In the Classroom with Tony Minieri

Thanks to my friend and stitch guide designer extraordinaire Cynthia Thomas, I had the opportunity last weekend to take a canvas enhancement class with Tony Minieri.  It was fabulous to finally meet and learn from Tony, I think I may be one of the last serious stitchers in the US that still somehow had never attended one of his workshops!

I had a  terrific experience and Tony is a genius when it comes to picking threads and stitches for a canvas.  Plus, he is a stitching master-- every stitch, every technique, he knows them inside out and he of course is an amazing stitcher himself. He knows his needlework history too-- it was great to chat with him about one of my stitching heroes, Mary Rhodes.

The canvas I brought to class was my Cinderella's Magical Night canvas:

As usual for me, I got very little actual stitching done in class.  I like to jump around the canvas and work all the areas from the stitch guide that I had questions about.  Tony demonstrated for me how to do Repousse', which is how the little mouse tail on the left is stitched.  I also learned Raised Stem Band, which is demonstrated on the little pumpkin in the middle on the upper right.  I also stitched as much of the carriage as I could-- it is a 3-layer confection of metallic, silk and beads done in a Trellis Stitch Variation. 

The last day of class had me working the sky area in the lower right and part of the border:

Cynthia was working on a companion piece to this canvas, the Carriage.  She was able to practically finish this in class, having gotten all the way to the border!  The best parts are still to come, as there are jewels to add to the crown, golden wheels to be couched on over the grass and best of all, the door gets applied in a dimensional appliqué technique.  I just cannot wait to see this when Cindy gets it done, be sure to check back here for pictures!  Good thing Cindy is a very fast stitcher. 

If you have a chance to take a class with Tony, don't pass it up!  He is definitely as good as he sounds.  Be sure to check into his classes for his counted-work pieces as well-- he brought one of the various colors of his Patchouli design to class and it was amazing, can't wait for my next opportunity to take that class!

Thanks for stopping by!