Our Exhibition, "A Celebration of Stitch"

 ‘A Celebration of Stitch’, our triennial exhibition held at the end of June was a great success. There was lots of beautiful work, traditional and contemporary and much admired by the many visitors. Also lots of interest in the stitch group itself, resulting in some new members. The special theme this time was Hedgerows, and the centrepiece of the exhibition was a row of beautifully wrapped and decorated branches creating a stunning hedge. As ever this three day event was a team effort.  Along with all the work on display, the sales stand, homemade refreshments,  lovely venue  and nice weather made it a very enjoyable experience for everyone. A great deal of work involved but well worth it. A number of people asked if we did this every year! 

Here are a few views of the beautiful hedgerow

And here is a selection of the beautiful work made by some of our members

Our July Meeting

For our July Meeting we were treated to short talks from three of our members. 

Jose Gledhill talked about inspirational teachers and workshops, and we were delighted to see some of the pieces she has made. She very generously donated an original piece by Richard Box which was raffled. 

Celia Ankers talked about the conversation of ecclesiastical pieces, and showed us some truly amazing pieces of embroidery saved from destruction. 

Sue Giles talked about shibori dying and let us into the secrets of some of her techniques. She also modelled her wonderful kimono, made from fabric she has dyed. 

Coming Soon! A full write up of our exhibition, and lots of lovely pictures.

 

Our May Meeting

 Another good meeting on Saturday with the usual busy stitching morning. Members brought their entry forms for our exhibition, A Celebration of Stitch, to our secretary Nicky, who was also our speaker in the afternoon. She was brilliant! A natural. Her talk about how she came to create her online business, designing and producing her cross stitch kits, was very much enjoyed. It was the final session of Colleen’s contemporary canvas work course which has produced some beautiful pieces. Many thanks to her for her tuition, and for bringing materials and examples of her own superb work. Eileen’s course has one more session, and we’re looking for two new tutors for the next stitch club. Don’t be shy!

As for those entry forms, another reminder (one can’t have too many) to attach part A of the form firmly to the bag/wrapping containing work to be exhibited, with the member’s entry form number clearly written on said bag/wrapping, as well as on the back of each piece of work. Please attach D rings and cord for hanging to each piece. All entries to be brought to our next meeting, 28th May. Thank you! 

Also on the 28th please bring the depictions of a stage musical for the visitors’ competition. All Shirley needs is your name on the back. Easy. At this meeting too, all the lovely things to decorate Moira’s hedgerow are to be given to her, and donations for the sales table to Angela and Maggie. 

     

Our April Meeting

A full day of stitching at the April meeting. A workshop after lunch with Alex Hall when members made brooches, having chosen one from three different types, with lovely results. Enjoyment of the morning stitch club was again evident, with superb work in progress. Members were encouraged to sign up on the various rotas for the exhibition which is coming ever closer. There’s no doubt we’ll have lots of super work but we’re going to need lots of super volunteers too! Even an hour or so hour of help will be much appreciated.

Chris

Our March Meeting

Our March meeting saw the first session of the new stitch club course with Eileen tutoring a slow stitching project and Colleen’s group working on contemporary canvas work. By the end of the morning members had made a great start on their pieces. We’ll be posting photographs after the April meeting. We also had the final postcard swap in what has been a very successful project. The cards produced have been much admired, so varied and clever. Those of us taking part will  no doubt treasure the cards we have received from our fellow members. Many thanks must go to Chris Beavers for providing us with such an enjoyable and creative project. Given that we’re going to be busy producing pieces for the exhibition, including the stitched stage musical competition pieces, Chris wisely decided that the next batch of swaps won’t start until September. The theme this time, "Wings", will surely stretch our imagination and creativity. 

Our exhibition, A Celebration of Stitch, featuring work on the theme of hedgerows,  will be held from 24th to 26th June, and at the meeting members were asked to sign up to help with stewarding, serving refreshments, baking  etc.  

The speaker after lunch was Christine Plummer. We were most fortunate to get her thanks to Jacqs who had spent a lot of time trying to find a replacement for Heather Ritchie.  Heather had to cancel at the last minute. Christine makes the most beautiful books. Perfect for containing small pieces of stitching, or photographs, or anything special one would want to keep. Such as postcards.  She paints the paper for the book covers, and then stitches it with skill and an artist’s eye for colour and design. Her paper is all recycled by her, everything from used envelopes to pages from garden magazines. Members queued up to buy her kits, and I treated myself to one the books she had brought to sell.  Christine was very generous in sharing the techniques she uses to produce her lovely work, as is often the case with textile artists, and she encouraged members to have a go at making books for themselves. 

Another busy day, with members enjoying being together and doing what they love. Stitching! And at the April meeting there’ll be a lot of stitching because we’ll have a workshop in the afternoon with Alex Hall. Look forward to seeing everyone  there.

Chris 

Our February Meeting

A lively time at the February meeting. No, not a typo, it was lovely as well,  but definitely a busy day with quite a lot going on. After morning stitch club there were demonstrations of the use of the die cutter by Pauline and Tina,  followed by  fabric printing from Moira. Eileen and Colleen then presented their proposals for the next round of stitch club sessions to begin at the March meeting. A choice of two super courses , slow stitching or contemporary canvas work, see below for examples of the kind of thing we'll be making in those sessions.  Must add here our thanks and appreciation to Sharon and Josie for tutoring our first YES stitch clubs. There were more delightful postcards for swapping, and they were  particularly impressive this time because their creators were asked to make use of just one type of stitch.   

Our exhibition, A Celebration of Stitch, is to be held from 24th to 26th June and all those with responsibility for a specific role got together during the lunch break for a very useful meeting. Moira had that morning reminded members about her idea for a row of real twigs and branches to be decorated with a variety of crafted items such as leaves, berries, blossom, birds and insects and brought samples to show what she has in mind. Should look rather spectacular! 

Chris

Slow Stitching with Eileen

Contemporary Canvaswork with Colleen