About Half an Hour Ago...

About half an hour ago I took this photo out of my living room window with my new Christmas toy: a digital camera from my husband via Arlene Jones. Thank you, Jim! Thank you, Arlene, for ALL your help!

I am trying to learn how to use the camera and one of my goals is to be able to post photos on my blog.
Now I will see if it works.

Happy Day After Christmas.

Gay Ann

Flora is going to Callaway

If you have visited my website, you may recognize Flora as my logo. Flora is a goddess of spring and a popular subject for cameos. When I was stitching all my projects for cameos, I thought it would be a challenge to stitch my idea of a cameo and Flora is the outcome. When Laura did my website, she used Flora as my logo.

This past spring I exhibited Flora in a needlework show here in Southern California along with Treasured Remembrance Sampler, Verena's Golden Flowers and Hollyhock House. Laurie McLellan was very involved in the show and said she thought I should support the needlearts. She is right, of course, so I entered the show.

Flora, Verena's Golden Flowers and Treasured Remembrance were in needlepoint; the organizers put Hollyhock House in another category, Petit Point.

Well, I was lucky: I won a first, second and third place for Flora, Verena's Golden Flowers and Treasured Remembrance Sampler and a first place for Hollyhock House. Doesn't this make me sound so important? Very important until you learn that my three were the only entries in their class, Canvas original, and Hollyhock House was the only entry in Petit Point original.

Much to everyone's excitement, there were a gazillion entries in other categories, more than a gazillion attendees and the organizers were so happy! It reminded me that we all have a responsibility to help needlework by showing our needlework.

With this in mind, and with some fear and trepidation, I sent off 10 pieces of my needlework to Callaway day before yesterday. Most are models for my classes this year and next, but I did send Flora as an entry for the show. I wanted her there for my cameo class anyway and I thought, why not.

Part of the reason I am writing this entry: I have a question for you out there in stitcherland. Have any of you ever entered the Woodlawn show? How did you find it? Did you mail in your pieces and were they returned promptly and in good order?

Over the years I have thought of sending in entries for this show but have always backed off because I don't know anyone involved in it and I am hesitant to send off my work blindly. Just yesterday I received an entry form for the show and thought, I should ask about it.

I would certainly welcome any comments.
Thank you and again, Jolly Holidays.

Gay Ann

Tis the Season

I didn't realize a month had gone by without a post to my blog. I was busy making and mailing kits. I call it Kit Hell and I live there often.

The Christmas season is here and in my needlework world, Christmas means Callaway is not far away. Callaway School of Needle Arts is at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain Georgia for 2 sessions in January. Jody Adams has been the director for as long as I can remember and I have been going each year as a teacher for a long time. I think about 300 avid stitchers attend each year and it is all about stitching! Classes go on each day; in between stitching sessions we eat, and then in the evening lots of us go back to class and joke, drink wine, eat more and stitch. Callaway is friendly and serious all wrapped into one needlework school and those of us who go wouldn't miss it!

This year I am teaching for 8 days. The first 4 days I am teaching Treasured Remembrance Sampler which is on my website and Angie a Sampler Maker and Xena a Sampler Maker. Angie and Xena aren't on my website yet. I have a combination of students this year, many I already know and a few new to me. I am greatly looking forward to Callaway, but then I look forward to it each year.

Meantime, I face the usual Christmas preparations.

Happy Holidays to you all.

Gay Ann