We have just returned from a family vacation in the Tennessee Mountains. We wanted to go somewhere close by so that we could return quickly if needed, and we wanted to be fairly self contained. We didn't want to go to restaurants or large tourist traps. A mountain cabin was the perfect fit. All of my daughters and their spouses were there, too. It was a lovely idyll in the midst of all of this COVID chaos.

The registrations for the ANG virtual classes are closing soon. I am amazed by the number of stitchers sighed up to take my classes. Thank you all and I hope I can live up to my normal standards. Teaching online is new to me. ANG is giving us lots of technical support and advise. Thank goodness for that! I'm sure there will be hiccups along the way. There always are when breaking new ground. 

Once I get the ANG classes worked out, I am going to develop an online class of my own. I have a design in mind, but I'm not entirely sure. I'll be thinking about it and will give details as they become clear.

And now I will leave you with a mountain sunset. Enjoy.

i think I am finally adjusting to the new normal. I am blessed to have several family member living in the same house. I can not imagine how hard this all must be for those who live on their own. I can hug my husband, two daughter, and my darling daughter-in-law as often as I want!

My husband and youngest daughter are both still working full time from home. I'm also spending a fair amount of time creating new designs.  I've several new ones ready to submit for class proposals. I only have one class left on the books for this year. If that one cancels it will be next March before I travel to teach again.

Which leads me into my announcement; I am attempting my first online class! The ANG seminar has transitioned from in person to online and I am going to give it a go! Anyone can register, though if you are not an ANG member you will pay a higher fee. The link is below.  If that does not work just google the American Needlepoint Guild. I am teaching thee classes, the Needlework Treasures Scissors Tray, Black and White Garden, and Orion. I'll post photos of those classes as well.

Take care and stay well. We are indeed all in this together!

If you are a regular seminar of class attendee I'm sure you've has something cancelled because of the virus. I've had my next two seminars either cancelled or postponed, too. If you are feeling the loss and looking for something to do, how about attending my extended study program? It is in SEPTEMBER!!!! Yes, September. Far enough away to be reasonably safe from this virus.  First, the link:
egausa.org/event/terri-bay-isabella-ukrainian-whitework-sampler/
Now for some brief details.  The class is September 20-25 in Winston/Salem, NC at the beautiful Brookstown Inn. The Brookstown will spoil you with a cooked breakfast, nightly wine and cheese social, then cookies and milk at 8 PM. We will spend four days working on Isabella, a Ukrainian whitework sampler. (Photos below) She is big, beautiful, and only an intermediate level. You do not have to be an advanced stitcher to to this. And I promise to make it fun! We will learn a lot, but enjoy doing it.
Check it out and let me know what you think!

Life has become very different lately. This virus is sending us a scuttling into out own homes and rightly so. It is a scary thing. I am personally hoping that my oldest daughter's wedding in April happens as planned. Finger crossed, but plan b options are being discussed. My youngest daughter just made it home from England before the travel restrictions went into effect. I am very glad to have her here and starting a new job in the US.

I've had two seminars cancel today. I am sad to miss the opportunity to teach and I know the students will miss seeing their friends and taking classes. I truly believe that stitching is therapy so, I am having a sale! If we all have to stay inside we may as well stitch and what better way to do that than with a new chart. This sale applies to PDF downloads only. I don't want to be running to the post office.

Use the coupon code below to receive 35% off computer downloaded charts.

        social

Yup, just one word. Type social in the coupon code box. Keep stitching! We're all in this together!

Finally a long over due addition to my blog. It has been a busy, crazy, wonderful year. We've added a member to our family and have seen our youngest child get her first job in the animation field and move to England.

I have also taught a lot of classes! I've taught at more than twenty different events and and have realized that it is just too many in a years' time. I love teaching and will continue to do so as long as I can, but at a more realistic rate. I have eleven events scheduled for 2019 and hope to get that down to 8 to 10 in the future. I am sure my daughters will be keeping me busy in the future with more weddings and if I am fortunate, grandchildren. I want to make sure I have lots of time for them, as well as my wonderful husband.

I'm also looking forward to more designing time. My design time really suffered this last year. I need to get some of the ideas that are rattling around in my head down on paper and translated into fabric and thread. My class offering are getting a little thin is some areas, too.

I have a large stock of Cottage Garden Threads ready to add to my web site. As soon as I get this inventory thing figured out, they will be up. I do love these threads. They are such beautiful colors and wear really well.

With love and prayers for blessings in the year to come,

Terri

Yes, the day finally came. It was incredibly beautiful and I am so blessed to have Rachel and Ashley and part of my life and part of our family. The girls were so lovely and we had a gorgeous bright, sunny day. The veils and dresses sparkles in the sun. They asked me to sing the processional and to be honest I had to sing the final verse with my eyes shut. If I had opened them and looked at my lovely daughters and daughter in law the tears would have flowed which is not good for singing!

My life is finally getting back to normal and I have done some much needed updates to the teaching information page. The seminar season is coming up and I'll be traveling a lot in the next few months!

Enjoy the photos!

February was a busy month for me. I taught a class for the lovely ladies of the Magnolia EGA chapter in Charleston. They were a lot of fun and Leslie was a gracious hostess. And she gave me chocolate. What more do you need. I also attended Hardanger University in Myrtle Beach as a student. It is such a good thing for teachers to become students again. I learn so much, not just about stitching, but also about becoming a better teacher. Great fun and a great retreat!

My youngest daughter Heather flew down from Cold and snowy Minnesota and we met up with my oldest daughter Sylvia. We spent the weekend in Savannah having fun, shopping, and most importantly getting their bridesmaids dresses for Rachel's wedding. I have my dress as well now. A few more things ticked off the list.

The last two weeks have not been as much fun.  I caught a nasty cold and spent quite a bit of time in my recliner working my way through several boxes of facial tissues. Bleah. I am finally feeling better and am stitching away madly on the veils. Which is what you all want to see anyway, right?

They are going well. I am needleweaving on Rachel's. I'm not quite there on Ash's yet as I ran out of cord and had to crochet more. I have that done and am now doing the last of the basting on hers. I've made quite a bit of progress and will add several photos below. It has been a lot more difficult keeping my tension even working on these rounded forms. I've discovered how important it is to have the muslin pattern drum tight on stretcher bars. I will never complain about stretching again!

Until next time, enjoy the photos and spring!

This is a quick update before we travel to visit Sylvia. The veils are coming along well. I have Rachel's basted and am working on all of those wrapped connecting bars. Working on a rounded three dimensional project has it's challenges.  I'm used to point lace being stretched taunt while basting. This is free hanging, but then the finished piece does not have to lay flat. Interestingly, I've found that because of this I am stitching with both hands. I'll be going along with my left hand, then switch over to my right when the directions change and back again sometimes every other stitch. There are advantages to being fairly ambidextrous. The next update will be in a few weeks. I won't be working on the veils at all while on vacation. I'm going to enjoy Florida weather after the recent cold snap and snowfall in South Carolina.

Here's the first veil update. The biggest news is that I am doing two veils. One for Rachel and another for her fiancee Ashley. The challenge will be making sure they coordinate without getting too matchie matchie. Rachel has asked for peonies and swallowtail butterflies, and Ash wants water lillies and dragonflies. That should work!

I've begun basting the cord down on Rachel's veil. It's much trickier basting it on a curved, draping piece of fabric instead of the nice taunt, flat muslin I am used to. Sylvia drew out the flowers and I'm using that as a guide for basting. For a dyed in the wool counted thread enthusiast this free wheeling stuff is a big stretch! In the photos you see the muslin with Sylvia's sketching in black marker and the cord I've basted.  So far I'm happy with it, though it's hard to see what it will become at this point in photographs. I can't send you what I am seeing in my mind! I do have to crochet some more cord which will give me something to do during these chilly afternoons. Stay warm out there. Unless you are in the Southern Hemisphere. You stay cool!

2018 will be a big year for us. One of my daughters is getting married and I am making her veil with Romanian Point Lace. It's not my strongest technique, but she loves it so I will do it. I've crocheted a bunch of cord already and my oldest daughter helped me sketch out the design over Christmas. It pays to have a child who is a professional artist. The most fun was draping and pinning muslin over Rachel's head to get the veil to fit correctly. (Photo below) Sylvia not only sketched out the designs but also put a creepy little face on the muslin for me.  Her kitten Bean helped by grabbing the cord and running off with it. Thank goodness he went back home with Sylvia. He's a lot of fun when opening presents, but way too much help with my stitching! I'm going to post progress reports and photos here.  I hope you enjoy the process and I really hope it turns out as beautiful as it is in my mind!

Happy New Year!

Terri