December Meeting

Our December meeting was cancelled because of the snow and ice. However, the beauty of the hoar frost had to be seen to be believed so I hope these pictures of my garden help a bit!

Our next meeting will be on the 4th January when we will be making fabric books with Elizabeth and we will be having our delayed Jacob's Join and Christmas card competition.

Happy Christmas to all of you and have a peaceful New Year.

Craft Fair 27th November

Saturday 27th November was bitterly cold with a dusting of snow on the ground. Everywhere looked beautiful in the Winter sunshine but the pavements were slippery and the air was like a knife.

We had a stall at the Craft Fair in St. Paul's Hall in Grange which looked very tempting thanks to the skills of our members but people were in short supply partly because of the weather.

We made a profit for our funds but selling was slow.

A big thank you to our members for coming to help when it would have been much easier to sit in a warm house!

Knitting and Stitching Show Harrogate

The weather forecast for Friday 26th November was to be icy with outbreaks of snow so there was some uncertainty as to whether we would be able to go to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate. As Friday dawned it was very cold but dry and the early morning forecast predicted it would stay that way.

We all met up at Grange station at 8:15 where our coach was waiting for us. We picked up a few more people on route and arrived in Harrogate by 10:30.

It was a very enjoyable day with lots to buy, plenty to look at and inspiring exhibitions to show us what is now possible in embroidery.

We left at 4:00 heavily laden with goods, ideas and aching feet!!! It was a good day and everyone is now looking foreward to next year all ready.

November Meeting Braids and Cords

Here you can see our members concentrating hard on their braids which were made on card templates that Marge had cut out for us.The different braids were made by using varying numbers of coloured threads on the card templates and moving them in different orders.

The room was silent apart from the counting of the threads as they were moved around the template. Gradually braids began to emerge from the bottom of the templates and you can see three of the half finished ones in the Photographs.
It was a most enjoyable meeting and I expect we will see lots of hand made braids on our work in the future.

Thank you to Marge for inspiring us and doing all the preparation !

November Meeting Braids and Cords with Marge Quinn

Our November Meeting was a workshop with Marge Quinn where she showed us how to make three different kinds of braids. She brought many beautiful samples of her work so that we could see that the possibilities were endless!

Craft Fair Oct.2010

A big thank you to all the members who helped set up the Craft Stall on Saturday, donated items to sell, helped sell items and came and bought. Selling was slow and steady throughout the day and we have made about the same as last year for our funds. Considering the current economic climate we should all be pleased with the result.

Well Done!

I see no ships

Maureen and her husband often visit family in Australia. Milly their grandaughter was the inspiration for this embroidery as she sat on the beach near Sydney looking for boats! The problem was there weren't any!
Maureen did this piece in between major renovation work on their house. Well Done Maureen!

This painting on a wall near where they stayed in Australia is inspiration for a future piece.

Greek Temple

Sicily has some of the best Ancient Greek temples and Sandra loves the honey colour of the stone and the pattern made by the shadows against the top of the Doric columns in sunlight.

Prickly Pear skeleton

Sandra took this picture of the skeleton of a prickly pear plant. She thought it would make a lovely pattern on disolvable plastic.

Monreale Cathedral

Sandra has just returned from Sicily where she took a photograph of this pattern made by Islamic craftsmen on one of the pillars at the Norman cathedral of Monreale. She thought it might be of interest to patchworkers.

October Meeting

We held our AGM at this month's meeting and the Chairperson thanked all members for their support over the past year. There was a vote of thanks for the outgoing committee especially Dorothy as secretary and Pat as treasurer. Our new committee was voted in for the next year.

After the AGM Dorothy showed us how to make a booklet for stamps. She had prepared lots of packs in advance so that all we had to do was follow the instructions! We were soon all busy making our booklets and Dorothy suggested that if we wanted we could donate our booklet to our Craft Fair Stall on Sat. 23rd October at Lower Holker Village Hall, Cark. All proceeds will go to our Guild Funds. At the moment members are very busy making things for the two craft fairs we will be attending.

Australian Photographs, Gum tree bark and an Aboriginal cave painting

Pat took these photographs on one of her visits to Australia. Five are photographs of gum tree bark and the sixth is of Aboriginal handprints on the rock of a cave wall.She intends to use them as inspiration for doing something with layers.

Oxfordshire photographs

Mary took these photographs while on holiday in Oxfordshire. The first picture is of the golden hop which you can usually smell before you see it. The second is of a newly reconstructed garden which will eventually be smothered in clinbing roses. There is plenty to inspire in both photographs and Mary has more if anyone is interested.

Roses

Gillian has finished her stumpwork roses picture with a painted and embroidered leaf background. The close up picture of the rose does not do justice to the neat stitching, colour shading and attention to detail. They look so life like you can almost smell them!

September Meeting Sharing skills

At our September Meeting three of our members demonstrated Needlelace, Beaded Tassels and Delicate Bowls. It was a very enjoyable day and thanks go to Pat ,Margaret and Sheila for their hard work and preparation.

September Meeting Sharing skills

Sheila demonstrated her pretty beaded tassels and the members were able to have a go and make one for themselves. There was deep concentration as members threaded 100 small beads!

September meeting Sharing skills

Margaret demonstrated Needlelace and members were able to have a go in small groups. The work was very pretty and delicate. Extra lenses were needed to see the stitches!!!

September Meeting Sharing skills

Pat showed us in small groups how her delicate bowls were made. It was impractical to make the bowls on the day but we were given enough information to have a go at home and we hope to have a full session some time in the future!

Sewing Picnic at Mintfest

On Sunday 5th September Elizabeth and Sandra set up a promotional stand for our Guild as part of the Mintfeast activities. Our creations were well received with a lot of people showing interest in our activities including a dentist who said he had only stitched gums!!!!

Our Regional chairperson was also present promoting the Guild.

Sewing Picnic at Mintfest in Kendal

As part of the sewing picnic there was a chance for people to have a go at stitching by sewing on a strip of fabric and/or beads.Most of the stitchers were children who were full of enthusiasm!The results look very bright and cheerful.

Landscape picture and wall quilt

Jennifer has put the finishing touches to her wall quilt dyed and started at Summer School.

A few weeks ago she also completed a picture from pieces of her dyed fabric and a portion of dyed plastic bag.Lots of hand stitching and she added french knots for the flowers.

This picture was accepted at the Ulverston selection night.

Well Done Jennifer! They both look bright and cheerful

Ivy clinging to house wall and shutters in France

While Mary was on holiday at her daughter's house in France she took this unusual photograph of ivy clinging to the wall and shutters. She says that it has inspired her with an idea for an embroidery but she would like to know if it has inspired anyone else.

If you have come up with ideas for producing any textile work from her picture you can leave her a message, in the comments box at the bottom of this post, for her to read.

Venetian Flowers

Sandra has now finished her wall hanging that she started at Summer School. The gold and red reminded her of Venetian glass and so she added a Venetian style carnival mask to complete the hanging.

Silk Bowls and Tassels

The other two courses were silk bowls and tassel making and here you can see some of the finished work.

It was a very enjoyable Summer School and the members learned some new techniques and had an enjoyable social time and are looking forward to next year!.

Nearly completed projects

The members then chose some of their dyed cloth to work with and considering they all started with white cotton everyone of the projects was very different.

They took them home as samples or to finish.

Dyed Cloth

The members did an awful lot of rinsing and ironing but the colours and patterns were amazing!