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

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

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

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'

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

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.