Making new friends!

I'm finally in a permanent location and in a relatively stable mental state, so to treat myself, I went looking for a nearby chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America. Fortunately I found one that's only 20 minutes from me (or will be once my GPS and I are on the same page). So yesterday, my friend Carol (a non-stitcher) was kind enough to go with me when I went to check out the Skylands Stitchers monthly meeting.



I enjoyed it so much! The women (and one little dog) were all so welcoming, helpful, and understanding of my lack of enthusiasm for counted cross stitch. It reminded me of when my kids were little and what a relief it was when I had the chance to talk to adults. To be welcomed into a happy little community of women who share my love of needlework (of all kinds) was so refreshing.



Carol was a good sport and chose to tackle the project of the day rather than use one of the really lame cross stitch kits I had picked up for her on the way there. The wool felt needle keeper was great for beginners, but still fun for experienced stitchers. I didn't realize that Carol is left-handed, and trying to teach a a "lefty' how to do basic embroidery stitches is not a simple task. I did manage to show her how to work blanket stitch, back stitch (after we gave up on stem stitch), detached chain stitches, French knots, and feather stitch. I actually have a book for left-handed embroiderers that I will make available some day. It would have been really helpful yesterday!



I'm excited about next month's meeting and looking forward to getting to know everyone in the future.