Hi Everyone —
Jill, Sue R, and I all won door prizes today! Only Janice has not won — but she has two more days of stitching left and the rest of us will leave tomorrow (to get home in time for the NJNA meeting!)
Sue and I are already planning our return for next year’s winter retreat!
Cheers!
Rosie
Staying in Asheville for the eclipse the day following the end of the seminar seemed like a good plan, but after the banquet on the last night there were many distressing stories. Our plan–Jill and myself–was to leave our hotel after breakfast for the hotel in downtown Asheville where we would spend Monday evening. Then we would wander through the shops during the day and ending at the designated eclipse park in downtown Asheville. When we were leaving the banquet, we were told that downtown Asheville would be closed on Monday. Now what. We postponed any decision until Monday. There was nothing on the internet about shops closing so we left before nine expecting lots of traffic. There was very little. We got to the hotel, parked, sat in the lobby with a cup of coffee and layed out our walking route before setting forth. Almost all the shops were open but there was virtually no foot traffic in these stores. It seems that most people were staying away from the area. About one we walked towards the Pack Park where the downtown event was being held. As we walked we saw more and more people headed in the same direction. The park is small and had a number of families set up on blankets. There was music as well as activities going on for the youngsters. We found a place across the street with trees for shade and a low wall for sitting where we waited and watched. At that time there were some clouds in the sky but it was easy to see the moon “eating” the sun using our eclipse glasses–thanks to the library for supplying them. As the time for the maximum coverage approached, larger and larger clouds appeared and we were concerned that we would not be able to see it. Watching constantly was difficult because you needed to crane your neck. One diligent woman kept us all posted and shouted out when the sun was visible! The clouds broke open for about a five minute window with the maximum coverage right in the middle of the window! As we waited the sky got dark enough for the street lights to come on. The maximum darkness was similar to the time right after sunset in Asheville where the coverage was 99%. It was a great experience and fun enjoying it with friendly strangers appreciating the same event.
I arrived in the beautiful city of Asheville, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains on Tuesday. Yesterday, Jill and I spent the day at the Biltmore Estate. What an amazing place!
But the most ingesting was the kitchen and servants’ quarters – evoking memories of Downton Abbey!
Today was the start of my class, Dusting of Snow by Gail Stafford. Although I was in class for a full day, you can see how little was done – just a couple of trees, half a shrub, and a tiny bit of sky.
Tonight we went to the Grove Park Inn for dinner. We were joined by Cathy and Lynn from New York.
What a feast! What an amazing place – a historic hotel with a view that is beyond words!
Jill and I were so glad to be able to enjoy such a wonderful evening!
More from the happy campers tomorrow!
Today Carol and I went on a tour of the Biltmore Estate, the Vanderbilt home in Asheville that has been open to the public since the 1930s. The day included a self-guided audio tour of the interior of the house (think Downton Abbey), a little stroll through some of the gardens, a buffet lunch at a restaurant in a building that used to be the cowsheds, and then a visit to the Biltmore Winery for some wine-tasting and, of course, some wine purchases.
The views from the house are spectacular, across acres of forest to the Blue Ridge. We were told how Mr. Vanderbilt had a large scaffold constructed in the precise spot where the house would be to determine if the views were going to be captured as he wanted…I think he succeeded!
My favorite part of the tour (aside from the view) was the basement–the kitchens and pantries, laundry rooms and so forth, where the work of keeping the house running was done. It was easy to imagine all the servants bustling around keeping things on an even keel, enabling the Vanderbilts and their guests to live the life of ease that they did.
Some of us who are here in Asheville for the EGA National Seminar went out to dinner last night to a Japanese steak house called Yama. The food was really good, and the chef a real showman. Here’s what the grill looked like as he started…
Hi Everyone —
While watching all the angst about cancelling the NJNA meeting due to weather…..this is me coming in after a trek to the Barrow grocery store in about -15 degrees and windy and dark. I was told it was a two-block walk, but actually it was more like six blocks each way. The snow was too cold to be slippery, but I was walking blind!
One night we went to the Heritage Center and had a private tour of the whaling museum. I thought you all might enjoy seeing this Inuit sewing kit. You can see the sharp leather cutter and the awl for making holes in the leather all contained nicely on a sealskin thong. So clearly we needlepointers were not the first to invent scissor fobs! The small leather gathered piece is a thimble. The floss above the tool is caribou gut which was used as thread.
Whales were another source of fiber — this picture shows a baleen (one of hundreds in each whale’s mouth). The baleen is hard with brittle threads (cilia?) but after soaking, you can pull on a thread and pull it all the way to the end of the baleen. We saw baleens that were about five feet long to ones that were about two feet long — apparently the length depends upon the location in the whale’s mouth. These threads were traditionally used to weave baskets.
I hope you find this as fascinating as I did. I think I would really love to take a course in making a pair of traditional mukluk boots! Do you think ANG would consider it for a national seminar?
Cheers, Rosie
Oops, I totally forgot to comment on a stop I made on the way home from DC. As per Linda M’s suggestion, I stopped at Hillside Stitchery in Stevenson, MD. As I was driving, I could not understand where the shop might be since at the exit, one drives for a few miles in quite the bucolic setting. Then all of a sudden there is this sweet little shopping plaza, in which the needlepoint shop resides. The staff and owner couldn’t have been nicer. They currently have a NeedleDeeva trunk show. One of the staff members had stitched and displayed quite a few samples of the Needledeeva canvases. I was quite taken with one of the faces she had done. I did decide to purchase the canvas (again without the aid of an enabler). So, the staff member allowed me to take a photo of her work and she also made a color copy of the canvas and wrote down the stitches that she used. I could not believe how accommodating she was. The shop also featured some totes in which you could put inserts or sew the canvas onto the front of the bag. Great choices! If you are going to see the Woodlawn exhibit, I highly recommend that you stop and take a look. I wish the shop well and hope they have staying power. They deserve it.
So, I have had some fun travel adventures this winter. I apologize for no photos, but when I get any where near new fiber/stitching sources, I lose my head and forget to do what I want to do to blog.
So in February, we spent a little bit of time on both coasts of Florida visiting with friends. First we ventured to Siesta Key which is a barrier reef island right next to Sarasota. My host is not a needlework enthusiast, but she indulged me. Boy, am I glad she did! First stop was the Needlepoint Studio of Sarasota. What a nice, welcoming, bright shop. There were stitching stations all over the store, with lights and magnification. I wanted to spend the rest of my vacation there stitching, but alas, I remained polite to my hosts. There were beautiful canvases everywhere, lots of threads and a great assortment of books. I added to my library with a purchase of The Handbook of Ribbon Embroidery by Ann Cox. I’m very excited to have this well illustrated reference book as I am taking some lessons from Pam at Edwardian Needle in Silk Ribbon Embroidery. I know this book will be helpful in the hours that I am away from Pam.
Down the road by no more than a 1/4 mile was A Good Yarn. What a great yarn shop. This shop too was very bright, with lots of knitted samples and lots of sales help. I also did damage in there. My friend was not much help, as she was enabling me. I was told that the two shops used be to be located right next door to each other. If I lived there full time, I would just bring a cot and never leave.
Next we moved on to the east coast of Florida to Palm Beach Gardens. This host is a fiber enthusiast (along with her daily golf obsession), so there was no twisting of arms to go take a look. The needlework shop near where she is located was not such a good one, so I will not mention it by name. However, while we were there, we unfortunately needed to make a condolence visit with another friend. So we took a drive further south of where we were staying. Of course, I was furiously googling needlepoint shops near “current location”. I found a gem in Delray Beach, called Stitches by the Sea. The shop is small but full of life and stitchers who crowd around working on their canvases. Lots of bright cheery motifs with lots of Kreinik in them. This shop had a Penny McCloud trunk show. Without any enablers around, I managed to order a canvas of a funky looking face that I can’t wait to start on, once it gets here, of course. The sample in the shop was so much fun, but stitch guides are not written down. However, I was allowed to take photos of what was there. I will not publish it here because I did not get permission for that.
March brought me to what will probably turn into an annual trek to see the Woodlawn exhibit. I stayed with my dear friends in Chevy Chase and I spent the day that I went to Woodlawn with the “other” Barbara L. We started out at the shop in Arlington called In Stitches. I’m pleased to report that there are many more canvases available for purchase than last year. There is also lots of cross stitch. I did not notice if any of the charts were for canvaswork. Again, everyone was cheery and helpful. I was able to reign myself in at this shop. We had lunch at Mt. Vernon and then headed over to Woodlawn. Of course, Barbara and I had some fun with the registration lady when she asked for our names. She did do a double take when we both used the same name! We got there a few minutes late for the docent led tour of the winning pieces in the exhibit, but since the “other” Barbara L is friends with the retired ANG judge, Kathy Meyers, who gives the tour, we were allowed to join in. Although this year’s exhibit is smaller than last year’s, the work is just breathtaking. I am always so awe struck. Kathy’s talk was so informative. She pointed out that not all of the winning pieces looked complicated, but that the stitching was so superb, they were awarded ribbons based on their excellence. The judging that takes place here is based on a system called consensus judging. (Kathy, please forgive me if I get some of this wrong.) The three judges have their sheets on which they tally marks in many areas and then award one ribbon for first place, and many ribbons for second, third and honorable mention. The three judges then confer and and they must agree on how to award the ribbons. At the ANG national seminar exhibit, the three judges write down their marks, they are added together and the highest number gets the blue ribbon, etc. Little things like a wobbly stitch, shadows of threads in the back and even how the piece is finished can affect the marks. Like things are judged together. In other words, the cross stitch is not mixed in with the canvas pieces. They do separate out soft finishes (like pillows) from hard finishes (frames). Hopefully, I got this right. But with the little I did glean from the talk, I have added respect for our chapter winners. Kudos to you!
March will bring me another travel adventure since I am heading out to CA to babysit my “little people” while their Mommy and Daddy take a much needed break. However, I start my trip with a class by Susan Portra at Luv2Stitch in San Mateo. More about that next time!
I am so fortunate to have spent the last 9 days on the islands of Kauai and Oahu. I had hoped to start Windmills of Stinson Beach on the long flight from Newark but my seat mate kept the window shade down do not enough light 😦 . But I have had time in the mornings on our beautiful lanai to finish the project. Sadly it is home tomorrow on the red eye. Must leave the sun, sand and 80 degree temps. Still I have my Hawaiian stitched Windmills. Colors are sort of tropical, don’t you think?
This past week I went up to Sturbridge, Massachusetts to the Winter Stitching Retreat run by Sue Donnelly. You could sign up for five days of stitching with great meals or less. As this was my first time, I decided to try two days. There were two other NJNA members stitching there this week, Ada D. and the mysterious Ellen S. They both spent all five days stitching. The retreat is held at the Publick House complex, a very old hotel.
The stitching room with two NJNA members and friends
There were about ten tables of stitchers working on a variety of embroidery related items, some huge, some small, some cross stitch, some needlepoint and other techniques as well. As you know we are always looking for new tools for our hobby. One woman was using a bead mat about the size of a 3 X 5 card held onto her canvas by a strong rare earth magnet. Nancy gave us all the information we need to buy one for ourselves!
Meals were an important part of this retreat! We had a choice of about three main courses and three desserts for each lunch and dinner which we selected about a week before the event. I enjoyed everything and heard nothing from others except how good it was. The fruit offering for dessert at each meal was always fresh and loaded with flavor and there was always a delicious choice from the inn bakery. The waitstaff was always on top of things and ready to respond to a request for another cup of tea or coffee. Conversation and laughter flowed at every meal.
Do we look happy?!!!
The accommodations were very good and available in several places at the Publick House, in the main building, next door in a newer building and about a block away in a motel like building. I stayed in the motel, walked down for breakfast and then drove down for class as we did not want to walk up the hill after evening stitching in the dark. The weather was beautiful so the walk and distance was not an issue.
Other inducements to come included a lovely reusable gift bag which included several design charts, a spool of Kreinik, a card of Weeks Dyeworks, a sample of lotion, Kreinik thread color chart, a button pin for the event for stitching. There was even a Victoria Sampler Christmas Cardinal stocking design with the thread/bead pack included. The hotel kept ice and ice water available at all times. Cookies were set out daily which I do not even try as I filled up at the meals. A nearby shop was the vendor with numerous cross stitch designs, a few accessories and a few Nancy’s Needle counted work designs. The owner would take orders for threads she carried and bring the threads in the following day for those requesting. Each evening after dinner about ten names were drawn for door prizes that had been donated primarily by companies such as Kreinik and 123stitch.
If you think you might be interested, check the website for Stitchers Hideaway which should have the information posted for next year by mid March.
Sue
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