Saturday, March 9, 2013

A Lady's Worke Box

Two weeks ago, our EGA Chapter was fortunate enough to have Ellen Chester of With My Needle come for a workshop - A Lady's Worke Box.  The event was held at the beautiful and historic Riverdale Inn which is just a block or two from the river.  The day was an absolute delight!  If you've not taken one of Ellen's classes before, you're in for a real treat.  She really does give wonderful instruction and there is always extra bits of information thrown in.  This time Ellen shared some fascinating worke boxes from the 1800's with us.  
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Here's a photo from one angle of the room.  We had 17 EGA members attend to include Carol, Carol and Linda from Orlando, Eleanor from Texas (who is also a beautiful basket weaver and rug hooker), Helen and Anna from Texas and Susan from Pennsylvania.  
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This is Susan, she sat across from me and it was a joy to get to know her.  We have a lot in common! She is not only a stitcher, but a quilter and book worm.  We each also have a son the same age.
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Ellen's class kits also include this something extra that is always so special to me - this is my second class with Ellen and this personalization always makes me happy.  It's another indication of just how much of herself Ellen puts into her teaching.  Every single thing is thought of.
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One of our members, Henri, made this delightful card for us to sign and give to Ellen.  I wish the photo showed more of the detail on the card.  You might notice that the house on the card is modeled after one of the panels on the worke box project!
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Henri also made these personalized covers for our class favor for each participant.  Look at the detail!
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Inside the cover was a counting pin made by another member, Devon!  Each pin was different!
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I don't have a picture of Melody but do want to thank her for her tireless efforts in putting the event together.  She planned the event plus organized the block of rooms at the Inn and planned dinner for two evenings.  I had so much fun!  You might want to visit Ellen's blog post about the day - her photos are so much better than mine.

I've worked on my project since the class but don't have enough done to show you yet.  I was in a bit of a stitching slump and this class and my EGA stitching session last weekend seems to have moved me forward.  

I'd like to share that I would have never thought to join a stitching guild in the past or thought to travel a distance for a class.  If you've never done either of those, I would really invite you to give it a try.  I have found both to be a valuable experience and it's amazing how much a shared loved of a needle art can bring people together who may not otherwise have met.  The inspiration and friendships have been a wonderful experience for me and I've learned so much!

24 comments:

Giovanna said...

Sounds like a wonderful day - thanks for sharing your pictures and thoughts.

Laurie in Iowa said...

Glad you enjoyed your workshop with Ellen. She is a wonderful teacher.

Kathy Ellen said...

So happy for you to have spent such a special day with Ellen Chester, who is such a very gifted designer. Can't wait to see your class project progress. It truly is a delight when you can attend a stitching retreat or workshop, to spend time with other stitchers, doing what you love best...stitching! Blessings!

Margaret said...

You lucky person! I want to take a class with Ellen, but it just never works out. Looks like such fun! There aren't any local EGA guilds that concentrate on cross stitch here. It's awful. I so wish there were.

Margaret said...

You lucky person! I want to take a class with Ellen, but it just never works out. Looks like such fun! There aren't any local EGA guilds that concentrate on cross stitch here. It's awful. I so wish there were.

ruthsplace said...

Looks like a wonderful day. What lovely cards, favours and pins.

I'd love to join a guild. Just not possible for me at the moment...

Michele said...

I'm glad you had such a wonderful time Jackie :-) What a great opportunity!

Annette-California said...

Wow! Sounds like such fun and to get to have a class & see Ellen? So happy for you Jackie. Sounds fantastic. Looking forward to seeing your progress for the workbox. Lovely cards & beautiful pin you rec'd. have a wonderful weekend Jackie! love Annette

Brigitte said...

A class with Ellen Chester - how exciting. What a event to attend to. This is one of my wishes for the time of my retirement to one day attend to a stitchers' retreat or a class of one of my favourite designers. I'm looking forward to seeing what you made .

Carol said...

Looks like you met some great friends and learned a lot as well, Jackie! Such a pretty card you were given by Devon!

Enjoy your Sunday :)

Deb said...

That class looks like it was a lot of fun. Great projects and meeting friends!

Tammy said...

Sounds like a fun workshop and a lot of interesting and fun people to be with. Glad you enjoyed yourself. Hugs!!

geeky Heather said...

Looks like it was a fantastic class! I saw Teresa's class kit on Friday and the colors are gorgeous!!

Mary said...

You all were so fortunate to have Ellen back in again. I'm charmed by the Iin where the class was held. It must have been a great day!

Chris said...

It looks like a wonderful event. The cards and class favors are so sweet!

Annie said...

So cool to be in a class with a real rock star of the stitching world!

woolwoman said...

Jackie what a wonderful blog post - thanks for the mention of our guilds efforts to put on a world class (in my opinion of course LOL) event. It was wonderful having 3 out of state participants and 4 from far away reaches of florida in our midst. Such a depth of talent in that group and so awesome that it was so well supported by our guild members. I'm glad to hear you have been inspired. Have a great week ! mel

Anonymous said...

Jackie, thanks for sharing the wonderful time you had. I want to start stitching now too. I looking forward to seeing the progress you are making on your project.

Sally said...

Sounds like you had a great time.

Carolyn NC said...

Looks like such a wonderful time and project!

Candace said...

What a fun day, Jackie! How I would have loved to be a birdie on someone's shoulder ;>
Cheers!

Dani - tkdchick said...

The day sounds like a total treat!!!!

Marjo said...

Sounds like so much fun. Great bunch of people to do all the extras.

Karoline said...

Sounds like it was a wonderful time