moved out in 1951. He had added about 100 rooms in the 1930’s not to show off his wealth, but to house his huge collection of American furishings from 1780 to 1860 which he collected from all over the USA. His intent was to turn his home into a museum, which is exactly what he did. I can’t begin to rave about the beautiful furniture, rugs, wall hangings of all sorts, linens, china, and art. It is remarkable. There is a gallery with wings for furniture, fabrics, and metals/glass, which I breezed through since we had such little time. I took a shuttle to the visitor’s center, ran through the book store and then grabbed some lunch, so I could be ready for the garden tour back up to the home/museum. ANG had lined up a special tour of the private quarters of the home on the 7th and 6th floors. We had to lock up all bags (including purses), cameras, etc. We were in groups of 5 since the elevators were so small. We zipped from room to room with our docent pointing out needlework. 2 of the 5 of us were taking the courses for judging needlework, and just off four full days of classes, they were a wealth of information. We were allowed into the bowels of the basement where all the fabrics were stored and the museum curator had 8 boxes open where we could look at “bedrugs” (we call bedspreads) from the early 1800’s. It was awesome. We also were allowed to look at the storage drawers of fabrics which are mostly only seen by researchers, working on degrees in fabric restoration and research.

Heidi at the entrance to the Winterthur Museum

On the bus ride home I filled out the evaluation form for Seminar. Once back at the hotel I went to the desk to ask if any jewelry from my room had been turned in. The hotel security came and took the info and then went up to the room (which had already been rebooked) while I handed in my evaluation. He found me in the lobby and told me the safe was empty and open. I must have packed them. I thanked him and went immediately to my car 5 blocks away and took out my suitcase opened it and there was my jewelry pouch. What a relief. I left Philly at 4:45 and was home at 6:15. I have unpacked and repacked my carry-on and started a load of laundry. Only this blog remains and then I can stitch some on my canvas before I hit the sack. I said to Rosie that these 4 days at seminar were my vacation for the year. What a joy those days were. Have fun ladies and keep stitching!

Today was filled with sweet and regretful feelings. I have finished my three day class with Joni Stevenson. I am eager to continue the canvas, but regret having to finish the class. She is not full of laughter, but she is serious and committed to quality stitching and to helping us achieve it. Joni calmly and thoroughly let us experience the piece, while also letting us learn by doing. She explained on the first day that she wanted to capture the cool Mediterranean and the hot arid landscape of Spain. I was awed by how the colors of warm and cool played off each other as well as contrasted each other in subtle application of stitches. I noted that there was a profusion of Scotch, Mosaic, and Cashmere stitches with overlays of colors and stitches. Joni indicated that she was capturing the tiles of Spain and that there needed to be a continuity of structure when including such varied colors. They may be known stitches but she combined them in new ways and combined them to create entirely new looks. It was a new look at established views. Today we started with the dowel embellishment that is attached to the piece, which I can not attach until I finish stitching the area under it. So I photographed the piece with the dowel on the side, yet to be attached. Joni went through the class patiently explaining the application to us in sets of two.

Andalucia Progress at End of Day 3!

After class I went to the silent auction and then went back to my room to pack what I didn’t need tonight and took a trip to my car, to make my departure tomorrow easier. Then the six of us from NJNA went out to a Mexican restaurant Carol recommended. They had great Margaritas so I was a happy camper. It was a fun mix of beginnings, middles, and ends. Carol and Robin had just arrived, Susan was teaching her class tomorrow, Sue and Rosie are moving on to new classes and I am heading home after my tour tomorrow. I don’t want to leave my sisterhood of stitchers, but I will pack my canvas as I head to Sanibel, FL. Thank you all for making these three days so fabulous!!!!

Today was my first day of joni Stevenson’s Andalucia. What a fabulous day of stitching. The canvas and colors are far more beautiful than the catalogue picture appears. I am so happy with my choice. I sent a picture of my canvas after the first day to Rosie, with hopes she may be able to post it here. Time disappears while stitching. Three hours passed without a thought of time when Sue and Rosie appeared to go out to lunch. I was conflicted because I was so involved with my canvas I just wanted to tie up lose ends. But the break was good. We went across the street to the market place where whatever you like to eat, you can find. We each had different lunches from different vendors. After three more hours of class I ran off to my room to get a handle on my disorganization. And tuck my tails. I have now finished three of the six areas we covered today and I got my threads organized.
At the welcome dinner, the highlight was a guest speaker who spoke about her experience and pursuit of unfinished canvases. She even buys them on the Internet. Then she finishes them with white thread. It creates very interesting effects. She was quite amusing as well as thought provoking. I’m now exhausted, and should call my husband, but probably won’t.