Woodland Reverie at the Academy 2022

As always, we came home from the Academy of Appliqué exhausted and excited, ready to start new projects and jazzed by the inspiration of the many people we met and stitched with during the week. Our first session was these two blocks from our Woodland Reverie series: Butterfly and Trillium and Cascading Creek. The class was roughly divided in half, so we got to watch both blocks coming to life.

Kara is working the quilt on a black background, and Teri is using the neutral background. It is amazing to see the difference that even that change can make in the way a design looks. 

Ribbons, galore—a favorite shop spot

Bins of patterns and kits, and drawers of threads.

Our room, ready and waiting for students!

We finished setting up just in time to see the sunset from our room.

Busy, busy stitchers!

It was fun to watch wired ribbon transform to trillium leaves and petals with a simple pull of a wire. And look at those beautiful trillium blooms!!

The creek is cascading down the hill, ready to be framed.

What a fun butterfly!

We have now listed patterns and kits for each of these blocks. You can purchase the patterns alone, either in printed or digital format, or you can get a kit with the special materials used to embellish the block. You can take a look below, and then head to our web store for more detail. We also have the Spring Robin's Nest back in stock, as well as the Autumn Mushroom Wreath. 

Spring and Autumn on the left, and hints of what's to come on the right.

To order, click here: https://www.needleseyestories.com/shop

We bought these plants to showcase our potstickers, and they bloomed in just a couple of days! We figured that was a sign to come home and stitch up some Spring Potstickers. It won't be long!

Our week brought us new friends and reunited us with many we'd not seen in a while. It was widely agreed by everyone we spoke with that the experience of spending a week with stitchers who share our passion is an indescribable pleasure. If you share a passion for appliqué and hand work, you might be able to imagine—but the feeling is a unique one. There are few places where so many kindred spirits can gather and share such joy. We have been blessed to be a part of this each year.

 

Academy 2022 Offerings—Part 2

We are so excited about The Academy of Appliqué next year that we can hardly wait! The joy of anticipating a week with stitching friends, old—perhaps we should say experienced—and new always fills us will delight, but this year promises to be something especially wonderful!

Last week, Kara shared two of the blocks we will be teaching in Williamsburg next year. In both sessions, we are offering choices for you, so that you can choose either option, or both. In our first session, we add the Butterfly and Trillium to the Cascading Creek—both blocks from our Woodland Reverie series. Two years ago, we introduced this series with our spring and fall blocks (click HERE to see), but there is much fun to come as we explore the woodlands.

We are stitching each of our Woodland Reverie blocks on both a black background and a neutral one. It is fun to see how the colors behave so differently on the contrasting backgrounds. You have the advantage of seeing how the two colorways compare. This block begins with a basic papercut design for the fern; we use back-basting and will teach that method, but if you have a tried-and-true favorite method, that's always fine with us. Embroidery creates veins on the fern, and we created an appliquéd frame in the center using Dupioni silk to showcase our butterfly.

The trilliums are made with French wired ombré ribbon, and the center sparkles with metallic threads. 

The star of this block is a beautiful butterfly, ready to fly away. His wings are free to flap in the wind, as he is attached only in the center. The fun of discovering the perfect symmetrical fabric to fussy-cut for wings is an adventure in itself!

Many of the techniques used in the Cascading Creek and Butterfly and Trillium overlap, so while you might choose to work on one of them during class, you will be able to accomplish both if you desire.

Our second session will cover the center medallion of our Village Wanderings quilt, as well as the corner blocks, the seasonal trees. Because every village needs trees! We will cover the ribbon skills needed to complete the trees, as well as discuss the embroidery used for the little wool birds.

The bluebird sits in the budding spring tree.

A goldfinch in the leafy summer branches.

The woodpecker helps the turning leaves to fall.

The cardinal perches atop a barren snow-speckled wintry tree.

That is a lot of fun to have in one week!! Remember that registration opens at noon EDT on Labor Day. We don't envy you having to make choices among all the wonderful class offerings this year—there are so many wonderful classes from which to select! Of course, we would LOVE to have you joining the fun in one of our sessions, but whatever class you choose, please do plan to stop by to say hello. We'd love to say hi, or to meet you if we haven't yet had that pleasure. See you in February!!

To see the Academy of Appliqué class catalog, go to www.academyofapplique.com. 

"In the Garden" Again: A Final Walk and a GIVEAWAY

What better way to wrap up our revisit In the Garden than with a giveaway? We have been thrilled to see some of the blocks you are creating with these patterns, and are so grateful to those who have shared their progress in our Hopeful Stitchers Facebook Group. It is never too late to join our garden visits. Printed patterns with ribbon are still available, as are digital PDF downloads, and we have shared our original post below, which includes photos of each block.

(needleseystories.com/shop.)

To celebrate our gardening, we thought we would offer a free pattern set for another of our garden quilts, Lovely Botanicals. This quilt set comes with tons of ribbon and thread—everything you need to create this little quilt except the fabric. We appliquéd it in cotton, but there are no rules saying you couldn't do it in wool. In fact, we would love to see it!

Lovely Botanicals

To enter our giveaway, leave a comment on the blog below telling us what flower you would like to stitch in a garden. It can be one you have already stitched or one that you want to try. Just tell us your flower!

For extra entries, leave a comment on our Facebook and Instagram posts (and please like our pages if you haven't!); if you tag a friend that might be interested, you'll get even another chance. That's up to five chances, if you tag different friends on FB and IG. Just remember to tell us the flower you want to stitch!

Selections will be made at random next Wednesday. The drawing is open until Wednesday at noon, EDT. Help us decide what flowers to stitch next—and share the fun! 

We will announce the winner next Thursday on our blog, as well as on our Facebook and Instagram pages. To read more about this quilt and see lots of close-up photos, check out our website by clicking here. 

Happy Garden Stitching!!

🌿🌷🌼🐞🌸🌻🌹🍂🌺🐝🍃

Friday, February 8, 2019

A Final Walk "In the Garden"

I (Teri) thought it might be fun to take a walk together In the Garden and revisit each block. Below the block is a link to the original post, so you can review any special skills covered for that block. Enjoy!

• Introducing "In the Garden," A BOM Series: Cornflowers

• "In the Garden"—Oak Leaves and Acorns

• "In the Garden"—Violets

• "In the Garden"—Cardinals and Holly

• "In the Garden"—Rose

• "In the Garden"—Robin and Forsythia

• "in the Garden"—Dragonfly and Fern

• "In the Garden"—Hummingbird and Fuschia

• "In the Garden"—Hydrangea

• "In the Garden"—Monarch and Butterfly Bush

• "In the Garden"—Garden Gate

• "In the Garden"—Wheelbarrow of Flowers

• "In the Garden"—Wisteria Border and Quilt Assembly

This quilt was such fun for us to design and stitch, and it's even more fun to teach. Happily, a new round of classes has started at the wool shop, so we will be gardening again! Last month, we started with the Cardinals and Holly block, and we'll be stitching the Rose on Saturday. 

We would love to have you join us In the Garden! If you have stitched any of the blocks, it would be a great joy to see pictures. You could share them on our Facebook page.

Patterns for In the Garden are available in our web store, both individually and as a set, so you can pick and choose if you only want a few of the blocks. 

We have really enjoyed this garden journey. Are you wondering where our next stitching adventure will lead us? We shall see!