Princeton Embroiderers and More Goldwork Adventures

Once again, we headed north to spend two blissful days in the classroom of master teacher Carol Homer, studying two forms of goldwork new to most of us.


The convent we stayed in has room for guests in the same building we had our workshop, and if you're thinking, oh, did they stay in a cell? 

no, we stayed in  rooms with every comfort including a rocking chair in mine, a desk with a good light, plenty of room and bedside lights, and great room names.  Mine was St. Frideswide, whom I shall have to research.

Carol created two projects for us to work on, one a dragonfly to be stitched in the or nue technique (please imagine an acute accent, that's the right leaning one, on that final e)

Or nue is a form of shaded goldwork, where the couched thread is covered in areas with color to create the underlying design, here a dragonfly, while in this example,the gold itself forms the background. Carol had started a silver couched version, to show us how to go on with this technique, a very old one, but new to us.

and the other  project, by special request from those of us who saw Carol's finished example last time we were here, involves working with gold thread over a string background to create a wonderfully textured fleur de lys.  

 Carol, her own fleur de lys to her left, demonstrates how to set up the string supports for a student's work.

 

The work was totally engrossing, and Carol her usual generous self with advice, suggestions, reference books, endless beautiful materials, willingness to listen as well as talk, wonderful attribute in a teacher.

 And here she focuses on the question posed by a student, to show her the next step.

 Her reference books are rare and among the best you can study.
And to ask her a question is to get not only a complete response, but a stitched example to study, even if she has to whip it up on the spot.  

One question about underside couching had her setting to work to create an example of this difficult technique -- where the tacking thread holding down the gold is pulled through to disappear into the back of the fabric, showing only the gold on the surface.  She explained that this was done to create suppleness in the fabric, usually a priest's vestment.

Her own work is a teaching project in itself, just studying it and seeing the personality she stamps on her stitches, even when she's working in a tradition.  

 Here's a convent angel she's stitching

 And a fantasy tree with great goldwork at the base.
She believes that you have to see the embroiderer in the work, the individual hand creating the effect.

She also believes that a stitcher ought to take down time frequently to allow her eyes to see further, and to straighten up her spine after being intent on a frame for a long period.  Not easy to stop when you're in full flow on a stitching project.  

But we managed it a time or two.

Outside the workshop, we had a spectacular rainstorm or two, and sat cozily indoors drinking tea and watching doughty birds at the feeder, and Pony, the resident pony, out in his field.  The resident indoor friends,  a Manx named, of course, Bob, who obligingly posed for pictures as he kept me company, 

and Jennie, the mild-mannered dog who only barks when someone unauthorized shows up. 

Later, we needed to walk a bit, so we used the cloister just as it was intended -- to walk dry even in rainy weather.

The building itself is a historic, preserved structure, full of staircases and corners and everywhere interesting art, from illuminated lettering, to icons, to stitching wall hangings, the work of resident and past sisters, to freshly arranged flowers, courtesy of Donna.  

Aside from attending workshops -- there's one next week on iconography -- you can  arrange to spend a couple of days with them on a personal retreat, to have quiet time -- silence observed from mid evening to morning, no radios, no television on unless there's a specific program of interest. No wi-fi in the guest rooms.  Request to turn off cellphones throughout the building.  Peace.

There's a labyrinth, built from brick by a convent team, as a devotion, in the Chartres design, which blends in  with its surroundings, and this will draw your humble blogwriter back for a couple of visits, I think. 

That and the birds and the walking and the great company of the sisters and their guests, and the atmosphere of learning and teaching.  Happy place.  Wonderful food, great consideration shown to guests, with invitations to join in religious observances but total acceptance of nonparticipation, too. 

Home again now, with at least one project well started so we can continue even without appealing to Carol H. for help and advice.

Many plans to return there for another step in this journey.

The Embroiderers' Guild Moves its Stash!

We have had to move and reorganize our extensive stash -- prospective members, please note that this will be available to you, on membership, too! -- and since one large bag of materials relates to goldwork,a member specializing in goldwork offered to take custody of it, to bring it in on request for anyone needing to use it.

And this is some of what's in that goldwork stash:

 Many reels of silk thread in a range of colors, too, and a couple of fine kits with silk fabric and gauze and silk threads with charts.

It's only a fraction of what we have in our Guild stash, much of it a generous gift from a high end store which closed some years ago, as well as gifts from former stitchers,  and ranging from a wide range of flosses and perle, beautiful quality crewel wools, reference books, fabrics for stitching, hoops, there's a great treasure trove for members to use.

The goldwork is now safely in an undisclosed location, but available at any time on request.

So, if you're reading because you met us at the recent Festival of the Arts, or if you're a longstanding follower, and especially if you're a Guild member, this is just a reminder of the resources at our disposal.  Another wonderful resource is the generosity of fellow members who gladly learn and gladly teach, to paraphrase Chaucer!

We welcome new members to share with us, and we meet every Wednesday evening, year round, from 7-9, then there's our general membership meeting with program, on the first Sunday of the month.  Our October meeting will be about show and tell and catch up on unfinished stitching, with members teaching each other as needed.

Princeton Embroiderers' Guild out and about, at the Festival of the Arts

This event is an annual event in Plainsboro, in and around the Public Library, celebrating all the arts, visual and performing, and our local artists.  We've been doing it for many years, and I, your humble blogwriter, have the honor of being one of the founders, so I'm always very proud to see it go well, and to take part.

  
A visitor taking a look at our setup

 Evie and Florence catching up

  
Florence studying her schwalm work  in the meantime

Visitors admiring Evie's work -- the eyeglass case, exquisite
 

 Florence sharing some of her needlepoint expertise with a visitor

 Evie explaining fine points of embroidery to a visitor seizing the chance to talk with an expert

 What we love to see!  someone signing up to hear more about us.  Thank you, Simone.

This year, our Guild was mobbed all afternoon!  Evie S., Florence L, Florence K, and Ruth L. and I were busy all afternoon offering information, instruction  and invitations to our Guild, to a stream of interested onlookers.   Quite a few of them took our blog flyer as well as our membership apps, so I hope they see this!  and some of them  appear here, too.

Princeton Embroiderers' Guild starts a new program year

Today was the first general meeting of the new program year for the Princeton Chapter of EGA, The Embroiderers' Guild of America,  and it started with a great presentation on the Unicorn Tapestries in the Cloisters section of the Metropolitan Museum of NY,  by Karlfried Froehlich, an authority both on religious iconography and on the history of the period. 

Helen H. introduced our speaker seated at far right here

and he was very generous in responding to questions throughout the presentation and afterwards.

The slide show gave us insights into the tapestries many of us had visited at the Cloisters, but with an added layer of interest in that he explained the many levels of meaning in the tapestries, from the plain narrative of the hunt, to the religious,  botanical and historic symbolism seen throughout these iconic works. And he added in some material on the Unicorn Tapestries at the Cluny in Paris, equally wonderful, but not always as well known.

After his departure, the members gave a Show and Tell, with Carol G. showing the triumphant completion of a beautiful Kaffe Fassett design

Debi R.  with her completed bunny, two views here! 

and a cross stitch hooded bathsheet

 

for a recent arrival in her family, with another work under way for another lucky relative

.  

And your humble blog writer was caught in candids taken by Karen G., intent on threading the silk thread which keeps on flying out of the needle

and working on a tiny part of the wilderness piece in progress. 

This is in response to the question she gets about why she never appears in the pictures in  the newsletter or our blog, mainly because she's taking the pix.  Well, now she does!

And members did some catchup, since we hadn't been together in this group for several months

Future plans for the chapter include:

an appearance at the Plainsboro Library Festival of the Arts on September 20th, 1-5 p.m. to demonstrate our finished and ongoing work and talk with the general public about stitching and what fun it would be  to join us.  Come and meet us!

an October meeting, first Sunday of October, 1-4 p.m. for work on Unfinished Objects, of which most of us have plenty

a three day goldwork workshop at Mendham Convent in mid October, organized by Carol P.

an expedition to Winterthur in Delaware in early November, organized by Helen H.,  to visit both the needlework exhibits and the Downton Abbey costume display.

These are in addition to our regular Wednesday evening stitch ins, year round,  7-9 p.m.

Members and potential members are warmly encouraged to join us and can get exact directions by emailing us at the address given in the header of this blogpost.

Princeton Chapter EGA summer outreach

Summer 2014 outreach, a stitching series for children at Plainsboro Library, kicked off last week, with a stitching project based on the summer theme It's All Greek to Me.

Here Ginny H. and staff volunteer Nicoletta are working with a busy group of stitchers this morning.  Ruth L. the founder many years ago, of the summer library stitching outreach program, was not in the pix, but very much on the scene.

The intensity of the situation is impressive, no chitchat, all  the participants studying their stitches and planning their colors and generally working like embroidery artists. Always heartening when boys as well as girls are interested in the textile arts. Your blogger's picture taking was scarcely registered!

This is just one of the forms of outreach our Guild chapter creates.  Meanwhile, stitch ins continue every Wednesday evening 7-9 throughout the summer, and you're warmly invited to stop in and meet us and join in.  Just contact the email given in the header, and you'll get exact directions.

Goldwork class, second session

The Guild made another foray to north Jersey yesterday for our second goldwork class.  And watch this space: there may be a return visit in the fall, just now being arranged.

Meanwhile, here we are at work yesterday

And some of our work in progress

Then there's the work of our teacher and other experts

We came home with many ideas and the materials to execute them, including real gold thread and gold kid, items very difficult for us to find usually.  Carol is a wonderful teacher, encouraging, very skilled, willing to demo any technique and is altogether great company. Can't wait to go back in the fall.

Readers, if you want to join us for adventures like this, and for regular quiet meetings, too, be in touch at the email address shown in our header.  Our general first Sunday of the month general meetings resume in September, but our weekly Wednesday evening stitch ins continue throughout the summer, and you're welcome to come and join us.

Farther afield, the EGA guild on the road studying goldwork

Yesterday was the first of two classes taught by master stitcher Carol Homer, at the convent in north Jersey we visited a while back, where the stitching workshop has been in continuous operation with both nuns and laypeople, since the 1850s.

Goldwork and other forms of ecclesiastical, that's church related,  stitching, are a tradition there, and Carol is currently teaching there and at her home.  She not only introduced us to goldwork, most of us having no experience of it before, but supplied a trove of materials, great  gold and silver threads, and many silks, and linen pieces to learn on.  

She had us set up a simple shape or two, drawn directly onto the stretched linen,  to get some learning on couching, the main theme of ecclesiastical work, and here we are in learning mode.  Carol demonstrated every step, and we embarked on a great adventure.  Next week is our second session, and we can hardly wait.