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Mouse TalesVol 2 March 2003Contents
President's Message:Hello everyone. I wonder if everyone is as ready for spring as I am. We have had more snow in Dayton this year then we have had for the past 10 years. The temperatures have been colder and the wind wicked. Even though spring is Tornado "Season" for this area, I think I would really like the gentle warmth and flowers (and threats of tornado's) better then this cold and dismal winter. The presidents challenge this year is for people to finish UFO's. At the end of the year we will have a look see and award "prizes" to the winner's of the categories we judge for theUFO's. So far for the categories we have: Oldest UFO, Newest UFO, Largest UFO, Smallest UFO, Most UFO's completed, and age of child when birth sampler UFO was completed. If anyone has any more ideas for UFO categories, please feel free to contact me via email at <addicted2xstitch@ameritech.net> I am looking forward to another year of Bookmarks for a literacy program as part of the presidents challenge, so please watch the list for instructions on mailing your bookmarks to Brenda V. for distribution to a program. With the threat of War hanging over the countries collective head, I pray that we never have to do that and that our family and friends stay safe and secure and that war will be avoided. I hope everyone has stayed safe and comfy during this winter, and I look forward to another year with the CyberStitchers EGA family. Stitchin' forever, Region News:From Nancy Pardue, Region Rep. A needlework appraisal judge program is being offered to EGA members through ANG. There are certain criteria that must be met to qualify for the program. The board voted to sponsor two scholarships for members who would like to become Needlework Appraisers. For more info, and who to contact at ANG, contact Nancy Pardue and she will send your name on to Nancy Bowers. The next Board meeting will be in March 2003 in Nashville,TN. Exact date and time to follow. Rita is working on the Postage Stamp project and we hope all our members will get their names on the petition to honor Embroiderers' Guild. Our signatures have to be turned in at the next Board meeting. We hope everyone has now seen the SAS booklet for Huntington,WV, and might try to attend. Many of you live very far away but if plans work out for you it is a wonderful `big stitching weekend'. Lots of fun and good company. Education Committee:From Aurita and the Education Committee The Education Committee has renewed the SAM program purchased from the Vintage EGA chapter for a third year. This program has proven to be quite popular with our members and we have several pictures that show the different ways that the members have decided to showcase these stitches. We have completed the process of registering our members forseven GCCs that retired on December 31, 2002. The courses are: Passion's Fancy, Phoenix, Scent of the South, Montmellick Work, A Taste of Cherries, Albuquerque Sky and Floral Splendor. Beginner's Hardanger was scheduled to retire, so it was offered, but theretirement date was revoked. Besides these retiring GCCs, we are also offering registration for the following: Crewel Confidence, Ukrainian Openwork, Blackwork in Red and Green, Mexican Convent Sampler I, and Finishing with Flair. These registrations will be closed in the second week in February. There are still some openings for some of them. Several GCCs have concluded in the past few months, while othersare still going. From Aura The Education Committee is formed by me as the Chair and KathyEaves, the Treasurer, and Anne Long. I usually do the front work andKathy handles the back end, getting money from the members for thedifferent GCCs and courses that we offer. I want to once again publicly recognize all the work that Kathy does for us not only as theTreasurer but all the work that she does for the Education Committee. Anne Long has generously offered to take care of posting the SAM lessons every month and doing what's necessary to bring you a new Petite Project every two months. She is doing an excellent job. To this point, the Education Committee has been involvedin 4 major projects: 1) SAM (Stitch A Month) – A program that we have bought for the last 3 years from the Vintage EGA chapter. Every month we receive a new stitch in the form of a .pdf file. Included also is some history of the stitch, it's uses and how to create it and its variations. Several members are doing different projects with these stitches. Some create samplers, others have used them for more defined projects. This program is copyright protected, and is to be used only by EGA members in this chapter, and not shared. 2) Petite Projects – These are small projects donated by EGA teachers to EGA, so the members can do a small project while learning a new technique. Every two months, and after permission has been granted by the teacher, a new project is uploaded in both HTML and .pdf format to the Petite Project group. Many times the teacher joins us for those two months. The project can only be left up for those two months. If a new member joins after the project is removed, they can obtain their own copy directly from EGA. The site to go to is http://www.egausa.org/EduBrochure/EdCatPg57.htm. Once we cycle through all the current Petite Projects, the old ones will be recirculated, after asking permission again, of course. 3) GCC – Group Correspondence Courses are offered specific technique and taught by certified EGA teachers. They are labeled Group Correspondence Courses because up to 21 people can take one course. The course fee, usually $130, is divided among the 20 people (the group coordinator does not pay that fee or any postage). Everyone pays the text fee. When the course is finished your work will be evaluated by the teacher. Everyone who completes the project will get a Certificate of Completion. 4) We have started a new project that we call Stitch Along. At each meeting, we will post a URL where members can go to find a free chart. They will have until the next meeting (2 months) to stitch the design. There will be prizes for the most innovative finished projects. The first one is already underway, but because of the holidays, the membership was given until the March meeting to finish the design. This project will allow us as a cyber-chapter to incorporate stitching during our meetings, like face-to-face chapters can. Aura has been talking to several designers about having different courses offered to our members, with part or all of the associated cost being covered by our budget surplus, pending approval, of course. Condolences:To Betty Lou Pendleton who lost her mother in early January. Helen Pilling: Bobby Pilling's daughter, has provided EGA with the following obituary. Barbara Bosworth Pilling, known as Bobby, Babs or B.B. to her many friends and relatives, was born in Denver, CO on December 3, 1921. She graduated from Chatham Hall in 1940 and Smith College in 1944. She was a long-time resident of Chestnut Hill, Wyndmore, Foulkways in Gwynedd and Pocono Lake Preserve. She is survived by her children, Lucille Pilling de Lucena, New York, George P. Pilling, California, Robert B. Billing, Tennessee, Barbara B. Pilling, Minnesota, and Helen C. Pilling, Montana and by 7 grandchildren, Melinda Pilling, Sam Pilling, Alexander de Lucena, Paul de Lucena, Quincy Moore, Gaeylin Moore, and Calvin Carlson. She met her husband, George `Chip' P. Pilling IV, at Yale, and they married in 1944. Together they enjoyed fly fishing, and they traveled the world in pursuit of the perfect hatch. After Chip's death in 1986 Bobby continued traveling with friends, children, and grandchildren to all the continents. She was a needle artist and active member of the Embroiderers' Guild of America and served as president of the Embroiderers' Guild from 1974-76. Bobby was a juried member of the `Fiber Forum'. Bobby traveled throughout the United States and abroad exploring and expanding the boundaries of stitching. She enthusiastically shared her knowledge and love of fishing and sewing with anyone who would listen. The greatest of all her talents was kindness. She created a large and loving community of friends of all ages.' Memorial services were held Monday, January 13 at St. Marti's Church in Chestnut Hill and will be held also in July at Pocono LakePreserve, Pennsylvania. She has requested that contributions be sent in her name to the Lynne Cohen Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research and the Nature Conservancy, North Eastern Pennsylvania office. My Favorite Needlework ShopFrom: Nathalie, Stickhase@aol.com "Tentakulum" The shop does not have a storefront or regular shop hours. It is by appointment only, but Bärbel Zimber(the owner) is always able to make time for someone. As she studied stitching with the Royal School of Needlework, she also speaks good English, so there. I think the most outstanding thing about this shop is the thread collection, especially the hand dyed threads done by Bärbel. She dyes a range of threads I have found nowhere else from cotton, silk, wool, rayon all in several different weights and qualities in a beautiful color selction. You have to ask her yourself how many different threads and colors she has available at the moment as she always adds more. She also has many other threads available, and a thread card can be ordered with real samples. Apart from threads, she sells everything a modern embroiderer needs. No painted canvases since they are really not available here in Germany, but canvas, needles, scissors, books and all kind of little gadgets and things to help you stitch better. She also sells frames, especially slate frames (I hope they are called so) where you stitch your canvas or other fabric onto and also do a side binding; I have not found a way to get canvas/fabric tighter and less prone to contortion than these frames. The premises also house the school for the German Embroiderers' Guild, and alsois the headquarters of the German Embroiderers Guild. Studio time is always Wednesday from 9 until 9, when people get together stitching andcan also ask for help. Open workshops are usually on the weekend and during the summer. Usually one can decide what technique to learn at any given weekend, and does not need for a course in that technque to become available. The techniques range from Canvas Work, Gold work, Jacobean, Blackwork, tassels, Canvas Shading, Soft Shading, Stitched Lace, Stumpwork, Box making and many more. The is also an an intensive course available in Frankfurt, and also by correspondence, which lasts from one to six years which covers when done for the whole six years all of these techniques in a very intensive form. Studio, workshop and intensive course are all available to non-Guildmembers as well, but Guild members receive a discount also to orders from the shop. The Guild also has a competition open to everyone. The subject is Hole/Holes. More information can be asked directly from Tentakulum. I havenot been to the website in a while. I know it does not show half of what is available at the shop, but one can see some very fine examples of stitching there. That is all I can think of at the moment. I will send a copy ofthis to Bärbel and maybe you can come into direct contact as I am sure I left some information out, or she knows a better way to explain things. By the way, of course, she is always very helpful with any orders and one can be sure she makes the right choice if one asks (as I recently did) for a nobbly thread to stitch a tree trunk with or other similar problems. Contact information: In the Chicago area: Hi. I live in Arlington Heights, IL, and this is the metro Chicago area. We have a nice needlepoint shop in the Palatine called "Needle Pointe Ltd". It opened about a year or 2 ago. It is really nice, they have been enlarging their thread selection and have all the canvas and may needlepoint kits. The owners are great. "Welcome Stitchery" in Crystal Lake is a nice embroidery shop. They have most threads, kits and lots of fabric. They specialize is cross stitch and surface embroidery. The other shop to go is "Designers Desk" in Bloomington. This shop has everything, and I mean everything. It is like a treasury hunt going there. This shop has been my life-line for years. I love this shop. The first two shops are northwest of the city and the third is west. I have not been able to stitch as much as I want, due to family problems andwork, but these shops keep me going and revitalize me whenever I go to them. Happy Stitching Peg L Can You Keep A Secret?And do you love to stitch? You might enjoy being a professional model stitcher. Designers and needlework shops have stitched models of designs and there are not enough hours in the day to do it all themselves. So they have model stitchers do some of the work for them. Here is the story of how I became a model stitcher for a professional designer. I have been reading and posting messages to an Internet newsgroup called "rec.crafts.textiles.needlework" (RCTN) for many years and have met many wonderful people. One of the people who posted messages on this group is Lesa Steele, LS Designs. In early 2000, Lesa posted a request on RCTN for model stitchers. I emailed her right away to express my interest. She sent me a sample to stitch and return for evaluation. In June 2000 I received a letter from her informing me that I had been selected. This was the beginning of what has been a wonderful experience for me. The process begins with an email from Lesa asking me if I'm ready for a piece. Shortly afterward, I receive a package in the mail that includes: a contract to sign and return, the fabric, fibers, beads/embellishments, along with the chart, supply list and stitching instructions. I immediately email Lesa that I have received the materials and will be returning the signed contract to her. The contract contains the requirements I am to adhere to, the amount I will be paid, shipping instructions to return the piece, the date the piece is to be completed, along with any special instructions. The completion date will vary from piece to piece, but generally I am given approximately four weeks to finish a piece. I feel that our communication with each other has been one of the key factors in our great working relationship. The next thing I do when I receive a model to stitch is carefully review all the stitching instructions. I then compare the supply list with the materials received. My next step is to review the chart, looking for problem areas or charting errors. If there are any areas of concerns, I send an email. I prepare the fabric for stitching by ironing the fabric, whip stitching the edges and placing the fabric on scroll rods. Then the fun begins – I stitch the new design. I do not take this piece out of my home without first receiving permission from the designer. The only people that I allow to see the piece are my immediate family. When I have finished the piece, I email Lesa to let her know the piece is being mailed back to her. I am always on pins and needles waiting to receive word that she has received the piece, and that the piece was stitched ok. It is amazing how this can all be accomplished without meeting the person face-to-face or even speaking on the telephone. In the two years I have been a model stitcher, I have talked with Lesa only once on the telephone and I had not met her in person before then. Until this past July, that is. I volunteered to work in her booth at the trade show, called "Market" in Charlotte, North Carolina. This was the first time we had been able to meet, since Lesa lives in New Jersey and I live in Illinois. We had a wonderful time together at Market and I look forward to stitching more of her designs in the future. Here are some hints if you want to become a successful model stitcher:
If this sounds like something you're interested in, contact your favorite designers and check into stitching models for them. Good luck! Calendar:May 14 through May 18, 2003 Heartland Region Seminar
June 6 through June 8, 2003 Pacific Southwest Region Seminar
June 25 through June 29, 2003 Tennessee Valley Region Seminar
October 19 through October 25, 2003 EGA National Seminar 2003
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