Sunday 14 October 2012

Regional AGM

I have just come back from the Regional AGM in Scarcroft and as usual it was well run by the Branch in charge (with lovely cakes at tea time) and provision of a sales table and raffle.  We said goodbye to Elizabeth as chairman who was presented with a lovely Moorcroft vase and we welcomed Pauline into her place.  Christine gave us a run down on what is happening at HQ which as always was informative and entertaining.  The speaker, Janet Browne, gave a wonderful talk on her 'Stitched Journey's' and brought lots of items for us to look at.  It was good to meet up with friends from other branches and I think these Regional get togethers are really valuable.  I picked up a good idea for a 'Challenge' and some useful tips on making a folded book.  It wasn't all business!

Monday 1 October 2012

September Meeting

A lovely day for our meeting despite the rally cars roaring past the door.  Not as many as usual attending today, is this because it is the AGM?  We got the business out of the way quickly and said a big thank you to Cath, Avril and Phil who are standing down from the committee this year and welcomed Geraldine, Jackie and Ann who have volunteered to take their places.
A busy meeting this month.  The Knitting and Stitching Show bus reservations are under way and they are filling up quickly this year.  Price is £20.50 to include the drivers tip and entrance, going on Friday 23rd November.  Contact Anita for further information and to book.  Ann has sanded all the pincushion bases for us and these are now available for sale at £1.50 each, proceeds to the charity in Haiti.  We will be having a meeting day in March to finish these off but if anyone wants to get under way now, they are welcome.  The raffle we have had over the past 3 months has raised £49 for the funds and was won by Ann who was thrilled to receive a huge box of threads and fabrics donated by Susie.  The 'Banner Bag' is under way and Jackie will be bringing some fabrics next month for us to choose the colours we want to do it in.  She will then piece together the patchwork squares and bring them in for us to embroider the seams with fancy stitches like a crazy patchwork. 
After all that we sat back to enjoy a really interesting talk by Wyn Ingham.  We knew we were in for a good afternoon as she has spoken to our group before.  She is a thoroughly entertaining speaker and although we over-ran and didn't have time for tea afterwards, nobody wanted to rush her talk.  As well as telling us the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, she described many of the places she had visited in France that were significant in this woman's life and also showed us some of the work she has produced that has been inspired by these buildings. 
Finally, we asked Wyn to judge our annual rosebowl competition.  This year the topic was a 'Chatelaine' with a minimum of three pieces.  There were six entries, all of them very different but the winner was Avril with her beautiful beaded pieces.  Below are photographs of all the entries. Christina did a plastic bag in turquoise and fastened the sea-life shaped needlecase, etc. inside.  Jackie's was a modern pouch with pockets for mobile phone, etc., Anita's was hand made felt, Barbara's was canvas work and Coleen was and IronAge chatelaine using old blanket fabric.  Well done to everyone for such a diverse range of techniques.