On Sunday, my buddy, MJ, and I gathered up our stitching tools, a little wine and some chocolate and hit the road for Charlottesville, VA. Our destination was a fabulous needlepoint shop called
Threads (Hi Gretchen!) where we would take a two day class. Gretchen was a delightful hostess - providing lunches, snacks and lots of goodies to choose from in her shop. Several months ago, we signed up for a Tassel class that was being taught by Meredith Willett. In addition to being the owner of
M's Canvashouse in Lexington, KY, she is the co-author of Knots, Fur and Turkey Work. Her co-author is Beth Robertson, who is also known for co-authoring Stitches for Effect, More Stitches for Effect and Even More Stitches for Effect with Suzanne Howren. We were lucky enough to have both of these lovely ladies in the shop with us. On Sunday, Meredith taught us the techniques for stitching all things knotted, furried or turkey worked. Beth busily scoured the thread selection for the perfect threads for our class on Monday. On Monday, Meredith taught us how to needlepoint a tassel. We had to decide on the shape of the head and the ruff of the tassel. We also had to decide if we wanted a two tiered skirt or one long or short skirt. We each had been asked to choose one skein of Watercolours. I chose one called Havana - which is a wonderful mix of purple, bright green and blue. Beth worked her magic and came up with 5 complimentary colors and textures. Her choices were incredible.
This is my tassel. I am very pleased with it. I still have to add another layer to the top of the head. I have to finish one or two more layers of threads and one or two more layers of metallic before the skirt is finished. Then I need to add the ruff right above the skirt. I haven't decided if I will use knots or beads or some other option for that yet. Once it is all stitched, then I will cut the bottom of the skirt to even it out and fluff it up. I will also probably add a background of some sort. I learned so much and had such a great time.
Thank you Gretchen, Meredith and Beth for a great two days. Thanks also to MJ for running away from home with me.
This is my tassel. I am very pleased with it. I still have to add another layer to the top of the head. I have to finish one or two more layers of threads and one or two more layers of metallic before the skirt is finished. Then I need to add the ruff right above the skirt. I haven't decided if I will use knots or beads or some other option for that yet. Once it is all stitched, then I will cut the bottom of the skirt to even it out and fluff it up. I will also probably add a background of some sort. I learned so much and had such a great time. 
5 comments:
What fun! Great tassel!!
Thanks Pat. It really was a fun couple of days. I am really tickled with the tassel, especially the woven part of the head. Thanks for visiting the blog.
When you enlarge the photo of the tassel you can see your magnet in the upper left corner. The colors match the tassel. Do you always color coordinate your magnets to your projects? It is beautiful stitching!!
Becky
Hi Kelly,
The tassel looks wonderful!
I am soooo looking forward to seeing what you do next. :-)
Cynthia
Windy Meadow
Cynthia and Becky ~ Thanks so much for the comments on the tassel. It really is a great project. Funny that you noticed the magnet Becky. I brought it from home and then picked out the watercolours for the class. Totally coincidental. Those colors do happen to be my favorite colors. The tassel matches everything in my closet too! :-)
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