Rooted in Mississippi

Thanks to those of you who have contacted me about the tornadoes that hit Mississippi.  They hit about 45 minutes north of my home, but I was not in town.  Please feel free to donate to the Red Cross or other relief effort, if you are so moved. The people in Yazoo County can really use the help.  Thankfully, my friends in Yazoo City are safe and sound.

I just got back from another visit with family in Atlanta.  I loved being able to see everyone and  I had a great visit.  After more than a week of daily outings, I finally figured out what made my mother happy: pizza from Fellini’s and butter pecan ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery.  I am so glad that I am below my goal weight and did not have to worry about how we ate, especially since my sister-in-law had two cakes, plus she made biscotti and brownies.  That said, I am glad that I do not have to weigh-in tomorrow night!

Last week, I also finalized my registration for EGA National Seminar in San Francisco.  Oh, and I helped my sister pick out her classes too!

Sorry I never seem to post on my blog any longer.  I blame FaceBook!

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As some of you may know, I am the Seminar Chair for Share-A-Stitch XXXI, the Tennessee Valley Region’s annual embroidery conference.  SAS XXXI is scheduled for June 2011. If you are a member of EGA (or want to be a member) please consider coming to Birmingham, AL for this three day event!

Anyway, I am headed up to Memphis to spend the weekend with the Dean of Faculty.  I am excited to participate in class selection for the event, in part because I have never been a part of this process before.  I mean, how cool to see all of the proposals and watch the process for selecting classes unfold.  From this point forward, the chairman job will demand more of my attention.  So please understand if I am distracted!

Oh, and on a completely unrelated topic.  Yesterday and today, my hair was curly.  I often let it dry naturally, but it has been too cold to do that for a few months.  My hair used to be super straight, but it got wavy after my thyroid problem presented itself.  I started using a straightening iron about ten years ago.  For the last two days, I have noticed a lot of soft curls, something that would have required a permanent wave to accomplish in the past. It has been so long since I had a perm, I can barely remember how to handle curly hair.

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I am home from the EGA National Seminar in Pittsburgh. The city was so much nicer than I had imagined it would be and the Omni was everything an upscale, urban hotel should be.  I took three classes, learned a lot and met a lot of really amazing people, including my CyberStitching friend from France, Virginie.

It was fun to dress up and put on make-up.

I am looking forward to Seminar 2011 in San Francisco, even though it is nearly a year away!  I am planning to make a corset to go along with the Stitching on the Barbary Coast theme, but I am worried that I may have bitten off more than I can chew already.

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Oh my goodness, these were so much fun to make!  I finished the first one into a tiny little brooch, complete with a pin back.  The pattern is one small section of the Sweet Biscornu pattern from Gift of Stitching by Periphaeria Designs.

I got the idea for this from the EGA blog post regarding submissions to Piecework Magazine. I just went a little smaller than Kim Beamish.

I made another one into a tiny scissors fob. I am often looking for a place to park my needle, especially when I am on the road. Since my scissors are almost always with me, it seemed like a good place for a very small biscornu!

These baby biscornu are truly miniature, they are just about an inch square and less than half an inch thick.

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I had a great time at the Sarha Saeeda “Journey through Egypt” workshop in New Orleans last weekend.  I learned a lot, met some really nice women, reconnected with some others and had a blast.  No matter how many workshops I take, I am always looking forward to the next one.  I wish I could go to Mira Bets in Huntsville, but it is the same weekend as Share-A-Stitch in Nashville!

I decided to share a couple of photos that other people took at the workshop.  The first one is me dancing with Paige, who is too cute and so young!  If you follow my blog, the outfit should look familiar!  The second one is me bowing at Sahra’s feet after she presented me with my certificate of completion.

By the way, I am less than ten pounds from my goal weight!

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Well, I did it. Today I finalized my registration for Seminar. Ironically, I changed both of the classes for which I pre-registered.  I am really looking forward to my classes.  When I changed my selections, I focused on techniques instead of projects, which I know will help me grow as an artist.

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Despite what many people seem to think, Mississippi NeedleArts is alive and well!  We are still the only chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America in the state. Although we are small, we meet monthly and have had a wide variety of educational programs over the last year and a half.  This Saturday, we will begin working on a Brazilian Dimensional Embroidery (BDE) project using the Bypass Heart, a free pattern from my web site.

Since my sample was stitched in silk buttonhole twist and not rayon threads, it feels like cheating to call it BDE.  I really need to sit down and stitch another sample in EdMar, but I seem to find other things to do, like yoga, belly dance, etc.  I also took road trip to Canton to see Lisanne and wander around the square with my friend Anne, after we had lunch at Petra Cafe.

I suppose I will have my chance to stitch tomorrow, while I am sitting around the house waiting for the plumbers to show up and reinstall the big water filter.  Maybe I can get inspired to collect my materials and start building a little nest on the sofa. I think I have old episodes of Project Runway and House still on TiVo to keep me company.

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I was seated at a special table by the education department, because I won the Gold Thread Award for the Tennessee Valley Region.  I missed my friends, but I was seated with some nice folks.  The only draw back was that even though my seat was pulled as close as possible to the table, everyone kept bumping me as they walked past.  It is hard to eat when your chest is resting on the table, but I did it.  Anyway, I digress. Thanks again to my wonderful friends in CyberStitchers who nominated me for the Gold Thread Award…they are the best.

I loved it when my friends Cindy, Joan and Bette showed up in their Musketeers outfits! Check out the photo on Cindy’s blog.

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I just got back from the EGA National Seminar in Louisville, Kentucky.  I am exhausted from my adventures, but I promise to post something soon.  I did follow through with my threat to wear a gypsy belly dance costume to the closing banquet and it was a scream.  Yes, I showed my muffin top to everyone!  However, I did have fun and that was the point.

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Each year, I am required to do demonstrations for the Craftsman’s Guild and since I have five categories from which to choose, I decided I would demonstrate embroidery.  I am behind in my obligation, so I will be at the Mississippi Craft Center in Ridgeland on Sunday from 10 AM to 4 PM. I will be working on a crewel piece and will have some samples of my work available for closer inspection. Feel free to come by and see me!

I am beginning to get ready for the EGA Golden Gala seminar and am trying to figure out what I should pack. Three women traveling in my car means we have to pack light.  I started selecting nice clothes, then had a revelation, it will be all yoga togs for me during classes.  They are easy to pack, comfortable, and do not take up a ton of suitcase space.  EGA has promoted a dressing through the decades idea for the whole seminar, but I am just going to try for something vintage looking at the opening banquet and then admire the cool stuff other women wear.

Actually, I am threatening to wear a bellydance costume to the closing banquet.  Well, it has a “touch of gold!”  Wearing something like that in front of the EGA crowd would be memorable. Of course, just thinking about it makes my bottom pucker a little.  That probably means I should just relax and go for it!

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