Folk Hall refurbishment - Storage solutions needed!

We wish to alert you to the fact that important decisions need to be made at our next meeting on Saturday 5th April. We have been informed that as a result of the refurbishment of the Folk Hall, our storage space is going to be severely curtailed. We will only have sufficient room to store the absolute essentials we require for meetings. This will not include the library or the sales table stock, the screens and exhibition equipment, and various other sundries we have stored there. If you are unable to be present at the meeting and have strong opinions or good ideas, please contact any member of the committee by email.

March Meeting - Rachel Lombard

We were especially pleased to welcome Rachel Lombard as our speaker this month as she had to cancel her original booking last year.

Rachel firmly believes that everyone has creative ability of some kind or another. Telling us of her initial, thwarted desire to study patchwork and quilting, Rachel related how she reluctantly took a creative embroidery course, and has never looked back!

It was a delight to see inside Rachel's sketch books, and she emphasised the importance of recording the journey from concept to stitch, and also the value of evaluating ones work along the way, and to reflect on completion.

As well as a most informative presentation, Rachel delighted us with an extensive display of her work.

Mirrors............

more mirrors, boxes, albums and sketchbooks.



Other Things

Yorkshire Branch at Leeds have invited us to celebrate their 80th birthday with them, and have invited us to their meeting at St Columba's Church, Headingley , Leeds on  June 28th. We have been asked to RSVP, so if you would like to go please could you let Stevie Rodgers know. the meeting begins at 11.30, includes lunch, and the afternoon speaker is our very own Diana Barrett.

Details of the Region Summer School and application forms are available from Stevie.

Ryedale Branch has an Exhibition In the Band Room, Farndale on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th April.  10.00am - 4.00pm.

The dates for York Open Studios this year are  4th,5th, 6th April and 12th, 13th April. Further details - www.yorkopenstudios.co.uk

(Lack of) Catering at the March meeting

We're sorry to have to announce that we have been advised by the staff at the Folk Hall that, because of the current refurbishment being undertaken at the venue, it will not possible to provide a catered lunch on March 1st. However, in a change to their usual policy, it will be acceptable to bring a Packed Lunch and eat it at the Folk Hall. Tea and Coffee should be available. For those who arrive without a packed lunch and are really hungry it is usually possible to buy food from the shops in the village. Morning Stitch Club and the afternoon meeting should be unaffected by the refurbishments.

February Meeting - Alice Fox

The Talk at the February meeting was given by Alice Fox and described her experiences during her Artist's Residency at Spurn Point and her newer work which has developed from her initial excitement in discovering and making marks in the natural environment.

Alice at work (image taken from her blog)

Of course, she explained it all much better than I can and her blog is full of examples of her work. Alice's talk was illustrated with many images and video of her time at Spurn Point and highlighted the unpredictability of the weather there. You obviously need many layers of thermals and waterproofs for a residency during a Yorkshire summer!

Throughout the talk Alice's enthusiasm, in discovering marks in the landscape and then creating marks on fabric and paper using found objects, shone through. Not surprisingly, these Coastal Perspectives have fed through into her more recent work finding inspiration in the streets of Saltaire and beyond. Alice brought along examples of her collographs presented as concertina books, sketch books and stitched pieces so we could see up close how she successfully integrates her found images into finished pieces. A really interesting and inspiring talk.

Other things

Booking for a dayschool with Jo Wilson to make altered books will open at next month's meeting.

The sales table raised over £100 to send to the Sreepur project 

Tracy Franklin has been shortlisted for the Embroiderers' Guild Beryl Dean Education Award

NELLI The New Earswick Less Loneliness Initiative is having a Hobby Craft Fair at the Folk Hall on 12th April and the branch will be having a stall. Volunteers are sought to help on the day.

There was an announcement from the committee about a branch entry into the Regional Competition. Shirley mentioned riding a carousel at the seaside. I'm intrigued but non the wiser. Further details at next month's meeting.......

January Meeting - Cluny Chapman

Happy New Year.

The speaker at this month's meeting was Cluny Chapman - textile artist, York Minster broderer, owner of Highfield Textiles and member of our branch.
Her talk 'Generations - a family history of textiles' linked the history of embroidery over the past 150 years with her own family's involvement with textiles over this time...
from the sampler stitched by her great great aunt...

Sampler dating from 1879

...to the costumes designed in London by her great grandfather...

Design including the caption 'Lampshade' !

...and her grandmother's involvement with the Needlework Development Scheme...

...leading on to her mother's work including a major commission for the Guildhall of the Glazier's Company in London...

...and Cluny's own work including her exquisitely embroidered wedding dress...

...and showing how she is now passing on her skills to her own children.

Many of the textiles which featured in Cluny's talk have now been passed down to her and she was able to bring a wide selection of garments including dresses, Christening gowns, and some exquisite embroidery for us to ooh and aah over after the talk. A really interesting and enjoyable afternoon.

Other things:

The morning Stitch Club next month will include more developments of ATCs and Josie will be showing how to make raised work faces.

Gina Smith announced her exhibition 'Journeys with a Needle' is now at Helmsley Arts Centre having previously been at Dales Countryside Museum

Bookings for Ruth Brown's Cyanotype Printing workshop on 8th March will open at the February meeting.

AGM September 2014

Please note there has been a change to the date of the AGM in September 2014. The AGM (and branch meeting) will now take place on Saturday 13th September 2014.

December Meeting

The December meeting was a very sociable occasion, with members making Christmas themed gift bags based on a design by Kumiko Sudo from her book 'Omiyage'.


Everyone was very engrossed in the task and keen to complete at least one bag. As the serious stitching business was nearing completion there was time for cake.

Two lovely cakes with prancing reindeers along the sides were made and decorated by Liz and rapidly demolished by the members - stitching and talking is energy sapping work after all...

 

Just some of the completed gift bags - filled with chocolates

After the exertions of the afternoon, the competition winners were announced. The theme this year was Christmas Pudding.

Second prize probably encapsulated a sentiment many members could agree with...

 

 

 

... and First prize was won by someone who has an uncanny resemblance to one of our long-standing members and who was photographed modelling her prize winning festive fascinator!