We are a group of women (but men are welcome!) who have an interest in textile art and embroidery. We are of mixed abilities and there is no need for you to be able to sew to come and join us - there are no tests!
New members are always welcome - why not call in and join us as a guest for a few months?
Meeting fee for visitors is only £5.
Our meetings vary - we have talks and workshops, show and tell - we also have lots of weekend workshops and playdays. For details of what's coming up (and what's been and gone!) check out our programme below...

Monday 21 March 2016

March Playday - Inspired by Sue Spargo

What a treat it was to meet at the Maurice Jagger Centre on Sunday for a day of chatting, eating and a bit of stitching. Davina made Birthday Buns, Mandy made Easter Nests, and Rona brought Passion Fruit Roulade, so by the end of the session our sugar levels were dangerously high. 
Sue Spargo is a British-born textile artist who now lives in the USA. She works predominantly with dyed wool fabrics (think granny's blankets) using decorative stitching and beads to attach small shapes onto larger pieces to create the finished article. 

Here are the beginnings of our pieces - it turns out that stitching is very time-consuming. 
Deborah used knitted fabric for the background of her piece, 
using patterned cotton to provide contrast. 


Irene used different shades of wool tweed in her piece. 
This fabric is quite challenging to use in appliqué as it tends to fray.

Davina cut leaf shapes from felt and used a variety of stitches to embellish 
them, including blanket stitch and french knots. 

Margaret W's felt and cotton pear design is embellished with beads and buttons, 
chain stitch, blanket stitch and french knots.  

 Sue K's teardrop shape is embellished with blanket stitch, cross stitch, 
and whipped running stitch. 

Jan's leaves are hemmed with blanket stitch and the patterned cotton
fabric provides a toning contrast with her felt shapes. 

Visitor Nina's bird is made from space-dyed velvet -
another very tricky fabric to work with! 

Maureen is making a case for her magnifier, using blanket she has dyed herself - 
as you can see, the colours are beautiful. 

Jacqui's circular designs are cut from felt and are decorated with 
blanket stitch, fly stitch and french knots.


Abi's felt and velvet leaf is decorated with running stitch, fly stitch and lazy daisy stitch and her plant has other stitches including pistil and french knots. 

Rona has outlined one of her paisley pieces with beaded blanket stitch. 
 Other stitches include leaf, fly stitch (with a short stem so it looks like a zig-zag) and french knots, without which no piece by Rona would be complete!

Jane is using silk yarn made from recycled saris 
to embellish and edge her leaf shapes. 

As usual, there seem to have been twice as many hours in Janice's day! 
She has used blanket stitch, fly stitch, feather stitch and french knots, 
with tiny buttons for embellishment on her felt shapes. 

Mandy is making a felt book cover and has used fly stitch, spiders web stitch, leaf stitch, seeding, french knots, and a type of chain stitch. 

Wyn's piece is a large blanket covered in circular shapes in subtle seaside shades. She has used chain stitch, spiders web stitch, herringbone, and buttonhole edging. She has also used an appliquéd Suffolk puff 
and tiny mother of pearl buttons. 


Thursday 17 March 2016

March Workshop - Transferring Images to Fabric with Wyn Ingham

Our very talented chairperson Wyn Ingham tutored our March workshop and she was a right slavedriver! She made sure that we all went home loaded down with samples from the new techniques we learnt during the day. 
We learned about transferring images using sellotape and what the Blue Peter generation know as sticky backed plastic; we made new fabrics using peeled serviettes; we used solvents and PVA, photocopies and magazine images, and lots of printing and rubbing using transfer paints and crayons. 


Wyn telling us just a teeny weeny bit of what she knows 
and making our heads explode

Members brought their usual small amounts of equipment...


Note that we also have opportunities for shopping at our venue!
Rachael did some work using stamps, over-layering with sheer fabrics, 
and made some labels using the sellotape transfer method

Jo spent the day working with leaf images in shades of umber

Sue L made lots of samples, these show images transferred using wide sellotape  and Bondawebbed peeled serviettes

Sue M's mini canvas with transferred printed image, 
and emulsioned spatula (as you do)

Mandy was determined to get some stitching done on her fabric 
made from peeled serviette which was adhered to cotton

Sue H made some lovely new fabrics from her transferred images 

Talented artist Judy drew a free-hand image of a face using transfer crayons

Margaret H transferred some strong images using the sellotape method, 
these would look great with some stitching added

Sue K made lots of samples showing all the different techniques

Jane C was finishing off her little felt house 
and her Branch Challenge zentangle

Jacqui's transferred images - does that make it a wooden spoon?

Margaret's samples, inclulding a lovely strong sellotaped image

Another busy day for Margaret W!

Jane made some lovely new fabric from peeled serviettes

Davina's transferred images included some illustrations from 
Alice in Wonderland

Janice, as usual, produced twice as much work as everyone else! 

New member Deborah produced some lovely colourful work  
including the stamped piece at the bottom 

*If you would like Wyn to come and work you to a frazzle for the day, 
you can contact her at winniewoo@btinternet.com