Our November Meeting

A rather grey day didn't dampen the enthusiasm of members who came to our November meeting.  Some worked on their own pieces whilst others joined a 'stitch club'.  One group, with Jacqueline's expert guidance, continued working on their crewel work embroidery.  Although the three weeks of tuition is now over she intends to help participants finish their pieces.  This was an over-subscribed club so we are hoping she will be able to offer it again so that more members can learn the techniques.  

Jaqueline stitching a crewel work butterfly

Jose produced some charming pieces following last month's wool felting stitch club and brought them in to show the group.  

Grazing sheep/Tobermory by Josie

The wet felters worked away following Liz's instructions to create 3-d bowls.  Using a resist circle they layered up wool rovings before wetting and rolling the pieces many, many times.  After removing the resist the shapes could be pulled gently into shape and then vigorously worked around the edges to create bowls - magic! As the bowls were still damp they couldn't be finished off with embroidery/embellishment on the day but hopefully there will be some finished pieces for the next 'show and tell' session.  Liz's felted poppies were rather fabulous too.  

Liz demonstrated wet felting using a resist.

A selection of 3-d wool felted bowls made by members at the meeting

The Travelling Book

Each month a member takes the Travelling Book and creates some pages based on their personal interests.  This month Diane had produced informative pages on pictoral patchwork and appliqué as well as some lovely samples. 

Diane's Pictoral Patchwork and Appliqué

Meridith Towne: Dress Historian and Costume Maker

In the afternoon we were happy to welcome Meridith Towne back to Haxby. 

The Christmas Stocking: a happy history of ho-ho-hosiery

Meridith gave a very entertaining talk about the history of hosiery from Coptic/Egyptian socks onwards.  We learned about the etymology of hose (German) and the way early leg coverings were constructed (Scandinavian Nalbinding, knitting with needles, and eventually woven on knitting frames at the start of the Industrial Revolution).  She described how hosiery was worn differently by men and women and also about the different fibres and construction techniques used.  With her fabulous display of stockings she discussed the colour of hose and how these changed over time as fashions changed and different materials became available.   We doubted anyone today would aim to be alluring by revealing their blushing pink ankles or would be scandalised by young women wearing tights (the original preserve of dancers and women of dubious morals).  The demise of brown lisle stockings (school uniform standard issue) was not much mourned.  Interspersed with the facts she told amusing stories about the strange traditions associated with hosiery, stockings and garters.  Meridith brought along many samples from her collection and we thoroughly enjoyed her detailed research and festive frivolity!

meridithtowne.co.uk

Stockings from Meredith Towne's personal collection

The next meeting  will be on Saturday 14th December at 10.30am.  Visitors and new members are welcome to join us for Christmas activities and refreshments.  We're a friendly bunch so if you have an unfinished/inherited piece do come along and we'll try and help you tackle it.  Alternatively just turn up to 'sit and sew' with us by bringing your own work or kit to stitch at your own pace. The December competition prize is for the best Christmas card, the winner is voted for by members and wins a Viking Loom voucher. 

October Meeting

Our October meeting was busy as ever. In the morning the two stitch clubs continued. Jacqueline's group were working hard on their crewel work pieces and learning new skills with expert guidance. Chris and Wendy's work is progressing beautifully, with lovely chain stitch and stem stitch. 

Meanwhile Liz's group were adding to their wet-felting skills with colourful landscapes and pictorial pieces. Look at these glorious colours! 

Elsewhere in the room members were engaged in a wide variety of activities. 

Here's Sara's colourful blackwork piece in progress

Jane was busy knitting a baby blanket for her first grandchild in lovely colours

And I simply couldn't resist taking this still life shot of Shenagh's work space

In the afternoon we held our annual AGM, after which there was some discussion and preparation work for the YES exhibition coming up in June 2025. There are lots of exciting plans for individual and group projects, but we're not going to reveal any of those here! 

The day was rounded off with scones and cakes, all home made by the committee. 

Our September Meeting

This month there was a lot of activity in the hall.  Two new stitch clubs started with Liz leading an introduction to wet felting and Jacqueline getting a group started with traditional Jacobean crewelwork.  

Liz had provided all the equipment and materials for the wet felting process including felt 'tops' in a range of vibrant colours, bubble wrap, plastic sheeting and dowels as well as water/soap sprayers for wetting the wool.  The first session was all about playing with colours and learning how the wet felting process worked.  In brief the process involved laying thin criss-cross layers of wool 'roving' onto the rough side of bubble wrap to create a white base and then laying coloured wool on top to create a coloured surface.  Other embellishments could be added including glittery thead 'angelina', tiny wool balls 'nepps', silk strands, thread offcuts and twisty wool 'locks'.  

Liz layering coloured wool tops onto white wool layers at the start of the wet felting process

The next step was to thoroughly wet the fibres and then add another layer of bubble wrap before rolling the layers around a dowel.  Then there was a lot of vigorous rolling, unwrapping, rotating and re-rolling to encourage the fibres to bond together and then shrink.  When Liz was happy we'd done enough we could rinse our pieces in water (and at home water with white vinegar) and allow them to dry.  It was lots of fun and we are looking forward to next time when we can attempt more considered 'landscapes'.  

Crewelwork is a type of surface embroidery using fine two-ply or one-ply wool. It is associated with England in the 17th and 18th Century  and the traditional design styles are often referred to as Jacobean.  They typically comprise subtly shaded stylised floral and animal designs. Jaqueline produces very lovely crewel work and for her novice group she had produced a simple kit comprising a piece of cotton twill, a pattern and wools (3 shades in each of three colours). 

Jaqueline's Crewelwork sample 

The first part of the process involved learning how to transfer the design using a traditional method of tracing, pricking and pouncing. 

Preparing the design for stitching

After this participants were able to put the fabric into hoops ready for stitching.  It will be interesting to see how they progress over the next two sessions.  

As always there was a lot of stitching and embroidering going on in the hall by members who were working on their own pieces.  There is such a wide range of talent but Jenny's sewing caught my eye this month.  She was working on linen with linen threads and feature buttons and was producing a very 'scandi' piece!  

Jenny's piece from a Nordiska (Studio Flax) pattern - a circle sampler stitched with linen embroidery threads.

Competition time!

The autumn competition was for something original and there were many wonderful pieces on display.  Celia's very striking 3-d mixed media piece worked on a gnarled wood base was chosen as the winner of the Ida Barber trophy.  

Celia's 3-d piece

Other competition entries

The Travelling Book

This month Nicky had worked on the travelling book.  She had produced some detailed information and lovely samples of traditional and modern blackwork embroidery.  

My "F Plan" Diet: fabric, fibre and felting - Karen Lane

In the afternoon Karen who is a talented feltmaker and textile artist gave an illustrated talk.  She had brought along a large selection from her earliest experiments with David Hockney inspired applique hangings through to her more recent sculptural felted work.  We were interested to see the range of thoughtful pieces made in response to competitive challenges set by the various groups Karen had attended.  With no formal background in stitching/embroidery she had developed a highly original style using unusual fabrics and experimental techniques.  She was clearly a creative and playful maker who was also learning from established felt artists so as to improve her technical abilities and move her practice forward.  She was also making incredible 3-d pieces using lutradur and tyvek fabrics which allowed her to sculpt and burn away sections to create unusual textures and surface effects.  Mind blowing!    More information about her work is available on www.lincsinstitches.com

Work created by Karen Lane 

Our next meeting will be on Saturday 5th October.  Visitors and new members are always welcome.  

 

Our August Meeting

A friendly group of stitches gathered for the August meeting.  No stitch clubs were running so it gave everyone a chance to progress their own work, to chat to friends and to see what other people were doing.  There are so many types of stitching and embroidering and the group certainly encompasses many of them!  

A highlight of the morning was being able to see Chris' fabulous dolls.  She has made these over a twenty year period and been very generous in sharing her skills and encouraging others to make their own "Dolly Birds".  As Chris is downsizing she offered the dolls up for adoption and they are now heading off to be appreciated in new homes.  The photograph doesn't really do justice to the humour and construction skill Chris has put into the characterful dolls.  The new owners are certainly delighted  to have them.  

A table full of Chris' fabulous and fun "Dolly Birds" 

In June Helen had run two full day workshops so that members could try some 'Scandi' style stitching.  She brought along denim background fabrics, felt, threads and embellishments as well as paper templates.  Helen had also brought her colourful and beautifully stitched samples and we felt very inspired to have a go at making Dala Horses.  In August some members brought in their lovely completed horses.  

Helen's felt 'Scandi' style decorations

Members' completed Dala Horses brought to the August meeting

Janet had taken the Travelling book home in July and had created some interesting pages about Shiburi and Gelli printing.  

Janet's samples from the travelling book 

Devoré Taster Workshop with Claire Ketteman

Devoré is a technique that was thought to have developed in France as a cheap alternative to lace.   A commercial process was developed in the 19th and 20th Centuries and was particularly popular in the 1920s.  It uses a chemical burn process to remove some fibres (typically from silk:viscose velvet, satin or georgette) to create a lovely effect.  After giving us a demonstration of the whole process Claire let us loose with fabric and chemical paste to make our own samples.  This turned out to be more fun and rather less terrifying than might be imagined.

Claire's devoré hanging, design based on floor tiles

One of Claire's lovely devoré scarves

Devoré hanging by Claire Ketteman

Work in progress using chemical paste to create designs on velvet, silk and georgette

After the chemical paste was applied (either freehand with the dispensers or with a brush) we had to be patient and let the paste dry/adhere to the fabric.  We then had to iron through paper to 'burn' the fibres out and put the fabric straight into a water bath so that the fibres could be safely removed.  

Devoré samples drying

Clare was very knowledgeable and encouraging and we left with a new found appreciation of an unusual technique and a lot of white fabric samples ready for dyeing, embellishing or just adding to the fabric stash! 

Our next meeting will be on 7th September.  New members and visitors are always welcome.  

Our July Meeting

Stitchers and embroiderers got together at the start of July in our usual venue, Haxby Memorial Hall, York.  Whilst many members progressed their own work, others tried something new.  The 'messy' side of the hall was taken up by Gelli Printing led by Sue.  This was the second session so participants had a general idea of what they were doing but like many printing processes the outcomes can be unpredictable.  Some people enjoyed using blocks and stamps whilst others used leaves and natural forms to create colourful fabric pieces. 

Gelli plate rollering in progress

Fabric pieces printed using a gelli plate

Meanwhile another group continued (or started) a piece of modern black work (many using colours other than the traditional black).  Nicky had produced some very clear instructions which built the block patterns up sequentially but which allowed for some experimentation and original design.  This technique is worked on evenweave fabric (aida) with stranded embroidery floss.  The addition of fine metallic threads adds a lovely sparkle.

Dilys was working on aida with blue embroidery floss.  She had made a charming needlebook up out of a piece of Wessex embroidery learned at a previous 'stitch club'

Dilys's sample piece

The travelling sketchbook returned with additional pages contributed by Gina that focused on patchwork and quilting.  

Colourful patchwork by Gina

Dawn Ireland, Textile Artist

The afternoon speaker was Dawn Ireland who gave an illustrated talk about her life as a textile artist.  Dawn was interested in drawing and making from an early age and studied art and design at her local college before taking a BTEC in Surface Pattern and Design.  This led on to a degree in Fashion and Textile Design, specialising in embroidery at UCE Birmingham.  Over time her practice has evolved to include mixed media and freestyle machine embroidery.  Alongside her studio/commercial work Dawn runs workshops and community projects.  It was lovely to see her early work and sketchbook process and also to see how her style evolved over time.  Dawn brought along a selection of her cards, framed pieces, kits and fabric packs to sell and many of us were tempted! 

Dawn Ireland's work and sketchbooks

Dawn showed a range of her commissioned pieces (some of which are also photographed on her website www.dawnireland.com).  Although her dominant style is of mixed media collage, she has produced custom made solid embroidery pictures of peoples houses, gardens and pets, as well as collages of important things for 'leaving' gifts.  The photographs don't really do justice to her charming and colourful detailed work which often incorporates tiny (postage stamp sized) elements, flowers, birds and animals.

Cards by Dawn Ireland

Commissioned work by Dawn Ireland incorporating unusual postage stamps

The next meeting is on Saturday 3rd August.  Claire Ketteman will be running a workshop on Devore Print.  This is an unusual technique that involves burning out areas using a chemical gel to create a cut velvet effect.  Numbers are limited for this so booking is required.  However visitors and those wanting to work on their own projects are very welcome to come along.