Today was the annual Festival of the Arts at Plainsboro Public Library and all over the plaza outside, arts of all kinds there, almost all participatory.
And as usual the Princeton Chapter EGA turned out, and, all afternoon, taught and demonstrated stitching, and discussed the art to people of all ages.
Ginny H. had put together materials so that children could embark on a stitching project, a stuff pincushion, right there and then, and it was so popular we ran out of materials!
A young stitcher's completed project.
Great turnout of members, with Ruth, Florence K, Florence L, Helen H, Carol P and your humble blogwriter all in attendance with finished works, works in progress and willingness to share and show!
Carol P brought her small grand daughter, who plunged into all the arts on offer and here taught a much older lady how to weave in paper at the table next to the stitchers!
To see more of the Festival, outside of what the stitchers were involved in, go here
Although Labor Day has passed, summer has not yet left us, still blisteringly hot and humid here in central NJ. But the stitchers were undeterred by the weather, and came out to the first of our program meetings for 2016-17.
We were occupied in reunion for some of us, for catchup on projects for others, for completion for others, and for making nametags for next year's Regional Meeting.
The nametags are part of our chapter's work for our Region, the Metropolitan Region of EGA in preparation for the 2017 Regional Seminar. We're creating them for the seminar instructors and the Executive Board, to identify them during the events. All are cross stitched in black on white, and will be mounted in wearable pouches.
Debi setting up a nametag ready for stitching, and next to her, Carol P., working on a hardanger piece, a gift from her Secret Stitcher
Florence L. has finished the piece for her son and daughter in law, and redesigned parts of it in the process, to make a beautiful finished work
Polly W. at work on a design of ferns in subtle greens and tans. Polly likes to work in hand and then stretch the work after finishing, rather than mount it on a frame.
Debi again, here working on a butterfly design in her favorite colorway
One of your humble blogwriter's nametags, being studied by other stitchers to determine the count for the letters
Florence, here at work on the Tenerife lace piece which she plans to make into a dreamcatcher for a young relative, adding beads, and possibly feathers, mounting it on a hoop.
This was a productive back to stitching meeting!
We are planning on an eventful Fall schedule, participating in the Plainsboro Festival of the Arts on Saturday September 17, 12-4, in and around the Library building.
All are welcome to come meet and greet us. We are planning on a stitching project for young stitchers to try. And on the day there will be many artists and musicians, all over the building and grounds, offering chances to try a range of arts, from paper weaving, to giant weaving on the EarthLoom, to Chinese brush painting, to found object sculpture, and many other events for all ages. Music all afternoon, too!
Back to stitching: in October our Guild will be taking a trip into Manhattan to visit the Ukrainian Museum and catch two major exhibits at once, one on Ukrainian stitching, one in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Rumanian stitching. The Met is lending their Rumanian collection to the Ukrainian Museum for a season. We'll be guided through both by a knowledgeable curator and stitcher, who will lead us through the history and comparisons of the two national styles.
Next month's regular monthly membership meeting will be on Sunday October 9th, and Wednesday evening stitch-ins from 7-9 go on all year.
