[North Carolina Crafts Festival, 1970s]

Theus oh that's very nice so now I need another  Stitch how many stitches does that require a certain number any number she might  want to use what would be a good you might think of repeating  something that you already have your running Stitch you might want to use more  than you have and you might want to double it or one of the diagonal running stitches like the  yellow there near the bottom on the orange you see where the yellow and the black comes together  yes which is it's a running Stitch it's just the point of origin where it begins and where it ends  that changes it but it's only the running Stitch you make that up if you have a  pattern no I'm just making it doing here this is a needle weaving which the only difference from any other type of  weaving is actually in the tools you use and the fact that it's shaped during the  past few years there's been uh more and more attention on weaving variations or weaving  that you can do that don't that doesn't require a loom or expensive equipment and sometimes  it's known as shaped weaving sometimes as needle weaving when it gets a piece of poster  board it can be any shape this is also um a needle weaving here you see using different  colors with a fan shape the idea is that both of these could be taken off and could be  appliqued to a piece of fabric and worked into a Stitchery panel since our main concern is  uh a creative approach to stitch with now when you say a creative approach what are you what  are you talking about what do you really mean I mean that uh there is more concern for  originality in traditional Stitchery which we might call embroidery cruel work relates  to this any of the needle craft forms which depend more on preset ideas and following  the rules that are established so to speak to get an end result it's predetermined to a great degree  but in Creative Stitchery a characteristic is that more emphasis is being placed on color or emphasis  on texture combining different materials different approaches to the form that you actually get for  example the needle weaving is is just one of many approaches it might be that applique would be used  fabric would be cut and stitched to another piece natural materials might be worked into the  surface of the Stitchery beads feathers so uh I think a characteristic of creative Stitcher  is that the person doing it is responding to the piece in an ongoing way as he works rather  than deciding ahead of time this is what it will be and I'm going to follow these rules verbatim  to make it this way so you really let yourself yes and it's probably much better for you I think  it is certainly I enjoy it more right well you say you use all the different types of materials with  this how do you go about is it a personal matter of deciding color or where do you get ideas for  color and blending colors yes it is a personal matter but one thing that has come out in our  class today is the many resources that we have for color ideas of course we have perhaps that can be  used here is one example right here something that came from a little art book and it's actually a  print much like a painting but this can serve as a color idea for a Stitchery and it did so in terms  of this thread right here these threads consisting of cotton wool rayon a variety of textures a  variety of sizes the inspiration for this color combination was actually this picture we have  another example here where a drapery fabric uh yellow orange rust color brownish black and this  resulted in this color combination so it may be from Fabrics that we already have on hand it may  be from photographs it may be from colors that we see in nature flowers or Birds you know what I was  just thinking about the different shades of green the trees right that could be a dogwood along  with it or something they'd give you a whole color scheme wouldn't it it would and nature is  the best with respect to color idea and color inspiration it's all there if we just learn to  see it do have trouble getting your students to uh to take this approach because traditionally they  have not it takes a it's a change it takes a little while to adjust to this and I forget that  it does take the time but you know as I go into a class I'm reminded suddenly I need to back up  and slow down just a little and work with them a little more and moving in this direction probably  this approach if if you were teaching youngsters you were never in trouble no my experience tells  me that that's right you have no trouble with the youngsters and the younger uh the better because  they have it because they're fresh they haven't been bound to uh to the old ways well listen  let's look at some of the work that is being done by this group of students here non-treat now  here's uh yeah sure you may ask a question to take that off I think but I'm not sure and I don't know  what's going to happen all you need to do at this point is unbutton it so to speak or just slip your  warp Loops off the end and if it appears that you have space to add other filler material across you  could go ahead and do that that's what I wonder you can either Loop through or Stitch down or you  can weave back in with a little more material the same way so terrible now she's let herself go yes  and that's what you want right that was new for her okay well let's move down this way and see  what someone else is doing look like tadpoles tadpoles turn them around and so our camera  might see what looks like tadpoles which is well she is using various materials all right  isn't she turn it a little more up to the right there you go yes that's the way it goes to go oh  man you're gonna have they do look like 10. they do they do look like bed bugs yes I did believe  me after the first one your inspiration was from a picture from a picture let's picture yes and  you are raveling out some material here to get your thread to get the color that I want yeah  it's well for goodness sakes this these two this piece and of course look it's very good because  there's another very interesting let's move along and you were the one that was yelling for help  a while ago yes and did you get it have you got some Stitch that you want let's pick that up  and let us kind of see it a little bit is this your first effort it's this type of yes it is what  are you doing real well doing beautiful beautiful and here um oh it's a part of a mushroom  here we go let's hold it around that's the cast that's the cap and what kind  of stitch is that that's a buttonhole stitch blanket stitch blanket stitch and what's all  this you got on this well that's a mess that's a mess now that's the best way you let yourself  go well I was trying to learn some new stitches on that one well that's exactly what you hear why  I had to fill in spaces when I looked unbalanced I don't call that a mess if I called  it good if I'd been the one doing it foreign treat North Carolina we ran across the  most unusual creative Stitchery class the most unusual part was it was being taught  by a gentlemen Jim Gentry of Asheville yeah recently at Montreat North Carolina we happened  to run across a very unusual creative Stitchery class one of the unusual factors was  that it was being taught by a gentleman named Jim Gentry from Asheville now