The chapters in our Carolinas Region have been busy the last few months. Take a look below at the projects, events and activities you too can be a part of when you join an EGA chapter.
Aiken Stitchin’ Belles (Aiken, South Carolina)
The Aiken Chapter, in conjunction with the local ANG chapter, held a needle arts display of their stitching at the Aiken County Historical Museum. The exhibit was held August 20 through September 15. Members used a variety of techniques and mediums including smalls, boxes, pillows, jewelry and framed pieces. Each entry artistically demonstrated the use of linen, canvas, beading, cross stitch, surface embroidery or specialty stitches.
The museum sponsored a reception for the community to meet the artists and chat about the two local stitching groups, items on display, the needlework process, materials used and the projects currently in progress. And, notably a journal piece about the exhibit, our local EGA and ANG groups was published in the Aiken Standard. Two new members joined following the exhibit!
Chapter members were enthusiastic about the exhibit and agreed that this exhibit may have been our best ever, highlighting both the variety of needle arts and competence of the exhibitors!
Augusta Chapter (Augusta, Georgia)
The Augusta chapter, is planning on doing a group project starting in November. The piece is called “Summer Lace” by Terri Bay and is published in the September 2019 issue of Needle Arts magazine.
Cardinal Chapter (Raleigh, North Carolina)
In 2019 Cardinal Chapter used several EGA petite projects as monthly programs, including Summer’s Glory, Crewel Wreath and Bead Embroidery Sampler, which allowed us to explore a variety of techniques. We also tried some blackwork, courtesy of the Mid-Atlantic Region’s 2019 Take Home a Project: Blackwork Flags by Kaethe Pittman. We look forward to more fun programs in 2020 including a bargello heart on canvas and Betsy Hanson’s Matte Board Boxes.
Martha Derbyshire had a great outreach idea recently… A group of EGA/ANG stitchers gather each Friday morning at the Cary Barnes and Noble to stitch for a few hours. We frequently have folks stop by to see what we’re doing, and since a good number have expressed interest in learning we’re going to put together a collection of small kits to give away. These kits will contain everything a beginning stitcher needs, as well as the contact information for both organizations. Folks will be welcome to sit a spell and get some instruction, or simply take the kit home. We hope this encourage them to learn more, and perhaps join a chapter. We’ll let ya’ll know how it works out!
I’ve been making a concerted effort to share an interesting needlework picture or tidbit each day on our Facebook page. We’ve gotten messages from stitchers who are interested in coming to a meeting, and we’re up to 113 “likes” from folks as far afield as New South Wales, Australia and Cali, Columbia!
Chicora Stitchers (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina)
In August and September, Anne Peacock helped Chicora members work on a Romanian Point Lace project, and in October Melanie Scott led them in finishing a small piece using a flat fold technique. Beautiful results for both projects.
Several small projects have been chosen for the year 2020, and we are sure the results of working on them will continue to be lovely and a great learning experience.
Florence Area Chapter (Florence, South Carolina)
Our chapter was proud to enter 25 entries and bring home 24 ribbons, 10 of them blue. Since we only have 7 active members, we were proud to have done so well. Pictured below are some of our members who took a class at Sandy’s X-stitch on the Go this past quarter.
The picture with home sweet home is from the South Carolina State fair. The other two pictures are from the Eastern Carolina agricultural fair in Florence South Carolina.
Golden Needle Chapter (Concord, North Carolina)
The Golden Needle Chapter enjoyed a Halloween party for the October meeting. We dressed in hats, fascinators, or costumes and did a Halloween ornament trade. Members shared covered dishes and Halloween treats.
For outreach, we demonstrated embroidery on Saturday, October 19 at the Cabarrus Art Guild’s Fall Festival.
Low Country Chapter (Hilton Head, South Carolina)
The Low Country Chapter has been quiet during the summer as a lot of our members travel north during the hot months. But we are back in full stitching mode now. We have gained 3 new members over the summer months. In October, Liz O’Hayer presented the “Chubby Little” Fabric Bowl by Judy Jeroy and Nan Tyson Euler. A few members forged ahead and could present their bowls at the meeting. Next month we will be working on a Petite Project -Santa’s Christmas Tree by Shay Pendray, which will be taught by Barbara Lynch. We have plans for next year that include a pilot class for Terry Bay and also a class by Betsy Morgan. Our outreach continues to be Welcome signs for new Habitat home owners, donations for the Lowcountry Food Bank and we are also going to start doing Hospice hearts for the area.
Magnolia Chapter (Charleston, South Carolina)
The Magnolia Chapter EGA has been working on Laura Perin’s Christmas Wreath and in October we had a presentation by Beate Lies on ciphering – a method of writing, using one’s initials in combination. It was very interesting to see how our initials could be combined for our monograms. It can be a unique way to sign your projects. Our Christmas potluck party will be combined with our Monday group. Hopefully, we will have many ornaments in our exchange. In the coming months, we will have classes by Susan O’Connor, Betsy Morgan, and Leslie Brady.
Millwood Chapter (Columbia, South Carolina)
The Millwood Chapter meets each Wednesday to sit-n-stitch. We have been working on a Biscornu. One of our members found the pattern in a cross stitch magazine. We think the piece is lovely even though we used only the central part of the design. At our November meeting we will assemble them, and in January we will learn how to make a Dorset Button for the middle.
The Laurel Chapter (Hendersonville, North Carolina)
The Laurel Chapter’s September-October program was under the guidance of member Barbara Dexter-Smith. We made lavender heart-shaped sachets using Victorian crazy quilt techniques. Twenty-eight eager students will participate in Gary Clarke’s “Screech Owl” International Touring Teacher workshop which will be sponsored by our chapter in November.
Tryon Chapter (New Bern, North Carolina)
One of our biggest and longest programs is for our local Hospice which is a non-profit organization. During the year our chapter receives the names of patients who have passed away. There are usual over 100 each year. Our members hand-embroider a Christmas ornament with the name of the loved one. Last month we had a visit from the Director and staff of Hospice at one of our workshops. They told us how much our ornaments meant to the families, how they are displayed during a memorial service and then hand-delivered to the family. The Director himself had a picture of an ornament from 1996 for his grandmother and one from 2002 for his grandfather that his family displays year-round in remembrance of them. This brought even more meaning to us, knowing how much the ornaments are appreciated. The lady sitting at the sewing machine in the photo is Chantal Huestis who has done a great job for many, many years coordinating this program.
