Japanese Embroidery Center

Hi Guys,
I know that quite a lot of quilters -- crazy quilters most notably :-) --
also do embroidery so I wanted to share this with everyone. My Needlework
Interest Group made a "field trip" on Friday to The Japanese Embroidery Center
( http://www.japaneseembroiderycenter.com ) and I am still speechless! What
a wonderful place and such beautiful needlework!!!! I have known that the
center was in the Atlanta area but had been told that it was "downtown" so
avoided making a visit. Driving in the metro Atlanta area is NOT even remotely
enjoyable, especially when you don't kow your way around. Well, I got the
address and found that it was in Dunwoody (one of the 'burbs) and when I looked
it up on the map, I find out that it's within a few miles of the place DH and I
go to when we donate blood!! Not all that far and a relatively easy drive.
OK -- back to the center. The center is very Japanese and you must remove
your shoes and wear slippers before you are allowed to enter. We got to see
the "gallery" and also had a wonderful demonstration of several of the
embroidery techniques. Classes are 4 full days and cost $40 a day (plus the
cost of supplies) but if you are lucky and live in the area, you can pay $450
for the year and come as often as you want -- I plan on having a talk with
Santa! The setting is a lovely, heavily wooded area and the young woman who
gave the tour (her parents are the ones who started the center) said that
Atlanta was chosen because it has four distinct seasons yet none of them are
terribly severe or overly long. Also, Atlanta is a major air travel hub which
makes it easier for international students to attend classes.
The young woman who gave the tour is a VERY accomplished needleworker, to
say the least. She demonstrated using silk fibers on silk fabric mounted in a
traditional Japanese embroidery frame which is quite unlike anything we
routinely use in the States. The silk fiber is quite similar to the original
Eterna Silks fibers -- filament silk not stranded (IIRC, filament silk is the
long length of fiber unwound from the cocoon -- is that correct). Anyway, it's
not the relatively heavier type of silk like that sold by Rainbow Gallery or
Caron which is stranded and similar to regular DMC. The fabric looked to be a
silk crepe and the design was drawn on the surface -- just like our ordinary
blue-line embroidery designs.
She demonstarted a diagonal satin stitch, broken (I think) diagonal satin
stitch and also a twisted diagonal satin stitch. The fiber is so fine that you
can twist 2 strands together and then twist that first length with another
length of twisted fiber to make your finished length of fiber to stitch with!
AHHHH -- it was wonderful to watch her do this :-)))! OH -- the stitching is
also done with both hands and the right hand MUST be on the top of the fabric
with the left hand on the bottom -- not too easy for us right handers!
I was so impressed by the Japanese Embroidery Center that I want to do
everything I can to spread the word. PLEASE -- even those of you who have no
interest in surface embroidery or learning Traditional Japanese Embroidery
techniques, if you are on holiday anywhere near Atlanta or here on business,
MAKE the time to tour this center. You DO need to let them know ahead of time
but it is worth ANY minor inconvenience -- honest! VBS -- I just wish we had
taken the tour during the summer so that I could have started pestering Santa
before he started buying my holiday gifts! Maybe next year -- I'll keep trying
-- LOLOL! CiaoMeow ^;;^
..
PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ Queen of Kitties
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their
WHISKERS!!
Nothing is complete without a few cat hairs!

great website - thanks for posting it
deena - in philly