This weekend I took a trip to Belle Grove in Middleton, Virginia for a tour of the colonial house with a friend of mine from work. We are both big on ghost stories, and the manor house in particular is said to be haunted, but the tour guide demurred the question when asked. Can’t blame him, I would probably have done the same thing if I was him.
The welcome center on the property is home to a magnificent tapestry, stitched in parts by many artists and it depicts the many different historical sights in the Shenandoah valley. It’s awe-inspiring in real life, and it convinced me to sign up for a needlepoint retreat at Belle Grove on November 1st. They’re keeping the group small so they can space us out properly, but a small group works out well for me because I have absolutely no experience in needlepoint. I’m good on which end of the needle is the business end, though, and I’ll do my best not to be a total dimwit.
At the end of our tour we were in the basement of the building where they housed examples of weapons used in the Civil war, and also a bin full of free elderly needlework magazines. Never being one to turn away from free fiber literature, I grabbed a copy of October 1987’s McCalls Needlework & Crafts. I’m having a devil of a time finding out how long the magazine was published for, much less anything online at all except for links to Ebay, or I’d tell you more about the publication. I can only assume, and please let me know if I’m wrong, that it’s no longer in publication or else I’d subscribe in a second.
I fell in love with the cover sweater in a second. Tone down the contrast a bit, get a zipper that blends in and nix the shoulder pads and I’d cast on in a second. I love it when my socks can be seen from space, but oddly enough I’m more muted with the rest of my clothes for the most part. Maybe do the cover sweater with gray as the main, with white and red contrasting colors?