Mouse Tales
Vol 6 - Issue 2 April
2007
President's Message
Hello everyone,
I hope you're having a wonderful Spring season (or Fall, depending on
where you are in the world). It's been a wild one here in Oklahoma - 70s
one day, 30s the next! We even had snow around mid-April - unbelievable!
Here in the U.S. school is about a month from being finished for the year,
and I for one am eager to see 'summer vacation' days! Working at a high
school really makes you appreciate that break! : )
As I write this, I can't help but think about the beautiful day
I see outside my window, and how so many may not find joy in it because
of the tragic events at Virginia Tech two weeks ago. My thoughts and prayers
are with all of those who were killed, their friends and classmates who
survived, and the families left behind to grieve. I know those of us in
Oklahoma understand all too well the aftermath of senseless loss. May
they, and we, all find peace.
As we move into Spring, a season of new beginnings and fresh hope, let
us all keep in mind the things that really matter most - our loved
ones, our health, and helping those who need us. There are a good number
of Outreach and Outreach for One projects to participate in, both in CyberStitchers
and at the National level. I believe several CS members are working on
Habitat for Humanity samplers for families who are just getting back into
a home of their own after Hurricane Katrina, and we have many who are
working on Kissing Pillows for the children of deployed members of our
armed forces. Either of these projects is a wonderful way to reach out
to others and to show that we haven't forgotten them, what they may
have lost, or what they're sacrificing on our behalf. If you haven't
considered one of these projects (or the others that are available), please
do think about it - these are very worthwhile efforts and much appreciated.
Take time for yourselves, your loved ones, and the things you enjoy.
No matter what chores await you, time spent in these pursuits is never
wasted.
Happy Spring and happy stitching!
Kelly Jackson
President, CyberStitchers
Back to Contents
Chapter News
We have a new mailing address for CyberStitchers. It is actually simpler.
CyberStitchers
PO Box 15235
Scottsdale, AZ 85267-5235
I have a forward on the other box if you have already mailed you renewal
checks to it so don't worry. If you have not mailed yet,
please use the new address.
Karen Willett
Membership Chair
For our new members, besides the GCCs you have heard about, and our BEE
(see below in Education Report), we also have Special Interest Groups.
Different stitchers have gotten together for specific interests: Beading,
stitching a Christmas ornament each month, Victoria Sampler/Lavendar &
Lace designs, Brag Book, "Heart of My Heart" pattern stitch-a-long,
Inspirations Magazine projects, the Dragonboat class, and of course, a
UFO (Unfinished Fiber Object) group for members to encourage each other
to finish GCC and EGA class pieces. Go to SIGs
to see what is going on.
ATC/President's Challenge: It has been decided to extend the Artist's
Trading Card challenge for another year. You can read about the President's
Challenge for more info. As autumn 2007 approaches, plans for an exchange
will be set up - keep stitching and designing Folks!
Back to Contents
The education committee, composed of Anne Long, Irene Staker, and Rissa
Peace Root presents the following report....
We have a number of GCCs in various stages of progress:
Beading Colorplay
Casalguidi & Lavender
Fantasy Remembered, section 1
Fantasy Remembered, section 2
Finishing with Flair
Gracie
Grrcia
Handy Huswif
I Do, I Do
Luck of the Irish
Options in Hardanger
Silk & Metal Embroidery
Star of Hearts
Tiramisu, section 1
Tiramisu, section 2
Tiramisu, section 3
Tiramisu, section 4
To the Acorn
Algerian Eye to cZar and Crewel Choices will be starting up shortly.
National has received and processed our class registrations.
This year's BEE classes have been selected. For our new members, BEE
means Big Education Event. For the past 4 years, CyberStitchers has been
allowing its member to take 1 class for just the cost of the book; the
chapter picks up the course fee and postage. Which classes are available
is determined by vote. This year we are offering 13 sections of BEE classes
- 10 different courses. Our BEE4 classes are:
Beaded Nutcrackers, section 1 (full)
Beaded Nutcrackers, section 2
Beginning Drawn Thread Sampler
Color Play
Crewel Choices
Finishing with Flair (1 open spot)
Meadowsweet
More Options in Hardanger, section 1 (full)
More Options in Hardanger, section 2
Swiss Sampler, section 1 (full)
Swiss Sampler, section 2 (full)
To the Acorn
Winterspring
I am collecting payments for Beaded Nutcrackers section 1, Beginning
Drawn Thread, More Options in Hardanger section 1, and Swiss Sampler section
1. I still have openings in Beginning Drawn Thread which are open to BEE
students or full tuition students (meaning you pay for the text and the
course fee/postage costs). If you have not received a payment notice yet
for these classes and were expecting to, please contact me offlist! Please
remember that I cannot hold your seat in a full class if it is not paid
for by the deadline - and I do have people on the waiting lists for these
classes and will contact them after the payment deadline if seats are
not paid for.
Don't forget to check and see which classes are being offered online
by EGA National. There are 2 classes offered every 2 months, and
this is another option for taking GCCs. The March-April offerings from
National are M'Lady's Tea Cloth and Stained Glass Pillow.
Petite Projects:
The latest petite project has been uploaded to our yahoogroups website.
The project is called "Crazy Pyramid" and was designed by Lucy Edmison.
Instructions on how to save and print the petite projects is in the Files
area of the petite project group. Here's the link to the petite projects
group files:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CSPetiteProjects/files/
The project instructions are in pdf (Adobe) format. You will find the
pdf file in the folder labeled "Current Petite Project".
There is also a photo album labeled "Crazy Pyramid" in the
CSPetiteProjects yahoogroup where you upload photos, scans, etc of this
project. If you upload a photo, etc, please put your name somewhere in
the title so we know who it belongs to!
Enjoy the project!
BAM:
BAM is Bead-a-Month and grew out of a SAM, Stitch-a-Month, program we
purchased for several years. Our own Rissa picked up with BAM when SAM
ran out of new files. The current SAM/BAM stitch is the Lazy Stitch.
All diagrams are maintained in the CS-Stitch-A-Month yahoogroup. Look
in the Files section in the Folder labeled "Files for BAM".
If you are not a member of the CS-Stitch-A-Month group but would like
to be, send an email to:
CS-Stitch-a-Month-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Stitch-a-long:
We have a few stitch-a-long groups going now such as the ornament group
and a bead group. Please let me know if there is an interest in a group
stitchalong, a small meeting stitchalong, or any other similar ideas you
might have. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email
me.
Please address Education Committee questions to:
Anne L
Education Chair
Back to Contents
Star Pillows
Your chapter's Outreach Committee is extremely pleased to offer to our
membership a NEW community outreach project! The committee thanks Bea
for bringing this project to our attention, and for also assisting us
with acquiring more information. This project is called 'Kissing Pillows'
-- and here's how it works:
Using the cross stitch pattern provided by the chapter, you stitch a small
design on a 6x6 inch square of 14ct. white Aida and then mail it to our
Chapter Project Coordinator. The stitched squares will then be assembled
into small pillows with similarly-themed backing fabrics. The completed
mini-pillows will be donated to Bergstrom Air Force Base Youth Development
Center in Shreveport, La., and Lehigh Valley Blue Star Mothers of Allentown,
Pa., who will give the pillows to their military personnel who are about
to deploy to various locations overseas. The soldier will kiss the pillow
and give it to his or her child, as a keepsake that will hopefully comfort
the child during the separation from their parent.
The pattern may be
found here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cyberstitchers_ega/files/KISSING%20PILLOWS%20pattern/ as a PDF document (or, go into the Files section in this group, and click on the folder
Kissing Pillows Pattern); if you need technical assistance, please contact Lynn via e-mail.
As you can see, the stitchery is very simple and uses only three colors of floss. It stitches up very,
very quickly; I was able to stitch one in spare moments during one day!
Meg has volunteered to serve as Project Coordinator for the Kissing Pillows Chapter Project. She is the
chapter member you will mail your stitched design to, and she will be sure that the squares are
assembled into mini-pillows and sent on to the final distribution point. Contact
Meg via email for her mailing address.
We hope that many chapter members will find this project to their liking and that Meg will receive many stitched
squares!
Just a few items to bring to your attention:
(1) You will notice a copyright on the chart of the designer Geraldine
Trappey, an active member of EGA's Yellow Rose Chapter in Houston, Texas.
Please note that we have acquired Geraldine's permission to use her charted
design for a specific purpose. If another EGA chapter or other group would
like to also participate in this project, we ask that they first contact
Geraldine Trappey to acquire permission; send an e-mail to me
for Geraldine's contact information.
(2) This project is to benefit children whose parents cannot be with them.
It is designed to give comfort and solace to children who have no choice
in their parent's employment. It neither supports nor decries the current
situational operations of the armed forces, but rather supports the people
most impacted by those operations.
Yes there is a Canadian version of this project for Canadian service
folks. Lynne D., one of our Canadian members is coordinating this in her
f2f chapter in Ontario. Contact Lynne
D. by email to get the pattern and information for the Canadian version
of this project.
Bookmarks For Literacy
Judi continues to accept handmade bookmarks for the chapter's Bookmarks
for Literacy project. The requirements are as follows:
- make a bookmark (or more than one, if you wish), in any technique.
- send an e-mail to Judi
to ask for her shipping address.
- send your bookmark to Judi.
- Judi will send/deliver the members' bookmarks to a literacy organization
on behalf of the chapter.
Outreach for One
Our "Outreach for One" folder is still there to provide members
with other ideas for outreach. Go to our cyberstitchers_ega Yahoo! group.
Click on "Links", then on "Outreach for One" folder.
Maintenance of this list now rests with the chapter members. We encourage
members to post other links to charities you know of that need assistance,
or you can send the information to our Outreach Chair, Lynn,
and the committee will see that it gets posted.
The committee always welcomes any ideas for chapter projects (either
from the membership or the committee). As usual, it's a bit difficult
to find something a chapter like ours can do. Any ideas will be gratefully
accepted, and will be fully investigated by the committee. Please share
your ideas with our Outreach Chair, Lynn.
Back to Contents
Fibers in Japan
No trip for any needleworker is complete if it doesn't involve
some stash enhancing, and sometimes this comes in the most unlikely places.
For spring break I led a delegation from the town I teach in to our sister
city of Niimi, Japan. The last day there, my friends who I was staying
with took me to visit a city in the southern half of Japan called Kurashiki.
The old city district is great; an area along an old canal is maintained
to look on the outside of the buildings to look as it did 300 years ago.
As we wandered among various shops, we happened upon a shop that had paper
goods, indigo dyed goods, and clothing and accessories. I was looking
at the indigo products since another delegation member had told me that
while she was wandering around Kyoto - our side trip before we went down
to Niimi - she and her husband had found a small business where the man
was the third generation of indigo dyers and still did it the old way.
As I looked around I suddenly spotted a basket with, what's that!? - hanks
of fiber!! Stash!! The fiber was in big hanks and appeared to be perhaps
the weight of a Paternayan or Appleton wool. Some of the colors weren't
of interest to me as they were a bit dark, but as I pawed through (yes,
pawed would be the word) the basket, I found some wonderful shades of
pinks and greens and thought of all the awesome cherry blossoms I had
been looking at all week (as a side note, cherry blossom time in Japan
is a mind blowing experience in and of itself). I could not read the label,
and the shop clerk could not say what the fiber was, but I knew I could
count on the Japanese teacher back at my high school to help me out and
grabbed 5 hanks. I was thinking of a cherry blossom design as I went.
Our Japanese teacher at school read the labels when I returned and talked
about the type of dye techique used and said that the fiber is cotton.
The next exciting find was a store that had objects that
had been dyed by all manor of natural dyes: coffee, persimmon, and even
cherry blossoms themselves. (This store was DANGEROUS. It not only had
the different dyed objects in the front, but all manor of Japanese chotchkies,
Japanese pastries and candies especially those known for the Okayama prefecture
(Niimi, and Kurashki are in Okayama Prefecture. Prefectures are equivalent
to US states.), and Bizen pottery (but that is another whole article!)
It so happened that my purse had decided to self-destruct in the middle
of the lobby of our ryokan (Japanese style inn) in Kyoto and my friend
had rather jury rigged holding it together. I looked at purses dyed with
coffee and persimmon and chose the one shown below which is dyed with
persimmon.
I purchased a little coin purse type that is either coffee
or persimmon (lost in translation LOL) for my sister-in-law. Then for
my Dad's friend, I found a gorgeous scarf that looks like pink chiffon
which is dyed with the famous cherry blossoms - called sakura (sah-koo-rah)
in Japanese. I was drawn to the cherry blossom section since it intrigued
me that one would use the blossoms to dye something. I found for another
sister-in-law a cell phone cover. I am not sure what it was dyed with,
although it was near the cherry blossom section, but not lilac, not pink.
While searching I of course found - more fibers! There was
a hank that appeared to be a Perle 5 cotton weight. It was dyed with cherry
blossoms and it is an overdye - you can find pink and very light beige
along with ivory. Love it!
Of course, no shopping in Japan is complete without all
the neat things made with silks. New silks, as well as old kimono fabrics,
are often made into neat little objects such as the kitten shown in the
photo. Everything can be found out of silk. I have all manner of neat
items given to me as gifts over the years: dolls, a kaleidescope with
a silk outer covering, a lipstick box, etc. On this trip I bought these
kitties for my niece and adopted nieces. Note on the back that there is
a chain to hang it from a purse or backpack, and near the bottom is a
gold metallic design that appears to be someone's name stamp.
If you look carefully on my new purse, you will see a little
sakura blossom that I got at Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto - everyone
in Japan has little things hanging off purses, backpacks, and even cell
phones. You can also see that I got myself a silk cell phone cover with,
of course, a cherry blossom design to remember sakura time in Kyoto.
The final photos are taken at Kiyomizu-dera. People in Japan
still wear kimonos for special occasions, or when they want to dress up
formally. I saw many beatiful kimonos and yukatas during the week. Kimonos
are made from silk, but for warmer weather, the lighter weight yukata
are made of a cottom fabric. I bought myself a yukata in Kyoto which is,
of course for me, a lilac color. Now I can also wear my own kumihimo braid
with it. Kimonos are wrapped about the waist with wide belts called obi,
and over the obi you will see a thin braid. My friend Mayumi makes this
kumihimo braid. It is an intricate braiding of threads using differing
numbers of strands from 4 to 100! Mayumi takes great care to lay each
thread correctly. She gave me a beautiful braid that I am sure took hours
to create, and I will treasure it.
All in all this was a great trip, and it included some great
stash enhancing where I least expected it.
Dragonboats Class:
The Dragonboats class is still up and running on yahoogroups. People
still continue to join - especially some of our new members. If you are
interested in making one of these cute little ornaments, the class is
free for all members. Go to yahoogroups.com and sign up for CSDragonboats,
or email Sue
for an invitation.
Back to Contents
CyberStitchers Meetings:
May 10-15, 2007:
General meeting of CyberStitchers from 9PM (ET) Thursday, May 10 through
9PM (ET) Tuesday, May 15.
June 14-19, 2007:
Board meeting of CyberStitchers from 9PM (ET) Thursday, June 14 through
9PM (ET) Tuesday, June 19.
July 12-17, 2007:
General meeting of CyberStitchers from 9PM (ET) Thursday, July 14 through
9PM (ET) Tuesday, July 19.
August 9-14, 2007:
Board meeting of CyberStitchers from 9PM (ET) Thursday, August 9 through
9PM (ET) Tuesday, August 14.
Regional and National:
April 20-22, 2007 Needles by the Lake
New England
Region Seminar 2007
Wyndham Hotel, Burlington, VT. Contact Dawn
Senftelber
April 21-22, 2007 Stitchers' Faire 2007
Sponsored by the Channel Islands Chapter, EGA, at the Oxnard Performing
Arts Center, Oxnard, CA.
Contact Janice Knapp
April 21-22, 2007 Looking Through the Window
20th biennial Stitches in Time Quilt and Needlework Show, hosted by
Quinsippi Needleworkers at Quincy Senior High School, 3322 Maine St., Quincy, IL.
Contact Nancy Crow
April 26-28, 2007 Expressive Needle
Thirteenth biennial needlework exhibit
Hosted by the Bucks County Chapter at the James-Lorah Auditorium,
Doylestown, 18901. Information at BucksEGA
April 27-29, 2007 A Stitcher's Pallette
Metropolitan Region Seminar
2007
Hamilton Park Hotel and Conference Center, Florham Park, NJ
May 4-6, 2007 Sun Region River Stitch Retreat
At the Marywood Center, South of Jacksonville.
Contact Debbie Sewell
May 7-11, 2007 Anchors Away - Off to Play
Pacific Southwestern Region Seminar
Carnival Cruise departing Los Angeles to Catalina Island and Ensenada
Visit www.psrega.org for more information.
May 16-20, 2007 Victorian Verandas
MER Seminar 2007, Bellinger Hall on the grounds of Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY
Contact Victorian
Verandas or www.mideasternregionega.org
June 21 - 24, 2007 Share-A-Stitch XXVII
Hosted by the Knoxville Chapter, Knoxville, TN.
June - August 31, 2007 Fiber Revolution:Enphasis on Embroidery
At the Margaret Parshall Gallery, Louisville, KY.
June 1 -3, 2007 Stitchin' on the Ridge
The Carolina Region Seminar, Ridgecrest Lifeway Conference, Ridgecrest,
NC.
Contact Katrina
Lawrimore or Sydney
Mace.
June 6-10, 2007 Stitching Redeo
South Central Region Seminar
at Sugar Land Marriott Town Square, Sugar Land, TX.
Contact acornSts.
June 8-10, 2007 Mid-Atlantic Region Seminar
Cacapon State Park, Boiling Springs, WV
ContactDee Ragsdale.
June 15-16, 2007 Jackie Du Plessis Workshop
Sponsored by the Bishop's Peak Chapter of EGA, in Grover Beach, CA.
Needle Nut Case and My Finishing Accessories are offered as ½ day
classes on the 15th
Buttons A Bounty as a full day class on the 16th.
Contact Judie Neufeld.
June 15-24, 2007 National Counted Cross Stitch Show
Rockome Gardens, 125 N CR 425 E, Arcola, IL 61911
Contact at 217-268-4106; www.rockome.com
June 21-24, 2007 Share a Stitch XXVII: Discovering Needlework Treasures
Sponsored by Tennessee Valley Region, Knoxville Hilton, Knoxville.
Download the brochure
and registration
form.
Contact Lois Threlkeld.
August 2-4, 2007 Rocky Mountain Gems
Rocky Mountain Region Seminar 2007
In the resort of Park City in the beautiful mountains of Utah. Come and take classes
from a group of region and national teachers and visit all of the art
galleries and explore all the recreational opportunities.
Contact Bette Sargent
or rmrega.org
August 4-September 9, 2007 Fiber National
Hosted be the Red Rose chapter of EGA at the Lancaster Museum of Art,
Lancaster, PA. Featuring expressive uses of fiber.
Contact Cindi Morrison
or online at Lmapa.org
September 2-7, 2007 That
Needlin' Town EGA National Seminar 2007
Hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Region
Richmond Marriot, Chicago, Illinois
September 9-30, 2007 Treasured Stitchery VI
Sponsored by Treasured Stitchery Embroidery Guild
Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center, 134 W Main Street, Wellsboro PA 16901
Opening reception will be from 2 pm to 4 pm on September 9, 2006.
Show is open from 2 pm to 5 pm daily from September 10-30, 2007
For other viewings, please contact Anne Greer or Anne
Kaminski, or go to www.members.tripod.com/treasured/
September 13-16, 2007 7th Biennial Needlework Exhibit
Hosted by the Magnolia Sampler Guild. The exhibit at Bulloch Hall, Roswell,
GA will have antique samplers, reproductions, other needlework and antique
needlework tools. A lecture by Lynn Tinley on Quaker Samplers and luncheon
will be Sep 13 with exhibit hours 10-4 Fri - Sat, 12-4 Sun. For information
online: www.Magnoliasamplerguild.com,
or contact Donna Hansen
or Gail Black.
September 28-29, 2007 Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow
Hosted by the Mississippi Chapter, celebrating their 20th anniversary,
this biennial needlework show is at the Butterworth Center,1105 Eighth
St., Moline, IL. Contact Cindy
Valentine or Marcia
Meinert.
Other Events of Interest
Check the EGA website for other
interesting event listings
If anyone knows of other events that should be included here. Please
let me know. We cover a wide-spread geographic area, and with summer vacation,
people will also be traveling, and may want to check out other things
that I have missed. Sue
- your friendly cyber neighborhood newsletter editor. Please put CS in
the subject line.
.
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