CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY CHAPTER
NEWS
September 2007

WEBSITE ADDRESS: WWW.CRVC-EGA.ORG

October Meeting:  Saturday and Sunday, October 13th & 14th

Margaret Vant Erve will be arriving to teach a two-day class.  Her background as an artist makes her approach to stitching more interesting because of her perspective.  Below is a picture of the class piece that will be offered and a description of the class:

Spring Garden by Margaret Vant Erve

2 day workshop - basic surface embroidery knowledge required
Project size - 8" x 6"

The spring garden is probably the most delightful vision for the Canadian gardener.  After a long winter it is wonderful to witness the profusion of color that emerges from the ground.  This embroidered garden features some standard favorites; Siberian irises, tulips and daffodils nestle in front of bleeding hearts while scattered in the foreground are dandelions and forget-me-nots.  This class will teach the student how to use combinations of simple surface embroidery stitches to create each of the flowers in this dense garden.  DMC flosses are used on Habotai silk.

"Spring Garden" by Margaret Vant Erve

This meeting will be in the Duncaster conference room.  On the registration coupon, please check if you wish to order a lunch ($10).  This will be a sandwich, a cookie and a drink from Indigo Kitchen in Avon (homemade bread, high quality meats, etc.).  You are welcome to bring your own lunch if you prefer.  As always, you are very welcome to attend if you only wish to join us and stitch on your own project.

What to bring:

      Show and tell -- Anything you would like to share

Schedule for both days:  10 am to 3 pm
            10 AM to 12:30 PM             Morning program
            12:30 PM to 1:15 PM           Lunch, show and tell, and a short meeting
            1:15 PM to 3 PM                 Afternoon program

We are making all of our classes available to EGA members in other chapters, so it is important to register early if you want to make sure you have a place in the class.  The cost of this class is $35.

Here are directions to Duncaster:  (Official address is 40 Loeffler Road, Bloomfield, CT, but we would like you to enter the building on the Mountain Avenue side)

84 Westbound from Manchester
Take Rt. 291, exit 61.  Follow Rt. 291 to Rt. 218 exit.  Take left onto Rt. 218.  Follow for about 3 miles.  Take right onto Rt. 189 and follow to the center of Bloomfield.  Take a left on Rt. 178.  Continue straight on Rt. 178 for 1.4 miles.  To use the new front entrance, turn right onto Mountain Avenue and continue approx. ½ mile to entrance on the left into Duncaster.  From the Loeffler Road entrance or the Mountain Avenue entrance, once on the campus, visitors should follow the signs to the Aquatics & Fitness Center Entrance.

84 Eastbound from Farmington:
Take exit 41.  Go left on South Main St. [which becomes North Main St. at West Hartford Center] for 4.6 miles to Rt. 185.  Turn left on Rt. 185 for 1.8 miles.  Turn right on Rt. 178.  To use the new front entrance, after about ½ mile turn left onto Mountain Avenue and continue approx. ½ mile to entrance on the left into Duncaster.  From the Loeffler Road entrance or the Mountain Avenue entrance, once on the campus, visitors should follow the signs to the Aquatics & Fitness Center Entrance.

91 [North or South]
Take exit 36.  Go west on Rt. 178 for 4.5 miles to the center of Bloomfield.  At the traffic light continue straight on Rt. 178 for 1.4 miles.  To use new front entrance, turn right onto Mountain Avenue and continue approx. ½ mile to entrance on the left into Duncaster.  From the Loeffler Road entrance or the Mountain Avenue entrance, once on the campus, visitors should follow the signs to the Aquatics & Fitness Center Entrance.

 

December Meeting:  Saturday, December 1, 2007

Our meeting will include a program at the Connecticut Historical Society in Hartford.  As you may recall, chair seats were stitched by CRVC members for the Governor's Mansion in the 1970's.  They now are in the collection of the Historical Society and will be preserved by them.  The information below gives a more detailed description of the morning program.

Connecticut Needlework, 1740-1840:  Masterworks and New Discoveries from the
Connecticut Historical Society Museum Collections

 
CHS Director of Museum Collections, Dr. Susan P. Schoelwer, will survey the
rich artistic and decorative legacy of needlework produced in Connecticut
prior to 1840.  During a period when paintings and prints were few and far
between, a variety of needlework genres provided Connecticut households with
color and artistry -- canvaswork (needlepoint), crewel embroidered bed
hangings, silk embroidered pictures, samplers, memorial pictures, and whole
cloth quilting.  Several genres appear to be distinctively Connecticut
creations, including "mermaid" petticoats, bed rugs, crewel embroidered
garments, and a unique series of religious and allegorical scenes worked
during the American Revolution by Prudence Punderson of Preston.  The CHS
Museum's unparalleled collection of nearly 300 examples is the starting
point for a major study of regional needlework, funded by the Coby
Foundation, Inc., and the National Endowment for the Arts, to be presented
in a forthcoming book and exhibition.  Program participants will get a
"sneak preview" of this exciting project, with a slide presentation followed
by a "behind-the-scenes" tour to see collection highlights first hand.

When the morning program is completed, we will gather for a holiday luncheon at the Pond House in Elizabeth Park.
 

February Meeting:  Saturday, February 2, 2008
                                    (Snow date -- February 9th)

Karen Duggan will visit our chapter again, but this time she will teach us one of her pieces.  Last February we enjoyed her discussion on how to improve our needlework and what judges look for.  This time we will benefit from her vast experience in stitching and enjoy more of her wonderful sense of humor.  More information will be in future newsletters.
 

April Meeting:  Saturday & Sunday, April 5 & 6, 2008

It will be a great pleasure to have Carole Lake visit our chapter for two days of classes.  The Saturday class will be her "How to Write a Stitch Guide" class, and it will meet in the classroom at Thistle Needleworks.  Carole can discuss about 8 canvases in a one-day class.  By the time we've discussed them, students should be able to write a simple stitch guide for themselves.  If you have a canvas you would like us to use as one of the eight, please let us know.

More news about the Sunday class will follow in future issues.

SAVE THESE DATES for a wonderful weekend with this excellent, nationally known teacher.  We've had to schedule her two years ahead of time, so join us while she is in this area.
 

NER Region Day - Saturday, October 4, 2008

Plans are in the works for a wonderful Region Day next fall in the Framingham area.  The exciting news is that Tanya Berlin will present the program for the day.  This should be a fabulous chance to take a class with her, and to add to your pleasure, CRVC will offer classes with her on Friday, October 3rd and Sunday, October 5th.  Below is some of her biography information from her website:

Hi my name is Tanja Berlin, I have been a professional embroidery teacher and designer for over 10 years.

I started my training in all aspects of embroidery in 1990 at the Royal School of Needlework, where I attended their three year apprenticeship course in all aspects of hand embroidery.  I completed the apprenticeship with high honours and then stayed a further two years working on restoration, conservation and commission embroidery pieces in the work room.  I also taught day and weekend classes for the apprenticeship course and outside visitors.  I also taught classes for the embroiderers guilds in the UK.

In 1995 I took a break from embroidery and spent three years travelling throughout South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the US.  I met my now husband on my travels and we ended our journey back in his home city of Calgary in Canada where we are now settled.

When I first arrived in Canada I realized that most of my embroidery techniques that I teach were unheard of by many stitchers or very little practiced in Canada,  I also discovered that the students were enthusiastic to try these new techniques.  I have formatted my classes so that I teach the class with the absolute beginner in mind so that every detail of the embroidery is covered.  This does not mean that the pace of my class is slow and basic, contrary to that I have kept my classes well informed but at a good pace for experienced embroiderers to get all they need from the classes, but covering all the points for the less experienced.

This is also the approach I take when writing the instruction booklets for my kits.  The instructions I provide are not the standard one diagram and a few lines of instructions that you will find with cross-stitch and most other embroidery patterns, but detailed well informed instructions with lots of diagrams and the option to email me at any time if you have any questions.  I understand that the techniques I offer are unusual and am willing to help people learn them and not to keep the knowledge of these wonderful techniques secret for myself.
 

FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS  (All members are welcome)
          Tuesday, September 11th           Tuesday, November 13th

 
Stitching Getaways:

The West Side Day group will be meeting on Sept. 11th from 10 AM to 1 PM at Thistle Needleworks.  We will be reviewing materials from Ann Norton's collection.

Pequot Colony - The Sept. meeting will be at Stephanie Thorp's home.  At that meeting we will be making up the schedule for the coming year.  Anyone who is interested can always call Doris Boas at: (860) 572-8441 or Stephanie at: (860) 536-0912.
 

NER Seminar 2009

The site for this seminar has been decided!  It will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Pittsfield, Mass. on April 17th, 18th and 19th, 2009.  Julia and Lisa went to Pittsfield to check out the hotel as a site for our seminar, and the upshot of our visit is that this hotel will be very suitable and the prices are right.   They seem anxious to have our business and eager to give us whatever we need.   A double room rate will be $109 plus taxes; rooms with good exterior light and fairly good interior lighting are available and the food is excellent.   All in all, we think they are a great choice.

Please put these dates on your calendar as we are planning to have a wonderful group of teachers from all over the country.
 


CRVC Program Registration Form -- October 13th & 14th Meeting

Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 203 Tunxis Road, West Hartford, CT 06107-3201.  Make check payable to CRVC-EGAThe deadline for signing up for this class is September 15th.

"Spring Garden" with Margaret Vant Erve

______Kit fee of $35

______I have enclosed $10 to pay for my lunch.

Name:     ___________________________________________________
 
Phone:    _______________________ Email:______________________
 

CRVC Program Registration Form -- December 1st Meeting

Mail completed form to:  Linda Berry, 203 Tunxis Road, West Hartford, CT 06107-3201.  Make check payable to CRVC-EGAThe deadline for signing up for this class is November 20th.

Connecticut Needlework, 1740-1840; Masterworks and New Discoveries from the
Connecticut Historical Society Museum Collections

______I have enclosed $20 to pay for my lunch.

Name:     ___________________________________________________
 
Phone:    _______________________ Email:______________________
 

CRVC-EGA Membership

$47. Primary Membership
$15. Plural Membership (NER)
$18. Plural Membership (not NER)

For a membership card, please enclose a SASE.

Amt. Pd. ____________

Check #  ____________

Date Pd. ____________
    (keep as your receipt)

CRVC-EGA Membership and Address Change Form

Mail your completed form to:  Suzanne Newton, CRVC-EGA Membership, 14 Madison Lane, West Simsbury, CT 06092.
Make check payable to CRVC-EGA.  Enclose SASE for membership card.

        __ Address Change
        __ CRVC Primary Membership ($47)
        __ Plural Membership, Primary Chapter in New England Region ($15)
        __ Plural Membership, Primary Chapter not in New England Region ($18)

Name:            ____________________________________________________

Address:        ____________________________________________________

City, ST,ZIP  ____________________________________________________

Phone:           _______________________ Email:________________________

Primary Chapter:   ________________________________________________

Membership No.  _______________________   Total Enclosed $___________