HELLO 2023

I am a little bit late to welcome everyone into 2023 and wishing all the best for the year, but better late than never, right? Look at that! We are half through February already and January feels like slipped through the fingers. I hope you were more productive with your time than me. January is a month for me to recollect myself, to summon up memories, feelings, ideas. January is a month of planning. 2023 seems to be very busy year in my calendar.

April

Time is approaching fast for the 2023 Chicago International Dollhouse Show that is held in Chicago. I am offering 2 classes there. The first is HARDANGER IN MINIATURE where we shall make a dollhouse miniature pillow. Students will work on 40 count evenweave cotton with Gutermann silk and practice the following stitches while working on a miniature pillow: Kloster blocks, Satin stitch star, Twisted lattice band, square and diagonal eyelets; techniques on how to cut threads, how to needle weave and wrap the bars. Different ways to finish the pillow will be discussed.

The second class is for those who would like to learn Petit Point and stitching on silk gauze. We shall work on the miniature CHRISTMAS STOCKING. This is an introductory class of Petit Point for the beginners.  Students will practice the stitches, receive information about silk gauze, needles, threads and how to finish a stocking.  A kit, with all essential supplies will be provided.

If you are coming to Chicago International Dollhouse show this year and would like to learn some needlework skills in miniature, consider to take my classes.

May

This year I have decided to attend Kensington Dollhouse Festival Summer show that will have place at Kensington Town Hall on May 12th and 13th, 2023. It will be my second time attending this show and second time opportunity to visit V&A Museum that I am looking for. I have been contemplated an idea of reproducing a historic piece of needlework I fell in love with last time I was there back in 2016. After some messages exchanging with the museum I received a permission to do so. Feeling blessed just to see it again!

June

June is associated with Guild School classes and fantastic time in Castine, a little piece of paradise in the state of Maine for all miniature maniacs. If you haven’t heard about IGMA or Guild School, please visit the website to read more about both, and maybe you will consider joining the community of like-minded miniaturists, learn some skills and have a lot of fun!

I am teaching a 24-hour class in Castine this year, 17th Century Crewel/Jacobean Bed Coverlet in 1/12th scale, and very excited about meeting my students, some of them are first-year students.

Crewel embroidery is a beautiful type of surface embroidery that’s been around for over a thousand years. Crewel embroidery is often associated with the late sixteenth and the first quarter of the seventeenth centuries during the reign of King James I in England. Working on linen twill the students will have fun learning the history of crewelwork; the difference between crewelwork and Jacobean work; and the difference between the English and the American crewelwork. The techniques, threads, designs, stitches, the types of coverlets, and how to make a pattern for them will be discussed as well.

September

I am planning to attend the IGMA show first time. Finally the dates of this show do work for me. The IGMA show 2023 will be held on September 26 – October 1, 2023 in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. I shall be offering the classes there as well and it is TBD.

November

Another show I’ve signed up with this year that will be my first time is the Philadelphia Dollhouse showcase, Philadelphia Miniaturia, or the Philly Show. See you there on November 3-5, 2023. I shall be offering the classes there as well and it is TBD.

I am considering to attend the Dallas Showcase of Miniatures late in June as well.

This is not a full list of events on my calendar for 2023, but I am glad they will keep me busy. I am taking some classes as well this year, and I shall tell about them lately as long as I have time working on them.

Looking forward to meeting new people and seeing old friends. The same I wish for you.

Much love and happy crafting!

Natalia Frank