Needles

Needles

A sharp pointed tool used to stitch with.

Or 

A town in California, USA on Route 66 just over the bridge that spans the Colorado River from Arizona and minutes from Nevada. 

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway has a hub in Needles and it was originally a tent town for railroad construction crews, the railroad company built a hotel, car sheds, shops and a roundhouse. Within a month the town also boasted a Chinese washhouse, a newsstand, a restaurant, a couple of general stores, and nine or ten saloons. The town became the largest port on the river above Yuma, Arizona. The Railway and the Fred Harvey Company built the elegant Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts style El Garces Hotel and Santa Fe Station in 1908 which was considered the "Crown Jewel" of the entire Fred Harvey chain. The landmark building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is being restored.

Needles was a major stop on the historic U.S. Route 66 highway from the 1920s through the 1960s. For immigrants from the Midwest Dust Bowl in the 1930s it was the first town that marked their arrival in California. The city is lined with motels and other shops from that era. The "Carty's Camp" which appears briefly in The Grapes of Wrath as the Joad family enters California from Arizona is now a ghost tourist court, its remains located behind the 1946-era 66 Motel.

Needles is a tourism and recreation center, a tradition going back for decades. The city is the eastern gateway to the Mojave National Preserve, a scenic desert National Park.

Or

(The) Needles- a landmark attraction off the Isle of Wight in England.

The Needles on the Isle of Wight is surely one of the most photographed groups of rocks in the world. This row of three distinctive chalk stacks features in all the classic views of the island, a truly unforgettable image – and a photographer’s dream.

The name 'Needles' is believed to have been derived from a slender tapering rock pinnacle which was formerly situated a little to the north (i.e. on the Alum Bay side) of the present central rock. This needle-shaped rock, about 120ft high and known as 'Lot's Wife' collapsed into the sea in 1764 with a crash which was said to have been heard many miles away! The stump of this pinnacle can still be seen at low water where it forms a dangerous reef.

The Needles form the western tip of a band of chalk that crosses the centre of the Isle of Wight, stretching to Culver Cliff in the east. This chalk ridge continues west under the sea to Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck, and is believed to have been connected at one time to Old Harry Rocks, about 20 miles away. In 5,000BC this ridge was breached by the Solent River, creating the Isle of Wight with its jagged white rocks at the western tip. These unusually vertical rocks are a result of the heavy folding of chalk and the remaining stacks of very hard chalk are extremely resistant to erosion.

Situated within The Needles is the world famous Marconi Monument, which marks the precise location where Guglielmo Marconi undertook his pioneering work at the end of the 19th Century, which led to radio and all telecommunications as we know it today.

SAGA Bedford Glen Retreat will soon be here!

It is not long now before I will be attending classes at the first SAGA Retreat of 2017 in Bedford Glen, Massachusetts! I am excited as I will actually be taking classes- something I don't always get to do as I am busy working taking photos and such for SAGA and SAGANews.

As this is my first time taking classes in a while I looked back at some past blogs to remind myself what items I might need to remember to pack. I thought I would share the list with you today so if you are attending here is a reminder of some things you might find useful:

1. Basic Sewing Supplies

2. Writing materials and tools.

3. Name labels for your raffle tickets (or I will have some you can use :) )

4. Tote bag (especially useful for market).

5. Sewing Machine-If you are taking machine classes and don't forget the power cord and foot; machine presser feet; needles; bobbins; manual; wheels to get it to and from class.

6. Chapter raffle basket.

7. Wee Care items to donate.

8. Table favours-if your chapter offered to donate them.

9. Any pre-class homework?

10. Light and magnification.

11. Spare glasses.

12. Camera

13. Your Retreat Contest entry-Accessory.

14. Your Artisan card.

15. Name Tag (if you have one).

 
15. A smile and money for market!

The New England Quilt Museum

Another suggestion of a place to visit in the area near the SAGA Retreat at Bedford Glen is the New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, Massachusetts.

http://www.nequiltmuseum.org

The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 AM - 4 PM November - April

It was almost 30 years ago that a group of enthusiastic New England quilters began to dream of establishing a regional quilt museum. That dream became a reality when the New England Quilt Museum board of directors met for the first time in June 1987. Now, as its 25th Anniversary year has come and gone (in 2012), it seems miraculous that the museum exists and has survived and grown, fulfilling the mission first conceived by its founding mothers.

Over the years, as the museum sought a permanent home, endured water floods and also risked drowning in red ink, there were times when it seemed the dream might die. Still, it has endured, but only because of the support received from the museum's constant friends and members.

The museum is located in historic downtown Lowell, Massachusetts. Master craftsman Josiah Peabody built the Lowell Institute for Savings building in 1845 in the classic Greek Revival Style. The structure boasts an unusual rhomboidal footprint, with curved corners and an ornate wrought iron balcony along two sides.

Today the 18,000 square foot space holds exhibition galleries, a library and resource center, classrooms, a museum store, staff offices, support areas and storage for the more than four hundred antique and contemporary quilts in the permanent collection.

THE QUILTED CANVAS
The Crit Group: 30 Years and Still Quilting
January 11 through April 29, 2017

​This exhibit of works by five artists in fiber is a unique insight into the relationships of a critique group. Judy Becker, Nancy Crasco, Sandy Donabed, Sylvia Einstein, and Carol Anne Grotrian have been meeting each month for thirty years to support and sustain each other as artists. Nancy Crasco states, “the focus of our gatherings is always about the work: assisting with aesthetic and construction concerns, sharing opportunities to exhibit, discussing current trends in fiber, and providing the impetus to continue creating.”  All of the artists have gained national recognition and have exhibited widely in the United States and abroad.

Each of the artists has a distinct style which is acknowledged and encouraged by the others.  They agree that the scariest outcome of a critique group would be to have their works be similar.  Each artist has a different source of motivation or inspiration and employs a unique manner of working.

The Colour Green

Green- a colour found everywhere, especially in nature, which is where the origin of the word comes from. It is derived from the Middle English and Anglo-Saxon word grene, from the same Germanic words grass and grow.

In the Middle Ages, the colour of clothing denoted class or rank and green was a colour worn by merchants, bankers and the gentry. (Red was the colour of nobility).

The Mona Lisa wears green.

The benches in the House of Commons in England are green (those in the House of Lords are red).

                                              

A green light indicates it is safe to move. 

                                         

On the spectrum of visible light, green is found between blue and yellow.

To create green sparks, fireworks use barium salts, such as barium chlorate, barium nitrate crystals, or barium chloride, also used for green fireplace logs.

Surveys show green is the colour most associated with calmness. Many hospital walls were painted shades of green.

It is also the colour used to express envy and jealousy-the green-eyed monster; green with envy.

In casinos, the gambling tables are always green.

Many bank notes are green.

The International colour for Britain in motor car racing is green (commonly known as British Racing Green).

                                                          

People who are good gardeners have a green thumb (USA) or green fingers (UK).

Green is used on the flags of many countries, including Ireland.

                                                   

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!