President’s Message
Hello and good morning, everyone. As I write this, it’s close to 6:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, November 10th. I’m up early to get everything together that I need to take to the second day of Gary Clarke’s Tulle and Organza Fantail class that begins in about three hours.
On Friday, November 8th, we had a small and intimate group or four stitchers to learn his method of Stitching in the Dark, when we worked on the Black Cockatoo. As I’ve described it before, it’s a brilliantly colored cockatoo stitched on black poplin with a vivid variegated blue floss used to stitch the sky and trees. What I can say about this technique is it turns all the Rules about knots and carrying threads on their head. Gary has OK’d the use of this method to work on a smaller project, say an ornament or – ooh, ooh – a Dreamcatcher!!! So I might just use some of my copious spare time to draw something like that, which we might have as a project next year.
And then on Saturday and Sunday, November 9th and 10th, we had a glass of 10 stitchers for Gary’s Tulle and Organza Fantail. Delicate, gorgeous, and delicate. Those are words that I think really fit this project. There was a bit of tedious cutting of the bird shapes from five colors of nylon tulle and then basting them onto one layer of Japanese organza, and then when all the parts were placed, Gary stretched a second layer of organza over them. Well – just – wow.
Today, Sunday, we’ll all continue stitching the simple straight stitches to create feathers and texture on the tree branch. That’s where everybody’s work will start to take on separate personalities.
The three stitchers who were able to take both classes were Laura B., Angelina H., and me, so I assure you that you will see the progress on both projects when you come to the November chapter meeting and the Holiday party. One fun fact that Gary shared yesterday is that when we work on the Fantail in the evening with ordinary home lighting, the organza appears opaque and is easier to work on. However, I didn’t try it when I got home after class last night – that’s a story for another time, if ever.
So the Cockatoo, on black, will be my daytime UFO, and the Fantail, on white organza, will be my nighttime UFO.
Jean L. and Margi T. will be finalizing our slate of officers for 2014, for voting at our chapter meeting on November 18, so we hope to see you all there!
And for chapter members who are registered voters living within the City of San Diego, please remember to go to your local polling place on November 19 to help select a new mayor. As a poll worker, I encourage you this year, because there’s only the one item on the ballot, choosing among – what? – 10 or 12 people who want to be mayor. It will be a very slow day for poll workers, I imagine. Fortunately, I will have a couple of interesting embroidery projects to keep me occupied!
In the meantime, Happy Stitching!
Gini