Great Lakes Region
Celebrates Christine Hampshire,
Master Craftsman Beading!
IL, IN, MI, OH, WI

Embroiderers' Guild of America

Christine Hampshire, Master Craftsman Beading
 -- her beaded amulet and her beaded hat project

Celebrating in Pittsburgh

I have been doing needlework since I was six years old.  I still have the set of cross-stitch tea towels that I made then.  They keep me humble.  Through my membership in the Needle Arts Guild of Toledo (NAGT), I have been able to try many different needlework techniques.  After a while, you tend to run out of wall space and just don’t have room for another pillow, so I turned to beading.  After achieving some competence in beading, I  was encouraged by a fellow guild member to attempt the Master Craftsman program in Beading.  I thoroughly enjoyed the process and although it was a great deal of hard work would encourage others to participate in the Master Craftsman programs.    

My husband, David, and I arrived in Pittsburgh on Friday and hand-delivered my step six hat (see attached photos) to the education exhibit.  The Omni Penn is truly a grand old hotel and was hosting wedding parties and school proms on the weekend, but our room was ready and very welcoming after the drive from Northwood, Ohio (just east of Toledo).  The prom teenagers that we met riding the elevators were looking for celebrities supposedly making a movie in town and staying at the Penn.  They filled the hotel with a contagious energy. 

I attended a seminar class on Saturday and Sunday while David did a self-guided walking tour of downtown Pittsburgh.  Saturday evening, we were fortunate enough to get reservations through the Penn’s concierge desk for Morton’s, one of Pittsburgh’s fine downtown restaurants.  The meal was absolutely delicious from start to finish.

On Sunday evening I dressed in pink and black to match my step two beaded amulet bag which I had planned on wearing.  I had embroidered pink and black beads on the collar and cuff edges of the blouse jacket to match.  David accompanied me to the pre-banquet reception area where we met up with several other NAGT members who were also attending the seminar.  Imagine our surprise when after announcing that I was the first Master Craftsman in beading, the Education Director went on to say “unfortunately she couldn’t be here.”  Simultaneously, those with me at our table screamed “Yes, she is here!”  I was pretty much in shock.  I was thrilled to finally receive my pink rose after all that hard work.  And those who were with me were just as happy for me.  I appreciate all their encouragement, support and the “you can do it” spirit prevalent throughout the EGA which urges us all to try to improve and excel in our chosen needlecraft.  CH