I Love Learning!

Really, I do. It almost doesn't matter what it is. I love taking classes.

This past weekend, I did a workshop at Nashville Needleworks. The teacher was Mark Young from Labors of Love out of Atlanta. Check out his "Birthstone Santas" under the "what's new" tab---they might be my next project(s).

This project:

 Four-sided santa. The design is rich with intricate stitches. It's going to be a fun project.

 Each side has so much detail. It will be a work of art when completed.

 As soon as I saw it, I knew I HAD to do it. After all, my last "pudgie" was a huge hit.

Morgan has already laid claim to my Halloween "pudgie!"

Anyway, I'm going to call him my Santa "pudgie."

The design is beautiful---gingerbread house, toys and a Christmas tree. The stitches give it so much depth and dimension. There are beads, twisted cord and Swarovski crystals.

I'm going to really enjoy stitching this---especially during the holidays. I love stitching Christmas things at Christmas time.

When I arrived at Nashville Needleworks, this was at our place:

Our canvases were already mounted. I didn't think to bring my lap frame the first day. I couldn't wait to see what stitches we would use.

Mark, our "teacher" is in the background. Connie on the right is the owner of the shop. If you are a stitcher and ever come to Nashville, you MUST stop by Nashville Needleworks. It is the BEST needlepoint shop you will ever visit--and I've been to quite a few. I've never seen one better. Notice the box of fibers in the front.

This is what's IN the box. When I look at this, my heart starts pumping! As soon as the class started, I knew I was going to love it. Every time I take a class---and it doesn't matter what type---I'm always reminded of how much I love learning.

The workshop was 3 days long from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It was expensive, but then, needlepoint in general is a pretty expensive hobby---really, no more expensive than a college class or a weekend trip! Plus, if you put a dollar amount per hour of the enjoyment you get out of it, it's cheaper than a movie! Not only do you get the enjoyment of taking the class, you have something beautiful when you are done!

After awhile, they gave us each one of these:

The gift certificate was a nice little surprise. But then you realize, you've actually paid for it in your class fee. Still, what a great way for the shop to encourage more sales. Just another way to keep you buying. I guess that's good marketing. That's another thing I love about Connie---she's a good business woman and keeps the shop stocked with great things.

After day one, I learned three things:
1. I needed my lap frame. It's hard to do stitches that take two hands while trying to balance the canvas at the same time.
2. My back started hurting me within the first hour. I usually stitch with my feet up on my ottoman. The next day, I brought a pillow and some extra strength Tylenol. That helped some, but by the end of the day, I was done!
3. 6 hours is too long---not to stitch, but to concentrate. I'm a morning person. Had the class started at 8 a.m. or better yet, 6 a.m. (I wish)---I would have been fine. By the afternoon---after about 5 hours, I started making mistakes. I'm tired in the afternoon. Plus, the class was interfering with my nap time! You know I love my naps! I left at 3 p.m. the first day.

I had so much fun with this. Mark was an excellent teacher. He challenged my OCD tendencies---I start at the beginning of a stitch guide and work straight through---no skipping ahead! I'm very methodical and work on a reward system--"when I finish this, I'll be able to start on that!" Of course, in a class setting, in order to learn the stitches, you have to skip around. I totally get that.

 I like to say that there's a rhythm to the stitches. Once you learn that rhythm, it becomes pretty easy to stitch.

 THIS BEARD! It's driving me crazy. By looking at it, you would think there's a rhythm to the pattern. I'm just not getting it---yet! What I had done in class looked all right, but I could not figure it out! At! All! On Saturday night, I took out what I had already put in.

I've already asked Mark twice for help with this stitch. In my head, I "get it." But I could not make it work. That's when I decided that I was off somewhere. I'm going to wait until I have the time to really focus on this stitch. Once I get started, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Let's put it this way---I've never been defeated by a stitch yet!

A lot of stitchers do not like doing this stitch for the curls. It's called a bullion stitch. I actually enjoy doing them. Sometimes, the biggest problem with the stitches is that you don't do them often enough to remember them. Thank goodness for the stitch guide! Notice the sweater--it looks just like it's been knitted!

This class was not for a beginner---but then, that's what I loved about it. I love learning new things---especially when you can have three solid days doing nothing but focusing on the class! I guess it's just like scrapbooking---it's more fun to get away with nothing else to do but devote all of the time to just one thing. And the food ain't bad either!

Thanks to Connie and Mark for a great workshop!