Preston Embroiderers Guild

October meeting - AGM and Lizzie Wall 'My Quilts and other Animals'

2011-10-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Our October meeting started with our AGM. Looks like we're having a good time?

It was prizegiving time ... Mary Holden was presented with the Trudy Goodenough trophy for her 'Tulips'

... Pat Hewitt won the Agnes Wilson prize for Surface Stitch ...

...and Sue Shepherd won the Agnes Wilson prize for Counted Thread.

Christine Chadwick won the 'Chairman's Challenge' for making a name badge.

Then on to the highlight of the day - Lizzie Wall's talk 'My Quilts and other Animals'

A pity I can't show all the photographs taken but here are some ...

... a stunning banner for South Ribble NUT. Lucky teachers!

... a close-up of a quilt featuring 'nature' ...

What a delight!

A quilt that we'd seen at the Quilt Show. Lovely shimmering fish!

This was a 'practice' / 'sample' / 'design' piece for a larger one. So much work to try out a design!

We were all very impressed by the processes which Lizzie had worked through - in depth research and meticulous design ...

... like the legends of the hares and the larkspurs on this 'Harvest' chasuble made for a Church in Aintree ...

... and this one featuring Our Lady Of Walsingham. Note the text which runs all around the edge of the garment.

The work was closely observed and admired.

This is a Christmas chasuble made in memory of a parishioner.

... beautiful figures of Madonna and Child ...

... and magnificent angels ...

... with glowing faces ...

... and, indeed, the lion shall lie down with the lamb.

Thanks to Lizzie for a wonderful and inspiring talk.

June and July meetings

2011-07-22T13:25:00.001-07:00

For our June meeting we had a practical morning working on our 'Spain' postcards - to be shown at a later date. In the afternoon we had our Regional Vice-Chair, Monica Selway, to talk to us about her work.

Monica was a prizewinner in 'Riches of Stitches' with this lovely piece.

This is a sample book showing various different techniques.

A cushion made from 'manipulated velvet ...

... and this eye-catching, beautifully executed piece based on a photograph of azaleas. It is in a stitch used by people on the canal barges.

More velvet manipulation ...

Many of Monica's pieces involve folding ...

... based on origami ...

... beautifully dyed and embellished. A feast for the eyes!

A feast of a different kind was the focus of our July meeting.

We spent the morning working on our own projects but this is a photograph of our Chairman, Sue reminding us that our Horrockses dresses were coming along nicely.

Then it was time for our 'Jacob's Join' lunch ...

... with the highlight being our Strawberry Cream 'tea'.

A lovely way to end our year!

May meeting - Eileen Johnson - Machine Embroidery 'Nature's Wonders'

2011-05-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

Our May meeting was an 'in-house' special with our own Eileen Johnson giving us a worlshop on 'Nature's Wonders'.

Eileen brought along many examples of her exquisite machine embroidery. Flowers, leaves and foliage were all demonstrated in their various forms.

Eileen demonstrated many other techniques ...

... and soon everyone was hard at work producing their own 'Small Wonders'.

And, of course, the girls in the back room were equally busy.

In the afternoon Caroline Alexander, from the Harris Museum, came to talk to us about Horrockses dresses which were made in Preston.

April Meeting - Silk Playday with Valerie Anderson

2011-05-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

April brought a return visit from the delightful Valerie Anderson who had greatly entertained us with her talk on her last visit

Valerie (sorry about the photo) demonstrated so many different techniques and materials ...

... and made it all seem so easy.

We were all soon at work ...

... producing multi-layered pieces.

As you can see the silk looks beautiful when held up to the light.

Everybody's was different. Bernadette was hard at work ...

... as was Beryl ...

... and our visitor, Dorothy.

Everyone was having great fun and Valerie was so generous with her time and materials.

Yvonne's 'shoes' were stunning ...

... and by this time we were really 'getting in to it'!

Here's Pat with her delicate flowers.

And the girls in the back room were hard at work as usual.

March Meeting

2011-04-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

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

2011-04-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

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 !!!

November meeting - 'Silver Clay Jewellery'

2010-11-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Rohanna Stoddart was our tutor for the November meeting with her 'Silver Clay Jewellery'. What started off as a piece of 'clay' was magically turned into wonderful silver - and gold - jewellery.

Rohanna brought along a selection of pieces just to wet our appetites ...

This is the moment when the 'clay' pieces come out of the kiln. Rohanna is pointing out that they are still VERY hot ...

... Marie has to test it for herself?

What followed was a lot of brushing with a wire brush. Here are Sue and Sandie ...

... Marie and Yvonne ...

... Jean ...

... and Mary. Everyone is hard at it!

A gold piece is treated equally roughly.

Here are some of the finished pieces ... pendants ...

... and a pair of earrings. Lovely.

And, of course, the shop assistants are still 'hard at it'!

Exhibition at Preston Minster

2010-11-18T11:49:00.001-08:00

Preston Embroiderers' Guild took part in Preston Arts Festival by staging an exhibition in Preston Minster. This took place from October 18th - 31st.

Sorry about that! Lean to the left to see this?

October Workshop - 'Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall' by Kath Morton

2010-10-21T04:08:00.000-07:00

Our October workshop was led by Kath Morton, who always has interesting and useful techniques and tips to pass on. We were to make a 'fabric mirror' and here is Marie Constance Brown getting down to work on hers.

... Caroline is making good progress here ...

... and Christine looks as if she is nearly finished ...

... wonder what Brenda and Kath find so funny?

... looks OK to me!

Ann's is coming along nicely too!

As well as the workshop, we had our annual competitions. These are the entries for the Trudy Goodenough trophy ...

... and these are the entries for the Agnes Wilson trophy.

We had our AGM and here is Sue, one of our new joint Chairmen, (the other is Suzanne) who is presenting the prize for the Trudy Goodenough trophy to our ex-Chairman, Sandie.

Barbara Ryan was the winner of the Agnes Wilson award for Counted Thread ...

... and Mary Nevett won the Agnes Wilson trophy for 'Surface Stitch'. Well done, everyone!

Here is Sandie with her parting gift from members for all her years of service and hard work.

Thank you, Sandie!

September Day School - Anne Burrow - Raising the Surface with Gesso

2010-09-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

This month we were visited once again by the delightful, and always welcome, Anne Burrow. This time Anne was introducing our members to a new medium - Gesso. Anne was soon demonstrating how to add colour ...

... and texture ...

... and, as usual, there were lots of samples to whet our appetites.

Here is Pam getting 'stuck in' to her pot of Gesso - perhaps a little too literally?

Anne is adding her floral elements ...

... and Florence and Brenda are enjoying their coffee as they get started.

Marie and Sue getting some advice.

Maureen is well under way ...

... as are Christine and Jean.

Marie and Anne enjoying a joke.

Meanwhile, lots of other things were going on. Some Horrockses dresses on display to get the creative juices flowing ...

... and the 'girls in the back room' were hard at it ...

... 'sorting and siding'. We've been clearing out a lot of cupboards!

Elaine, Mary, Kath and Gina are hard at work too.

Beryl and Anne are concentrating hard ...

... and Pam has managed to 'raise her surface' too!

Maureen's is very precise and delicate ...

... and Sue is recording her 'hearts and flowers' for posterity.

July Meeting - Preston Cream Tea

2010-09-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

For our July meeting (our first ever) we decided to have a 'Preston Cream Tea'. Everyone brought some current work to do and lots of chatting and fellowship went on.

Here are the 'Japanese Present Bags' which were completed from the June Day School with Lindsay Jones.

Christine brought some 'felt weaving' that she had been doing and showed us one which she had finished by felting. Nice!

Theresa was busy making quilt blocks and Elaine was working on her counted stitch work.

Kath brought some of her intricate and delicate 'Wessex Stitchery'.

June was making a book of the Ten Commandments for a lucky Grandchild.

... and Eileen was engaged in her favourite blackwork.

Maureen was working on a cross stitch piece and Anne was finishing her Japanese Present Bag.

One interesting feature of the day was the amount of 'tutoring' which was going on. Here is Beryl showing Elva how to make a very elaborate crochet scarf. Beryl swears it's easy but I'm not so sure ... you'll have to show us all how to make one, Beryl?

Here's someone else finishing off a UFO! Isabel is tackling some weaving started on a Sue Lawty workshop. Now where did I put mine ...?

Here is Pat enjoying one of the books she bought at our Book Sale and Pamela is making poppy templates for a 'Meadow' wall hanging that she is planning. Can't wait to see that, Pamela.

I'm really sorry but I forgot to take a photograph of the 'Cream Tea' until there wasn't much cream and very few strawberries left. You''ll just have to believe me that they were yummy!!!

A very pleasant way to spend a summer's day.

June Day School - Lindsay Jones

2010-08-28T09:19:00.001-07:00

For our June Day School we had the ever popular Lindsay Jones who showed us how to make 'Japanese Present Bags'.

As usual, there were lots of 'goodies' to buy ...

... and lots of beautiful objects to inspire us.

Very soon we were hard at work ...

... cutting out and pinning together the various pieces of the bag.

Lots of concentration ...

... as we got to grips with the bits and pieces ...

Dee seems to have done well but I think she was only 'gazing wistfully'?

Here's what the finished bag should look like.

Or maybe one of these?

May Meeting Marge Quinn 'Tassels'

2010-07-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

Our May workshop was 'Making Tassels' with Marge Quinn. Marge brought along lots of examples of her work to show us.

She took us through the finer points of tassel-making ...

... and had a rapt audience ...

who soon got down to work ...

... creating intricate twists and turns.

The Young Embroiderers were absorbed in their work ...

... as were the 'not quite so young'?

There were always the goodies on the Fair Trade stall to keep us going if we needed sustenance.

The girls in the back room were hard at work, as always ...

... with a wide range of textile arts.

Here are some of the finished pieces brought to the next meeting.

April workshop - Stumpwork

2010-04-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Our April workshop was with Anne Read who came to teach us the intricacies of Stumpwork.

She kept everybody very well occupied ...

throughout the day. We were inspired by some of the exquisite things she had brought to show us ...

... pictures ...

... and boxes ...

... fuschias ...

... and bags ...

... dragonflies ...

... requiring very careful stitching.

There was lots of help and assistance from Anne to help us over the difficult bits.

And, of course, the 'girls in the back room' were hard at it as usual.

And here are our Young Embroiderers' finishing off their entry for the Regional Day.

The good news is that they won! Again!!!

As did our own Jackie Cardy who came away once again with the Coats prize for Embroidery.

March Meeting - 'Beryl's Buttons' and 'The Future of Handmade Textiles'

2010-03-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Our March meeting was one which we had looked forward to for a long time. Here is one smart and very fashionable lady wearing one of her special garments. Yes, our very own 'Queen of Wearable Art' was going to do a workshop on how to transform our clothes with her very special buttons.

Beryl had brought along many samples of buttons and fastenings for us to look at.

Too many for some people to decide what to do? It was hard to choose which of the many techniques to 'have a go' at ...

... but Beryl was at hand with advice - and instruction. In this case - crochet. (Sorry, Beryl, I'm going to have to have a private lesson!)

A busy morning followed ...

... and many and varied were the techniques being used ...

The Young Embroiderers' were able to join in ...

... and enjoyed the session very much.

Such concentration!

A very productive morning, girls!

And such glamour from the older 'girls'! Our Christmas party will be all a-dazzle!

After lunch we had a very interesting and thought-provoking talk from Jim Gaffney about 'The future of hand-made textiles'. We 'oohed and aahed' over the stunning batiks from Java and ikat weavings from Indonesia and kilims from Turkey.

Diane presided over the 'shop' with wonderful fabrics, unusual clothes with an ethnic flavour ...

... and the most tempting range of silver jewellery and beads. A feast for sore eyes!

I can feel a visit to 'Textile Traders' in Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, coming on!

'Arsenic and Old Lace'

2010-02-24T03:49:00.000-08:00

Our February Day School was 'Arsenic and Old Lace' with Suzanne Shaw. Suzanne brought us lots of her own work to inspire us ...

... and then took us through the various different techniques - dyeing, transfer printing, machine and hand embroidery - that we could try out to achieve similar effects.

Suzanne used an interesting variety of 'starting points' - old photographs and postcards ...

Choosing which materials and techniques to use made for difficult decisions ...

... a lot of thought went into it!

Fragments of old lace and embroidery were painted and dyed and joined together to give an antique look to the pieces ...

... which were then stitched by hand ...

... and machine ...

Beads, buttons, ribbons and silk carrier rods were added and an amazing variety of textiles were ready to be assembled into pictures, cushion covers, bags, purses and book covers ...

... which we hope will be brought in to our 'show and tell' at our March meeting.

We were left with many techniques and ideas to try at home.

Suzanne also brought a huge array of tempting products and materials - fabrics, threads, lace, etc. - for us to buy! Shop 'til you drop!

As well as our activities in the main room, we are lucky enough to have the space to accommodate a lively and productive group who 'do their own thing' ...

... with all kinds of talents being displayed.

Ask a question here and someone will happily share their experience with you.

And we have our own shop, run by Sue Shepherd, where you can buy lots of 'goodies' too!

Our next workshop - on 6th March - is run by our very own 'Queen of Wearable Art', ex-Chairman Beryl Carr, who is going to show us how to make wonderful buttons, which can be used for fastening or decoration. I, for one, can't wait!