Past Programs
November and December 2024 Program
We gathered together to work on PANG's 25th Anniversary design.
Every member received the chart and instructions
for this beautiful design by Pam Gardner!
December also marked our first hybrid meeting: distance members were able join (on Zoom) with the group present at our meeting room in Reston.
PANG's 25th Anniversary Celebration!
October 13, 2024 (Sunday)
We had food, fun, and gifts including a wonderful design by Pam Gardner, to celebrate 25 years of Potomac ANG.
We had some wonderful guest speakers: Barbara Evans (ANG VP Membership); Allison Leach (ANG’s Eastern Area Representative); and Deb Kempton who is a member of Nelly’s Needlers and Co-chair of the Woodlawn Needlework Show.
Our fabulous members came through as well and created a wonderful display of their favorite needlework projects.
The cookies (featuring the PANG logo) were made by Treats and Sweets 4U in Chantilly, VA.
Christmas Sparkles
We hosted nationally known NAN teacher Diane Clark for a half-day, introductory stumpwork class.
Course Description: Create this beautiful stumpwork Christmas tree ornament using wool applique, padding, metallic threads and bead embellishments. Decorate your tree using detached buttonhole stitch for garland and seed beads for ornaments. Cross stitches create the gifts under the tree, and bead bows give them an extra special touch. A brilliant round crystal atop the tree adds just the right holiday sparkle. Available in blue or green colorway.
September 15, 2024
August 2024 Program
August 15, 2024
Stitch Notebook: The start of a more in-depth look at various stitches, starting witih buttonhole / blanket stitch. The idea behind this program is to learn or practice stitches/techniques such as turkey work, needle weaving, pinwheels, knots, Jessicas, crescents, unraveling flair! Plus: Overview of Stitch Banks; e.g., the Royal School of Needlework's guide
Lynda's water stitches
July 2024 Program
July 18, 2024
Water, water, everywhere…
We’ll take a more in-depth look at water. While some background water stitches will be presented during our background discussion this spring, in July we’ll take a look at water (and glass) as an element of the design rather than just a background.
We’ll discuss how to achieve reflections in water, how to stitch water in a vase, how to stitch rain, and how to stitch glass.
An example of a Charley Harper canvas from our March 2024 meeting
An example of a Charley Harper canvas from our March 2024 meeting
March 2024 Program
March 21, 2024
Painted Canvas
The most popular programs we considered during program planning were the Charley Harper painted canvas animals, and backgrounds.
At the March meeting, we started with a presentation about Charley Harper.
Then, our members showed pictures of our chosen painted canvas designs. A rich discussion followed about stitches, threads, and everything!
February 2024 Program
February 15, 2024
On Zoom
Diane Hermann gave us a wonderful, thought-provoking presentation on Seven Symmetries and how to apply the technique to designing borders. http://dianeherrmann.com/
Imagine all the designs ever created by all the artisans, from every culture in the world, in all of human history. It’s staggering to think of the variety of patterns available to these creative minds. Now, narrow your focus to consider just those patterns artists might use to make borders: long repeating designs on wallpaper borders, or skirt hems, or samplers, or lengths of lace, or tiles, or rugs. It’s still hard to imagine all the designs there are, or have ever been.
And yet, if you narrow your focus just one level further, to the single design element of symmetry, an amazing fact emerges. If you consider border patterns and the mathematical symmetries they allow, there are only seven distinct patterns available to use! How can this be, and how might we as designers or artists use the knowledge of these patterns to enhance our creative capacity? Mathematics has the answer to why there are only seven types.
January 2024 Program
January 18, 2024
Thread Explosion -- Part 2
In early 2023, the chapter began Thread Explosion, a program designed to explore not only our favorite threads but new threads also. Part 1 of Thread Explosion was a lively (and lengthy) discussion of our favorite threads. In Part 2 we discussed some new threads and some you may not be familiar with.
December 2023 Holiday Surprise
Part 2
One of our popular annual programs is Holiday Surprise which is held in December. This is often a design by one of our members which we then use for chapter fundraising. The program is offered to members as part of their membership.
This year's 3 x 3-inch piece was designed for us by Sara Leigh in two colorways. Here is her blue version.
November 2023 Holiday Surprise
Potluck and Food Drive
November 16, 2023
One of our popular annual programs is Holiday Surprise. This is often a design by one of our members which we then use for chapter fundraising. The program is offered to members as part of their membership.
October 2023 Program
Catherine Jordan's Lecture: "Plan to Finish First"
The finish of any piece of needlework becomes an integral part of the design affecting and hopefully contributing to the unity, message and purpose. As much care and thought should go into the planning of the finish as goes into the beginning design process. Learn how to combine the focus of designing a piece of needlework with the possibilities of creative finishes to ensure everything works together for spectacular results! Catherine will present a one-hour Zoom Power Point program with 50+ slides exploring design, fabric painting, alternate finishes and much more.
September 2023 Program
Bargello! Melissa Novak led Flaming Sunrise designed by Lorene Salt. The colors in this piece are beautiful, but if you’d like to change them, it is a great opportunity to put what you learned from Debbie Rowley’s June lecture on color choices into practice.
The project chart and thread list can be found in the Sept/Oct 2021 issue of Needle Pointers. If you can’t find your copy of the magazine, check on the ANG website www.needlepoint.org
Sign in, then navigate
Membership>Needle Pointers Magazine>Archived Needle Pointers Magazines
2023 Program
Tale of PANG Stitchers (TOPS) Program
This multi-meeting program covered use of the threads and stitches for landscape canvases to achieve desirable colors, shading, depth, and textures.
We used the Blue Ridge Cardinal (R12 13 count or R12A 18 count), Blue Ridge Christmas (R9 18 count) or key fob (K1) canvases from Blue Ridge Stitchery.
We also had a demo on using a self-finishing frame to complete the project.
The "Tale of PANG Stitchers" : Progress on Display at the July 2023 Meeting!
Here are the Blue Ridge finishes from the TOPS (Tale of PANG Stitchers) program based on the Tale of Two Stitchers articles in the ANG Needlepointers Magazine. We picked three different designs, discussed and selected threads, and stitches. At the July meeting, those who had finished the project showed off our pieces and then Chris demonstrated how to self finish the pieces; and Lynda showed us how she finished her piece as a bookmark. It was fun to see the different thread and stitch selections.
Norma's
Dawn's
Darcy's
Chris's
Lynda's
Chris's demonstration self-finished piece
May 2023 Program
Potluck, Officer Installation, Program Planning and door prizes!
Thank you all for giving your ideas for 2024 projects (short and long term), programs/lectures, techniques, and workshops!
April 2023 Program
Thread Explosion
What is your favorite thread and why? Please bring it to the meeting. Do you have any threads in your stash that you do not know what to do with? Have you seen any new threads? Let’s learn about some new threads and some you may not be familiar with.
Do you have some threads that you do not want any more? Bring them to the meeting and we'll have a swap table. If no one takes the threads you bring, please take them home with you.
March 2023 Program
Introducing Take Two of the “Patches” Designs by Sue Kerndt.
This was a very popular program several years ago. We did a display at the exhibit at the 2018 ANG Seminar in Washington, DC.
The people participating in this project are meeting on Zoom every two weeks. Bring your piece to the meeting. We would love to see the fabric and threads you have selected.
This project introduced Sue's technique of appliquéing the fabric to the canvas. A demo showing how to attach the fabric to the canvas kicked-off the on-going Sue Kerndt Patches projects. Even if you are not doing the Patches project, the appliqueing process is a useful technique to learn. It has many possible applications such as clothing on a person, drapes, wallpaper, adding an interesting perspective to a counted canvas piece, border on a painted canvas and many more. It is not a difficult technique and one you will be glad you have in your stitching toolbox. How can you see using this technique?