March Meeting - Chris Gray

Our speaker this month was Chris Gray. She brought with her many fine examples of traditional embroidery from Eastern Europe and further east in to Asia. Her talk 'Stitching Magic' was an introduction to the meaning and symbolism behind this embroidery and how this has influenced her work.

Traditional embroidery

She brought embroidered covers which would be placed over bedding to ward off evil spirits. She showed us how the same symbols, especially fertility symbols, were used in many cultures. We saw exquisitely embroidered dress bodices incorporating shisha mirrors, coins and cowrie shells.

Chris's collection is becoming more precious as, in places like Afghanistan, this traditional style is becoming rarer.

Chris is also inspired by the embroidery she collects to make her own work including protective covers which really don't look like a pair of knickers unless you happen to be looking at them out of the corner of your eye, as Chris joyfully related the tale of an onlooker being very perturbed by what she thought she was seeing!

Chris Gray - detail of large panel

 Chris explained some of her techniques - including how to turn wallpaper lining paper into something that looks like leather.

Chris Gray

 She uses traditional printing blocks and then embellishes, inspired by her collection of traditional embroidery.

Chris Gray

 She has also started making smaller pieces of work, including small book forms which she can keep in CD cases. The thinking being (she says) that she can maybe have a greater chance of working through all the ideas she has in her head if she works to a smaller scale.

Chris Gray

From the evident joy she gets from stitching and sharing her work, it seems unlikely that she will run out of ideas, but will continue to stitch to make a statement as she feels embroidery enriches lives.

Other things

Exhibition plans are progressing.
There was a request for easels or music stands to display work on at the exhibition.
Stevie is creating the list of stewarding for the exhibition. Please let her know if you can help with this important aspect of the exhibition.
Next month's meeting is at the end of March and will be making things for the exhibition. See the previous post for more details.
If you are 'upcycling' an item for the exhibition, take a 'before' photo to go with the finished item.
Stitched items for the exhbition raffle are welcomed. Chris Gray donated one of the small hanging squares similar to those pictured above, which was much appreciated.

New books have been added to the library including titles on Art Quilting, Crewel work, Applique and fabric collage.

Young Embroiderers next session is over Easter - the 8th and 9th April.

The Easter competition next month (28th March) awards a prize for the best work from a commercial design, so remember to bring your entries.

Member's Day March 28th

Are you ready for member’s day on Saturday March 28^th?

There will be 4 zones to experiment and explore. The attached is a starter for the day. Take a look and choose an area that you would like to explore. When you come to the meeting on Saturday  7^th March there will be an area where you can sign up to an activity.

Looking forward to a great day

Dulcie

February Meeting - Karen Casper

Our speaker for this month's meeting, Karen Casper works under the name of Tulle and Candyfloss. Karen is a great advocate for using the upcycled and the decayed to give it a new identity.
She brought some excellent examples of her work, created as she completed her degree and masters, which as she said, she started from nothing, having left school with few qualifications.

Karen's work in a fashion shoot on her website www.tulleandcandyfloss.co.uk

Karen's work has been inspired by several themes, including lace and undersea coral. She enjoys researching her subject thoroughly before starting work on a piece, and brought along lots of sketchbooks, full not only of design ideas but also stitch and fabric samples as she works towards resolving a piece. 

Miss Coral

Her coral inspired pieces use glow in the dark threads from Madeira (she was a Madeira sponsored student throughout her studies) and wire to give shape to the finished piece.

Karen styles photo shoots for all her creations and her striking images on social media have given her a worldwide audience. Her lace inspired pieces have been exhibited in Calais and Latvia and her work is being commissioned as unique, hand crafted headpieces.

She refuses to be pigeon-holed, and enjoys being artist, designer and tutor - and a sharer of her exquisitely detailed stitched pieces many of which she brought along for us to marvel over.

Other things

Preparations for the June exhibition are progressing. There will be themed exhibitions including 'Make do and mend', 'Magna Carta' and 'Best dressed doll' and also a general exhibition of work - everyone is encouraged to enter work for the exhibition.

Stitched pieces which can be donated as raffle prizes would be welcome as would handling samples.

There has been a request for purple fabric for the Regional Competition.

January Meeting - Alison Larkin

Happy New Year to Our Members New and Old and to all Our Followers

We started off the New Year with a visit from a Georgian lady, alias Alison Larkin from Hull

Alison in period costume

Alison began with a brief account of the historical context of the period covered, 1714-1830 (or 1837 if one includes William IV in the "Long Eighteenth Century"). Of special note was the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the middle class, together with the growth of the British  Empire and her trading companies. Of importance to costume in particular was the development in printing, and the publication of fashion journals and fashion plates.

Alison illustrated both men and women's costume from the the early and later parts of the period, including the exaggerated Court Mantua (and revealed the secret of how they passed through doors in such a wide garment), up to the clothing worn by the Misses Bennett and the handsome Mr Darcy. The embroidery on all of the costume, of both sexes, was exquisite.

We went on to hear about the project which led Alison to research this period. She is completing a replica of an unfinished waistcoat, embroidered by Elizabeth, the wife of Captain James Cook, which she was making for him during his third and final voyage from which he never returned. The waistcoat, embroidered on tapa (bark) cloth is now displayed in Sydney, and Alison had been granted funding to visit Australia last year in order to conduct her own research. The waistcoat is now almost complete and will be on display at the Captain Cook Museum in Grape Lane, Whitby, from February 16th until October 31st this year.

We were also treated to examples of Alison's miniature embroidery. The photos below just do not do it justice. 

Other Things

Kath is holding a meeting for all those interested in helping in any way with the exhibition. It is to be held at the Folk Hall on Saturday 17th January at 10.00am, and will be as brief as possible! Many hands make light work!

There was a 25% response to the questionnaire given out to members at the November meeting. These replies contained some excellent comments and suggestions which the committee will work their way through in order of priority.

A letter was read out to the meeting from the CEO Terry Murphy, outlining suggestions for changes to  be made to the Guild in order to make it more sustainable. The full details will be in your next issue of Contact due out at the end of the month. Please read carefully and make any comments to Kath or Shirley who will be attending this year's AGM, where the proposals will be voted on (preferably in writing or Email).

Finally, thank you to all those who bought contributions for variety packs to be sold at the Exhibition. In February we will be collecting any donations in Summer colours

December Meeting - Rachel Terry

Our December meeting was our Christmas meeting and had a bit of a party atmosphere. We had a lovely speaker - Rachel Terry - who makes rag rugs, but instead of just listening to her talk, where she gave us a history of rag rugging, we also got to have a go ourselves.

Busy at work (and chatting and eating cake)

Naturally, we didn't have time to make a rug each - especially as there was a mid afternoon break for some very lovely Christmas cakes - but we did have a go at using the proddy technique with a split peg to create a corsage each.

Some of the corsages under construction

We were mostly engrossed in our task, but also had time for plenty of chat, (it was a social event) and of course, Rachel was a very good tutor, coming round and demonstrating how to complete our corsages. We also had time to vote to choose the winner of the 'Round Robin' Christmas competition.

Round Robin entries

The winning entry was this lovely robin complete with nesting box made by Pauline.

Pauline's winning Robin

Other things
Preparations for our exhibition next summer are getting underway. There is a new tab at the top of the blog, where all the information about the exhibition will appear. In the meantime, there was a request for donations of fabrics and threads in 'Spring' colours to be brought to the January meeting. These will then be bagged up in to attractive 'project' bags to be sold as fundraising items at the exhibtion.

An Early Christmas Present

Our speaker next November (yes, nearly a year away) Elizabeth Almond has been in touch with Dulcie and has shared one of her designs with us. It's a lovely blackwork design, suitable for using over the festive season.

Simplicity - Elizabeth Almond

The design is now available as a free download directly from her Blackwork Journey website and the direct link can be found by clicking here.

November meeting - Karen Parry

The talk today was by Karen Parry who works for Entaco which of course, most of us hadn't heard of, but when she explained that it was also John James, sewing needles and Aero and Millward knitting needles, then we knew where she was coming from!

Karen gave us a quick history of the manufacture of sewing needles, how the business had grown from a cottage industry based in and around Redditch to an international company that now exports to over 50 countries. The process has remained largely unchanged for over 100 years.

The needle making process, as detailed on the John James website

She talked us through all the different sorts of hand sewing needles which were available, and when to use substitutes to get better results. There was lots more interesting detail about the difficulties in making needles, especially beading needles. Open heart surgery got a mention unexpectedly! And best of all Karen brought goody bags full of information about all the different types of needles available - and the opportunity to undertake some retail therapy if we desired. A very interesting talk where we learned that the needle isn't such a humble thing after all.

Other things

Suggestions are still wanted for a destination for the proposed Branch Outing next summer. This should be related to stitch in some way.

Young Embroiderers met over two mornings last week. The results were impressive - little bags made from sequin waste. A request was put out for volunteers to help at the sessions. They run during four school holidays - February half term, Easter, Summer and October half term - for a Wednesday and Thursday morning each time. If you could offer your help please contact Diane or Judith.

Questionnaires about the direction the branch should take in the future were available for completion to be given back at the next meeting. Opinions on what format the bursary should take in future are also still sought and should be sent to Kath.

The library is back in business, though it has moved to the other side of the room! Next month (December meeting) it will be possible to return books, in fact there is a plea to return books if you have been 'looking after them' while the library situation was resolved. The library will be open as usual for borrowing books at the January meeting.

June Exhibition:

• Shirley has opened her list of Children's book titles to be turned into book covers for visitors to guess at the exhibition.
• A request was made for about 20 volunteers, each prepared to do something towards helping with the organisation of the exhibition. Stevie is collecting names!

At the Regional AGM last month the Leeds branch won the competition. Our seaside themed piece will be part of next summer's exhibition. Additions to it are welcome before then.

The following events were announced, each one involving some of our members. (Click on the links for more details)
Carol and Sandra at Ryedale Folk Museum
Decora at the Blue Light Gallery in Masham
Hippystitch having a Christmas Extravaganza and being part of York Makers Fair.

And Finally.... The next meeting is the Christmas meeting.
We will be having a guest tutor. Please bring the usual sewing kit including scissors.
A gift for the Bran Tub (wrapped and sewing related) would be welcome. There will be a raffle with the prizes provided by members of the committee.
The competition theme is 'Round Robin'.
Stitch club will proceed as usual in the morning but lunch will be at the slightly earlier time of 12.00 and the afternoon meeting will start at 1.30 (rather than the usual 2.00). There will be a tea and cake break during the afternoon session.
I'm hoping that covers everything.