lakemichigansamplerguild.org

We did not get enough participants in our June workshops to have Margriet Hogue come and teach, so we have decided to do one of her kits as a group project instead. We will be starting "The Four Agreements" at our June meeting. If you want to participate, sign up by May 12th to order the kit. The cost is $57 and the guild will pay the shipping.

If you don't order the kit, we hope you will still attend the June meeting. Just bring along another project to work on!

The Four Agreements. an original design from The Essamplaire, is based on the Toltec wisdom and the writings of Don Miguel Ruiz. It sets out a road map of four basic tenants for us to live our lives by.

Size: Measures 16.5" x 7.5" (42cm x 19cm).
Thread Count: Worked on 40 count (16 thr/cm)linen
Recommended Level: Intermediate
Cost: $57.00 with silk

The deadline for sign up is May 12th. The kit cost of $57 must be paid when you sign up. The guild will pay the shipping costs.

• Sign up form for The Four Agreements Sampler Kit by Margriet Hogue

Highlights

Our vice president, Marilyn Vanover, ran the June meeting since our president was unable to attend. She began the business meeting by welcoming everyone and reviewing our upcoming schedule:

• In July, we will have our annual picnic at Susan's house. Every should bring a salad, dessert or other dish to share. The guild will supply the hamburgers, brats and drinks. Directions are available on the website.
• There will be no meeting in August. 
• You can now sign up for the September 12th workshop by Barbara Jackson, the "Tea Time Basket". The workshop is limited to 24. The deadline for sign up is August 12th. We hope the workshop will fill up, so sign up soon to guarantee your place. Sign up forms are on the website.
• Members were reminded that any forms for the Bristol Orphanage inspired Alphabet and Design book for our 2009 Anniversary are due. Please send any forms to Mary Ann Anderson as soon as possible.

Our program was "The Four Agreements" sampler from Margriet Hogue. Kits were passed out to those who ordered them. Katie already had the kit so she has been working on it since the April meeting. She gave us the following recommendations:

• Baste around the edge of the sampler. Since it does not have any type of border, this will give you a point of reference to help position the motifs. It will also help your framer.
• Watch the chart for the letter "s" in the word agreements. Some of the letter is not quite correct.
• In the branch under the bird in the middle, there is an incorrect symbol It is marked gold instead of light green.
• The symbol used for the bird's foot does not exist. It should be stitched in brown.
• The symbol used for the bird's beak does not exist. It should be stitched in brown.

We all agreed that the actual sampler is much prettier than the picture. If you didn't get your kit, please contact Susan Balsai.

Marilyn Fettinger did a short talk on Kumihimo, a Japanese braiding technique.  Cording can be made in many different patterns and varies in size based on the number and type of fibers used. It's perfect for holiday ornaments! She demonstrated how you make a spiral braid and those who were interested got to try the technique. You can order a kit to get started for $14 at

http://primitive-originals.stores.yahoo.net/kubekiku.html

It includes an instruction booklet, a styrofoam disk Kumi Loom, eight bobbins and enough thread for your first project. It's a great way to use up all those extra fibers and an interesting alternative to twisted cord.

See you next month at the annual guild picnic! Don't forget to bring a dish to share! 

We had four contemporary samplers for show and tell and two antiques. Follow the links below to see the pictures.

• Zeeland Sampler - Pat Carlson
• Secret Garden - Marilyn Vanover
• Oak Box Sampler - Marilyn Vanover
• My Home Town - Lynn McVey
• Elizabeth Hughes - Karyn Pechinski
• Harmony - Marilyn Vanover