Our February Meeting
There was a large turn out for our February meeting. Two stitch clubs got underway (and will run for a further two sessions). Eileen started a group off with Boro stitching. Derived from the Japanese boroboro meaning something tattered or repaired boro refers to the practice of reusing and repairing textiles by piecing, patching, stitching and reworking them. Nowadays we tend to be less thrifty with our clothing but still save small offcuts of fabric that can be pieced together and stitched to make decorative pieces. Running stitches were typically used but apparently there are no hard and fast rules! Eileen brought some lovely samples in to start the group off.
A piece of boro worked by Eileen
A page of boro in Eileen's stitch sample book
This was a very relaxing technique and everyone made a start assembling small pieces onto a background and starting to stitch. It will be interesting to see everyone's progress next time and to explore how stitch patterns soften and harmonise the little scraps.
Helen led the other stitch club who were trying foundation piecing on a very small scale. Helen had brought along some paper templates to which members were adding little pieces of fabric. The technique yields very accurate blocks but requires careful consideration of the sequencing of the different sections.
Helen's tree blocks
Linda backstitching fabric scraps onto the paper templates
Workshop participants managed to get their heads around the technique which initially seemed a bit tricky and fiddly. However with Helen's encouragement and guidance they made good progress and we should see a mini forest emerging at our next meeting!
Elsewhere in the hall members were enjoying working on their own pieces. Monica's lovely Japanese flower caught my eye. The design is a kit designed by Samantha Bourne. Worked on black silk the shaded flower will eventually be outlined in gold thread (and the central yellow ovals are padding over which gold stumpwork will sparkle). Monica had started it years ago and had recently decided to give it another go - she was enjoying the colour work and working through the detailed instructions to learn new skills.
Monica's embroidered flower
Sue was working on something entirely original. Many years ago she had travelled to Russia and was creating an embroidered piece for our upcoming exhibition. She liked the shapes and colours of Saint Basil's Cathedral and had drawn up a design from a photograph. Having stretched her fabric onto a frame she was making a start on one of the onion domes. The architecture is certainly striking and colourful.
Sue's work in progress
Marina had brought in a 3-d building made from wool fabric and felt which was much admired and will certainly be in our exhibition. We are lucky to live in the beautiful city of York and one of the outstanding buildings is the 16th Century home of Sir Thomas Herbert (now a shop selling York Gin). We are intending to create a table display of 3-d buildings of various kinds for the exhibition and Marina has motivated us to get going with our own creations.
Marina's model of York Gin Shop, Pavement, York
Jessica Grady, Journey into Unconventional
Our afternoon speaker was Jessica Grady who is a mixed media embroidery artist, workshop tutor and author. She is a very inspiring and talented young artist who has developed a unique style developed over the last ten years since graduating with BA Textiles from Norwich University of the Arts . Using playful embellishments created from recycled materials and hand embroidery she makes joyful sculptural pieces in bright and contrasting colours. Her work has been recognised in the UK and internationally. In 2018 she was awarded the under 30s Scholar by the Embroiderers Guild and in 2019 she was made a permanent member of Art Textiles Made in Britain. In this capacity she was invited to travel to the Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival in 2020.
What was particularly striking was Jessica's comment that only 5% of her time was creative, the rest being administrative, applying for grants and commission opportunities, taking stands at shows, showcasing her work, answering emails and attending to her social media accounts. It certainly made us think that being a professional artist is a heavy lift! However despite the difficulties she was enthusiastic and optimistic, we enjoyed her talk, admired her work and we certainly wish her well in the years ahead.
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| Jessica working on a textile collage |
A selection of Jessica's sample pieces
Further information about Jessica Grady (and links to her shop and social media accounts) can be found on her website. www.jessicagrady.co.uk
Our next meeting
This will be on Saturday 1st March in the Haxby Memorial Hall starting at 10.30. Visitors and new members are always welcome and there is parking behind the hall if required.
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