Our December Meeting 

This took place on Saturday 14th December and was very well attended.  December is a social time and it was lovely to catch up with friends and do some sewing.  Some members worked on their own projects whilst others had a go at making a small decoration for which materials/threads/buttons/beads were provided.

Helen organised materials for a 'scandi' felt decoration and the birds and stars were popular.

Helen's sample decorations

Helen's lovely star garland

Gina making a start on a star garland in the 'scandi' style

Diane provided materials for Suffolk puff baubles.  These involved gathering a circle of fabric around a circle of cardboard and then adding a hanging ribbon and decorative centres with buttons or beads.  

Diane's Suffolk Puff baubles

 

Sara and Sue embellishing their Suffolk puff decorations

In December there was a competition for the best Christmas card, voted for by group members.  There was a diverse range of styles and they were all lovely.  What a talented bunch YES members are! 

Competition entries

And our chosen winner was ....... 

Moira's -  The photograph doesn't do justice to the delicate colouring of the original.

In the afternoon we enjoyed delicious fruit cake and mince pies with our teas/coffees.  Wensleydale cheese was a tasty accompaniment and a surprise addition for those not brought up in Yorkshire. The food historian Peter Brears has traced this tradition at least as far back as Victorian times.  There is an early written reference in Joseph Lucas's book of 1871 'Studies in Nidderdale' which describes Yule Cake being given to each family member along with a piece of Christmas cheese some of which was saved for Christmas morning.  Our heartfelt thanks go to those who provided the refreshments and as all the cakes and cheese were polished off in the afternoon they won't make it to Christmas morning!

Our next meeting

Our next meeting will be 4th January when we are expecting Alison Larkin to speak to us about Arts and Crafts Embroidery.  If this is of interest to you, please do join us in Haxby at 10.30am.  Visitors and new members are welcome.  

Remembering Josie Storey

 Josie Storey

Long-standing member of YES (and previously the Embroiderers’ Guild), Josie Storey passed away peacefully on 21 November 2024 after a stroke. Her daughters (Marie, Diane and Karen) were with her when she initially became unwell and stayed by her side during the following days, as it became apparent that she would not recover. She will be sadly missed by family, friends and the many people who knew her and her creativity with textiles – all are invited to join a celebration of Josie’s life and art being held at 11.30 on Saturday 8 February 2025, at The Pavilions of Harrogate. 

Josie, who was born Iris Josephine Keward on 7 May 1936 in Nottingham, took to sewing from an early age. By the age of 5, she was using a sewing machine to make belts for the clothing piecework her mother took in. She made a first dress for herself at the age of 7, and had early hopes of becoming a fashion designer. However, rather than go to art college as she’d hoped, Josie had to leave school early to assist in her family’s newsagent’s shop. But her creativity could not be suppressed. After marrying, she opened her own wool and haberdashery shop, taking on dressmaking, embroidery and knitting projects as a sideline.

Moving to Wetherby in the early 1960s, Josie embraced motherhood. Her three daughters were always immaculately dressed in stylish outfits she created based on the latest fashions, often with dolls wearing matching ensembles. Josie was generous with her time and had a gift for teaching, running an afterschool art club at Crossley Street Primary School in Wetherby that resulted in an offer of a formal teaching role – though she didn’t accept it as she thought her lack of formal qualifications and inability to spell made her unsuitable. 

Once her children were grown up and she enrolled in a City and Guilds textile course (which of course she aced!), Josie’s confidence grew. Her creativity found the right outlet, developing innovative silk painting techniques which she combined with free-form hand and machine stitching to produce striking bags and pictures, waistcoats and jackets. Josie greatly enjoyed participating in the Ebor group, Embroiderers’ Guild and YES. She also gave talks, held workshops and developed kits so that others could gain creative satisfaction too. In this spirit, her daughters will be sharing mementos of Josie’s work at the celebration in February. They hope to see you there. 

If you'd like to attend please contact Diane using the email address in the image below.

At our December YES meeting members spoke about Josie and shared their memories. Many said how welcoming Josie was when they first joined the group, and how encouraging and supportive she always was. One member said she didn't think she'd have even got started with embroidery had it not been for Josie and her classes at the Viking Loom. We all agreed that Josie's talent was prodigious and inspiring. We are happy to be able to show some of her work at our exhibition in June