Cakes, Competitions, Conviviality - it must be Christmas!

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 14th December

The December meeting is traditionally a social occasion and this year didn't disappoint.  The show and tell session revealed (anti-clockwise from top left) a whole year of stitching from Margaret Laycock, Christine Patrick's treasure from a holiday in India, family heirlooms from Freda Morrell and a beautiful ring cushion from Jill Maloney that is being given to Christ Church in honour of the new vicar's induction.  All very different and equally inspiring.

Members were treated to a fabulous lunch provided this year by Taste Deli in Skipton.  Thanks to Enid for suggesting and organising this - it was quite delightful.

The competition to make something in the colours black/grey/white/silver struck a creative note with everyone and we had some fantastic pieces:  muted wintery landscapes, Christmas cards, concertina books and purses.  The winner was Sue Ingles with her covered book made with applique and a mixture of machine and hand embroidery.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed over the year - the meetings would not happen without the continued support of all our members.

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Northern Legacy

(Photos taken and reproduced with the permission of Catherine Slater. Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 16th November

Northern Legacy was the intriguing title of Catherine Slater's talk but it soon became apparent that it was a nod to her love of the moors and dales of Yorkshire and the textiles she had inherited from her family.  Catherine is well known to many members of the branch through her work in education, through her City and Guilds studies at Craven College, through her latter career as a feltmaker and current chair of Textilia III.

Catherine guided us through her own textile journey and her recurring themes of landscapes, change and a desire to engage with the viewer.  Her felted work ranges from robust sculptural pieces which change depending on the angle of view to the most delicate and ethereal scarves and shawls made from luxury fibres.  She also enjoys physical interaction and her piece of 60 felt squares attached to a background by velcro was just asking to be interfered with.  But it was her two tumbling books that delighted the audience with their playful inventiveness.

During the course of her talk, Catherine mentioned a quote from a WB Yeats poem to engross the present and dominate memory (The Circus Animals Desertion).  Her work certainly lives up to this mantra.

Saturday workshops

We've had a busy few weeks with two Saturday workshops taking place.  We joined Christ Church Primary School for their community open day where we offered our very popular all-age workshop.  It was lovely to welcome back familiar families and to hear how they had progressed with their stitched crafts but the open day also allowed us to meet lots of new people.  We had a fabulous day: stitching, teaching and swapping stories.

Lizzie Wall taught her technique of raw edge applique in a workshop on Saturday 31st October.  The results were stunning, highly individual pieces of work collaged from scraps of material.

A Model Student

(Photos taken and reproduced with the permission of Nicola Hulme. Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 19th October

The title of Nicola Hulme's talk was Take Inspiration but listening to her journey from working single mother to qualified sewing teacher made me realise that she is also a model student.

Like so many others, Nicola was initially self-taught but a desire to improve herself and thereby help her pupils, drove her to study for an RSN certified course.  Despite her aversion to all things arty, Nicola found herself drawn into a City and Guilds distance learning course.  Working from sketchbooks to develop her ideas and concepts took her outside her comfort zone and pushed her into the realms of experimental pieces and mixed media.  

Her technical skills in ribbon work, crewel and stump work are without question but it is her passion to communicate that makes her a great teacher.  She says there is no better feeling than teaching a beginner, especially someone who thinks they can't do embroidery. 

As the Embroiderers' Guild embarks on a new phase of development with a clear focus on it's role as an educator, we would do well to take inspiration from Nicola Hulme. 

Nicola runs regular workshops for her studio in East Keswick, details on her website: www.simplystitch.co.uk

Yarndale 2015

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)


26-27th September 2015

We've had a fabulous Yarndale 2015!  Jane Holmes' Sheep map of Great Britian attracted a great deal of attention and the continuous wall project led by Sue Sissling and Chris Mitchell certainly got people talking.  Lots of praise for our creative stitching!

Saturday was a very busy day but Sunday gave us the opportunity to sit and stitch with our visitors.  Lots of local people were still unaware of our existance - how can that be????!  Our examples of Florentine work and simple stitching techniques revived memories and gave our visitors plenty of ideas to take home.

And finally..... if Chris Mitchell had been on commission for every photograph taken of her knitted lambs she would be a very rich woman!

Thank you to everyone who contributed in any way to the Yarndale exhibition - your support is always very much appreciated.

AGM

21st September 2015

A welcome return to stitching after our summer holidays and a mutitude of family commitments.  Our regular stitch morning was followed by a Jacob's Join lunch before the formal proceedings of the AGM.

Elizabeth Johnston chaired the meeting and read the reports from Jill Maloney (Chair) and Claire Ketteman (Treasurer).  All members of the current committee were re-elected for a further year, Christine Patrick tendered her resignation and Margaret Laycock agreed to join the committee.

Mountmellick meets disco - 1970's style

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 15th June

Preparations for our 40th anniversary exhibition in 2016 are well underway.  This month's meeting was devoted to 1976 and all the craft and embroidery work from that era.  We saw some lovely examples of Mountmellick cotton work, drawn thread work, shadow work and Assissi but the 1970's wouldn't be complete without macrame and disco coloured patchwork.

There were lots of magazines and books to share and eventually everyone found something to inspire them.  The challenge now is to create something approximately 12x12" for our XL Exhibition.  It can either be a re-interpretation of a 1970's classic or a piece with a Ruby colour theme.  Talk to Gail Marsh if you need any information or advice about the exhibition.

It was a fantastic day of shared memories and inspiration.

Birthday celebrations

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 18th May 

Special birthdays should be anticipated and celebrated. This month we did both:  plans are already well underway for our 40th birthday next year and our XL exhibition.  Gail Marsh is leading a team to assemble a collection of work and creative material from 1976 and we are hoping that members will produce new work inspired by the Guild's Folio collections.  If you have any embroideries or books from that era then please have a word with Gail.

It was also our great pleasure to celebrate Elizabeth Johnston's birthday this month and what better way than with flowers and cake?  Elizabeth has worked tirelessly for the Guild at both branch and regional level and continues to inspire us all.  

Treasure Trove

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 20th April

The Embroiderers' Guild HQ holds a vast number of examples of all kinds of work.  For the next two months we have, on loan, some of this valuable collection for members to study.

We chose canvas work and Florentine work folios because we felt that they could appeal to both traditional and contemporary stitchers alike.  We were not disappointed!  The collection includes a diverse range of examples using mainly wool but also modern work which incorporates many types of yarn - almost mixed-media pieces.

Members chose their favourite pieces to photograph or sketch and there were plenty of books on hand to illustrate techniques.  As usual there was lots of advice from other members who brought in examples of their own work.

Don't worry if you missed the Folios this month, we're doing it all again in May!

Spring Taster Workshop

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Saturday 28th March

The March hares were hopping and Easter chicks were clucking in Skipton last Saturday at our Spring Taster Workshop.  Tempted by the little packs of materials, everyone found something to stitch and members of the Guild were on hand to offer help and advice.  There was something to suit all ages and abilities from the youngest five year-old to boys who wanted to design their own picture.

There was plenty of tea, cake and biscuits to keep the chatter flowing which made for a very sociable day.  Thank you to everyone who helped make the event such a great success.

Entertaining Eleanor

(Photos taken and reproduced with the permission of Wyn Ingham. Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 16th March

The Eleanor in question was Eleanor of Aquitaine and her story has captivated Wyn Ingham for the last ten years.  A natural story-teller, Wyn regaled us with tales of medieval politics and rivalry worthy of any soap opera.

Eleanor was a well educated woman who had wealth, land and an army at her disposal.  At 15, she was married to a prince who later became Louis VII of France. Their marriage was annulled after she failed to produce any sons and at 30 she married Henry II of England and went on to have eight children with him.  She was imprisoned by Henry for supporting their son's revolt against the king. Two of her younger sons, Richard and John went on to become kings of England.  At 79, this remarkable woman set off to Spain, travelling over the Pyrenees, to make an alliance through marriage for her grand children to secure the future of the English crown.

Wyn's love of history and stitching has resulted in some remarkable work.  She has studied the churches around Poitiers and the Abbey at Fontevraud where Eleanor is buried.  Her most ambitious piece is a 3m panel depicting Eleanor and her son Richard in a hunting party just before her imprisonment. The work is based on a mural found in a hermit's cave near Fontevraud.  It's work in progress at the moment but we can't wait to see the finished piece.

Ply-split braiding

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 16th February

Learning new things is supposed to keep you young and if last Monday's workshop was anything to go by we had all turned back the clocks by a few years.  Gail Marsh taught us the intricate art of ply-splitting, an ancient craft originating from the desert regions of North West India, Afghanistan and Pakistan, where it was used to make thick braid for camel girths, belts and luggage strapping. 

Manipulating four different coloured cords, remembering to twist each one by a quarter turn whilst trying to insert a rug-hooking tool through the correct number of cords vexed us all to begin with. Slowly we realised that a pattern was forming and soon were flying. 

Firstly we created a key fob with diagonal stripes. Easy we thought, until, in an absent-minded moment, the braid was turned over and we realised that we had formed an elbow.  Luckily the next pattern was to create waves which did require turning and was worked from alternate sides.

Gail is a generous teacher and in addition to her unfailing patience with our ham-fisted braids, she had prepared individual kits for each of us, representing many hours of cord making in a variety of beautiful colours.  We finished the day with two pieces and a whole lot of inspiration for vessels, bags, and jewellery.

Happy New Year!

(Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Monday 19th January

Starting the year with a Jacob's Join lunch and social meeting is a great way to catch up on everyone's news and to start planning projects for the forthcoming months.  Its not always easy to organise a meeting in January but fortunately the snow held off for a few days.

Thanks to Elizabeth and Eileen who stepped in as Vice Chair and Treasurer for the day, whilst Jill was enjoying the South African sunshine and Claire was going downhill fast, somewhere in France.  Thank you also to Brigida for taking a few snaps of the proceedings - lunch looked amazing!