The Sun News from the Sun Region of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America, Inc

The Sun News from The Sun Region of The Embroiderers’ Guild of America, Inc.

www.sunregionega.org

June/July/Aug 2011

RD’s Letter

Welcome to Sun News, the voice of Sun Region, representing the 700+ EGA members of the 16 chapters in the state of Florida and the island nation of Bermuda. In our effort to preserve the art of embroidery, we support education in our community through exhibits and displays as well as educational opportunities for our members. We are the Embroiderers’ Guild of America – a 501 (c)(3) organization.

What is happening in EGA land? Over the last few weeks we received information about a number of great education opportunities. “Inside EGA” announced 2 new quarterly correspondence courses where we can register on an individual basis for the current offerings at very reasonable prices. Although it’s fun and helpful to be part of GCC within your chapter, we are no longer limited to participating only in our chapter’s choice. But that’s not all; we can select from 4 Online GCCs, again with very low registration fees.

Recently, EGA members received direct access to the “President’s Mailing” containing information on national and chapter administrative and education programs (including the newest Petite Project). We also receive regular communications from Sue Hacker-Nelson, EGA’s Director of Marketing with updates and links to new information. If you missed the news as it was distributed, you can always go to the Member’s Only section of our website www.egausa.org and you will find archives of Inside EGA, President’s Mailings, Board Minutes and Financial Reports.

These actions support our 2011 EGA goals of promoting greater transparency, making information available to those members who wish to receive it and enhanced educational opportunities. For more details, please go to page 4 for my report from the March 2011 EGA Board Meetings.

In October, I will complete my second term as your Region Director. This has been a very rewarding four years and I personally would like to see our region make a smooth transition to the new set of officers that will be elected at the Sun board meetings in October. Jan Clark, Nominating Committee Chairman, asks for your help in identifying a qualified individual who will accept the nomination for Region Director. As a member of Sun Region, you can help by encouraging potential nomi- (Continued on page 2)

Inside this Issue

ARD’s report page 3 National report pages 5 - 6 Calendar page 2 RD’s letter front page + Chapter reports pages 12 - 15 Sun Region board members page 2 Clip & Mail back page Treasurer’s report page 3

Committee info page 10 … and other good stuff!!! pages 6 - 9

We are EGA Our mission is “to stimulate appreciation for and celebrate the heritage of embroidery by advancing the highest standards of excellence in its practice through education, exhibition, preservation, collection and research.” June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 2

(Continued from page 1) nees to step forward. (Please see the nominating committee’s announcement on page 11.) If we wait until the region meeting in October to have a nomination from the floor, the potential candidate will miss out on a number of important opportunities to become familiar with details of this job in advance. Included are attending the national board meetings in Naples as a guest and mentoring and sharing of information on my part. Think about it, OK?

Jenna McClooney, Sun Region Director [email protected]

Executive Committee Region Director Jenna McClooney [email protected]

Assistant Region Director Betty Baechle [email protected]

Secretary Lynn Abbey [email protected]

Treasurer Pam Burke [email protected]

Committee Chairs Bylaws Adrienne Meyer [email protected]

Education Marge Holmes [email protected]

Historian Judy DeMeglio [email protected]

Marketing - [email protected]

Newsletter Linda Anne Buehler [email protected]

Nominating Peggy Beebe, [email protected] Jan Clark (chair), and Karan Quintero

Outreach Betty Baechle [email protected]

Parliamentarian Margaret Kinsey [email protected]

Roster Debbie Sewell [email protected]

Ways & Means Geni Dickinson [email protected]

Website Lynn Abbey [email protected]

Seminar Chair 2011 National Seminar Donna Christie [email protected]

Note: If you don’t have email, you may contact Region Director, Jenna McClooney, by calling 727-207-0420. She can provide you with further contact information for board members and committee chairs.

2011 Calendar

Sept 1 next Sun News deadline

Sept 8 - 10 International Embroidery Conference Naples, FL

Sept 10 - 16 Flamingo Fandango Naples Grande Naples, FL EGA National Seminar

Oct 15 - 16 Sun Region meeting Sawgrass Marriott Ponte Vedra Beach, FL June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 3

ARD’s Report from Betty Baechle Hard to believe that we need to think about the next Sun Re- gion meeting. Our second meeting of the year is to be held at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra. Last year I was very envious of the husbands that attended. I saw them enjoying the pool. Heard them say they were off to the spa for a mas- sage. One had made great progress on a loom beading project. I did take the van over to the beach club and enjoyed the view of the ocean, had a beverage and appetizer. The van ride was pleasant and it takes you through a very nice neighbor- hood - a little local sightseeing trip. So plan ahead and take advantage of the great rate we have at this fabulous resort and enjoy what is available to all of us. The rates at the hotel are available for one day before and one day after our meeting.

The meeting dates are October 15 and 16, 2011. This is a very strong reminder that with the seminar happening in September we could all forget to make our room reservations. As soon as you read the following instructions head for the phone and make your reservation. Contact the reservations department at 800-457-4653 or 904-285-7777. Remember the cut-off date of September 7, 2011. Our rate will no longer be available after this date and it could be possible that there will no rooms available.

I will look forward to seeing you around the pool or maybe the beach club and, yes, definitely in the meeting room.

Treasurer’s Report (as of June 1, 2011) from Pam Burke Cash Balance (Mar 1, 2011) $42,031.26

Receipts: Dues $3.00 Interest $27.29 Ways and Means $78.00 Sales $30.00 Contributions $94.25 RM Lunches $660.00 Taxes $1.80 Subtotal: $894.34

Disbursements: Educational Events (GCC/Grant) ($400.00) Rent RM ($170.04) Admin ($37.44) Officer's Travel ($1,084.39) EGA Annual Fund ($200.00) Licenses and permits ($10.00) Region Meeting Lunches ($489.82) Subtotal ($2,391.69)

Cash Balance (May 31, 2011) $40,533.91

Sun News publication schedule: quarterly - March, June, September and December

Region officers, committee chairs and chapter representatives are reminded that

the deadlines for submissions are: March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1. Linda Anne Buehler, editor June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 4

Save the Date! Mark Your Calendar & Come Join the Fun “A Stitcher’s Celebration”

What: Sun Region’s marathon stitching event for 2012! Do you need some time to unwind from all the hard work on seminar 2011? Are you looking for an opportunity to relax and stitch with friends in a beau‐ tiful and relaxed setting? If so, do we have an event for you ‐ Stitch ‘till you drop at “A Stitcher’s Celebra‐ tion.”

When: Friday May 18 ‐ 4:00 pm until Sunday May 20 – 12:00 noon.

Where: The Bohemian Hotel Celebration, nestled lakeside in Celebration Florida offers a delightfully charming blend of Old Florida elegance and contemporary luxury. It is in the heart of Celebration – a planned community famous for its nostalgic hometown flavor – amidst the boutique shops, dining, na‐ ture trails and entertainment options of Celebration Town Center. The cost of a double room will be $160.00 plus tax. More information will be available soon. If you prefer, you may stay at the hotel of your choice or in a private residence. Information for locations close by will be included in the June cor‐ respondence.

Registration: We will begin registration on July 1. More details will be available in late June on the Sun website www.sunregionega.org and e‐mail notifications. Until then, here are the basics: Registration will be $50.00 per person and this includes lunch on Saturday, favors, and cost of the stitching area rental. Due to a generous donation from one of Sun Region members, attendees who stay at the Celebration ho‐ tel will pay only $25.00 registration fee.

So, mark your calendar and watch for more information! June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 5

. Report From National Board Meetings March 3‐6,2011 in Louisville KY

As your Sun Region Director, I participated in a variety of meetings including the finance committee (as secretary and committee member), regions committee meeting (for region directors and led by the vice president), planning and board meetings. We had board member training and a visit to our new headquarters' offices. All 13 region directors squeezed out a couple of hours the last evening with a "bead‐in" to work on our annual donation to Seminar 2011's live auction.

New office space – The move to our new office space was completed in early April. Our office is part of a loft‐type building that is shared by other companies that specialize in architecture, design and other artistic businesses. We now have room for small exhibits, the library, and the collection in addition to ample work space for our staff. Earlier this year, we outsourced the majority of accounting and payroll to the accounting firm DMLO. This change was necessary to ensure accuracy with complex accounting and tax issues and resulted in reduced cost to EGA through the elimination of one staff position. We will continue using the address: 1355 Bardstown Rd, Suite 157, Louisville, KY 40204. (Mail to this address actually goes to a receiving center not the actual address).

EGA Website: We renewed our contract with the current group until February of 2012 when we will unveil a new site using a different platform. We will change to a "content management system" that involves lower development and maintenance costs plus the ability to manage much of the content ourselves. If you are interested in learning more about content management websites, follow the WordPress link here: http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/wordpress‐as‐a‐cms‐ content‐management‐system

EGA Board Planning - Goals for 2011 We all see the importance of increasing membership and to do so, we need to promote EGA effectively. But, we need to ask the question, "What is our product and is it sellable?" On the national level, EGA works to attract Members At Large (MAL) but only chapters can recruit new members at the chapter level. To support chapters, EGA is developing or enhancing various programs that will lead to increased value of EGA membership. At the same time, chapters need to evaluate their effectiveness in promoting their chapter and the “product” that they are offering to new members. (Don't forget we have a tool to help us with this effort ‐Sun Region's Membership Resource Guide, available on your website www.sunregionega.org,). For 2011, the national board is focusing on developing actions that we can complete during this year resulting in an enhanced product that we offer to our current and prospective members. The next section describes specific actions that we will complete in 2011. 1. Improve Communication ‐ Business activities will become more transparent and we will make it easier for individuals interested in obtaining information about benefits as well as the operation of EGA. • Financial reports containing more detail will be available on the website on a quarterly basis. • The President's Mailing (containing important information and Petite Projects) is now online for all members to access. • Region directors will be assisted in their role as communicator by allowing us to utilize Constant Contact blast messages on a quarterly basis. (I will continue to provide information via the Sun region newsletter and requests for chapter newsletter editors to forward information to members or include it in their newsletter when the timing is appropriate.) • Our new Director of Marketing, Sue Hatcher‐Nelson, will provide a monthly marketing newsletter using Constant Contact (We have already received 2 of these messages.) • We will continue to seek new ways to provide information to members who do not use computers. • The officer notebook will be updated with current information and re‐named to indicate that it is information that can be used by any member, not just officers. 2. Alternate Ways to Attract Members: We will develop a template for electronic‐chapter formation. Currently we have one “e‐chapter” that is associated with the Greater Pacific Region. The past region director responsible for the development of this group has agreed to document the process so that EGA can develop a template for regions who want to pursue this activity. The benefits are to involve MALs in region activities, appeal to younger, computer‐ June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 6 savvy potential members, as well as existing chapter members. This e‐chapter did not draw members away from the existing GPR chapters. Interested chapter members belong to both. The difference between an e‐chapter and EGA's cyber chapter is the connection to a specific region and participation in that region's events. 3. Actions to strengthen education opportunities: Some of these actions are already in progress. They will contribute to enhanced membership "value". • The catalog of current Petite Projects has been re‐designed to contain details of the techniques that are presented. As new projects are developed, they will be published on our EGA website and are free to members. Past projects are available via order from headquarters for $5. Previously issued projects are being updated with computerized stitch charts and fresh pictures and will be uploaded on EGA's website as completed. After all Petite Projects have been updated, we will begin expanding the New Kid on the Block program. • A spiral bound stitch guide will be developed. • Study box updates will be completed. • The development of "workshops by mail" is already in the pipeline. • Mail order classes to be available in 2012. 4. Chapter/Region Financial Guidelines is under revision: These guidelines are currently being revised to correspond with additional information for budgets and annual reports that are required by the IRS. I will advise all chapter treasurers when the revisions are complete and it is available on the EGA website.

It’s not too late to register for:

The Embroiderers’ Guild of America’s Fifth International Embroidery Conference

Embroidery of the Americas and The Influence of Colonization

8 Speakers Covering Native American, Spanish, English and French Influences

September 8, 9, & 10, 2011 Naples Grande Resort Naples, Florida

Seminar 2011 “Flamingo Fandango” Naples, Florida September 10 – 16, 2011

Registration remains open for many classes, tours and the Naples Grande Beach Resort but ... you must register ASAP to secure your reservation.

Refer to the March Needle Arts for class selection and banquet reservations as well as more information on tours, boutique, and other Seminar events. Don’t miss out. Reserve now!

Available tours and events: ______Everglades Airboat and Eco Tour, Saturday September 10, 9:00 ‐‐ 2:00 or Wednesday, September 14, 8:30 ‐‐ 1:30 The first adventure will be the Fakahatchee Strand for an easy tour along the boardwalk through the largest of the Everglades’ strands which was the setting for The Orchid Thief book and movie. A thrilling airboat ride follows with a wide variety of birds, migrating manatees and mangrove tunnels before reaching the alligators reclining in the Flor‐ ida sunshine. The Saturday tour includes a visit to the famous Rod and Gun Lodge for a southern lunch where Presi‐ dents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Hoover and Nixon; and many actors relaxed in the rustic and charming lodge on the waterfront of the Florida everglades. ______Edison and Ford Winter Estates Wednesday, September 14, 9:30 – 2:45 These two homes, listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, are beautifully situated along the Caloosahatchee River on 20 acres of landscaped property. In 1886 Thomas Edison first visited Florida, purchasing property where he built a vacation home serving as a winter retreat and work place for the prolific inventor. Edison’s good friend Henry Ford followed close behind purchasing the neighboring property in 1915. The furnishings and architecture of these gracious building are reminiscent of a bygone era. Botanical gardens reflect the love of exotic foliage in the tropical setting of South West Florida. Be sure to visit Mina Edison’s award‐winning Moonlight Garden. The Estates Museum has an impressive collection of inventions and artifacts, special exhibitions and archives. Guests also can enjoy the Museum Store, Garden Shoppe, Cottage Shoppe and outdoor Banyan Café. The tour includes a riverside lunch. ______Naples Grande Chef’s Cooking Demonstration Wednesday, September 14 12:00 – 2:00 You do not have to leave the resorts’ air conditioning while enjoying a personal demonstration by the hotel chef. He will prepare a delicious lunch for your dining pleasure in the Chill out Lounge while describing the what and whys of his presentation. Enjoy coffee or iced tea, with this delicious lunch of Lentil soup with sour cream; Rosemary scented chicken breast, Parmesan Polenta Cake…Tomato Provencal served by the restaurant staff. Spectacular! ______Fandango Pool Party at the Mangrove Pool on Wednesday evening 6:30 – 10:00 Put your stitching aside for an evening of balmy tropical breezes under the clear starlight sky for the “EGA Seminar Only” Fandango Party Poolside at the Naples Grande Beach Resort. To accompany the Spanish Dance of the Fandango; your palate will be tempted by the numerous food stations placed around the pool. Swirling dancers will demonstrate the Fandango in two separate sets during the evening. Fandango is a lively folk and Andalusia (flamenco) couple‐dance usually performed in triple meter. This dance starts out slowly with a gradually increased tempo; many varieties are derived from it. Dress can be as casual or as elegant at you like and flip flops are optional! ______

Of course, there is much more available at the Seminar so register for a class, a tour, a room and make your travel arrangements so you don’t miss out. If this is your first Seminar, or one of many, we look forward to seeing you there! June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 8 Gulfview Chapter Member Donates Flamingo Quilt to Seminar 2011 Fundraising

On behalf of the Gulfview chapter, Kathy Bolyard, Gulfview Chapter Vice President, presents Seminar 2011 chairman Donna Christy with a flamingo themed quilt that she made. This item will be included in the live or silent auction to be held on Thursday September 15 from 7:30 – 9:30 pm at the Naples Grande Beach Resort in Naples FL.

BULLETIN Just In: The boutique is offering a Seminar exclusive! A few items by Puffin, with the Florida theme, will be available only at Seminar 2011. Look for them at the Golden Needle Boutique to hold your needles or glasses during class and to take back to friends as a souvenir. June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 9

Congratulations to Linda Dean Master Craftsman recipient in Crewel, May 2011

Linda Dean, Canopy Oaks member and region representative, recently completed her studies and received the title of “Master Craftsman” in Crewel embroidery. Linda and several other recipients of this award will be honored at the opening banquet of Seminar 2011, Flamingo Fandango. For more information about the Master Craftsman program, please see page 5 of your new EGA Education Catalog 2011‐2012 (in the back of the June 2011 Needle Arts magazine.) In the next paragraphs, Linda explains the rewards and challenges of her journey through this exciting program.

“The process of working toward “Master Craftsman” was, for me, one of excitement and challenge. At the beginning, I expected that the path would be mostly demonstrating my ability to execute masterful stitch‐ ing. I soon learned, however, that stitching was only part of the process. With each step, the assignments gently and progressively required more design work. Recommended texts on color and design helped me gain basic concepts. Taking two embroidery design courses helped me begin to perceive the embroidery application of the design concepts. With each step, my ability to create expanded along side my skill in technical stitch execution. Now that the steps of the Master Craftsman in Crewel are complete for me, I realize two things: first, how much the MC program helped me grow as an embroiderer; and, just how very much more there is to learn.

EGA has 11 areas of Master Craftsman. Whatever your area of needlework interest might be, I hope that you consider the Master Craftsman path.” June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 10

Committee Information

BYLAWS - Adrienne Meyer, chair

Two recent between-session-motions have been presented. Later this summer I will send out an attachment containing replacement pages resulting from the motions for the Sun Region Rep Notebook. These pages will be in PDF for- mat and each region representative should print out and insert them into the notebook, destroying the earlier pages.

The first motion as presented by Jan Clark on Sunday, March 27 included an amendment to the motion. Both the amendment and the amended motion passed.

"The nominating committee recommends that Sun Region remove its policy G.2.a.1 on page III-D-5 which states: "The region director shall not come from the same chapter as the predecessor." Motion Carried

The second motion presented by Adrienne Meyer on behalf of the bylaws committee recommended a change in the amending process for Sun Region Policies. The voting period extended through June 14 so results are not final at the time of this publication. The board will be notified of the results of the vote. “Policies & procedures may be amended by recommendation of the board or a committee and a two-thirds vote by members present at a regular meeting or between session motion, or by a majority if previous notice is given. Finan- cial items require a thirty (30) day advance notification in writing and a two-thirds vote.”

EDUCATION - Marge Holmes, chair

Have you been reviewing your June issue of Needlearts? Time to look at all the GCC’s that are currently being presented. We now have five Chapters signed up to begin new ones under our Sun Region program. If you would like to be included in one of them, let the chapter know, or contact me.

Canopy Oaks and Sandhill Crane: Hummingbird and Honeysuckle. Central Florida: Finishing with a Flair. Sand Dollar: Beginning Schwalm. Chain Stitchers: Moonlight Sonata.

This is such a wonderful opportunity to take one of these classes despite the fact that your own chapter is not interested in any of these GCC’s. Do consider it. It is fun to work on these in a group, but it is something you personally would like to do – it is also fun to work on it yourself. Other chapters members are always available to advise or assist if you have a problem, as well as the teacher herself. June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 11

A Letter from Your Nominating Committee – Jan (Palin) Clark, chair It was the intention of the nominating committee to present a slate of officers in this edition of Sun News. As of this writing, we have candidates for all positions except Region Director. We have interviewed a number of promising individuals for this position but none accepted the nomination. So here’s where we stand; we need a qualified candidate to step forward and volunteer. The alternative is to ask for nominations from the floor at the October region meeting. But there is a better way – please take a minute to learn about the opportunity that this situation presents.

Granted, filling Jenna's shoes may be tough, but each new RD is bound to feel that way in the beginning. We know that we have talented members in our region that could do a great job with this position because we talked to those that we were aware of. Yes, the position of RD comes with a degree of challenge, but what about the satisfactions and perks of being Region Director?

The RD has the opportunity to meet and communicate with region members on many levels as well as lead the region board and participate on the national board. Any past RD will tell you, enjoyable and lasting friendships result from these experiences. The RD travels to Louisville in the spring for board meetings and opportunities to visit headquarters, the collection and resource library. In the fall, meetings are held at the seminar site and the RD is in position to enjoy seminar after the board meetings. As a member of the National Nominating Committee I was able to travel to San Francisco last year to observe these meetings and found this board to be an impressive bunch that seems to be enjoying what they are doing.

Jenna has positioned Sun Region to be on the leading edge of EGA’s future as an organization. We also provide a strong influence in the direction EGA is taking because we have 6 people on the national Board; Barb Harrison (VP), Kathy Singleton (Treasurer), Donna Christie (Seminar 2011 Chair), Margaret Kinsey (IEC Chair), Jenna(RD, Finance Committee Secretary & 2013 Dean of Faculty), and me(National Nominating Committee member). When EGA National needs good workers they always turn to Sun Region for willing and able candidates.

We have a lot going for us with our chapters’ active youth, outreach, exhibits, recruitment and public education programs. It makes Jenna proud to hear the stats reeled off at the board meetings and have Sun Region in the top performers in many categories. We are hot! Here’s the short list of Sun Region’s accomplishments over the past 4 years: • Developed two programs that national has adopted: “3Rs “‐ Membership Guide and “Stitching Series.” • First Region to create a marketing committee with publicity grants available to all chapters. • Chapter involvement resulted in a membership increase of almost 10% in 2010. • First Region to distribute all region meeting materials electronically – welcome to the 21st century Sun! • Held the First Cruising Region Seminar and then did it again 3 years later! • Hosting a National Seminar 2011 that's going to be great

Because of well‐run chapters, motivated board members and a strong foundation of region programs, we are a great region to lead. So, what do we look for in our RD? We would like our RD to be organized, a good listener, have a sense of humor, communicate effectively, be responsive to e‐mail and possess basic word processing skills. At the same time, mentoring from past RDs and other officers will be available as well as technical computer support. Past experience as a chapter or region officer is helpful but not mandatory. Business experience can be a strong asset with the direction that EGA is taking.

So with all this said, I sincerely hope this letter will encourage someone to step forward knowing that there is a support system in place to help get you on your feet and well on the way to leading Sun Region into the next term of activities and accomplishments. If you're interested, drop a note into my e‐mail or call me. I'd love to chat with you. My iPhone is always on. The e‐mail address is: [email protected] and the phone number is 321‐431‐5659. June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 12 Chapter Reports

BERMUDA Kathy Faries At our March meeting we had all members who could, bring the first piece of needlework that they had ever done. It was quite interesting to see.

In April, our talented member Morag Smith (pictured at right) taught us Elizabethan embroidery (pictured below). Kits were purchased from Austra- lia. This class was enjoyed by all who took it. In April we had Carole Lake come to Bermuda and give us a two day workshop on how to do a stitch guide for a painted canvas. All participants were asked to bring in a canvas that they were going to stitch and with Carole’s help ideas were given on how to stitch them. Carole gave us a wonderful booklet with all kinds of ideas for stitches and where they could be used. Our show of work and annual general meeting takes place on June 4th.

BISCAYNE Marge Holmes Biscayne had an extremely satisfactory Stash to Stash Sale in March and plans are being made to share the profits with all our chapter members.

In April, Andrea Ellis designed a blackwork scissor fob and taught it to the members. In May, Pat Hollack showed us how to take a flannel sweat shirt and make it into a one of a kind designer jacket with either waste canvas stitching or crazy quilt designs. In June, former member LaVerne Johnson will be showing us her gor- geously designed color wall hanging quilts.

In July and August, we will be stitching at the church on the 2nd Saturday of the month. Hopefully we will clear out some of our UFO’s.

Our Habitat for Humanity group continues to meet on the 3rd Friday to work on Kissing Pillows, Bookmarks, and of course the Habitat Samplers, 18 of which are ready for a dedication in June. The bookmarks have gone to four local schools and have been well received by both students and teachers, having been stitched by EGA and the local ANG chapter, as a joint project. We have continued to collect personal items for the abused woman’s shelter, and pop tops for Ronald Mcdonald House.

We’re looking forward to Jane Nicholas teaching us in September after we return from the National Seminar in Naples.

June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 13

CANOPY OAKS Linda Dean Education opportunities abound at the Canopy Oaks Chapter, in Tallahassee. • GCC Autumn 2011 – Chapter members just voted to offer “Hummingbird and Honeysuckle – Stumpwork” beginning sometime in September. Region members are encouraged to participate in this charming and exciting design. Registration is now open. Text is $30. Contact coordinator Pam Doffek at [email protected]. We will be requesting reimbursement funds as part of the region grant program. • GCC White Queen – Stitching is progressing with 14 chapter members expecting to complete by the first week in August. • GCC Shading Stitches – Two members are participating in the “Inside the EGA Newsletter” on-line GCC by Judy Jeroy. • ICC Silk and Metal Thread Embroidery – One member is now about half-way through the series of lessons with teacher Kay Stannis. • Master Craftsman – Linda Dean successfully completed Step 6 of 6 in Crewel and received her certificate in May. Linda’s achievement will be acknowledged in Naples at the annual national seminar. • Chapter-sponsored summer workshops – In June, Linda Dean will facilitate the chapter workshop on design- ing and stitching name tags with the chapter logo. In July, Pam Doffek will follow-up on embellishing and finishing the name tags.

Community Outreach continues to be an emphasis. Although our chapter does not hold meetings during the summer, we will have an exhibit and Stitch-in-Public at a local library during August. We are now finalizing our chapter business cards for distribution at that time. The funds for the business cards were part of our grant from the Sun Region. An article about our February Stitch-in-Public Day event and month-long exhibit at the Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library was submitted and author Jacque Clemens has been notified that it will be published in the “Inside EGA” newsletter.

CENTRAL FLORIDA Deby Tally Spring did not linger too long in central Florida - it seems our weather went straight to summer. But our stitching gave up spring time in our hearts at least! In March we had a Saturday meeting where we explored a Sampler box from headquarters. This was also a chance for several members to bring in samplers they had stitched or owned to talk about. We had some visitors at this meeting who expressed interest in our chapter and hopefully will be joining us soon. In April both the night meeting and the day meeting focused on finishing the small hearts we stitched in February. Our May meeting was our annual potluck and stash sale. We had several large items donated so a silent auction was also set up. It was a very successful day- lots of stash found new homes and the members once again brought some delicious food. We also turned in about 40 kissing pillows to send off.

Our summer stitching program will include a class on color, a petite project using the lessons from our color study and in August we will be working on Habitat for Humanity samplers.

Many of us are looking forward to September and Flamingo Fandango and the International Embroidery Confer- ence. We hope to see many of our stitching sisters there.

CHAIN STITCHERS Geni Dickinson In May Chain Stitchers celebrated our anniversary dinner with a buffet-style dinner catered by a former member, Alice Woerner. In addition, we had a silent auction which raised $249 for Hospice. This brings our total so far for Hospice at $583. We have other activities planned to continue to raise money for Hospice.

Our final business meeting before the summer was in May and we were saddened to hear that Donna Gotts would be leaving us to go back to Michigan. She gave up her chapter secretary position. Fortunately, Carol Newton stepped in and has taken the position of chapter secretary for the rest of the term.

For the summer, we have several programs planned. In June, Claire Nardone will instruct us in making a bead pad. In July, Claire Nardone will instruct us in make a crystal ornament. In August, we will sit and stitch getting June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 14 ready for the fall. In addition, our Hardanger group will meet every fourth Friday at Sue Butler’s house. In Sep- tember, there will be a Ways and Means surprise.

duCLAY JoyceAnne Stevens duClay Chapter is having an exhibit of their needlework at the Orange Park Library during the entire month of June. We are hoping to attract some new members. For the first time in many years we will have a place to meet during June and July. The senior citizen center of Orange Park is letting us use a room and the center is only a block or two from the library

Our 2 stitch-ins continue to meet on the 1st and 2nd Saturday of each month. During June and July the library closes its meeting rooms to all groups so they can keep them available for the library’s summer programs. How- ever, as in the past, we will be able to stitch in a conference room so that those who wish to continue stitching during the summer will have a place to stitch.

GULFVIEW Judy DeMeglio We will be having a quiet summer with stitch-ins at members’ homes in June, July and August. We look forward with eager anticipation to Flamingo Fandango in Naples in September. Our plans for the fall include a class in candlewicking led by Dee Mullins. This will be followed by a class in November in the petit crewel project “Tudor Rose” led by Judy DeMeglio. We are still working on the GCC “Floral Whimsy” and finishing up the pilot of Jeanette Rees’ “Fall in the Mountains”. We just had our June picnic potluck and enjoyed the company of two guests who participated in an engaging fun class in Italian tassels taught by Jenna McClooney.

INDIAN RIVER Adrienne Meyer Indian River Chapter has been busy since the last issue of The Sun News. At our April meeting, we had a representative from the American Heart Association who spoke about heart disease and women.

In May we celebrated the chapter’s 34th anniversary with two charter members present to cut the cake. After the luncheon Mimi Petersen taught us to crochet a necklace from which to hang a purchased “dangle.”

The month of June is always busy with the opening of our chapter program Teaching Embroidery to Children at the Satellite Beach Library. This will be our 9th summer with the children, many of them veterans of several summer sessions.

We also learned basic cutwork while stitching EGA’s Petite Project A Taste of Cut- work by Barbara Ing. Adrienne Meyer led the group of 36 members doing the project.

The chapter always celebrates Christmas in July with donations to The Haven, a local home for abused children. Members donate items needed by the home such as McDonald’s gift certificates, disposable diapers, sunscreen, toothbrushes and paste, juice boxes and cash. A representative from the home speaks about the service The Haven performs for the community in providing a shelter for these children. Finally the members stitch a small project, this year the Elegant Bookmark from the March 2011 Needle Arts magazine.

Our 2nd annual retreat will take place on July 9 with games, food, a Make & Take project, stitching on the project of your choice, door prizes and white elephants. For all of us this is a highly anticipated don’t-miss-it occasion.

June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 15

NEAPOLITAN Janet Kassing Our chapter’s 30th Anniversary Luncheon at Royal Poinciana was great. Members came from Texas and Cen- tral Florida along with a new member from Ireland. Everyone was given a favor along with a booklet of the his- tory of Neapolitan Chapter.

It’s that time of year when many of our members have already headed north. We wish them safe travel and look forward to seeing many of them return in September for Flamingo Fandango.

Even though general meetings are not held during the summer months, we continue to have three stitch-ins each month - some of which are held at member’s homes.

Recently our Chapter Board put together a task force to make frame weights. These frame weights will be sold on merchandise night at the seminar on Tuesday, September 13.

The following classes are scheduled: September 19 & 20 “Corncockel and Dragonfly” stumpwork class with Jane Nicholas. January 19, 20 & 21 “Stumpwork Iris” class with Michele Roberts March 22, 23 & 26 “Rose of Sharon” pilot class with Joan Thomasson

Our members are busy planning and stitching items for our February 16-18, 2012 “Art of Embroidery” exhibit. In addition, we are continuing to stitch samplers for Habitat for Humanity which is asking for 100 samplers a year.

SAND DOLLAR Kay Dune Sand Dollar Chapter does not meet during the summer. However we do get together at the libraries in New Smyrna and Port Orange to stitch Christmas ornaments for the Atlantic Life Skills (mentally challenged students) program at Atlantic High School. We will be having a cookie exchange in July, our first ever. We will pick up regular meetings again in September.

SAND DUNES Debbie Sewell Inspired by the membership discussion at the March Sun Region meeting, our chapter decided to hold another Stitch in Public event in April. We met at a local Books-A-Million store for an evening of stitching. We had several visitors and we gave out some of our newly designed business cards. One of the visitors came to our April night meeting and one joined us as a new member. We have scheduled another event in Mid-July.

We don’t have regular meetings during the summer but we do have evening stitch-ins scheduled. In August, we will hold our annual membership coffee. We are all looking forward to the unveiling of our new program year. We are also in the process of selecting a GCC that will begin in the fall.

SANDHILL CRANE Linda Hansen In April the Chapter had the privilege of participating in a two day program by Debbie Bowers from Needle Orts in Almonte Springs. The first day consisted of a Flamingo stitched on canvas and the second day was a beautiful pin embellished with Swarovski crystals. She and her husband also brought a wide variety of new threads and fibers to educate and amaze us with what is available to enhance our projects. Our education and program com- mittees continue to do an outstanding job in providing our chapter with challenging monthly projects.

SEA GRAPE Charlotte Nelson Our chapter has been very busy this season. We were very fortunate to have the local newspaper do a two page spread about embroidery and the chapter a week before our exhibit this spring, which really contributed to it's success. Several members are participating in the Group Correspondence Course, Moonlight Sonata. This is a lovely hardanger piece. We are continuing with our outreach programs of stitching bookmarks for the Literacy Volunteers, as well as knitting and crocheting caps for newborns at the local hospital. The summer project for this year is a challenge to design and stitch a needle roll. They will be displayed at our October meeting. All our members are looking forward to the seminar this September in Naples.

June/July/Aug 2011 The Sun News page 16 Clip & Mail

October 15, 2011 Sun Region Meeting - 11:30 a.m. Luncheon Reservations Sawgrass Marriott Ponte Vedra

Name ______Chapter ______

E-Mail ______Phone: ______

Mail your reservation and check for $22.00 (payable to Sun Region EGA) to be received by October 4, 2011 to: Betty Baechle - Meeting Coordinator 10716 Mirasol Drive #602 Miromar Lakes, FL 33913

Circle one:

Y N I will be participating in the Saturday evening program hosted by Stitching Gators chapter.

The Sun News Linda Anne Buehler, Editor 286 Forest Street Seagrove Beach, FL 32459-6261

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