Where have I been?

It's nearly a month since my last entry, so I kind of hope you've missed me.

So where have I been? Texas. To be exact, Houston, where we were attending the American Needlepoint Guild 2019 Seminar. Houston was cool but hot. I think it cracked 100f every day. We arrived a few days early as I had to hand in my entries for the exhibit, so we had time to make some visits. We did so slowly. It was too hot to do anything quickly, or to stay outside for very long, so we decided we would brave Houston's public transport system. We anticipated a struggle and discovered that it was anything but! It was easy to use, with flat rate fares, clean vehicles, polite and helpful staff and clear direction boards. And in Downtown there were the free Orange and Green buses.

We took the free bus to the tram and the tram to the Fine Art Museum, and we took the free bus to the bus to a needlepoint shop, Chaparral. Everything connected within a block. There was a short hot walk to Chaparral, but it was worth it. Floss Overload! They were lovely people, maybe a bit surprised to have a Scottish couple appear in their midst, but they couldn't have been more helpful. Yes, I fell in love with THE WALL OF KREINIK and just had to indulge.

The Heritage Society at Sam Houston Park was a fascinating step back in time We visited three houses including The Old Place. built in 1823, and an example of the homes of the earliest settlers from the north. Not all the houses were open due to on-going work, but we were given a tour of the San Felipe Cottage, built 1868 and an example of the style of building and furniture brought in by the German immigrants. The third house was recent (I suppose that depends on the age of your building) being from 1903 and is furnished with all the latest gadgets of the period. All but one of the ten buildings were relocated to the park to protect them. If you like pretty parks (clean and green with lots of water features) and old stuff, and you're in Houston, take a look.

Another day, another Museum. The Houston Museum of Fine Arts is massive. We knew we would never have time to see it all so we had to be selective. Pre-Columbian, South American, East Asian, then there was American (US) art and we were out of breath. We chose to look at those areas we don't see as much of in Scotland. Of course we had to stare for an age at the Tiffany window, and you can't go to an 'old stuff' repository without stopping to look at the Mummies.

Discovery Green, across the street from our hotel, was indeed a discovery. I can recommend the ice cream at The Lake House.

But we were there for Seminar. I'm not sure I can find words to explain 'Seminar'. Three hundred avid Needlepointers from all over the North American continent and usually a sprinkling from other continents, all talking embroidery, design, colour theory, all sharing tips and tricks. There are classes with the best teachers and there is an exhibition 'The Exhibit', where we show off our work. I entered two pieces, The Chapter (see Pages, The Chapter for the full story) and Pineapple Welcome.

The Chapter was awarded a Third Place in the Original Design Non-Professional category.

Pineapple Welcome was awarded Second Place in the Adaptation Non-Professional category.

There were classes to go to of course, so there was some stitching. I took 'Allegro', a three day class with Debbie Rowley (Debbee's Designs), and 'Arrival of Spring', a two day class with Gail Stafford. No doubt you'll hear more about the Pineapple and the two classes in future entries.

Egyptian Flower

Nashville, Tennessee, 2005. We will reach a current date at some point.

This piece is called Egyptian Flower and was designed by Toni McKelley, who taught is as a class which I attended at the American Needlepoint Guild Seminar in Nashville.

I chose this class for a number of reasons. Obviously I liked the design, but there were stitching techniques I wanted to learn and threads I had heard of but never used. It has a number of interesting design elements, many which would have worked on their own, but when brought together they make a brilliant overall design. (I happen to know that this is coveted by at least one of my brothers. I may let him have it.) I love the interplay of the solid colours behind the variegated central cross and the vibrancy of the outer cross. (On second thoughts maybe I'll just keep it on my wall a bit longer.)

I decided that I would not stitch any background to Egyptian Flower. Instead, I placed a reflective glossy white sheet of heavy paper behind it to reflect the grid of the canvas. The final framed size is 20" square and it took me 72 hours to stitch.

The dark line near the bottom of the flower is NOT part of the design. It's just my poor photography skills.

Nashville. What can I say? The hotel was humungous, the rooms were larger than our apartment and the covered gardens were stunningly colourful. There were shoportunities and a chance to do some sightseeing.

We did not go the The Grand Ol Opry, nor did we go on a wheel-boat ride. We did go to The Hermitage where I spent a pleasant half hour with one of the docents discussing the military merits not of Andrew Jackson, but of Marshall Ney. What's the link? Both were cavalry men, and General Jackson kept a portrait of Marshall Ney on his wall. I also learned a bit about Andrew Jackson too!
Our other big tour was to Franklin. We visited Carnton, the house that stars in "The Widow of the South" and spent a quiet time of reflection in the cool quiet of the cemetery. After that it was a walk across parts of the battlefield to the town where we got lost in a quilting emporium for at least an hour. It might have been longer, but we had to catch our ride back to Nashville.