Our September Meeting

Our September meeting took place in Haxby Memorial Hall (our usual venue) and there was a good turnout with a lot of purposeful activity (and chatting!)  It was the third (and final) session for the stitch clubs.  We are very grateful that members are willing to share their expertise by running stitch clubs and really appreciate the care that they take to ensure participants enjoy the challenge of trying something new.  We are always on the lookout for ideas for stitch clubs and volunteers to run them. 

In September Nadine's group enjoyed trying their hands at a more advanced huck embroidery pattern.  To sew a 'daisy chain' it is necessary to work one thread horizontally and another one vertically.  This requires careful counting, stitching and looping of threads and several of the group found getting their heads around it quite tricky.  However after a slow start and with Nadine's help everyone managed to get the hang of it.  Somehow having no threads showing on the back of the work seems amazing although this is a key part of the Swedish darning technique and means that it is very economical with thread.

Diane's start on 'daisy stitch' using varigated green stranded cotton for the horizontal row

Nadine's 'daisy stitch' sample front and back

The second stitch club worked under Jaqueline's guidance and continued with their silk ribbon embroidery.  This month they added ribbon roses and more leaves to their designs. Paricipants enjoyed the luxurious feel of working with silk and the delicacy of the embroidery.  They learned that it was important to treat the silk ribbon gently to maintain the three dimensional quality of the flowers and leaves.  Jaqueline also demonstrated how to tint silk roses using Promarker pens after they had been stitched down which was generally thought rather terifying! Jaqueline had brought in some of her other silk ribbon work to inspire the group.  Her skill and the variety of flowers she is able to stitch was very much admired.

Jaqueline's rose samples (before and after dying)

Jaqueline's silk flower circle (pinks and purples)

Jaqueline's silk flower circle (yellows and blues)

Competition Time 

There are competitions four times a year and in September the Ida Barber Trophy is awarded for an original design.  The standard of entries was very high and we really enjoyed seeing the range of work that was submitted.   Congratulations to our winner, Eileen for her fabulously textured mini landscapes, to Pauline who was placed second for her wonderfully textured hanging inspired by Jessie Chorley, and to Helen who was placed third for her colourful boro stitched fabric strings.  

Competion entries

3rd place - Helen

2nd place - Pauline

Our winner of the Ada Barber trophy - Eileen

Mary Whitehouse.  Banners or Quilts?

Our afternoon speaker was textile artist Mary Whithouse.  Post retirement Mary went back to being a student and completed a Foundation degree in Textiles Practice at Bradford College before continuing on to take a Textiles degree.  Over the course of six years she was encouraged to develop an individual artistic practice.   She found that she was particularly interested in promoting her long held views around sustainability, shared humanity and support for refugees to a wider audience.  We were very interested to hear how she had developed several textile pieces including her quilt that highlighted the human costs of garment making (the Rana Plaza Factory collapse of 2013 in Savar, Bangladesh and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 in New York CIty.  

Mary's quilt made from recycled fabrics

Over time Mary became increasingly interested in banners and how they differed from quilts and she made several in support of refugees which she took to 'refugees welcome' protests.  She was encouraged to research and reflect on banners and quilts and eventually did several pieces of creative work that developed her ideas.  She shared with us her working processes used to develop a quilt 'Uprooted' that was inspired by the Hallville Canadian Red Cross quilt in the Quilters' Guild Collection.  She wanted to raise awareness of the plight of refugees who are still being uprooted by war, famine, and oppression.  This piece with its recognition of many contemporary refugee situations has been accepted into the Quilters' Guild Collection and was displayed at the Festival of Quilts as a companion piece to the original quilt made by Canadians for British victims of war who had been bombed out of their homes.  

'Uprooted' by Mary Whitehouse

Mary continued to look for ways of integrating people's real world views about refugees into her textile pieces and at how she could actively engage people into thinking more deeply about what it means to be displaced.  Over time her fabric pieces have started to incorporate relevant newspaper articles, stitched messages, distressed and deteriorating fabric pieces and she eventually developed a banner (quilt?) titled 'Building Hope' in which she challenged observers to engage positively with the refugee experience. 

Mary Whitehouse's stand at the Festival of Quilts

Mary was clearly someone who felt passionately about finding ways to rebuild co-operation among peoples across boarders and at home.  We enjoyed hearing what she had to say and how she was trying to make a difference through the  medium of textiles.  As stitchers we were also pleased to see the subversion of traditional patchwork texhniques to say something important and engaging to modern audiences.  

More information about Mary Whitehouse can be found on Instagram @yorkstitcher

Our next meeting will be held on 3rd October in Haxby Memorial Hall.  The morning session, starting at 10.30 will include our AGM and in the afternoon we will be stitching 'Doves of Peace' which will be displayed in York Minster as part of the annual Christmas Tree Festival.  We welcome visitors and new members so do come along if you are interested in stitching and embroidery, textile art and textile practice.

  

Our August Meeting

A lively bunch of stitchers and embroiderers met in Haxby Memorial Hall this month.  Many people got on with their own work but those people who had signed up for a stitch club gathered to make progress on their projects.  This month was the second session for Jaqueline's silk ribbon embroidery group and Nadine's  huck embroiderers.  

Having made good progress with the basic technique in the first session, Nadine's group moved on to try a more complex Christmas themed design that used several colours and slant stitch.  

Huckwork Christmas tree design

Nadine was very impressed that some of her group had done 'homework' because they were particularly enjoying the counted thread technique.  The images below show how Huck embroidery can be done on different scales and various fabrics.  Monica had adapted a design from a knitting pattern motif and Jill had adapted cross stitch designs.  The photos are only the front of the fabrics, there is nothing at all on the back as the technique is essentially woven into the threads on the surface.  

 Monica's tulip worked with cotton perle #12

Jill's fine edging on a hand towel and larger scale huck embroidery

Monica and Jill had both found the technique fun but said that it needs high levels of concentration. As a counted thread technique it requires precision and the use of a specialist (blunt and bent) needle makes it easier.  The pattern is formed from the centre outwards and can include loops and diagonal lines.   The pattern emerges from a single thread but appears to vary in density and depth.  Group members were really enjoying learning this vintage technique.  

The second stitch club were making progress with their silk ribbon hearts.  Having finished the embroidered green outline (using stem stitch and chain stitch) the participants were able to move onto adding flowers and leaves.  The first stage involved using a very unusual piece of equipement - mini hair straighteners - to smooth the narrow silk ribbons.  The ribbons were then dyed using Windsor and Newton Promarkers which are translucent alcholol-based inks and the colour was fixed with another gentle iron with the straighteners.  Jaqueline demonstrated how to use silk ribbon to create french knots to form simple flowers and leaf stitch for leaves.  Some members dyed their ribbon before starting  on their flowers, others stitched with the raw (white) ribbon with the intention of dying them later.  Members were then able to start stitching seed beeds (for flower centres), forming flowers and adding leaves.  The techniques were not difficult but were a bit fiddly so most people were intending to finish off at home.  Next month Jaqueline will demonstrate larger/more complex silk flower techniques and everyone will have a lovely original piece of embroidery.  

Anne making a start on peach coloured flowers 

Pauline making some white silk ribbon flowers to be dyed next time

Michele having done her homework by adding a selection of white flowers and leaves

Remembering Liz Farmery 

Mid-morning we stopped to reflect on the recent death of our friend and YES Treasurer Liz.  Many members were able to go to Liz's funeral which celebrated her life as a wife, mother and grandmother as well as her working life, her travels and actitivies in retirement.  As a close personal friend Nicky was asked by the family to write something about Liz's creative life and this was incorporated into the eulogy.  However at YES we wanted to have an opportunity to talk about Liz's contribution to the group and her creative life more broadly.  Liz was an unassuming woman of many talents who shared her skills and materials generously.  She facilitated three stitch clubs which were much enjoyed because she was organised and encouraging.  She 'manned' the door and provided a warm welcome to old friends and newcomers alike.  She was kind, competent, practical and an excellent treasurer, a role she had taken on from the formation of YES. Liz will be much missed.  

Justine Warner: Landscape Artist of the Year Adventures

On the 5th aniversary of YES we were pleased to welcome back local textile and mixed media artist Justine who had been YES's first speaker.  Justine had been to art college, trained in Interior Design and then had a busy career as a Secondary School teacher  delivering Product Design, Textiles and Food Technology.  Alongside this she had developed her art practice which has been influenced by her local environment, the Yorkshire Coast, Moors and Dales.  Over time she formed a unique personal style of work which incorporates vintage ties and free motion embroidery.  As well as taking commissions, Justine exhibits reguarly and runs day and residential courses in a range of experimental techniques from her beautiful studio in Sheriff Hutton.  

A particular highlight of Justine's life was being asked to participate on the Sky Arts television programme 'Landscape Artist of the Year'.  

Justine's submission piece for 'Landscape Artist of the Year' and work produced during the competition

Justine told us about how surprised she was to have been approached by the Production Company to be in the show, and how she had prepared for it.  Each week eight contestants only have four hours 'en plein air' to create a landscape which is judged by art experts and curators.  Four hours is a very short time (particularly for a textile artist) and Justine's expectations were exceeded when she was shortlisted in her heat.  The exposure showcased her career and led to lots of further exhibition opportunites and commissions.  

We very much enjoyed hearing Justine talk about her recent work.  Nowadays Justine is very busy (although recently retired) teaching and working on her own pieces.  She is very interested in recyling fabrics gathered from local jumble sales and is still blending the patterns, textures and richness of old ties into her landscapes.  She also loves to create dyed and painted surfaces using Tyvek, Lutrador, Bondaweb and netting, skills which she shares with her workshop students.   Justine was a relaxed and entertaining speaker who many members know from workshops and exhibitions.  We look forward to seeing how her work progresses over the next five years! 

Justine's work in progress

Experimental work from Justine's Summer School/Retreat

Work from Justine's Autumn School/Retreat

A selection of Justine Warner's work

Further information about Justine Warner, her work, exhibitions and workshops can be found on https://www.justinewarnerartist.com

Her Instagram account is @justine_warner_artist

Our next meeting will be on Saturday 5th September. Meetings are held in Haxby Memorial Hall, near York, starting at 10.30 and ending around 3.30.  Visitors are always welcome so if you would like to see what we are about, or if you would like help with an 'unfinished' project please come along.  We are a friendly bunch and are always happy to see what other people have created so if you are a stitcher or embroiderer please drop by.  Further details can be found below the banner above.  

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.