Country Cupboard Display at Orland Park

This is a little blurb from Barb about Country Cupboard's display at the library. 

Orland Park Library Display…

Visit our local library on Ravinia Avenue now through February 25^th, and view a little bit of my family history.   The glass case on the lower level just beyond the stairs is showcasing some of my family’s history.  Two woven coverlets from the mid 1800’s are on display, two needlepoint pillows that took three generations to finish, my grandmother’s hand-painted Lake Michigan pebbles, various  stitcheries completed throughout my life, ..the newest “Autumn In My Garden” by Mirabillia Designs! 

Needlework show

Just wanted to let you know that Homewood Embroiderer's Guild is going to be the guest at the Hearts 'n Hands Quilt Show on October 6 and 7! This is working out really well for our guild. (You are all invited to the show. It will be at Columbia Central School at 94 Richton Road in Steger, Illinois.)

If you want to make it a needlework weekend, you can also go to another quilt show at Crete Reformed Church at I-394 and Exchange, and the Beverly Guild is holding their show as well. I am sorry I don't have more details on those, but if you live in the area, I am sure you can find out about them.

Last Saturday, Nancy, Peggy and I set out for a needlework field trip to Valparaiso, Indiana. The day was jam packed and we didn't get to do all that we had planned. Perhaps we'll go again!

Our first stop was Needle & Thread quilt shop, a lovely Victorian with many rooms full of fabrics, patterns and ideas. A class was going on and our visit was accompanied by the students' laughter. They're just adding a long-arm quilting machine to the shop.

Next we stopped in at Sheep's Clothing, just around the block from Needle & Thread. In spite of all of our declarations of not buying anything, hmmm, we did.

At Sheep's Clothing my purchase was yarn to make Dalek* egg cosies. It's Cascade superwash--wool that can be easily washed--great for a kitchen item.

We dined at Don Quijote, a Spanish restaurant. It's just up the street from Sheep's Clothing. We had zucchini soup (yummy) and shared a tapas plate, tried an intriguing wine drink, and had a great chat.Our third stop was our longest. Imagine Beads was having back-to-back classes all day to make the Shambala bracelet. The bracelet was really fun to make and didn't take too long. Here are Peggy and Nancy working hard on their bracelets. Reminded me very much of the 70s and my macrame. We all left with finished bracelets.

Here's mine.

I got this pattern on a previous field trip and got the beads for it Saturday.

*Dalek's are the perennial bad guys on Dr. Who.

Friday's Trip

Pop over to World Embroideries to see photos from their Friday excursion and read about all the fun they had.

Field Trip to Geneva

I can really only report on one half of Saturday's trip, but from what I've heard, everyone who went had a great time. Jane drove up on Friday with a couple of members and plans to post pictures when she gets a chance. Marge and I both drove up on Saturday. We walked into Designer's Desk within a minute of each other!Anne and Nancy are waiting to check out. There are things to explore everywhere at Designer's Desk. The check-out area is particularly dangerous.

I caught Karen and Helen by surprise here.My sister and niece joined us (sorry for the eyes-closed pic--the other was worse). My sister lives nearby, the niece was in town for the weekend--I was surprised and happy to see her.

After we were shopped out, both groups walked across the street to have lunch at Nosh. They have interesting sandwiches, salads and breakfast all day.I tried to make sure I got everyone in at least one photo.

Marge, Anne, Pat, Nancy, Karen and Helen

This is my main purchase. I also got some Evertite Stitchery Frames, threads for my Sudoku project, and some metallics for an applique project I'm working on. Those were on my list, but I just couldn't stick to the list.

After lunch, Helen and Karen (riding with me) walked over to an interesting chocolate shop, All Chocolate Kitchen (expensive but where else can you see a life-size hockey player made of chocolate?) while I bequeathed my niece with bags (and bags and bags) of needlework books. Then we all headed up Third Street, the main street of shops in Geneva, to the Spice House to sample some (really good) candied ginger and get a vanilla bean. Our next stop was one town north in St. Charles. I needed to do some grocery shopping at Blue Goose, a local grocery that sells a good brand of organic chicken that we like. One last stop was American Science and Surplus. I got a pair of long hemostats to use for getting stuffing into corners of things (Karen has an even longer pair she uses and she says they work great.) American S&S has loads of very odd stuff. If you ever need a test tube, magnet, poster of the solar system, or foot long stuffed fabric spider, this is the place. You never know what you'll see there.

Chicago Cultural Center

We had a great time on our third HEG field trip--Chicago and the Cultural Center.We had lunch at the Park Grill in Millennium Park. A gentleman from a neighboring table snapped a photo for us. Huette, our tour guide, was very knowledgeable and experienced. In spite of our (well, my) tendency to wander, she kept all of us organized and together. (She also knew all of the warm ways to get from place to place and where all the bathrooms were.)

This is the view from the restaurant of the skaters enjoying the chilly weather.

We strolled around the park a bit and walked over to the "Bean."

Here's the Cloud Gate from the inside. If you can spot me in my purple coat, you have better eyes than I do!

Next we shivered our way to the Palmer House. We may not have seen much actual needlework on this excursion, but we really enjoyed the holiday decorations and found a lot of visual inspiration in the decor of the buildings. Check out that ceiling!

This was the carpet at the Palmer House. I took several pictures--perhaps a crewel paisley design will be forthcoming. We left and after a brief stop to check out the walls and ceiling at the former Peacock Jewelery store, we wandered up State Street. The Sullivan designed former Carson's building is being revamped by Target. It looks like they're preserving Sullivan's lovely metal filigree designs. We wandered through Macy's, looked at their Tiffany Dome, and then headed to the Cultural Center.

This is the view up from the entry way of the Cultural Center.This is the ceiling in the entry way. This building was originally the Chicago Public Library so the designs feature author's names, quotes in many languages, and printer's marks. This type of mosaic work is Medieval in origin; it's called Cosmati. The designs are more flowing and not rigidly geometric. I saw quilt patterns everywhere.

This is the famous Tiffany dome. And no wonder. It is amazing! The symbols in the center are the signs of the zodiac.

This is the room the dome is over. The walls are all Cosmati work with a filigree design. The logo here is the Chicago Public Library.

We wandered a bit more, looked through an exhibit of art using letter forms, and then caught the train home.

Our next field trip will be to Designer's Desk in Geneva, IL on January 20 or 21.

Militarily related

I came across a couple of things today I would like to share with you. The first is an article from the Knitty Blog about a Homewood woman who has coordinated a huge effort of knitting for the military. The second is from a Facebook post with an address for sending holiday cards to recovering service people.

Ms. McDermed and some of the more than 400 items her group contributed this past year.

A nice profile of Mary McDermed, a knitter from Homewood, Illinois, who is leading an army of volunteers to make scarves, helmet liners, neckwarmers and other warm items to ship to US Military personnel in Afghanistan. She leads a group of 45 crafters, most of whom are senior citizens. She was inspired to start the effort after reading an article in a 2009 Homewood Veterans Committee newsletter sent to her husband, Ed, a World War II veteran.

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Turns out the military mailing address for holiday cards was not legit. Sorry.

Sudoku stitching

Sorry to take so long to get this posted. This is my frame for my sudoku project. I stitched it before the official directions came out, so I used satin stitch with my inspiration colors. Since I started this way, I think I am going to continue working my own way as well.

Here you can see a close up of the 2 different sizes dividing the boxes, with the border over 3 stitches around the outside.

I used a variegated DMC pearl # 5.

Part I of the Mystery Project

Here are the samples for the borders for the Sudoku Mystery project.This is mine. It doesn't look bad here but I think the border is much too thick-bright and will overpower the stitching to go inside. I used one strand of Watercolors for this. The article author used one strand of floss. Big difference.

Someone (Peggy P.?) suggested perhaps using black inside the squares and I thought perhaps that might work well. I'm going to check my stash for black or very dark blue fibers in various textures to make up the 9 combinations I'll need.

Jane C. used a thicker thread but it's not a vibrant and she used satin stitch for the borders so they're less prominent. (Hopefully she'll edit this and add a photo of hers.)

I got another surprise when I began stitching with the Watercolors--I used it to select my other colors and looking at the skein while in the store I didn't see any blue in the fiber at all. I bought purples, russets, and a bit of pale green. When I began stitching all I saw was blue. I cut the thread to deemphasize that and I pulled some blue pearl cotton from my stash to add to my fibers. So, learn from my mistake: Don't forget to untwist the skein you're using to select your other colors and walk it to a window to really see the colors in it.

To show how floss would look (and because I really couldn't envision one strand of floss on 18 count canvas, I made up two single squares. I think they'll make nice ornaments. And one strand of floss looks quite nice with the braid stitches used in the projects.

The inner braids are one thread wide, the inner dividers two threads wide and the outer border three threads wide, all pretty much with the same overlapping cross stitch braid pattern.

On the left I used one strand of Needle Necessities overdyed thread. On the right I used an unknown silk (I'd lost the tag). It has seven strands. I used one strand for the narrower borders but tried two strands for the widest border and liked the coverage I got.

The pattern called for Kreinik #12 braid but I don't have much so I used a random piece of silver (it wasn't much fun to work with, whatever it is) on the pastel piece and Kreinik #8 gold braid on the red/green one. #8 is a bit skimpy. So, when you're picking your colors, be sure to get #12 braid for your metallic.

Programs for next year

The programs for next year were unveiled at the Dinner Meeting. Next month, everyone is invited to use the templates in their folder and design snowflakes for our "Poker Chip Ornament." Please bring some pearl cotton to the meeting.

November is a beading class with Karen. You will still be able to sign up next month.

Next year we have a class for this temari, representing the game of "Hearts."



We also have a hearts needlepoint project (with beads) that Marge will be leading... I think it is gorgeous!

Please be working on your sudoku puzzles, to have the key ready for our sudoku project. Guild will provide the canvas, and we will discuss fiber selection soon. You need two completed puzzles... stay tuned!

We plan a black-work bookmark and/or nook pouch:

For this class we will be using different methods of transferring patterns to our material. Come prepared to play!

To go along with the theme for our combined show next fall, we will be working on crazy quilt ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). We hope to be able to put a display together with everyone's work.

I am really looking forward to the coming year!

Summer Challenge Project

One of the highlights of the Dinner Meeting is seeing what everyone has worked on for the Summer Challenge project. There are so many original ideas! Here a couple of members are studying the entries.

I did not take notes, so I do not remember who won first, second, and third, and I may get the names wrong. Please forgive me!

I do know that Kathy was the first place winner with this beautiful log cabin heart. Her strips were so tiny! Wonderful work!

Karen had a 3 of hearts, and so worked on a triptych for family. The picture does not do justice to the beautiful stitching.

The eight of spades inspired this biscornu. Eight sides, 8 hearts, 8 corners, etc. This side is white on black, the other side (that I did not get a picture of) was black on white. Very creative!

Marj created this project, based on the 10 of clubs. She stitched 10 different clubs in different techniques, and then put them together into a Jacob's Ladder. She showed pictures of all of them on her blog here, but did not talk about the individual techniques she used. I would still like to see a blog post about that (hint, hint).

This is my entry, inspired by the 3 of diamonds. You can read more about it here.

Karen picked the 8 of hearts, so she made beaded hearts!

Helen worked on a bargello tree from Mary Frances. The colors are amazing!

I was very pleased by the entries and the level of participation this year. We also had prizes for the concepts stitchers came up with, and even had a couple of entries for that! Thank you all for playing.

September Dinner Meeting

Monday was our September Dinner Meeting, and we had a wonderful time.

The theme for the year is "Fun and Games." The theme was introduced by the playing card motifs in the center pieces.

We had our usual delicious meal served by Glenwood Oaks Restaurant, with the addition of cupcakes for dessert.

I took quick pictures of the tables before we started eating. I am sorry I did not get a picture of everyone.

Our new president started by welcoming everyone, and having people indicate how long they have been members. There was a good representation of lengths of membership ranging from charter members (37 years) to new members who have only been with us for 1 year. It was wonderful to see everyone!

In separate posts I will talk about our activities at the meeting: this year's programs, the Summer Challenge, and the show and tell that was shared. One new addition to the festivities was a game of bingo using needlework related words. I think everyone had fun!

Crazy Quilts in Highland Park

Crazy Quilt Exhibition

Highland Park Historical Society Hosts One-of-a-Kind Crazy Quilt Exhibition; Museum Chosen as Anchor Site for Northern Illinois Quilt Fest.

The Highland Park Historical Society will host a Crazy Quilt exhibition, “Crazy Quilts and More by Addie Mangoian Davis,” July 1 – September 30, 2011, Wednesday – Sunday, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., at its museum located at 326 Central Avenue, in Highland Park, IL. The museum has been chosen as one of more than a dozen anchor sites for the Northern Illinois Quilt Fest, which will span across the six counties in Northern Illinois. Admission to the exhibition is $5.00, and special group tours are available upon request.

Davis, a native of Waukegan, IL, lived 25 years in Chicago, before she began quilting in 1974, in Friendship, Indiana, where she and her husband moved after his retirement. She describes herself as an “intuitive fiber artist.” “I couldn’t even sew on a loose button,” says Ms. Davis. “But, I believe you can do what you want to do. I fell in love with Crazy Quilts, and I was determined to make them.”

During the three-month quilt fest, a variety of other quilt-related events, including a speakers series, workshops, and appraisals will be held throughout the six-county Northern Illinois region. For a schedule of events at the Highland Park Historical Society, please visit http://www.highlandparkhistory.com/. Information will be updated as events are finalized.

In addition to the Crazy Quilt exhibition, the Highland Park Historical Society will feature a display of mid-20th century crocheted and knitted doilies from the collection of Carol Sanes-Miller, also of Highland Park. For more information, you are invited to call 847-432-7090, to visit the museum’s website at http://www.highlandparkhistory.com/, and to visit Facebook under Highland Park Historical Society.

upcoming events

Next Friday, June 24, I'm going with World Embroideries to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. Once there, we'll meet with my sister and sister-in-law for a day of fiber goodness. I've never been there, but friends have and it sounds wonderful. Fibers, music, animals, and shopping. They also offer a robust schedule of classes.July, August and September in Lake, McHenry, Boone, Winnegabo, Stephenson and Jo Davies Counties--right across the entire northern edge of Illinois. On August 19 and 20 there will be a "Weekend of Valor Quilt Show" in Huntley IL (near where the outlet mall is along I-90). It's sponsored by the Gazebo Quilter's Guild.