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!