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 10 April 2017

April Playday - UFOs

There were only a few of us at our April Playday - I think that the glorious weather may have had something to do with that - but we got lots of sewing done and had a good chat, and Vanessa provided some glorious chocolate cake. 

Jane was busy on her machine all day, sewing together some quilts she had unearthed whilst packing up for her imminent move to North Yorkshire. They look great - maybe she'll use them in her new summer house / studio (yes, I'm a little bit jealous...)


She's behind there somewhere!


Liz was relieved to complete her froggy zentangle from last year's Branch Challenge...


... she also finished a delightful wall hanging that she started at a Marna Lunt workshop.


Janice spent most of the day making sample cards from her new set of Brusho dyes and came up with some interesting effects, she then did some more work on her Peacock from the Circles Playday. 


Vanessa was working on her vibrant "60s" book which she started in the "splinter" book-making group 


I love the titchy pattern on these pages!



And Mandy did some more work on the never ending scrolling landscape from last year's Regional Summer School. Nope, not finished yet. 



April Meeting - Chicks and stuff

Margaret, our very efficient programme secretary, spent the whole of March cutting up pieces of yellow felt so that we would have something seasonal to occupy our time this evening. She made a sample for us too so that those of us who are too lazy to read instructions had something to copy! 
Here are the little fellers that were finished on the night : 
...and here are two that Abigail finished later 
The pieces of wire were all the same size (those that you get in packets for cake decorating, etc) but if you made big feet they had to have shorter legs!

Basically, you have to cut two chick shapes and some wings and a gusset from yellow felt, and a beak from orange felt. Blanket stitch the chick together, remembering to stitch the beak in and the wings on, and to stuff him before you seal all his seams, then make a foot at one end of your wire and poke it through the seams at the bottom, out to the other side. Bend the legs over and then make the other foot at the same length as the first (or it won't stand up!) It looks like there's a lot of wire to start with, but you probably won't have any to spare. When you've done, stitch his (her?) eyes on using a french knot or a little bead. 
They'd make great decorations for your Easter table or Easter gifts. 

As well as the chicks, members brought some pieces that they've finished lately. 

Janice and Liz have completed their Fairy Slippers from the March workshop :







Vanessa made two brilliant Pinky and Perky felt dolls with knitted sweaters and curly tails





She also finished her piece from the Circles Workshop



And made an elaborate pin cushion, which is (as you can probably guess) a teapot covered in fabric, with a padded lid for the pins. The fabric and embellishments are stuck on with PVA glue if you want to give it a try yourselves!






Our yellow-themed raffle was a huge success - thanks to Elizabeth and Sue B for that - and Jane Beck, who is selling some of her excess craft items prior to moving house, raised a brilliant £50 for Melanoma UK, a cause close to her heart. 


Saturday 1 April 2017

March Workshop - Fairy Shoes

The inspiration for these fairy shoes came from an article published in a past issue of Stitch, by Annette Emms. Margaret had made some for her son's wedding a while back and agreed to pass on her experience. As you can see, there were several different interpretations of the design with each member putting her own stamp on her pair of tiny shoes!