March Meeting

Our March meeting was not only our first attempt as a group to have a go at making some 'Horrockses' dresses but also our first meeting in our new home! We have moved to St. Andrew's Church Hall in Ashton and we celebrated our new facilities by cracking open the 'bubbly'!

The committee had been hard at work seeking out books, magazine articles and other information on the dress styles and fabric designs made by this Preston firm in the '40s and '50s. Some of us can even remember owning one of the dresses!

Soon we were all hard at work creating our own designs and stitching away ...

... using all kinds of techniques ...

... the more the merrier ...

Here are just a few samples of the morning's work.

Our Fairtrade stall, as always, was there to tempt us!

Since we didn't have a tutor, we could all be in the same room. In the afternoon one of our members, Marie, came to give us a talk on 'Timeworn Treasures'.

She certainly brought a great many objects to delight us with ...

... some of which we could identify ...

... and some we couldn't ...

... but Marie knew what every one was for! Including this beautiful cape ...

February Meeting - Gillian Ferguson

Our tutor for the February meeting was Gillian Ferguson who was showing us how to make 'Felt Jewellery'. Gillian began by showing us a range of her hand-made items ...

... and the techniques used to make them ...

... bowls, scarves and bags ...

... brooches and beads.

Very soon we were under way with rolling and cutting ...

... and more rolling ...

... and smoothing ...

... lots of beads appearing ...

... and even more rolling!

And the girls in the back room were busy as well!

Christmas Party - Alston Hall

Once again we had our Christmas Party at Alston Hall and had lots of competitions, games and prizes. Our stitching competition was won by Mary Holden for her beautiful Christmas tree.

After a delicious lunch we were treated to a lecture by Dot Wareing about the Millenium Coat which she had made.

Dot took us through the various stages of the making of the coat and showed us the many processes involved with the different parts of the garment in a slide show.

Our Chairman, Sue, being both tall and slim, modelled the coat for us ...

... receiving many admiring glances ...

... and giving us a very professional 'twirl'!

Of course, we wanted to see it up close ...

... the back in great detail ...

... and the intricate sleeves ...

A great deal of research had gone into the design of the garment and some very intricate processes involved in the making.

Dot had brought many samples to show us exactly 'how' and 'what' was involved.

Here is the winning '3-D Christmas object' which was made by one of our newer members ...

... Bernadette. Well done, Bernadette.

And here are our two Chairmen, Sue and Suzanne, who organised the day for us. Which, of course, ended with tea and cake !!!