Well done Justine!

 Congratulations to Justine Warner, who made it to the final three in her heat of Landscape Artist of the Year on SkyArts last Tuesday. She stitched a fabulous landscape using her trademark ties, and wowed everyone. She came across as a real natural on the telly box, too. It would have been brilliant to see her go through to the semi-final - if the "Twitter Storm" which followed the programme was anything to go by, an awful lot of people felt the same! 

Justine was our speaker in September. 

You can see more here: https://www.justinewarnerartist.com

NB 23/1/22

January Zoom Meeting

Our January speaker Helen Barnes gave her presentation via Zoom last night. Her topic, traditional north country strippy quilting, was very  well illustrated, and she talked most interestingly about how she became a strippy quilter herself and eventually, in 2020, a recipient of an Amy Emms bursary. The name Amy Emms  wasn’t known to me so I looked her up.  She was born  in County Durham in 1904 and there’s lots about her on the internet. She wrote a book about Durham quilting, and about her life, which seems to be out of print but can be bought for very little money from a number of sites such as Abe Books and Amazon. I  ordered mine last night!  Keen quilters will no doubt be familiar with her but for lovers of textiles who haven’t heard of Amy Emms M.B.E. I recommend a little online searching into the life and achievements of a remarkable, inspiring  woman. And many thanks to Helen for encouraging interest in this very special craft. 

Chris Small 

11/1/22

Here are a couple of screen shots from Helen's Zoom talk

Justine Warner

Great news.  Justine Warner has taken part in Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year,  she's on the second episode, which airs on Wednesday, 19th January at 9pm. Not to be missed. In September 2021 Justine was our first live speaker after months of not being able to meet in person, giving a very engaging talk illustrated with her stunning textile landscapes. 

Sky Arts can be found on Freeview, channel 11, so you don't need to have Sky TV to see it. 

here's a link to Justine's own website: https://www.justinewarnerartist.com

December Meeting

This month there was another collection of stunning postcards for members to present to each other in the December postcard swap, and you can see these by clicking on the "Postcard Project" tab above. What variety and creativity, never mind the technical skill shown. Apart that is from yours truly who is a fabric postcard novice and chose to stitch on silk. And what does silk fabric do when you try to cut a straight line? It frays. A lot. Never mind, lesson learnt. 

We saw variety and skill too in the entries for the mini Christmas stocking competition with Jane C’s and Eileen’s the favourites. 

There were some lovely Christmas cards made on the day, with members having chosen a design to copy or adapt from the five on offer. There were tasty looking fat Christmas puddings; stylish, sequin embellished Christmas trees; pretty, sparkling designs in silver, gold and pastels; jolly cross stitched robins; and birds printed onto fabric ready to be made even more beautiful with embroidery and embellishment. And it was pleasant to sit and chat as we worked, with tea, cake and cheese served in the afternoon.

 

Chris Small, January 2022