Our July meeting

Summer was in full swing and as usual there were a lot of people in Haxby Memorial Hall with stitching projects in hand.  It was the start of another set of member led stitch clubs which typically run for three sessions, giving participants time to really get to grips with the techniques. This month Jaqueline was starting a group off with silk ribbon embroidery whilst Nadine's group tried their hands at Huck embroidery.

Huck embroidery is a surface stitch form also known as Swedish weaving that became popular in the early to mid 20th century.  The name 'Huck' comes from the name of the fabric used but nowadays it is more commonly done on aida.  The front of the fabric has rows of pairs of threads ('floats') that stand up from the back and the Huck stitch goes behind these to create a series of geometric patterns.  There is no thread showing on the back of the fabric and a special Huck needle is used which is long and has a slight bend in it to help avoid catching the fabric.  Huck is a form of counted thread embroidery and very suitable for items such as table runners, afghans or hangings.  Nadine started the group off with a simple heart design using one colour.  

Making a start on Huck embroidery

One of Nadine's huck samples

The second stitch club focused on silk ribbon embroidery. This is a type of work that is 3-dimensional, and is typically very vibrant and luxurious.  The technique has its origins in 17th century Europe and became popular in the 18th century when it was used to decorate the clothing, accessories and home furnishings of fashionable women.  It has continued to be popular for floral designs, sometimes incorporating additional embroidery stitches and beads to add texture and sparkle.  It is not washable so best suited for special occasion clothing, accessories and keepsakes.  

Before starting on the actual stitching and ribbon flowers, it was neccessary to set up the silk dupion base with a thin backing and to draw an outline shape onto the fabric before stretching it into an 8" hoop.  Participants were then able to select green threads and to stitch the heart shape in order to form a 'foliage' outline.  Jaqueline is a very technically accomplished embroiderer and the group enjoyed seeing the correct way to work stem and chain stitches.  Next month the group will make a start on adding the flowers and leaves.  

Setting up a foundation for the silk ribbon flowers

Jaqueline's sample heart

This month Michele had contributed a page of Redwork embroidery to the Travelling Book.  She described it as a 'guilty pleasure' being a simple and rather nostalgic technique.

Michele's redwork

This month the annual bursary was decided by random ballot (as is our usual practice).   Five members had applied for it and Sue was the lucky recipient.  She will use the money to attend the Yorkshire and Humber Embroiderers' Group Summer Gathering. 

Afternoon session - members' show and tell

In the afternoon members' had an opportunity to share some of their finished projects, work in progress and embroidered items they had inherited from loved ones.  As might be expected this resulted in a very diverse range of things to see (at this point I must send apologies to those whose work we really enjoyed seeing but which I didn't photograph). 

Angela's embroidery based on a design found among her grandmothers' effects

Work done by Isobel, Angela's grandmother whist a student of York Arts and Crafts School in the mid 1920s

Nicola showed the group some of her technical sketchbooks.  In addition to holding down a job, Nicola is enjoying taking a part time course in Bradford (FdA Textiles Practice).  Nicola is near the start of her course and was working with a largely monotone colour palette at that point.  It was quite a contrast to the traditional pieces worked by Isobel (above) but we don't have Isobel's sketchbooks so perhaps she was able to be experimental as well as technically skilled.  

Nicola's technical sketchbooks

Next up was Jane whose tiny, delicate flower embroideries were much admired.  Jane talked about overcoming her fear of drawing (something many of us could relate to) and how she was using close observation to guide her development of her own work.  She intends to try to work on larger pieces in the future and we look forward to seeing these in due course (although small is beautiful!).

                            

Jane's sketchbooks and flower embroideries

By way of complete contrast, Helen brought in some work in progress/unfinished pieces by way of encouraging everyone to revisit past ideas.   There was something very liberating about hearing someone describe the enjoyment of  the process of making so much.  Helen has an artist's sensibilities and a playful approach to colour and design.  Sometimes things work for her and sometimes she puts things aside to pursue a different idea.  Sometimes she picks up abandoned pieces and can see them working in a different project.  We appreciated her openness to new ideas and to sharing things that were not 'perfect' or 'finished'.

Some of Helen's 'unfinished' work

Although many members like to make things which are original, we certainly don't judge people who enjoy stitching kits.  Anne brought in several lovely kantha hare pieces which she (and her daughter) had both very much enjoyed stitching.  These were designed by Angela Daymond and were very charming (and beautifully stitched by Anne).

Hare among bluebells - kit by Angela Drumond, stitched by Anne

Chris brought in two cushions that she made back in 2004 as entries for a competition with a theme of 'proverbial pillows'.  Chris has a wicked sense of humour and these were such fun!  We figured out the proverbs - 'an elephant never forgets' and 'curiosity killed the cat'.

Proverbial pillows made by Chris

Nicky contributed three lengths of handweaving (some with embelishments) for us to admire.  She had made these as part of a 100 day project that runs annually on Instagram (typically starting in February).  Every year, thousands of people all round the world commit to 100 days of creating and it is open to everyone.  The idea is that having chosen a creative project, participants document and share their process online using a hashtag #The100DayProject.  Although she is skilled in many types of embroidery, Nicky has recently focused on hand weaving and has found many different ways to challenge herself and be experimental.  The scarf that she had woven using throws of a dice to 'guide' the pattern was coveted by many of us!  

Nicky's handwoven and embellished fabric

@nickybrungertextileart

Our thanks also go to Margaret for talking us through how she made a colourful textile book and to Sue for showing her bedquilts made during lockdown from hand dyed and manipulated fabrics. Thanks to Jane (our resident expert knitter) for showing a phenomenally complex and beautiful bottle green cabled jumper which she had self drafted the pattern for and was partway through making.  We also enjoyed seeing work from Sheenah who had inherited several pieces of embroidery and lace from her great aunt and had worked them into a 'snippet' roll.  This was such a lovely way to rescue vintage linens from the drawers and think about the person who owned/used them.  

Our next meeting will be on Saturday 8th August starting at 10.30 in Haxby Memorial Hall.  New members and visitors are very welcome to join us - further details about our programme can be found by clicking on the tab in the header.  Bring some stitching or just come along to see what members are working on.  We are very pleased to show our work and have a chat.  We might even have someone who can help you with an 'unfinished' piece of your own!  

Our June Meeting

Our June Meeting

We had another busy day in Haxby this month.  It was the final month for stitch clubs and Marina's group were making progress on their samples of crazy patchwork embroidery.  Crazy quilts had their heyday in the late 1800s when 'fancywork' was a home decorating trend!  Traditionally a variety of fabric scraps (including silks) were used with decorative embroidery stitching along each seam line.  Small motifs were often stitched into larger areas of fabric and were a way of demonstrating skill.   The resulting quilts were whimsical and perhaps rather dated to the modern eye.  However, like many old fashioned techniques they can be revisited and used in different ways.  Marina brought in a large pumpkin made using crazy patchwork techniques that was both charming and decorative.

Marina's pumpkin

Crazy patchwork stitching worked with black, white and greys

Barbara's group tried their hands at another form of applique.  In the reverse applique technique layers of fabric are stitched together and cut away at different layers to reveal different colours.  It requires tightly woven (cotton) fabric and small even stitches to keep the turned under cut sides in place.  Barbara had given out packs with fabrics so that people could give it a go and they all enjoyed making their stars.  These required four fabric squares, pale blue for the frame, dark blue, orange and yellow for the central star.  Members practiced stitching needleturn circles, straight lines and angles/points.  

Lisa and Janet's work in progress

This month the beautiful work that Jill was doing caught my eye. She was working a table runner on a frame which she undid so we could see and admire the whole piece.  White linen fabric was being stitched with white threads to create a delicately textured surface.  It was a combination of counted thread work and pulled thread work and she admitted it required both concentration and accuracy to get the pattern to work properly.  

              Jill's whitework table runner

The travelling book returned from Angela this month with some interesting information about Wessex stitchery which was designed by Margaret Foster in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.  It is a counted thread technique using a variety of stitches.  Margaret Foster's favourite was chain stitch and its many variations which she referred to as 'Margaret work'.  Angela produced some lovely worked samples to put alongside the historical research into Margaret's techniques and designs.  

Angela'a pages on Wessex work

 

This month there was a competition.  The requirements were for a stitched piece based on a painting or the work of an artist, using unconventional materials.  Participants were asked to bring a small card with the name of the artist or work on it.  The resulting pieces were, not unsurprisingly, very varied and we enjoyed looking at them.  In the end Barbara took home the Viking Loom voucher and the Shirley Smith Bowl for her three dimensional piece inspired by Geoffrey Key's  "Gate Posts".  She had seen the painting in a Tennants Art Catalogue and was intrigued because she collects stones with holes in.  She already had the coloured fabrics  that would blend for the landscape and enjoyed the challenge set to use unusual materials.  

Barbara's winning competition entry

Second place went to Jane's tryptich inspired by Boticelli.  It showcased a variety of stitches,  including goldwork, serene colours and clever construction. 

Jane's tryptich

Third place went to Diane's interpretation of Monet's lily pond.  This certainly met the 'unusual materials' aspect of the brief and was a very creative piece.

Diane's lily pond

All the entries were very interesting and we appreciated the effort that had gone into their design and construction. 

Toni Buckby , Re-embroidering Blackwork

The artist Toni Buckby gave us a fascinating talk in the afternoon on how she uses her fine art practice to investigate, reconstruct, interpret and present fragile and inaccessible Blackwork embroideries from the Victoria and Albert Museum collections.  She mainly spoke about the research she had done as part of her PhD studies.   These have proved particularly challenging as Covid restrictions made travel and in person work difficult at the start of her research.  Drawing on her IT skills Toni has developed an innovative technique involving scanning Blackwork textile items and layering hand drawn images of where the silk embroidery had been before it decayed and disappeared.  She studied textiles in detail and identified the range of stitches and techniques used in Blackwork in the Tudor-Elizabethan-Jacobean eras.  

Toni showed us her meticulous samples which she had hand stitched onto different weights of linen (with different weights of silk threads) to establish how much time the makers might have put into creating the coifs, waistcoats and other decorative textiles that have survived.  The thread counts were up to 74 threads per inch on plain weave linen and she (half) joked that it had ruined her eyesight.  Apparently the historic linens could reach an incredibly fine 140 count.  We were in awe of Toni's skill and dedication to understanding the technical and practical elements involved.

Because Toni feels very strongly that the skill and labour of the 'unknown' makers should be honoured she has facilitated community projects that celebrate Blackwork.  One of these was the "Unstitched Coif" which was part of a group artwork in which Toni sent out a call for stitchers to interpret a historial coif cloth in their own way.  She initially expected around forty participants but her social media post ended up reaching hundreds of individuals and groups and eventually she received 77 coifs which have recently been received into the V&A collection and can be seen on collections.vam.ac.uk (search with 'unstitched coif' to find them).  YES members were particulary taken with how varied and skillful the finished pieces were.  Toni indicated that once her thesis has been submitted she has some ideas for another community project and we fully expect some YES members to want to be involved!

Toni's coif - silk threads on linen fabric

tonibuckby.com

blackworkembroidery.com

Instagram: @tonibuckby

Our next meeting will be on Satuday 4th July.  Meetings are held in Haxby Memorial Hall, near York, 10.30-3.30.  There will be member-led stitch clubs and informal stitching in the morning, with a 'Show and Tell' in the afternoon.  Visitors are always welcome so if you are intererested to see what we're about, please come along.  

Our May meeting

May in Yorkshire is usually lovely and this year it hasn't disappointed.  Saturday was very sunny and a large group gathered in the hall in Haxby ready to stitch, embroider, knit and chat.  Members are always very generous with sharing their skills and knowledge and sometimes that is exactly what is required if someone is struggling with a project.  Equally a little encouragement goes a long way and one persons' disaster is someone else's gem in the making!  We always welcome visitors and new members so feel free to come along or recommend us to a stitchy friend.

Barbara's stitch club was focusing on appliqué and lettering.   This month members were trying a method of reverse appliqué which involved four layers (two for the circle top and two for the background) which resulted in a neat sandwich.  The central circle could be embroidered into with text/names (as Barbara had done in a mini autograph quilt) or with a small image.  Members were making good progress with an unfamiliar technique.

Barbara's appliqué sample

Lisa's reverse appliqué sample in progress

Close up of Barbara's quilt made using the reverse appliqué method.  

The birds are from a printed panel designed by ornithologist 

Lorraine Chivers whose work is on seaparrot.co.uk

The other stitch club was focused on crazy patchwork.  Marina had made lots of samples which members enjoyed looking at for inspiration and she spent the session encouraging people to experiment with a range of stitches.  These included variations of blanket stitch, cretan stitch, fly stitch,  chain stitch, chevron stitch, herringbone stitch, lazy daisy stitch and many more.  

Marina's sample of pictoral crazy patchwork

Some members had picked up the principles quickly and even done homework!  Jill who is an experienced embroiderer had enjoyed crazy patchwork so much that she had completed one sample square (see below) and was working on a second one.   She had used a wide variety of stiches including feather stitch, fly stitch and interlaced running stitch on lace.

Jill's crazy patchwork square

Maggie's crazy patchwork base of batik fabrics ready for embellishment

Also in the hall was a table full of pairs of lovely hearts which we had started last month and finished off at home.  These were gathered together ready to take to York Hospital.  These will be used by hospital staff to give to poorly patients as a way of connecting them with their families and giving comfort.  We enjoyed making them and more hearts are promised or still under construction.

Comfort hearts ready to go to York Hospital

Afternoon speakers - Diane, Celia and Chris

Unfortunately the speaker who had been booked was unwell so three of our talented members stepped in to fill the afternoon slot.  First up was Diane who is an experienced quilter.  She showed us how to join quilts on the sewing machine using the 'quilt as you go' method.  This involves attaching sashing strips and accurately cutting wadding, the quilt top and backing so that they all sit flat.  The end product is a neatly finished quilt.  

 

Diane's demonstration samples for quilt as you go

Our second speaker was Celia who got her first fan when she was eight years old.  Despite being a self confessed tomboy she was intrigued by the fragile and beautifully decorated fan and took great care of it. Since then Celia has amassed a collection of fans and brought a sample of them in to show the wide range of materials they are made of.  We passed many of the fans around to admire the workmanship, marvelled at the delicate fans too fragile to handle now and enjoyed how she had incorporated broken fan pieces into her own embroidery.  

A small selection of Celia's fan collection and own embroidery

Our final speaker was Chris who has been a maker of fibre art dolls for many years.  She was very actively involved in the 'dolly birds' group who made many characterful dolls using a range of techniques and materials.  Chris started off using patterns from well established artists such as the Canadian Margi Hennan.  She was also very inspired by Jude Hill's spirit art dolls.  Eventually she began designing her own dolls which could be soft sculptures or could incorporate wood and metal objects.  When Chris downsized recently she had to let go many of her creations so members brought back the dolls they had been lucky enough to be given and Chris talked about the dolls she kept and the dolls she was working on now.  

Two of Chris's fibre art dolls

Our next meeting will be Saturday 6th June in Haxby Memorial Hall, York.  The day starts at 10:30 and the afternoon session (a speaker or acitivity) starts at 13:30.  We end the day with tea and biscuits and clear the hall by 15:30.   Further information about the programme and contact information can be found by following the relevant tab below the YES banner heading above.  We are a friendly group and welcome visitors.  

Visiting the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection

Ahead of our planned visit to the Gawthorne Textiles Collection I did some 'homework' about the place! Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth was a lifelong collector of textiles as well as a prolific lace maker and embroiderer.  Born into an aristocratic and wealthy family in 1886, she was a philanthropist who devoted her life to improving the social welfare of people near to her ancestral home Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham near Burnley.  During her lifetime she opened her home as a "Craft House" and schools, colleges and craft groups visited to see her collection and learn from her.   I was intrigued to find that Wikipedia listed her 'Occupations' as 'Embroiderer, Textile Collector, Girl Guide leader'.  The textile collection started around 1912 when Rachel started gathering items to help with her teaching and it grew through donations from family and friends to some 11,000 items.  At present this numbers over 30,000 items and it is one of the most diverse textile collections in the UK.  

On Saturday 25th April twenty three YES members boarded a bus in Haxby to visit the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection which is housed in part of a converted mill building in Brierfield, Lancashire.  After some tea and cake, the friendly and knowledgeable curator Rachel gave us a presentation on 'The Collection Showcase: Embroidery'.  This included images (and close ups) of a dozen surface embroidery techniques from around the world and across several centuries; including minutely stitched Elizabethan embroidery, lustrous Chinese silk work and goldwork from Persia.   The work shown was very varied and beautifully done so we really appreciated the skill of the designers and embroiderers of the garments and textiles.  It is a pity so little is known about these people as individuals and can only hope they were recognised (and rewarded) as exceptional in their own time.  Rachel spoke about the stitches/techniques used and in some cases the symbolism in the pieces.  We appreciated the research effort that had gone into providing more context for the wonderful work.

 

A panel of zardozi goldwork embroidery from a bodice or waistcoat, late 18th century Indo-Persian.  An ornate pattern of stylised floral motifs with curving stems and leaves using at least four different types of metal purl thread, embellished with beaten metal strips and tiny knots of silk threads to give the impression of small pearls and gemstones.

Detail of embroidered skirt for a Manchu lady.  19th Century, bought by Rachel Kay-Shuttleworth at Liberty in London.  An example of leno weave with silk embroidery featuring Peking knots and gold metal couching.

We were also allowed to see items from the archive.  Rachel had prepared some drawers for us to see 'unpacked' and patiently answered our questions about textile preservation, conservation issues, curation policies and practices.  She was really knowledgeable about the beautiful items in the collection and very enthusiastic about sharing them.  

Items displayed (but in the archival storage area)

Archival storage materials

We were well looked after by Rachel, her mum (volunteer and dispenser of refreshments) and Usmaa (British Textile Biennial partner).  Overall it was a really interesting place to visit and we had to restrain ourselves from touching anything and peeping inside the intriguing boxes!  The collection also contains patchwork, printed textiles, arts & crafts textiles, bags & purses, lace, needlework tools, samplers, whitework, and costume/clothing so we felt that we barely scratched the surface.  

The organisation's comprehensive website is gawthorpetextiles.org.uk  where you can find information about the collection, exhibitions and when the archive is open to the public for behind the scenes tours and study visits. There are also five dedicated display rooms at nearby National Trust property Gawthorpe Hall where selected pieces from the exhibition are exhibited should members who weren't able to come on this trip fancy a day out!  

Our April Meeting

It was another good turnout in Haxby and we were pleased to welcome visitors who were interested to see what members were doing.  In the hall many members worked on their own projects whilst others joined a stitch club.  

Marina started a group off with 'Crazy Patchwork'.  This is a creative style of patchwork that uses irregularly shaped pieces of fabric and is often heavily embellished with decorative embroidery.  Marina had brought in some beautifully worked samples and instructions for foundation piecing as well as fabric scraps and a lightbox.  The morning passed quickly as members got to grips with the technique.

Marina's samples for crazy patchwork

The second stitch club option was run by Barbara who was demonstrating lettering using Reverse Appliqué.  There are several techniques which she will teach over the three sessions but first was 'raw edge' appliqué.  Participants tacked two pieces of fabric together and traced around simple letter templates before starting to embroider with two or three strands of embroidery floss.  Once the layers were stabilised they could then carefully cut the top layer to reveal the coloured letter beneath.  

Barbara's reverse appliqué sample  

Chris' work in progress

Previous stitch club.  Helen asked members who had joined her colour and design stitch club in January to March to bring in 'finished' work.  It was fascinating to see the great variety of outcomes from simple paint and collage starting points.  Members had greatly enjoyed the low stress process and her gentle encouragement.  

Worked samples made in Helen's 'colour' stitch club

Competition time!  The Spring competition brief was for a commercial design from a kit, book or magazine in any stitched media.  As is usual the entries were very varied and it was lovely to see such a wide variety of items.  We enjoyed and admired them all.  Voting was very tight but our eventual winner was .... Denise. 

Competition entries

Winning entry - Diane.   An embroidered hoop worked from an Ann Brooke panel

2nd place - Liz - Bayeux Tapestry panel in Bayeux stitch

3rd place - Denise - Hardanger sampler from pattern by Yvette Stanton

The brief for the next competition is to create a piece inspired by an artist or painting.  Members are encouraged to use unconventional or unusual techniques.  Please bring entries to the June meeting.

The afternoon session was taken up with a sewing activity prepared by Nicky.  She brought in a range of supplies so that we could make pairs of 'comfort' hearts for York Hospital.  The idea is that small, palm-sized hearts, created with love and care by volunteers are gifted to the hospital.  Staff then pass these on to patients (and their family members) who are in life-limiting or stressful situations.  Because the hearts are matched pairs they are a way for people to feel connected even when physically separated.  We were happy to contribute our time and share our stitched hearts and hope they will provide some comfort in difficult times.  

Our next meeting will be 2nd May in Haxby Memorial Hall near York.  We will be there 10.30-3.30 and are always happy for visitors to drop by and see what we do!  Further information about the programme and contact information is on the tabs beneath the banner.