Merry Christmas!

We were a little early this month with people being busy getting ready for Christmas, but we had a very enjoyable meeting with mince pies and Christmas cake too. There was a lot going on, so this is a bit of a picture heavy post!

The competition this year was on the colour theme black, white, silver, grey and white; there were some fabulous entries but the winning one was Jackie's.

Other entries:




















The Travelling Books made a return; it was lovely to see some of the new work that has been done, lots of different techniques and inspiration. We're setting them off again in January. Here's a very small sample of what participants have been up to:

And last but by no means least we were able to have a really good look at Cas Holmes piece for the Page 17 project. This was on display at the Knit and Stitch and is on it's way to The Lund Gallery via Clare R with a detour to our meeting. Many thanks go to Cas for allowing us to have her work for the day.
(Photos taken and reproduced with the permission. Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!

Coming Home to Skipton

Here it is, the World Premier of out latest collaboration with Virpi Kettu of Kettu Studios! This is the animation we made with St Stephen's cubs (who were very inventive!) and then the work several of us did on the large map of Skipton. The map itself isn't quite finished yet but we hope you enjoy the video.

(Video reproduced with the permission of Virpi Kettu. Images are the property of Skipton Branch of The Embroiderers' Guild)

Stop motion animation with Virpi Kettu.

We've been busy working on the Where's my home project - the BIG map of Skipton. It's not quite finished yet but we're nearly there! On Saturday morning we worked with the lovely Virpi Kettu and St Stephen's cubs/scouts on animations linked to the project; the animations were brilliant - very inventive! In the afternoon four of us crawled around on the floor moving bits of embroidery around while Virpi mountaineered, as we did some animation of the map itself. It's all being edited at the moment so watch this space!

The Crafty Creek

What a treat we had today, our very own Margaret Creek brought in her wonderful quilts and gave us a talk about them. I have to confess I was so busy looking at them I kept forgetting to take notes, so I direct you to Margaret's blog here for the details I missed!

Margaret modestly calls her quilts a work in progress; she came to quilting following a childhood full of encouragement from her mum in all arts and crafts. Most of the quilts he showed us today have been made for family members and are, no doubt, much loved by them. Margaret has learnt her quilting skills from the online community, mentioning Pat Sloane and Sarah Fielke in particular. Online groups and projects allow you to try new techniques and share ideas with like minded people. All quilts should have a name so Margaret has 'Pimms and lemonade' and the stunning 'Quiet Charm' to name just two. I think we were all in love with the lovely colour palettes Margaret uses and the wide variety of techniques including hand and machine embroidery. Enjoy the photos and pop over to Margaret's blog - it's fab!


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

Artist in Residence

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

Our very own, Sue Ingles talking to us today about her experience as part of Flax group and their artistic residency at East Riddlesden Hall.

Sue led us through the process from initial research trips, to meeting the staff and learning more about the history of the people who inhabited the hall.  Having taken hundreds of photo, she managed to distill them down into a few key images that informed the body of her work.  Using fragments of cloth that are pieced together in long ribbons, Sue tells her stories in stitch and print.

Working within the confines of a listed building also brought unexpected challenges, but the Flax group rose to the challenge and devised imaginative ways to display their work both in and outside the house.

Sue's work has a gentle rhythm with quiet blue, grey and cream tones which belie the depth of research and thought that she puts into her practice.  A fascinating talk!

Stitchery Stories podcast with Hayley

Hayley from our branch! Great stuff.

https://www.stitcherystories.com/hayleymillsstyles/

Skipton Town Hall Exhibition

Just a reminder! There are some familiar names from our branch in this exhibition. Do go and have a look if you missed it in Ilkley.