The Diligent Needle Conference at Winterthur Museum

Coming off of a high after two-days at the Winterthur Needlework Conference, The Diligent Needle:  Instrument of Profit, Pleasure and Ornament...

Pic courtesy of Winterthur website

This is the second time I've attended the conference, the first was three years ago in 2011 which I blogged about here.

This conference, by far, is the best needlework event I have ever attended.  The speakers and attendees come from many different fields of needlework application and study and the conference content is diverse and deep.



The event spans two days with each day beginning with four morning lectures provided by historians, curators, and experts in the field of textiles and embroidery.  This year some of my favorites topics included embroidered maps and globes, 17th century embroidered caskets and the people who made them, needlework samplers of older women, and a biographical mystery of gownmaker and embroiderer, Rebecca Dickinson.

After the lectures, there is an opportunity for two afternoon workshops/intensives which range from project-type classes to behind-the-scenes opportunities to view needlework tools and embroideries at Winterthur to exploring the rare and antique embroidery books at the extensive Winterthur library (my personal favorite).

And if that's not enough to make you need oxygen, there was an embroidery exhibit titled The Diligent Needle and the Costumes of Downton Abbey Exhibit coinciding with the conference.

And here's a sneak peek of an 18th century whitework sampler, one of my personal faves from the Diligent Needle exhibit (more details to come)...



*Swoon*

AND...it's not over.  The bookstore stocks up on needlework books, kits and threads for the duration of the conference so there's is still more inspiration to knock you off your feet.

The environment and grounds of Winterthur are absolutely lovely in the Fall and the food and hospitality of the lunches and wine reception are top notch.

Pic courtesy of Winterthur website

So if you missed the conference this year, here's the good news.  The Diligent Needle exhibit runs through July 5, 2015 and the Costumes of Downton Abby runs through January 4, 2015 (you do need tickets for the Downton exhibit so plan ahead).

The other good news?  Instead of having the needlework conference once every three years, they have decided to hold the conference every other year.  That means I'll see you all there in Fall 2016!

More details and pics to come in future posts but I've got to get stitching...

We Share A Common Thread

Last year, my local chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild held a Challenge.  Each person was to choose a rectangle on the board and you were given instructions and a pattern for your piece of the puzzle.

There was going to be a secret message revealed as the blocks were completed and placed on the board, kind of like Wheel of Fortune.  You get the advantage of seeing the completed message without any waiting...

We Share a Common Thread was the message.  

Indeed we do.

As we look at the details of each of these individual contributions, we can see vast differences in style and technique.

There were all forms of needlework.  From cross stitch...

To crewel...

To Japanese embroidery...

To bargello...

Even some goldwork...

Some of my favorites involved either a clever use of the letters...



Or of the red thread...

Close-ups revealed surprises to delight the viewer, like the lop-eared bunny, tiny echinacea blooms and snail in the stumpwork piece below...

Such beauty in the details...

Beauty not only in the stitched pieces but in the women themselves.  It's a real blessing to have such a great group who share the same passion.

We gather.  We teach one another.  We encourage one another.  And together, we are all the better for it.  Better stitchers, better mothers and daughters, and better people.

I am a member of the Constellation Chapter of the EGA in Maryland but you can seek out a chapter in your area by checking the EGA USA National website here.  If there isn't a chapter close to you, maybe you can find a group of like-minded stitchers and just start getting together.

Now that our challenge is complete, it is displayed around town at various events and is permanently displayed at the Howard County Center for the Arts where our meetings are held.  It serves as our calling card and, hopefully, demonstrates to the viewer the breadth and depth of our Chapter's knowledge and skill levels.

My guild's programs and members have been the single greatest contribution to the development of my skills as a needleworker.  And I will forever be grateful to them for volunteering their time and energy.

We share a common thread...but there's nothing all that common about it.


Note:  Tomorrow is February 8, the annual Festival of Harikuyo where old and broken needles and pins are laid to rest.  I'll be having my own little ceremony but I just wanted to remind all of you that tomorrow is the day.  See you then!

Fall Fashion 2012: Needlepoint, Tapestry and Point de Croix

The fashion industry has embraced the needle in a big way for Fall 2012.

And the needlepoint!

Check out these looks from the Fall 2012 RTW (ready-to-wear) collection of Pierre Balmain...



I love how the pieces of needlepoint were integrated into the overall garments.  Makes me feel like ripping apart some of those outdated pillows on an old lady's couch and making a new jacket.

Balmain also went wild with the pearls and beading, inspired by a Fabergé egg seen at Christie's in NYC...

The Dolce & Gabbana Fall 2012 RTW collection was an homage to Italy and included pieces inspired by ecclesiastical embroidery, the baroque gilding on the palaces of Southern Italy...

And the handmade works of tapestry and needlepoint...

OK folks, it's time to break out those old dusty needlepoint bags your grandmother carried and give them a new lease on life!

I just love those boots!

And even though I was disappointed when I found that this close-up on a jacket wasn't embroidered...

It did resemble a gilded, baroque version of a wrack line.

Valentino had one of the most stunning looks of all in their Fall 2012 RTW collection...

*sigh*  So beautiful...It reminded me of the vintage Boué Souers dresses from the 1920s.

I wasn't surprised at all that it had already gotten worn by Keira Knightly for the movie premiére of
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

In this close-up you can see the detail of the cross stitch applique and the sweet ribbonwork over gold silk tulle.  Gorgeous.

Valentino's Fall 2012 Haute Couture collection included lots of beautifully embellished silk brocades...

In this close up you can see the thistle embroidery on what looks like silk charmeuse...

And here the beaded and embellished silk brocade...

In Haute Couture, the layering of fine laces, silk tulles, organzas and beading continued to figure prominently.  

This gold and ivory wedding dress from Elie Saab is to die for...

And this close up gives you some idea of what I mean by the layering of lace, tulle and beaded organza...

Valentino continued their exquisite application of this layering approach in their Fall 2012 Haute Couture collection...

A look already perfected in the Spring 2012 Haute Couture collection which I blogged about in this post: Ivory, Lace and Tarnished Silver.

And I just couldn't leave out this beautiful lace look from Marchesa Fall 2012 RTW from this post...it is absolutely too gorgeous not to share...

As are the Deco-inspired, 1920s, beaded looks from the Fall 2012 Haute Couture Collection of Gaultier...

And this look makes me want to dance...

Plus I think those beaded/metal clam shell shapes are held together with either lace insertions or crochet.  I can't tell which.

I hope you found something here today to delight and inspire.  

Myself?  I can't wait to repurpose an old bit of needlepoint. 

Speaking of that, you might want to check out the crazy quilt in-progress that Cathy Kizerian is making for the Crazy Quilt Journal Project.  She's using a vintage needlepoint piece as the quilt center and designing the blocks around it.  

It's absolutely wonderful, not to mention completely in-vogue!  You can follow the progress of her quilt on her blog here.

Back to shelling...

With Cunning Needle: A Red Carpet Event

As I made my way toward Winterthur for the two day needlework conference, With Cunning Needle...

It seemed that I was in for a very special two days.

The beauty of the rolling hills and landscape of the Delaware's Brandywine Valley was evident all around me.

Even the road into Winterthur, the 60-acre estate of woodlands and meadows housing an extraordinary museum complex, gardens and library...

Looked like a ribbon rolled out to beckon me to explore its richness further.

The conference was spread out over the estate with lots of opportunities for fresh air and fall foliage.

It was heaven.

What better place to have a two-day needlework conference.

And everything...from the bookstore that had stocked up in advance on all books and publications relating to textiles and the needle...

To the library which had selected rare books and manuscripts of particular interest to embroiderers...

To the luncheons and receptions...

Was perfectly targeted to the well-needled guest.

Winterthur's love for the needle arts was evident in every detail of the two days.

Including how they chose to display the Plimoth Jacket, the cornerstone of their With Cunning Needle exhibit.

I felt their delight in hosting over 250 interested attendees. Museum curators, costume technologists, collectors and, yes, needleworkers...all converged to listen to lectures and attend workshops exploring five centuries of the makers and materials used in the needle arts.

And the jacket!

Well. The way it was displayed was absolutely lovely.

Encased in a clear "box" so you could walk around in a full 360 degrees...

And not too big of a box so you could get up close and see the detail...

I tried not to press my nose to the glass but it was tough to resist.

And the jacket was lit perfectly so that the spangles and gold threads sparkled and shone...

The whole effect...the embroidery, the spangles, the gold threads, the lace...

Was extraordinary.

And so was the hospitality at Winterthur.

And if there was ever a place for a retirement community for needleworkers, I'd want it to be on this estate. I'd be the first to move in!

And I sure hope these gals would move in with me...

We all had such a great time.

More tomorrow...