In the evenings I like to sit with my husband and watch a little TV. Probably like most creatives it is hard to just sit there, so I need something to do with my hands. I wanted to find something that would keep my hands busy but not over stimulate my brain and keep me from being able to sleep.
I admire Michele Palmer’s art work and am friends with her on Facebook. She was advertising a punch needle class that she was teaching in Mumford, NY. I immediately loved the projects because she took her designs and use of color and turned them into punch needle designs. I convinced my husband that this would be a perfect birthday gift for me and how far could Mumford, NY be from Harrisburg, PA, anyway?
So we headed to the Genesee Country Inn last Thursday for the class the next day. When we got up on Friday it was snowing 1-2 inches per hour and was predicted to last most of the day. The innkeeper Debbie was busy handling the phone as cancellations came in, but 7 lovely ladies, Michelle and her daughter Alaina made it.
Before working on our “real” project Michelle gave us a little sampler to work on. She was very patient with us, showing us how to use the punch needle and the best ways to do the technique. I actually decided to complete the practice heart before starting my real project. I am glad that I did. You can see on the left side of the dark blue all the little open holes where on the right you can see that I am getting it. I did the light blue and dark blue in two evenings.
Michele is an excellent teacher and has so many beautiful patterns. You can find out more about her below:
- Blog: https://michellepalmerart.blogspot.com/
- Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/market/michelle_palmer
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichellePalmerArtist
I also love the possibilities this class has opened up for me. I could do punch needle of some of my own designs. I could also incorporate punch needle into some of the other things that I do.
Michele’s daughter Alaina does printmaking. I bought this beautiful bag from her. She carved the heart from a linoleum block. See more of her work at her Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AveryHill
Michele and Alaina are both really lovely ladies. This is a picture of the three of us.
One of the other wonderful things about taking the class was meeting up with other like-minded ladies who like to create. And like most of us, they do more than one thing. They were all so nice and I enjoyed sharing and learning from them.
Michelle is an artist, so she will paint a design and then turn it into a punch needle design and also a rug hooking design.
Most of the ladies attending the class were rug hookers. There is a large network of “hookers” in their area who meet on a regular basis to share their love of hooking. Debbie the Inn Keeper is also a rug hooker and sells beautiful pieces of boiled wool in a section of the Inn. They cut the wool into strips for the rug hooking. Of course, I had to buy a few pieces…more ideas.
The following day I went to an event where ladies come together to work on their projects and fellowship together. It was at another larger inn in town and they served a fabulous lunch to all of us.
Truly everyone I met was so nice. It was a wonderful, creative weekend. I encourage you to take time from your schedule to connect with other like-minded people and try something new. It is good for your creative soul and will give you a happy heart.
Hugs,
Jane
PS. Just a fun side note. When we got there our room key was in the front mailbox and it had my last name on the fob. I thought how nice to personalize that for everyone. Here one of the rooms was the Allen room and that is were we were staying. Debbie the innkeeper was wonderful and we enjoyed our stay at the Genesee Country Inn.
