Embroiderers Guild of America take a bow!

Once in a while, I blog about other interesting subjects than the Great Me, and today, I wanted to bask in the lovely afternoon I just spent with my local (Princeton NJ) chapter of EGA, among friends, great time had by all, and best of all, a new project (yes, just what I needed, a new project!).  


But this one was designed and planned and kitted and led by Jane Sweeney, a local embroiderer with national certification from EGA to do this stuff and longtime Guild member.  This certification is similar to City and Guilds, for them as is of brit origin, iow a stellar credential.  Jane is also a lot of fun and a fine teacher, to boot.

So this is our monthly meeting, at least part of it

Suzanne D. is the lady in black watching intently as Jane demonstrates some tricky points in the current pillow project, a lovely geometric with some stitches I never did before

  Notice Jane's white coat: her name tag, which every member has to make to her own design, reads Jane Sweeney, Stitch Doctor!

This is the most fun and supportive group you can imagine.  At their urging, today I took in a bunch of my miniatures from ages ago (decades, but who's counting) and watched in surprise as they enjoyed them hugely.  Turns out everyone loves a miniature. Especially needleworked minis. This is so typical, that they generously look at each others' work and appreciate what's going on.  Plenty of opinions and all constructive. In self defense I also took in two very current needleworks (the black on white lawn you saw in here earlier) just because I didn't stop work in the 80s.  It was nice to revisit the world of miniatures, though.

Pix of the minis may appear in the article Helen H, longtime guild member, is writing about my stuff for the national Needlearts magazine of the EGA, mainly because Suzanne D. took pix with a much better camera than mine! 

I don't know how I would have got through this summer, a rugged one, without the the friendship I found in EGA when I joined just a few months ago.,  Anyway, if you love to embroider and are looking for likeminded nice people (not all members are women, men can join too, but are rarer) just look for your nearest chapter and go to a meeting.  Just try it.   I expect other countries have similar guilds (I love to say I'm in a guild, sounds so medieval!) and I'll bet you can find your own group.

I have to finish on a note of self congratulation: when I joined in March of this year I found I had six months to create my own nametag to wear at monthly meetings. And today was her maiden voyage, wheee.