Fox Chapel Garden Club artists donate skills to boost horticulture projects across Allegheny County

Cece Miller has a passion for needlepoint.

A 40-year hobby, it nurtures her creativity through an endless choice of stitches and threads.

“I find it relaxing and I love the finished product,” she said.

And at least one of those products goes a long way to help others.

Miller is among several artists who donate their labors of love to Glitter & Glow, the annual fundraiser of the Fox Chapel Garden Club.

This year’s holiday festivity takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Fox Chapel Golf Club. Cost is $40.

Cocktails, appetizers and desserts are on the menu, but the spotlight is the shopping — member-created live arrangements, flowering planters, fresh-cut greens and other unique gifts are available.

Members pour their skills into one-of-a-kind creations, all to benefit horticultural and environmental pursuits across the community.

“I love helping my garden club in their fundraising to support valuable community-based projects,” said Carol Skinger, a member for 13 years.

A graduate of California College of the Arts, Skinger initially worked in framing and then interior design before full-time drawing and painting.

This year, the Fox Chapel resident donated a print of a pastel sketch depicting the view of Pittsburgh from the West End Overlook. Last year, it was a painting of Boyce Park ski area and in past years, she’s drawn portraits of Aspinwall from a perch along Route 28 and a view of the Allegheny River from the Highland Park Bridge.

In its 27^th year, Glitter & Glow supports the club’s mission to educate and advocate for environmental stewardship.

Proceeds will support initiatives that include gardens in Aspinwall, Blawnox and Sharpsburg; native plants and shrubs at the new rain gardens at McCahill Park in Fox Chapel; and free public classes at Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, headquartered at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve in Fox Chapel.

At Fox Chapel Area School District, grants will pay for irrigation hoses, plants and rose bushes for Mary’s Garden at the high school; purchase seeds, bulbs and insect kits for the O’Hara Elementary Green Foxes; and fund a scholarship for a graduating senior who plans to attend a four-year university.

Proceeds also reach beyond the Fox Chapel area, with grants doled out to Friends of Mellon Park, Penn State Extension Garden and Landscape Symposium, Phipps Conservancy & Botanical Gardens and the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania.

Services that include garden advice and work hours will be auctioned, along with hundreds of fanciful wreaths and arrangements that showcase members’ talents.

“It’s the heart of the event,” event co-chair Lynn Thompson said.

Members like Miller, Skinger and others have contributed their skills to the success of the event for decades. Nancy Vincett of Harmar, a member for 36 years, usually creates a unique ornament wreath with exquisite baubles.

Fritz Mitnick, a member for 28 years, is a well-known rug hooker from Indiana Township who teaches in the area. She creates an exclusive piece for the event’s auction table.

“I have a long-term interest in fiber art but never knew the full story (of rug hooking) until I attended a rug show at Northland Public Library in 1997,” Mitnick said. “When I saw those rugs, I knew I had to try this. A number of years later, I quit my job to be able to make more rugs.

“I love the process as much as the product. The club’s mission is perfectly in line with my personal values.”

For more information or tickets, visit foxchapelgardenclub.org.