A bitterly cold day but thankfully no snow. We had a members day today and sixteen people braved the cold to bring their work and chat. We all brought 'Something I have had for years and don't know what to do with' which got everyone talking together and sorting out each others problems. One thing that did emerge was that several people owned lutradur and hadn't used it so next month we are having a mini workshop making small samples using lutradur and other mediums.
The Kathleen Laurel Sage workshops on the 9th and 10th May have gone very well although we do still have a few places left on the Stumpwork day on Friday the 10th at a cost of £30 if anyone is interested.
Some members will be attending workshops with Kathy Selwood learning all about the sewing machine, getting the tension right and using different needles etc. We have also had interest in an outing to the Bowes Museum so we hope to get that under way in July.We are all set for a busy year ahead, we just need the weather to warm up and encourage us.
Sunday, 24 March 2013
Sunday, 24 February 2013
At last we have managed to have a meeting. It seemed strange to be wishing everyone a Happy New Year this late. It meant that we had lots to discuss in the business part of the day but we started a few minutes early so that we could give our speaker as much time as possible. The new bag for our banner is coming along and several members took squares home to embroider ready for piecing together with the machine embroidered squares that Jackie has prepared. Bookings for the Kathleen Laurel Sage workshops are going well. Thursday 15th May, Machine embroidered panel is now full but there are a few spaces left on the Friday 16th May for the Stumpwork class. We are now opening this up to non members at a cost of £30. Anyone interested please contact acassedy147@btinternet.com.
Next month we are having a members day where we hope to make a start on putting together some of the pincushion bases we have bought and turning them into unusual pincushions. We are also going to bring in 'Something I have had for years and don't know what to do with'. I am sure there is someone in the Branch who can help you out! We are all guilty of buying things that look interesting at the time but then we forget what we bought them for. I hope everyone will get involved in looking at something that they haven't tried before.
Our speaker was Carol Coleman who gave us an interesting demonstration of a 'Clingfilm Sandwich'. We were all fascinated by the variety of surfaces you can create using this method. She also showed us how to cut and shrivel plastic carrier bags to make some interesting shapes. I hope we will see some finished pieces from the members next month.
Some of Carol's work using cling film and snippets of fabric
What you can do with an old carrier bag.
Next month we are having a members day where we hope to make a start on putting together some of the pincushion bases we have bought and turning them into unusual pincushions. We are also going to bring in 'Something I have had for years and don't know what to do with'. I am sure there is someone in the Branch who can help you out! We are all guilty of buying things that look interesting at the time but then we forget what we bought them for. I hope everyone will get involved in looking at something that they haven't tried before.
Our speaker was Carol Coleman who gave us an interesting demonstration of a 'Clingfilm Sandwich'. We were all fascinated by the variety of surfaces you can create using this method. She also showed us how to cut and shrivel plastic carrier bags to make some interesting shapes. I hope we will see some finished pieces from the members next month.
Some of Carol's work using cling film and snippets of fabric
What you can do with an old carrier bag.
Saturday, 26 January 2013
January Meeting Cancelled
The sudden fall of snow last night has caused me to cancel today's meeting. As you can see from my front garden, I am running out of space to put the shovelled snow. It's certainly keeping me fit.
Make use of all this white stuff and try some Snow Dyeing. Disolve one tablespoon of soda crystals in half pint of warm water. Double up quantities until you have enough liquid to cover your fabric. Soak some cotton fabric in the liquid. Place a sheet of glass or similar in your sink or bowl at an angle. Lay the fabric on the glass then cover it with snow. Sprinkle powder dyes over the snow and wait for it to melt and dye your fabric. I have got some interesting colour and patterns from the pieces I have done.
Hopefully by next month all this will have gone and we can get out again and get back to normal.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
November Meeting
Our meeting was held the day after most of us visited the Knitting & Stitching show so there was lots of talk about that. Our congratulations go to the North East Region who put on an outstanding display with their work from 'Mining a Golden Seam' exhibition. Everyone who saw it said how wonderful it was.
We have now got a quilted bag for the Regional Day in June and members are being asked to fill it with items in shades of Green. Thanks to Jackie for doing that. The banner bag now has some fabric so Jackie will get started on that for the January meeting. The pincushion bases have started to go out now so I am looking forward to seeing some interesting ideas for completing them.
The speaker was our own member, Barbara Douglas, who talked to us about the Amish. Barbara has visited them several times and had lots of information about them. It was a very thought provoking talk. She also brought along a couple of quilts she had made based on their designs.
We don't have a meeting next month but a few are going out for a Christmas lunch together. Next meeting is January 26th with a talk by Kathie Selwood on Life with a Sewing Machine.
We have now got a quilted bag for the Regional Day in June and members are being asked to fill it with items in shades of Green. Thanks to Jackie for doing that. The banner bag now has some fabric so Jackie will get started on that for the January meeting. The pincushion bases have started to go out now so I am looking forward to seeing some interesting ideas for completing them.
The speaker was our own member, Barbara Douglas, who talked to us about the Amish. Barbara has visited them several times and had lots of information about them. It was a very thought provoking talk. She also brought along a couple of quilts she had made based on their designs.
We don't have a meeting next month but a few are going out for a Christmas lunch together. Next meeting is January 26th with a talk by Kathie Selwood on Life with a Sewing Machine.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
October Meeting
Another busy meeting, especially for the Treasurer, collecting subs and Knitting and Stitiching Show payments.
The Christmas lunch is to be at The Manse on Saturday 8th December at 12.30 for 1pm. If you haven't booked yet can you contact Janet Coe. There was a small display of work in Lutradur and Evalon for members who had bought the fabric in our bulk order but weren't aware of the many different ways you can use it.
Jackie has put together some ideas for the new bag to carry the banner in and it was agreed to go with the machine embroidered squares alternated with hand embroidered squares patchworked together with sashes. The colour theme will be brown backgrounds with pink and green embroidery and pink sashes.
Anita had made one of the pincushions up so that everyone could see how we can attach the stitched top to the base and they should work quite well.
The Rose Bowl challenge for next year will be 'A Summer Garden'. Any technique and it must have been made within the last two years.
We had an interesting talk from Christine Shaw with 'Not a Hexagon in Sight'. Christine is well known in the area for her patchwork and is a friend of many of the members. The work that she brought to show us was amazing, some of it is shown below.
The Christmas lunch is to be at The Manse on Saturday 8th December at 12.30 for 1pm. If you haven't booked yet can you contact Janet Coe. There was a small display of work in Lutradur and Evalon for members who had bought the fabric in our bulk order but weren't aware of the many different ways you can use it.
Jackie has put together some ideas for the new bag to carry the banner in and it was agreed to go with the machine embroidered squares alternated with hand embroidered squares patchworked together with sashes. The colour theme will be brown backgrounds with pink and green embroidery and pink sashes.
Anita had made one of the pincushions up so that everyone could see how we can attach the stitched top to the base and they should work quite well.
The Rose Bowl challenge for next year will be 'A Summer Garden'. Any technique and it must have been made within the last two years.
We had an interesting talk from Christine Shaw with 'Not a Hexagon in Sight'. Christine is well known in the area for her patchwork and is a friend of many of the members. The work that she brought to show us was amazing, some of it is shown below.
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.
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.
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