I had the best time stitching my heart out with a group of new friends this past weekend at the Louisville Chapter American Needlepoint Guild‘s annual retreat at Clifty Falls State Park. And what a great setting for a getaway get-together! They had a very large meeting room in Clifty Inn available for 4 days over the Martin Luther King weekend. Come and go as you wish. Work on whatever you wish. Eat what and when you wish. Only requirement? Just wear your mask when your’e in the group stitching area. No problem!

The stitching retreat is a great opportunity to focus on your stitching project(s) and hang out with others who love to stitch. Twenty one ladies from Louisville, Simpsonville & Shelbyville, Kentucky, Indianapolis and Madison, Indiana, and the state of Virginia gathered together to talk about stitching and threads, family, friends, pets, current events, clothes, food and upcoming needlework events. After missing last year’s retreat due to Covid, everyone was so appreciative of the chance to be stitching together again.

If there’s one thing I learned at the retreat, it’s that you can’t pigeonhole a needlepointer! If you think everyone is still just stitching background colors around pre-stitched flowers for matching dining room chair seats, you are in for a surprise! (On that note, however, if you happen to own such a set of needlepoint dining chairs, you might have quite a valuable set of chairs!) The ladies stitching around me were working on an unbelievable assortment of projects – gifts for others, event commemoratives, travel memories, holiday ornaments/pillows/framed items, seminar/class projects, personal use items like tote bags, stitching challenges, and stitching projects simply for the joy of stitching. Take a look a the beautiful variety of needle art work that surrounded me this weekend.

(Left) Patriotic Angel needlepoint ornament being worked by Lucy, who used to live in Washington DC. (Right) Shelley was working on a zippered tote for a gift to her grandson for his bar mitzvah
Roseanne was working on the largest project, a tote bag featuring Key West motifs. Check out the detailed instructions!
Martha, who invited me to attend the retreat, was working on a birth announcement for her newest grandchild, granddaughter Scout Aloise. (Left) Her work beginning of Day 2, and (Right) Her work end of Day 3. Martha was also kind enough to share a photo of a needlepoint Christmas stocking for my recent blog post, “What’s Your Christmas Stocking’s Story?“
(Left) Ann worked a contemporary charted needlepoint piece, “Patchouli” by Tony Minieri. (Right) Karen worked a holiday-themed canvas, “Mr. Charming”
Marcia chose a contempory needlepoint art piece, “Highland Circle” by Kathy Rees
(Left) Betty tackled a time-consuming Thanksgiving-themed counted cross stitch piece, “Turkey Day.” (Right) Harriet worked on a needlepoint travel round of Switzerland. She likes to create ornaments of places they’ve visited. She also does finishing work (as seen in her phone), and the ANG group highly recommends her work. #GoodToKnow!
Charlann working on two interesting projects. (Left) Colorful “Elliott the Patchwork Elephant” by Toni Gerdes was a project featured in an Embroidery Guild of America (EGA) national seminar stitching class last fall. The background is being worked in the Darning Stitch. (Right) This piece is a Gail Stafford design, “Arrival of Spring“, and I’ve used this image as the cover photo for this blog post. As you can see, both of her projects were mounted and worked with the aid of a table light and magnifying glass.
Peggy also had a couple of pieces in the works. (Left) This fabric embroidery project was a project from an Embroidery Guild of Ameria (EGA) Fiber Forum retreat class taught by Mary Ruth Smith. It is a Boro-inspired piece featuring Japanese mending stitching. (Right) Peggy is also working on a daily “self challenge” embroidery piece. I’m watching her progress on EGA’s Group Facebook Page, but it was fun to see it face-to-face in real time!
(Left) Marsha brought handpainted canvases of three different dog breeds. The one shown here is a Brittany Spaniel. She is working on them for her daughter, and they will probably be framed pieces. (Right) Marsha also brought a holiday-themed piece that will either become a Christmas ornament or a standup/three-dimensional piece.
(Left) Marsha’s other daughter, Jenny, frequently accompanies her mother to needlepoint retreats. Jenny waorked on a piece in memory of her dog, Scout, that had to be put down. (Right) Laura was working on the same needlepoint piece as Charlann, “Elliott the Patchwork Elephant“ from an Embroidery Guild of America (EGA) national seminar stitching class last fall. Note that Laura is using a laying tool to keep her stitches even.
(Left) Shirley started working on a needlepoint mini stocking, “Three Kings.” (Right) Susan worked on a complicated shading piece, “Stained Glass Dahlia” by Carole Algie Higginbotham
(Left) Maureen was working on a lighthearted piece to be hung in her bathroom, “La Salle de Bain”, that she described as “a chubby lady in a tub.” (Right) My Madison stitching buddy, Hilary, was also a guest at the retreat. She joined American Needlepoint Guild as an at-large member when she was living in New York. She’s making great progress on her Erhman Tapestry pillow canvas, “Phoenix.”
I was working a canvases I’d had printed by Art Needlepoint in Maine. Click the left image to enlarge and view a portrion of a William Morris design, “Leaves”, intended for a vintage footstool cover. (Right) The other piece was one of two canvases printed from original paintings by two of my grandchildren. They have been studying Claude Monet in their school art class this year. I had compleated grandson Shay’s “Phillippe in Monet’s Garden” (grade 2), but made some significant progress on granddaughter Bridget’s “Bridge in Monet’s Garden” (grade 3) during the retreat!

Membership in the American Needlepoint Guild (ANG) and the local chapter near you will keep you up to date on special stitching classes and events like this Louisville Chapter retreat. The magazine that comes with membership, Needle Pointers, is full of tips, trends and projects. Many of the retreat attendees are also members of the Louisiville Chapter of the Embroidery Guild of American (EGA).

Louisville Chapter American Needlepoint Guild (ANG) will return to Clifty Inn next year for their annual stitching retreat. I’m sure Hilary and I will plan on attending, but I’m hoping some of our Madison stitchers will mark their calendars for Martin Luther King weekend (January 13-16, 2023) and plan to join us at Clifty Falls State Park!

Clifty Inn, Clifty Falls State Park
View of Ohio River from Clifty Inn, Madison IN

Written by

sallymcw

One thing that makes my journey unique is that all of my interests are driven by a joyful and genuine curiosity. I delight in finding less expensive ways to make something or creative ways to enjoy something longer. Finding and creating joy - and sharing it - is core to who I am.