Friday 26 March 2021

New Beginnings

We are very pleased that there has been such a lot of support for an independent York group in place of the York branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild and you will see from the above that we now have a name; York Embroiderers and Stitchers. This has the benefit of a very positive acronym, YES.  I shall resist the temptation to add an exclamation mark.

We also have a new home. Beginning in July we will meet at Haxby Memorial Hall from 11am until 3pm on the first Saturday of every month,with the exception of August, October and January 2022 when we’ll meet on the Saturday after

Haxby Memorial Hall will suit us very well. Plenty of space and parking in a good location, plus a garden for al fresco  lunch in the summer.

The first meeting will be for informal stitching and catching up with each other,  but it will also be an opportunity for the members to give their ideas and requests for future programmes and procedures,  and to offer their help in any way. We would also like volunteers for running workshops and /or giving short talks. Or even long(ish) ones! We’ve had some offers and will be chasing these up. We are confident that our finances will enable us to have some external speakers from time to time throughout the year.  

Further details, including subscriptions and an initial programme, will be sent to everyone after Monday’s committee meeting. We would like the group’s members to be involved in the creation of a full and varied programme for the next year, one which reflects their interests and aspirations. There will be more on this at our first meeting.

Many thanks from the committee for all the lovely messages we have received. We appreciate them very much indeed.

At our Zoom meeting on 3rd April we are to have Emily Harvey as the speaker. Her talk is on Print and Printmaking. 


This blog has also had a little facelift, which is a work in progress as the new group develops, but all the archives are still here.


Saturday 13 March 2021

Next month's speaker and the future of the group

A super speaker at last Saturday’s Zoom meeting. Alison Wake who is based in the Peak District, described  her work as ‘painting with yarn’. Her talk was perfectly structured for a Zoom presentation and was obviously much enjoyed. We’ve had lots of enthusiastic  feedback from members. She can be found on cognissart.co.uk.

We’ve also had lots of support for the creation of an independent embroidery and textile art group in the light of the recent Embroiderers’ Guild crisis and the consequent closing of all EG branches. Given the financial predicament in which the EG finds itself and the EG Trustees’ legal obligation to protect the charity, the closures were inevitable. However, the news came as shock, though on reflection not really a surprise. As well as the desire to have an independent stitch group there have been offers of help with activities such as running workshops and financial donations to help us get started which is immensely encouraging.

The committee is investigating possible venues for the group and looking at the various aspects of its organisation including subscriptions and a monthly programme. We’ll keep in touch as we go along.

Our next Zoom meeting will be on 3rd April when Emily Harvey will talk about print and print making.