AGM 17th September 2015
Before the start of the AGM there was the opportunity to view the completed travelling books
and vote on the chairmans challenge.
Trisha welcomed everyone to the meeting including 1 new
member
Judith Booth read the 2014 Minutes – these were proposed
and seconded
Hazel Cable gave the Treasurers report identifying that
the sales tables and raffles bring in money, the mini workshops are full and
Guild members who run some of the workshops donate their fee, Gift Aid allows
money to be claimed back, funds are used to support the Young Embroiderers
group.
Ruth Dalby reviewed YE/JETS – there are 9 meetings a
year, there are varied activities which are reasonably attended and members
have entered various competitions achieving Highly Commended certificate in the
De Denne, individual awards in the Regional competitions and creating a Ruby
Red hanging to celebrate 40 years of YE.
This year the
focus is on design and techniques with projects over 2 sessions. To encourage
new members additional publicity is required and perhaps a different venue with
more footfall. Existing group has been affected by a change in times for the
dance class attended.
Thanks were given to the team and to the Guild by Ruth
who will continue to lead this year but a new leader will then be required. Trisha thanked Ruth and team for their time
and work.
Trisha reported that the 25th Anniversary year
had been successful and enjoyable with many events and activities.
The starting point
was the 2014 AGM, Chairman’s Challenge, completion of travelling books and a
new session from January 2015.
28 members went to
Alston Hall –lots of work, laughter, fun and food – very successful with some
pieces featuring in the exhibition.
Many went to the ‘Big Stitch’ at the Ashmolean which was
interesting and an opportunity to meet people from other Guilds.
Christmas lunch
with Knotty Hornblower was entertaining and thank you to Chris for organising
the venue/details/tickets etc.
The January meeting with pieces of embroidery of 25+years
brought in by members was fascinating in terms of the changes in style,
techniques used as well as the story behind the pieces.
March saw the main
celebration with the presentation of 25yr certificates, by Christine Poole, to
14 members, a cake made by Sue Jones, ‘bubbly’, Bobby Britnell as speaker and the
pictures and write up in Contact magazine – fame at last!
National 1 day AGM in Birmingham was accessible to many
and a very good day produced by a concise AGM, opportunities for questions and
to speak to the Trustees, Terry Murphy etc. Next year it will be held in
Manchester – equally accessible for us.
July saw the celebration lunch, a well attended event
producing many Dorset Buttons, for the 25yr hanging, as well as the opportunity
to socialise and partake of the buffet lunch.
The 25 years of Stitch Exhibition 18th to 20th
September is the culmination of the year with a display of fantastic work
including travelling books, chairman’s challenge, YE/FACTs and a raffle with a
Janome sewing machine as the first prize.
We have an exciting programme for 2015-16 featuring
varied speakers and workshops including 1.5 days with Linda Monk.
The programme will be given out at the October meeting as
details like the officers will only be finalised at the AGM. (show of hands
indicated the preference for the small size of programme with just a few larger
ones)
Capability Brown Project – Val, Carrie and Trisha are on
the liaison group for the exhibition at Weston Park, work must be inspired by
the Capability Brown landscape at this venue and completed for the February
2016 meeting. We are part of a group consisting of 5 branches and
proportionally need to produce 18 pieces of work (A2,A3 orA4 size). Pieces can
be 3D or created on Artists canvas they will be displayed in the Gallery (next
to cafe, admission fee not required) which is curated by Weston Park staff.
Trish thanked members for attending the meetings making
them fun and friendly, additional thanks to the committee for their work.
Election of
Officers
Trisha – 3rd year as chair – unfortunately as no
volunteers for chair, Trisha has agreed to continue but will work with Sue
Jones as vice chair.
Hazel – Treasurer – 2nd year (will continue
for 3rd year)
Judith – Secretary – 2nd year (will continue
for 3rd year)
Election of continuing members – Janet C, Ruth C, Marjorie
D, Glenys J, Jean M, Chris S, and new member Sylvia Stead for a further year.
President Jackie Woolsey – lovely to be at the meeting
again, especially one celebrating the 25 years since the setting up of SCEG by
Jackie, Ann and Maggie. Whilst in Norfolk she has taught, written books, been
actively involved in the work of the guild including setting up new branches as
getting involved is an excellent way of enjoying membership. However the time
has come to ‘retire ‘from the honorary role of President of SCEG but is pleased
that Maggie has agreed to take over this role with Ann continuing as Vice President.
AOB
Thanks to
Pat Parry Treasurer for 5 years who has now moved to
Nottingham.
Pam Jones who has resigned as tea rota organiser
(Marianne and Linda have taken on this role)
Jackie Woolsey – although Trisha has only know her for 5
years since she joined the SCEG, since becoming chair she has worked with and communicated
frequently with her and values her support. Trish presented Jackie with a card
and flowers arranged to be delivered on her return home.
Next AGM - 15th
September 2016
Judith Allman congratulated by Trisha on winning the Chairmans Challenge
16th July 2015
Trisha welcomed the members to the meeting which is the
second of the special events planned to celebrate the 25thAnniversary of the branch.
She also welcomed Jackie Woolsey, the Branch
President, who had joined us from Norfolk and Stephanie Harper the Regional
Chair.
Attention was drawn to the books which contained
information from the initial years including meetings and events and to the
banners so members could look at these during the meeting.
Notices were given out - see meeting notices section of website.
Members were then set a task which was to make a Dorset
Button each, using rings, threads and needles provided, Ruth Colley is then
going to apply these to a piece of fabric in the shape of 25 (which is of course the age of the branch and the anniversary we
are celebrating). This will be on display at the exhibition and will join the
branch memorabilia.
Lunch consisted of a selection of sandwiches - fillings suited to all tastes- additional savoury items including cheese straws and crisps, followed by fruit tarts and cold drinks. These items were trayed up and served to tables by members of the committee.
There was also a raffle with varied prizes – this was
drawn after lunch at the meeting.
Prize winners featured with their selected prizes.
18th June 2015
Seascapes Plus by Alison Holt
Alison lives and works in Owestry, whilst at school she
was interested in and excelled at Art and Needlework which led her to
Goldsmiths College. She completed her foundation course at Shrewsbury College
and created a portfolio of work which was all hand stitched. At Goldsmiths
Alison studied textile techniques where she was told to think of the machine as
a drawing tool, the benefits of freehand machine work are the more efficient
use of time compared to hand stitching.
She did not want to teach preferring a
career which involved making and selling which led to her return to Owestry and
the setting up of Barn Studios where Alison creates, displays and sells her
works. Over the course of time her work has evolved and changed from collage to
silk painting and stitch, making use of freehand stitching to add detail and
texture, this is further enhanced by the use of different threads applied in
various directions.
Themes used by Alison are natural starting with
landscapes and trees, flowers, water and currently seascapes which is providing
a new challenge as the sea moves constantly. She has written 5 books –
landscapes, flowers, trees, seascapes all of which provide a good excuse to
travel in order to find inspiration provided by different colours, light,
plants and environments.
Working for herself is exciting as she does not know what
projects will arrive to challenge her. This was the case in 2012 when Alison
was approached by a fashion designer in London with a commission of a feature
item for a catwalk show; this was to involve embroidery on a sweatshirt. The
mental picture this created was small embroidery to be attached to a sweatshirt
perhaps in the style of a badge/logo. Alison was very surprised to find that
the embroidered design was for the whole of the front of the sweatshirt (body
and sleeves from welt to neck) and the design was science fiction the image
being ‘war of the worlds’ meets ‘Heidi’.
Many meetings, e mails, and telephone
calls were required as Alison works on a small scale, using silk, painting the
sky etc and the designer did not want the sky painted, plus the size of the
work and the detail would not be appropriate for silk.
A Si Fi creator produced
the image which was printed onto linen; Alison was then able to stitch the sky
using weight 50 threads, the mountain and spaceship/creature using weight 30
threads, the meadow using weight 12 –thick cotton and wool this is to give
perspective to the work.
She uses Italian threads – ‘Aurifil’ and whilst
working on this had to systematically move the small hoop she uses over the top
to complete the design – a very different scale to her usual pieces. In total
the piece took three months to complete and it has been on catwalks in Toronto
and Paris as well as having been with Alison to Australia.
In 2013 Alison had an invitation to teach in Australia
from 3 Embroiderers Guilds and some patchwork shops, her planned trip coincided
with a craft fair in Tasmania and she became the International feature artist
for this she then travelled to Melbourne and Sydney spending 6 weeks in total.
In 2014 she returned for another visit and is going again in September. All
Alison takes with her, in addition to any pieces to exhibit/sell, is 3 paint
brushes, silk, embroidery hoops and threads the machine, silk dyes etc that are
required are provided in Australia.
Alison works on an industrial Bernina machine, removing
the presser foot and feed dog; she plans her composition out in terms of
proportions and shapes and for the rest relies on creativity.
This can be seen in the waterfall – where at the bottom
RHS the area is outlined but she will add the ferns using free machining
basically she does a running stitch to the end of a frond and returns using a
zig- zag stitch which increases in width
and repeats this process.
The silk she uses is Habotai 8 which is just thick enough
to take paint and the stitch (but it will only take so much stitch). The silk
paint is like using water colours working from light to dark whilst the threads
are applied from dark to light.
Alison uses Decca silk dyes which are heat
fixed so only requires pressing for 3 minutes to set (Seta silk paints can also
be used). There is no white so to vary the tone just dilute with water. The
threads used are colour and light fast and come from the following providers Aurifil,
Maderia, Guttermann, Sylko, Drima and DMC this range ensures better colour
variation. As the bobbin thread comes to the surface its choice and colour are
particularly important. An 8” hoop size
is good as it fits into the machine as well as providing a reasonable work
area. Alison binds the hoop to protect the work and leaves her work in the hoop
rather than removing it each time she stops.
Alison uses straight stitch for fine lines /taking a line
for a walk and zig zag stitch to build up texture quickly e.g. narrow width for
pebbles(like a machined French knot) and wider for leaves and flowers ( hoop is
moved and width of stitch varied to achieve desired effect).
In her pictures the sky and reflections in the water are
painted and the rest is stitched which gives more perspective.
In the seascapes which Alison is now working it is more difficult
due to the transparency of the water, its constant motion and the waves she
therefore takes lots of photos (for example 500) and in many cases combines
feature e.g. the waves from one and the rocks on another with perhaps the
addition of a headland from another. She draws with Gutta or resist, paints the
sky and adds a line which will not be stitched in but allows the stitching to
be kept parallel.
In the Australian pictures Alison has painted the sky and
beach with stitches covering the rest – tiny ones in the distance and larger
ones in the foreground.
21st May 2015
Diane
Grant ‘Canvas work Plus’ - the story of
her canvas work journey.
Diane
lives in Yorkshire, she was originally a legal secretary but gave up work due
to arthritis. This led to her signing up for embroidery classes and from this
went on to study for her City and Guilds, this in turn led to her being asked
to teach and then to assess work which meant that she had to gain her teaching
and assessors certificates. As well as the teaching and her own
embroidery/canvas work she also writes articles and books most of which are
published in America.
For
the Diamond anniversary she was asked to produce a community exhibit and was
sponsored by Patina wools, this in turn led Diane to start canvas work (1993).
In
canvas work the stitches are worked over a certain number of threads and
therefore in pieces of work you have to compensate to keep the pattern, this leads
to problems. To avoid this Diane uses the common denominator method worked over
36 threads, as 36 is divisible by 3,4,6,9,12 etc, and for beginners recommends
the use of plastic canvas as there is no distortion and no need to use a frame.
Book
2 is the Story of Canvas Work - featuring canvas work stitches for the adventurous
for example square herringbone stitch coupled with couching, Helens Lace stitch
(America) worked diagonally etc .Her designs are made up of line, space,
texture, colour, pattern and shapes.
Diane uses lots of threads from America in
her work as well as using coloured
canvas (originally using coloured ‘magic’ canvas either 12,14 or 18 threads per
inch) – she paints white canvas by putting it into the frame first and then
applying colour as when it dries the starch in the canvas resets in shape.
Canvas
Work Plus is so named as Diane attaches extra things like beads, buttons etc to
the canvas pieces.
Trebah
Gardens Band Sampler originated with a photograph from which she took the
colours and linked these to coloured threads which she wound onto card, Diane
then used the square herringbone stitch and created a red square in stitch
using one strand of ‘overtone’.
Diane
experiments in her samplers creating units of pattern and linking these
together perhaps with Florentine embroidery where the points fit into the gaps
in the pattern.
In
the ‘Colours of Morocco’ piece Diane used Photoshop(filters and tiles) to
manipulate the image so it showed just colours and not shapes.
Autumn
Band Sampler features square herringbone with snowflake leaf variation and
Algerian eye variation.
Bluebell
cushion (published in America) is developed from a photo of Bluebells against a
concrete wall which was manipulated using Photoshop and features Florentine
stitch on 4 sides (diagonal line compensation required) and contains 4 green
buttons.
Book
1 focuses on Sprats Head stitch featuring six variations; the blue and white
pincushion illustrates the ‘Sprats Head stitch’ with 4 patterns together
forming a unit.
Diane
experimented on the piece Dividing Space by filling the spaces with heart
shaped ‘Sprats Head stitch’ and
attaching paper(dyed) and buttons.
Book
cover featuring Helens Lace stitch.
Diane uses Sea
urchin buttons and has incorporated them into various pieces including machined pintuck cushions – paper applied with crescents and several variations of Jessica Stitch.
Scrap book this features a project undertaken with 10 year olds using
paper and thread.
16th April 2015
AGM 17th September 2015
Before the start of the AGM there was the opportunity to view the completed travelling books
and vote on the chairmans challenge.
Trisha welcomed everyone to the meeting including 1 new
member
Judith Booth read the 2014 Minutes – these were proposed
and seconded
Hazel Cable gave the Treasurers report identifying that
the sales tables and raffles bring in money, the mini workshops are full and
Guild members who run some of the workshops donate their fee, Gift Aid allows
money to be claimed back, funds are used to support the Young Embroiderers
group.
Ruth Dalby reviewed YE/JETS – there are 9 meetings a
year, there are varied activities which are reasonably attended and members
have entered various competitions achieving Highly Commended certificate in the
De Denne, individual awards in the Regional competitions and creating a Ruby
Red hanging to celebrate 40 years of YE.
This year the
focus is on design and techniques with projects over 2 sessions. To encourage
new members additional publicity is required and perhaps a different venue with
more footfall. Existing group has been affected by a change in times for the
dance class attended.
Thanks were given to the team and to the Guild by Ruth
who will continue to lead this year but a new leader will then be required. Trisha thanked Ruth and team for their time
and work.
Trisha reported that the 25th Anniversary year
had been successful and enjoyable with many events and activities.
The starting point
was the 2014 AGM, Chairman’s Challenge, completion of travelling books and a
new session from January 2015.
28 members went to
Alston Hall –lots of work, laughter, fun and food – very successful with some
pieces featuring in the exhibition.
Many went to the ‘Big Stitch’ at the Ashmolean which was
interesting and an opportunity to meet people from other Guilds.
Christmas lunch
with Knotty Hornblower was entertaining and thank you to Chris for organising
the venue/details/tickets etc.
The January meeting with pieces of embroidery of 25+years
brought in by members was fascinating in terms of the changes in style,
techniques used as well as the story behind the pieces.
March saw the main
celebration with the presentation of 25yr certificates, by Christine Poole, to
14 members, a cake made by Sue Jones, ‘bubbly’, Bobby Britnell as speaker and the
pictures and write up in Contact magazine – fame at last!
National 1 day AGM in Birmingham was accessible to many
and a very good day produced by a concise AGM, opportunities for questions and
to speak to the Trustees, Terry Murphy etc. Next year it will be held in
Manchester – equally accessible for us.
July saw the celebration lunch, a well attended event
producing many Dorset Buttons, for the 25yr hanging, as well as the opportunity
to socialise and partake of the buffet lunch.
The 25 years of Stitch Exhibition 18th to 20th
September is the culmination of the year with a display of fantastic work
including travelling books, chairman’s challenge, YE/FACTs and a raffle with a
Janome sewing machine as the first prize.
We have an exciting programme for 2015-16 featuring
varied speakers and workshops including 1.5 days with Linda Monk.
The programme will be given out at the October meeting as
details like the officers will only be finalised at the AGM. (show of hands
indicated the preference for the small size of programme with just a few larger
ones)
Capability Brown Project – Val, Carrie and Trisha are on
the liaison group for the exhibition at Weston Park, work must be inspired by
the Capability Brown landscape at this venue and completed for the February
2016 meeting. We are part of a group consisting of 5 branches and
proportionally need to produce 18 pieces of work (A2,A3 orA4 size). Pieces can
be 3D or created on Artists canvas they will be displayed in the Gallery (next
to cafe, admission fee not required) which is curated by Weston Park staff.
Trish thanked members for attending the meetings making
them fun and friendly, additional thanks to the committee for their work.
Election of
Officers
Trisha – 3rd year as chair – unfortunately as no
volunteers for chair, Trisha has agreed to continue but will work with Sue
Jones as vice chair.
Hazel – Treasurer – 2nd year (will continue
for 3rd year)
Judith – Secretary – 2nd year (will continue
for 3rd year)
Election of continuing members – Janet C, Ruth C, Marjorie
D, Glenys J, Jean M, Chris S, and new member Sylvia Stead for a further year.
President Jackie Woolsey – lovely to be at the meeting
again, especially one celebrating the 25 years since the setting up of SCEG by
Jackie, Ann and Maggie. Whilst in Norfolk she has taught, written books, been
actively involved in the work of the guild including setting up new branches as
getting involved is an excellent way of enjoying membership. However the time
has come to ‘retire ‘from the honorary role of President of SCEG but is pleased
that Maggie has agreed to take over this role with Ann continuing as Vice President.
AOB
Thanks to
Pat Parry Treasurer for 5 years who has now moved to
Nottingham.
Pam Jones who has resigned as tea rota organiser
(Marianne and Linda have taken on this role)
Jackie Woolsey – although Trisha has only know her for 5
years since she joined the SCEG, since becoming chair she has worked with and communicated
frequently with her and values her support. Trish presented Jackie with a card
and flowers arranged to be delivered on her return home.
Next AGM - 15th
September 2016
Judith Allman congratulated by Trisha on winning the Chairmans Challenge
and vote on the chairmans challenge.
Trisha welcomed everyone to the meeting including 1 new member
President Jackie Woolsey – lovely to be at the meeting
again, especially one celebrating the 25 years since the setting up of SCEG by
Jackie, Ann and Maggie. Whilst in Norfolk she has taught, written books, been
actively involved in the work of the guild including setting up new branches as
getting involved is an excellent way of enjoying membership. However the time
has come to ‘retire ‘from the honorary role of President of SCEG but is pleased
that Maggie has agreed to take over this role with Ann continuing as Vice President.
Pat Parry Treasurer for 5 years who has now moved to
Nottingham.
Pam Jones who has resigned as tea rota organiser
(Marianne and Linda have taken on this role)Jackie Woolsey – although Trisha has only know her for 5 years since she joined the SCEG, since becoming chair she has worked with and communicated frequently with her and values her support. Trish presented Jackie with a card and flowers arranged to be delivered on her return home.
Judith Allman congratulated by Trisha on winning the Chairmans Challenge16th July 2015
Trisha welcomed the members to the meeting which is the
second of the special events planned to celebrate the 25thAnniversary of the branch.
She also welcomed Jackie Woolsey, the Branch
President, who had joined us from Norfolk and Stephanie Harper the Regional
Chair.
Attention was drawn to the books which contained
information from the initial years including meetings and events and to the
banners so members could look at these during the meeting.
Notices were given out - see meeting notices section of website.
Members were then set a task which was to make a Dorset
Button each, using rings, threads and needles provided, Ruth Colley is then
going to apply these to a piece of fabric in the shape of 25 (which is of course the age of the branch and the anniversary we
are celebrating). This will be on display at the exhibition and will join the
branch memorabilia.
Lunch consisted of a selection of sandwiches - fillings suited to all tastes- additional savoury items including cheese straws and crisps, followed by fruit tarts and cold drinks. These items were trayed up and served to tables by members of the committee.
There was also a raffle with varied prizes – this was
drawn after lunch at the meeting.
Trisha welcomed the members to the meeting which is the
second of the special events planned to celebrate the 25thAnniversary of the branch.She also welcomed Jackie Woolsey, the Branch President, who had joined us from Norfolk and Stephanie Harper the Regional Chair.
Attention was drawn to the books which contained
information from the initial years including meetings and events and to the
banners so members could look at these during the meeting.
Notices were given out - see meeting notices section of website.
Members were then set a task which was to make a Dorset
Button each, using rings, threads and needles provided, Ruth Colley is then
going to apply these to a piece of fabric in the shape of 25 (which is of course the age of the branch and the anniversary we
are celebrating). This will be on display at the exhibition and will join the
branch memorabilia.
Lunch consisted of a selection of sandwiches - fillings suited to all tastes- additional savoury items including cheese straws and crisps, followed by fruit tarts and cold drinks. These items were trayed up and served to tables by members of the committee.
There was also a raffle with varied prizes – this was drawn after lunch at the meeting.
Prize winners featured with their selected prizes.
18th June 2015
Seascapes Plus by Alison Holt
Alison lives and works in Owestry, whilst at school she
was interested in and excelled at Art and Needlework which led her to
Goldsmiths College. She completed her foundation course at Shrewsbury College
and created a portfolio of work which was all hand stitched. At Goldsmiths
Alison studied textile techniques where she was told to think of the machine as
a drawing tool, the benefits of freehand machine work are the more efficient
use of time compared to hand stitching.
She did not want to teach preferring a
career which involved making and selling which led to her return to Owestry and
the setting up of Barn Studios where Alison creates, displays and sells her
works. Over the course of time her work has evolved and changed from collage to
silk painting and stitch, making use of freehand stitching to add detail and
texture, this is further enhanced by the use of different threads applied in
various directions.
Themes used by Alison are natural starting with
landscapes and trees, flowers, water and currently seascapes which is providing
a new challenge as the sea moves constantly. She has written 5 books –
landscapes, flowers, trees, seascapes all of which provide a good excuse to
travel in order to find inspiration provided by different colours, light,
plants and environments.
Working for herself is exciting as she does not know what
projects will arrive to challenge her. This was the case in 2012 when Alison
was approached by a fashion designer in London with a commission of a feature
item for a catwalk show; this was to involve embroidery on a sweatshirt. The
mental picture this created was small embroidery to be attached to a sweatshirt
perhaps in the style of a badge/logo. Alison was very surprised to find that
the embroidered design was for the whole of the front of the sweatshirt (body
and sleeves from welt to neck) and the design was science fiction the image
being ‘war of the worlds’ meets ‘Heidi’.
Many meetings, e mails, and telephone
calls were required as Alison works on a small scale, using silk, painting the
sky etc and the designer did not want the sky painted, plus the size of the
work and the detail would not be appropriate for silk.
A Si Fi creator produced
the image which was printed onto linen; Alison was then able to stitch the sky
using weight 50 threads, the mountain and spaceship/creature using weight 30
threads, the meadow using weight 12 –thick cotton and wool this is to give
perspective to the work.
She uses Italian threads – ‘Aurifil’ and whilst
working on this had to systematically move the small hoop she uses over the top
to complete the design – a very different scale to her usual pieces. In total
the piece took three months to complete and it has been on catwalks in Toronto
and Paris as well as having been with Alison to Australia.
In 2013 Alison had an invitation to teach in Australia
from 3 Embroiderers Guilds and some patchwork shops, her planned trip coincided
with a craft fair in Tasmania and she became the International feature artist
for this she then travelled to Melbourne and Sydney spending 6 weeks in total.
In 2014 she returned for another visit and is going again in September. All
Alison takes with her, in addition to any pieces to exhibit/sell, is 3 paint
brushes, silk, embroidery hoops and threads the machine, silk dyes etc that are
required are provided in Australia.
Alison works on an industrial Bernina machine, removing
the presser foot and feed dog; she plans her composition out in terms of
proportions and shapes and for the rest relies on creativity.
This can be seen in the waterfall – where at the bottom
RHS the area is outlined but she will add the ferns using free machining
basically she does a running stitch to the end of a frond and returns using a
zig- zag stitch which increases in width
and repeats this process.
The silk she uses is Habotai 8 which is just thick enough
to take paint and the stitch (but it will only take so much stitch). The silk
paint is like using water colours working from light to dark whilst the threads
are applied from dark to light.
Alison uses Decca silk dyes which are heat
fixed so only requires pressing for 3 minutes to set (Seta silk paints can also
be used). There is no white so to vary the tone just dilute with water. The
threads used are colour and light fast and come from the following providers Aurifil,
Maderia, Guttermann, Sylko, Drima and DMC this range ensures better colour
variation. As the bobbin thread comes to the surface its choice and colour are
particularly important. An 8” hoop size
is good as it fits into the machine as well as providing a reasonable work
area. Alison binds the hoop to protect the work and leaves her work in the hoop
rather than removing it each time she stops.
Alison uses straight stitch for fine lines /taking a line
for a walk and zig zag stitch to build up texture quickly e.g. narrow width for
pebbles(like a machined French knot) and wider for leaves and flowers ( hoop is
moved and width of stitch varied to achieve desired effect).
In her pictures the sky and reflections in the water are
painted and the rest is stitched which gives more perspective.
In the seascapes which Alison is now working it is more difficult
due to the transparency of the water, its constant motion and the waves she
therefore takes lots of photos (for example 500) and in many cases combines
feature e.g. the waves from one and the rocks on another with perhaps the
addition of a headland from another. She draws with Gutta or resist, paints the
sky and adds a line which will not be stitched in but allows the stitching to
be kept parallel.
In the Australian pictures Alison has painted the sky and
beach with stitches covering the rest – tiny ones in the distance and larger
ones in the foreground.
Alison lives and works in Owestry, whilst at school she
was interested in and excelled at Art and Needlework which led her to
Goldsmiths College. She completed her foundation course at Shrewsbury College
and created a portfolio of work which was all hand stitched. At Goldsmiths
Alison studied textile techniques where she was told to think of the machine as
a drawing tool, the benefits of freehand machine work are the more efficient
use of time compared to hand stitching. 
She did not want to teach preferring a career which involved making and selling which led to her return to Owestry and the setting up of Barn Studios where Alison creates, displays and sells her works. Over the course of time her work has evolved and changed from collage to silk painting and stitch, making use of freehand stitching to add detail and texture, this is further enhanced by the use of different threads applied in various directions.
Working for herself is exciting as she does not know what projects will arrive to challenge her. This was the case in 2012 when Alison was approached by a fashion designer in London with a commission of a feature item for a catwalk show; this was to involve embroidery on a sweatshirt. The mental picture this created was small embroidery to be attached to a sweatshirt perhaps in the style of a badge/logo. Alison was very surprised to find that the embroidered design was for the whole of the front of the sweatshirt (body and sleeves from welt to neck) and the design was science fiction the image being ‘war of the worlds’ meets ‘Heidi’.
Many meetings, e mails, and telephone calls were required as Alison works on a small scale, using silk, painting the sky etc and the designer did not want the sky painted, plus the size of the work and the detail would not be appropriate for silk.
A Si Fi creator produced
the image which was printed onto linen; Alison was then able to stitch the sky
using weight 50 threads, the mountain and spaceship/creature using weight 30
threads, the meadow using weight 12 –thick cotton and wool this is to give
perspective to the work.
She uses Italian threads – ‘Aurifil’ and whilst working on this had to systematically move the small hoop she uses over the top to complete the design – a very different scale to her usual pieces. In total the piece took three months to complete and it has been on catwalks in Toronto and Paris as well as having been with Alison to Australia.
This can be seen in the waterfall – where at the bottom RHS the area is outlined but she will add the ferns using free machining basically she does a running stitch to the end of a frond and returns using a zig- zag stitch which increases in width and repeats this process.
Alison uses Decca silk dyes which are heat fixed so only requires pressing for 3 minutes to set (Seta silk paints can also be used). There is no white so to vary the tone just dilute with water. The threads used are colour and light fast and come from the following providers Aurifil, Maderia, Guttermann, Sylko, Drima and DMC this range ensures better colour variation. As the bobbin thread comes to the surface its choice and colour are particularly important. An 8” hoop size is good as it fits into the machine as well as providing a reasonable work area. Alison binds the hoop to protect the work and leaves her work in the hoop rather than removing it each time she stops.
In her pictures the sky and reflections in the water are
painted and the rest is stitched which gives more perspective.
In the seascapes which Alison is now working it is more difficult
due to the transparency of the water, its constant motion and the waves she
therefore takes lots of photos (for example 500) and in many cases combines
feature e.g. the waves from one and the rocks on another with perhaps the
addition of a headland from another. She draws with Gutta or resist, paints the
sky and adds a line which will not be stitched in but allows the stitching to
be kept parallel.
In the Australian pictures Alison has painted the sky and beach with stitches covering the rest – tiny ones in the distance and larger ones in the foreground.
21st May 2015
Diane
Grant ‘Canvas work Plus’ - the story of
her canvas work journey.
Diane
lives in Yorkshire, she was originally a legal secretary but gave up work due
to arthritis. This led to her signing up for embroidery classes and from this
went on to study for her City and Guilds, this in turn led to her being asked
to teach and then to assess work which meant that she had to gain her teaching
and assessors certificates. As well as the teaching and her own
embroidery/canvas work she also writes articles and books most of which are
published in America.
In
canvas work the stitches are worked over a certain number of threads and
therefore in pieces of work you have to compensate to keep the pattern, this leads
to problems. To avoid this Diane uses the common denominator method worked over
36 threads, as 36 is divisible by 3,4,6,9,12 etc, and for beginners recommends
the use of plastic canvas as there is no distortion and no need to use a frame.
Book
2 is the Story of Canvas Work - featuring canvas work stitches for the adventurous
for example square herringbone stitch coupled with couching, Helens Lace stitch
(America) worked diagonally etc .Her designs are made up of line, space,
texture, colour, pattern and shapes.
Diane uses lots of threads from America in
her work as well as using coloured
canvas (originally using coloured ‘magic’ canvas either 12,14 or 18 threads per
inch) – she paints white canvas by putting it into the frame first and then
applying colour as when it dries the starch in the canvas resets in shape.
Trebah
Gardens Band Sampler originated with a photograph from which she took the
colours and linked these to coloured threads which she wound onto card, Diane
then used the square herringbone stitch and created a red square in stitch
using one strand of ‘overtone’.
Diane experiments in her samplers creating units of pattern and linking these together perhaps with Florentine embroidery where the points fit into the gaps in the pattern.
In
the ‘Colours of Morocco’ piece Diane used Photoshop(filters and tiles) to
manipulate the image so it showed just colours and not shapes.
Autumn
Band Sampler features square herringbone with snowflake leaf variation and
Algerian eye variation.
Bluebell
cushion (published in America) is developed from a photo of Bluebells against a
concrete wall which was manipulated using Photoshop and features Florentine
stitch on 4 sides (diagonal line compensation required) and contains 4 green
buttons.
Book
1 focuses on Sprats Head stitch featuring six variations; the blue and white
pincushion illustrates the ‘Sprats Head stitch’ with 4 patterns together
forming a unit.
Diane
experimented on the piece Dividing Space by filling the spaces with heart
shaped ‘Sprats Head stitch’ and
attaching paper(dyed) and buttons.
Book cover featuring Helens Lace stitch.
Diane uses Sea urchin buttons and has incorporated them into various pieces including machined pintuck cushions – paper applied with crescents and several variations of Jessica Stitch.
Scrap book this features a project undertaken with 10 year olds using paper and thread.
Diane
lives in Yorkshire, she was originally a legal secretary but gave up work due
to arthritis. This led to her signing up for embroidery classes and from this
went on to study for her City and Guilds, this in turn led to her being asked
to teach and then to assess work which meant that she had to gain her teaching
and assessors certificates. As well as the teaching and her own
embroidery/canvas work she also writes articles and books most of which are
published in America.
For
the Diamond anniversary she was asked to produce a community exhibit and was
sponsored by Patina wools, this in turn led Diane to start canvas work (1993).
In
canvas work the stitches are worked over a certain number of threads and
therefore in pieces of work you have to compensate to keep the pattern, this leads
to problems. To avoid this Diane uses the common denominator method worked over
36 threads, as 36 is divisible by 3,4,6,9,12 etc, and for beginners recommends
the use of plastic canvas as there is no distortion and no need to use a frame.
Book
2 is the Story of Canvas Work - featuring canvas work stitches for the adventurous
for example square herringbone stitch coupled with couching, Helens Lace stitch
(America) worked diagonally etc .Her designs are made up of line, space,
texture, colour, pattern and shapes.
Diane uses lots of threads from America in
her work as well as using coloured
canvas (originally using coloured ‘magic’ canvas either 12,14 or 18 threads per
inch) – she paints white canvas by putting it into the frame first and then
applying colour as when it dries the starch in the canvas resets in shape.
Canvas
Work Plus is so named as Diane attaches extra things like beads, buttons etc to
the canvas pieces.
Trebah
Gardens Band Sampler originated with a photograph from which she took the
colours and linked these to coloured threads which she wound onto card, Diane
then used the square herringbone stitch and created a red square in stitch
using one strand of ‘overtone’.
Diane experiments in her samplers creating units of pattern and linking these together perhaps with Florentine embroidery where the points fit into the gaps in the pattern.
In
the ‘Colours of Morocco’ piece Diane used Photoshop(filters and tiles) to
manipulate the image so it showed just colours and not shapes.
Autumn
Band Sampler features square herringbone with snowflake leaf variation and
Algerian eye variation.
Bluebell
cushion (published in America) is developed from a photo of Bluebells against a
concrete wall which was manipulated using Photoshop and features Florentine
stitch on 4 sides (diagonal line compensation required) and contains 4 green
buttons.
Book
1 focuses on Sprats Head stitch featuring six variations; the blue and white
pincushion illustrates the ‘Sprats Head stitch’ with 4 patterns together
forming a unit. 
Diane
experimented on the piece Dividing Space by filling the spaces with heart
shaped ‘Sprats Head stitch’ and
attaching paper(dyed) and buttons.Book cover featuring Helens Lace stitch.
Diane uses Sea urchin buttons and has incorporated them into various pieces including machined pintuck cushions – paper applied with crescents and several variations of Jessica Stitch.
Scrap book this features a project undertaken with 10 year olds using paper and thread.
16th April 2015
Brenda Scarman – ‘A Delight in the Traditional’
"I feel passionate about keeping traditional embroidery techniques alive and I want to share them; they are a fundamental part of our human history, spanning the generations of today and tomorrow."
Brenda is a member of the Embroiderers Guild and now lives in Lincoln although she was brought up and worked in West Bromwich. She had always had the need to make things, sewing and knitting initially assisted by her aunts and then independently but it was always a hobby. However in 1980 when she moved to Lincoln there were no suitable jobs for her, this together with the start of a family led to her hobby taking on a more important role. Brenda made items for craft fairs, knitted for shops etc and eventually went to night school.
Cross stitch was one of her interests and she made a sampler celebrating her two daughters, this led in 1986 to the start of her making to sell at craft fairs. Brenda also went on courses/ weekends at Horncastle College and then in 1987 – 90 started to study for her City and Guilds part 1, on a weekend basis 7 – 8 times a year, her tutor was Enid Mason.
Brenda discovered that it was the traditional embroidery
techniques that interested her. A different technique was taught each
session and the brief was set (the marked element) relating to this.
The first focused
on the use of traditional stitches, the theme was the seasons and the task to
produce four pieces of work based on this.
Brenda decided on a piece for each
season:
Autumn was to design
a piece of embroidery and create it this resulted in a tree in green and yellow
on hessian featuring net, knitting wool and stitch.
Winter she elected to do something with ‘black work’ embroidery this was a poinsettia the design idea being taken from a Christmas card; this was traced and then tacked through the paper with the tacking being removed after stitching.
Spring featured ‘drawn thread work’ and she pushed the
boundaries by using hessian and wool (green and yellow the colours of spring/
daffodils) creating a double sided grid (that you could get your hand in
between).
Summer used ‘free machine embroidery’ to create poppies.
At a summer school she undertook felt making and has also
experienced appliqué and patchwork and has produced a piece of work showing
appliqué a figure in homage to Beryl Cook an artist best known for
her original, often comical paintings which pictured people whom she
encountered in everyday life.
The second year of the City and Guilds was based on the
subject of windows, for this Brenda decided on Lincoln Cathedral selecting the
‘Bishops Eye’ window. Sketches, photos, experimentation were undertaken prior
to producing two pieces one in chain stitch depicting fragments of glass and
the other using appliqué and quilting. 
The next subject was ‘food’ for this Brenda selected
vegetables, a cabbage – embroidered making use of green and a stir fry using
onions, peppers and carrots, she created a mood board of this for her
exhibition.
The next summer school was felt making and natural dying
where she experimented with different fixing mordant’s displaying the results of dying fleece. The 3D piece was a box bag – canvas work and wool with one side
being traditional and the other being experimental including paint. 
For the theme ‘items of fashion’ Brenda decided her two techniques would be hand stitching and patchwork and with these created a cloak.
The second element of Brenda’s life is teaching as shortly after completing her City and Guilds, she was given the opportunity to teach needlework – counted thread cross stitch embroidery - at her local adult education centre in Lincoln. What started out as a small Monday morning group of ladies soon grew into one of the most popular classes on offer in the area. Always oversubscribed, the group is still active today, albeit the format and faces have changed.
She also offers a range of workshops including Blackwork, Raised Embroidery ( woven spiders webs and picots on hand dyed silk noil), Embroidery on Canvas, Indian Embroidery(Shisha mirrors,chain and stem stitches embellished with beads) 
In 1998 Brenda participated in a competition to create a Christmas tree decoration for the tree at Buckingham Palace – she used shisha mirrors on plastic canvas with the elements being different on each side - and on 12th night the decorations were auctioned for the cerebral palsy charity.
During
the 1990’s she entered a quilt into the ‘National Patchwork Championship’
(later the festival of quilts) when it was extended to include embroiderers.
This was a sampler quilt entitled ‘Ultimate Sampler’ which featured Cathedral
window, Hardanger, Assisi work, English quilting, Insertion, pulled work,
Italian quilting, Cretan, drawn thread, cut work, Bargello, Blackwork, cross
stitch and sunset patchwork.
A White Vessel was her entry into an Embroiderers Guild competition with hand stitching, couching, use of rug wool, knitting wool, lace etc all things you would not usually use in embroidery together with plastic canvas to form its shape. NB the book cover is the same panel but in colour.
Group
projects – embroidery techniques and subject ideas are put into a hat and drawn
out each month, you divide your fabric into 9 squares and stitch your
interpretation of the subject e.g. insect this was then made up into a bag.
19th March 2015
Celebration of 25 years of the SCEG
The meeting started with Christine Poole, Ann Pearce and Maggie Phillips cutting the 25 year Anniversary cake (made by Sue Jones).
Following this Christine presented 25 year badges and certificates to 14 members - Nan Campbell, Ruth Colley, Anne Cross, Paula Hulme, Marianne Grime, Margaret Jefferson, Mary Lea, Ann Pearce, Christine Plume, Sylvia Stead, Anne Watson, Sue Wickson, Pat Winfield and Betty Woodward.
The toast was proposed by the Chairman - Trisha James and members enjoyed a glass of 'Fizz' and slice of celebration cake.
Our speaker on this occassion was Bobby Britnell Textile Artist and Teacher
Bobby has always
loved making things and needlework was the only subject that she was good at
whilst at school. Therefore doing something creative with her hands was the
obvious path to follow and her first job was working for theatrical costumiers,
making elaborate costumes for both television and theatre, the latter included
shows such as the Black and White Minstrel Show, Talk of the Town, West End
musicals and pantomimes. Later Bobby worked at a Saville Row tailor, where she
learnt the skills of tailoring. Unfortunately at the time apprenticeships in
tailoring were only available for boys but at the end of her first year at the
tailors a chance conversation led her towards teaching. Bobby applied for a
college course but was too late for entry that year so returned to tailoring
and in the 2 years she was there got a good grounding in stitch.
In 1972 she started to train
to be a teacher and, after qualifying, spent 12 years in a secondary school, becoming
the teacher in charge of textiles. Whilst teaching one of the parents who was
an embroiderer persuaded her to try a City and Guilds course in Embroidery and
she completed Parts 1 and 2. In 1984 the family bought a place in rural South
Shropshire and set up home. In 1986 Bobby became free lance running workshops
at Moor Hall, teaching City and Guilds at Westhope College and tutoring for BA
(Hons) at the Julia Caprara School of Textile Arts. Since 1996 she has been a
member of the Textile Study Group a high profile national exhibiting and
teaching group.
Bobby’s inspirations and ideas come from:
It was from Morris dance
called 'The Morning Star' that her first quilt developed linked to the dance
and music of the ‘Morning Star’ with the written notes forming part of the
piece of work. The fabrics she uses are natural scoured cotton and have been
home dyed using Procion dyes and 'pieced' to form a whole cloth. The shapes are
applied using bondaweb and held in place with machine quilting.
Dance has taken Bobby all over the world providing inspiration via the masks worn in Italy, hand embroidered clothes etc. She often prints her drawings onto photo transfer paper, irons them onto the fabric and then stitches into them creating detail and texture.
2. Pleats
and folds
Linked to
her experience of tailoring where the work is meticulous Bobby has sketch books
full of ideas about pleats and has made pieces of work based on these.
3 The
landscape
Bobby was
taught to draw by Cecily Sash and uses sketch books to record her ideas which
may be captured through use of marks, photos, sketches in ink, paint and
stitch. She keeps everything as part of the design creation process and her
work shows evidence of the various techniques.
For
example ‘Tulips’ is one piece of fabric with the ideas drawn on in pencil and
colour applied. The pieces of work featuring vases containing items have been
simplified and the background and outlines have been created using a roller –
drawing with either the main part or the edges. The flowers have been bonded on
to give a 3 D effect, she has also hand drawn into the quilts to emphasise
detail and then machine quilted.
4 Site
specific projects and exhibition themes e.g. At Coldbrook Dale where the work drew
on artefacts from the engineering collection at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum had
to be displayed ‘off the wall’ and the artists had to respond to the artefact
selected, which for Bobby was a harpsichord and the piece developed consisted
of a concertina’d surface containing different images.
The group
Bobby belongs to meets twice a year to be challenged through thinking and
discussion etc
Purple haze quilt – fabric was dyed to obtain harmonious
colours and then pieced together and machined into.
The books on shelves /bookcase/ library represent the
theme ‘stories’ (from the ‘Six’ group) and are quilts made from hand dyed
fabrics.
Hands Up For Uganda – The Kisaabwa Project is a charity
which was set up three years ago, its aim being to provide the community, which
had not previously seen white people, with a more sustainable future. This has
been achieved by empowering the women and helping them to develop their
traditional crafts making brooms, baskets and woven rugs.
Another fund
raising project using the Bark cloth is making it up into small shoes, these
are then decorated by others ( Diane Bates created sparkly shoes) and sent back
to be auctioned to make money for the community.
One of the traditional ‘stone – games’ played by the
Ugandan people is Omweso and you can see the depressions that have been carved into
an ancient stone slab for the game. Bobby has used the idea of Omweso to create
pieces of work using the bark cloth and cotton fabrics that she has printed,
bonded and stitched - these are cushions
and hangings featuring spots.
The Matuba tree is used to grow bark cloth – this is made
by cutting the strips of bark off the tree (banana leaves are wrapped round the
de barked trees and the bark re grows) it is then steamed and beaten into cloth
through a process of rolling, stretching and beating. The cloth is then worn as
clothing, togas etc.
Bobby has used the bark cloth as inspiration for pieces
of work, she has also incorporated blue colour which is taken from the colour
the tribe paint their houses. Her current work is blue and white using bark
cloth to print on, draw into and add in grasses etc.
Bobby also has a book Stitched Textiles: Flowers which
looks at the use through history of flowers as a starting point for designing,
as well as a range of techniques to use and projects to incorporate them in. A
contribution from the sale of this book is also put to the fund raising for the
Kisaabwa Project.19th February 2015
‘Her Fathers Daughter’ – May Morris by Nicola Jarvis
Nicola trained on the three-year apprenticeship in
traditional hand embroidery at the RSN from 1991 to 1994. She has enjoyed
teaching and working on design commissions since then, and was appointed Deputy
Course Leader on the RSN Foundation Degree from 2009 to 2011. During this
appointment she was part of the RSN team working on The Duchess of Cambridge's
wedding dress.She now teaches and administrates the RSN satellite teaching centre in the Midlands based at the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum. Alongside teaching the RSN Certificate and Diploma courses, she designs and delivers independent workshops in museums and stately homes.
Nicola worked as a freelance embroidery designer for numerous British fashion companies between 1997 and 2005, during which time she also studied for a first class BA (Hons) and MA in Fine Art, exploring historic stitching through drawing and printmaking.
She was awarded ‘Overall Winner’ of the William Morris
Gallery ‘Inspired by Morris’ art competition in 2010, with a face collaged in
William Morris patterns. The prize for this was a solo show in the William
Morris Gallery, following its re opening after refurbishment in spring 2013. This
left Nicola with a problem, exactly what to display, research led her to May
Morris the daughter of William. She was struck by the similarities of their
work in the same field despite being separated by 100 years. 
Nicola had one
year to create the body of work and drew her inspiration from life using birds,
flowers etc (as did William and May Morris) which she filled with ‘Morris’
patterns. She staged her solo art and embroidery show 'The Art of Embroidery:
Nicola Jarvis and May Morris', in July 2013. 
This consisted of her work,
which included ‘Loveday’ painted on silk and embroidered, featuring an oak tree
(at the end of her garden) with birds and flowers.30 pieces of embroidery and
30 which were painted and an additional 60 pieces Over the last year she has
toured the exhibition to a number of William Morris-linked venues in UK .
Mary "May" Morris (25
March 1862 – 17 October 1938) was an important figure in the
Arts and Crafts Movement as an embroidery and jewellery designer and maker, socialist and editor. She was the younger daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite
artist and designer William Morris and
his wife and artist's model Jane Morris.
May Morris was born at Red House, Bexley Heath and named Mary . She inherited
her father’s talents and skills and followed his footsteps into his company
Morris and Co. but her accomplishments have tended to be obscured by her
father’s fame, and her devotion to him and his memory.
Her sister Jenny was
nearly 2 years older than May but her promise was not fulfilled as at twelve
she developed epilepsy, a trait carried by her father’s family.
Morris encouraged an interest in craft in both his
daughters and by the time they were seven and eight they were learning
embroidery from their mother Jane and aunt Bessie Burden, who had been taught by
William Morris.
May was
expected to do something with her life, and may have seen herself as her
father’s heir. She was a talented artist, and could have gone to study
art at the Slade, but she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and chose
craft. At 19 she trained at the South Kensington School of Art/Design
(this was next door to the V and A), and in 1885, aged 23, she took over the
embroidery section of Morris & Co. from her father. She had already
designed some embroideries for the firm, and from that point all new designs
were done by her and Morris’s assistant, John Henry Dearle. Dearle
eventually became the Art Director of the firm.
May ran the embroidery
section until her father’s death in 1896, although she continued in an advisory
role after that date.
Although she designed many of the smaller items: fire
screens cushion covers and tablecloths she probably didn’t embroider them
herself.
She was a highly skilled embroiderer and worked on the larger
commissions for the firm such as portières, wall hangings and altar cloths
(Maids of Honour Design 1890). When she set up her own house at 8
Hammersmith Terrace, the workers came and worked in her drawing room(probably 6
– 8 girls), with a visitation from Morris every morning.
May
Morris was an influential embroiderer and designer, although her contributions
are often overshadowed by those of her father, William Morris is credited with
the resurrection of free-form embroidery in the style which would be termed Art needlework.Art needlework emphasized freehand stitching and
delicate shading in silk thread thought to encourage
self-expression in the needle worker in sharp contrast with the brightly
coloured Berlin Wool Work needlepoint and its "paint by numbers" aesthetic which had gripped much of home
embroidery in the mid-19th century.
Throughout
the 1890s and 1900s May was heavily involved in the Arts and Crafts scene in
London. She designed jewellery; she wrote a play, White Lies, in 1903;
she wrote articles and a book on embroidery: Decorative Needlework, published
in 1893. She taught, and was then in demand on the lecture circuit – in
1910 travelling on a tour of America. She was an advisor and teacher at
the Central School of Arts & Crafts and at Birmingham, where friends and
old employees also taught. She was a regular exhibitor at the Arts and
Crafts Exhibition Society, and in 1907 she was a co-founder of the Women’s
Guild of Arts.
The latter part of her life was dedicated to her father’s memory. She spent
years editing his collected works, a mammoth twenty four volume collection for
which she wrote the introduction. She spent her time between her house in
London and Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire. Only now, though, is her
artistic legacy being re-examined.
Influences
Her father a skilled embroiderer who studied Medieval and
Elizabethan work often unpicking them to find out about the stitches
Design devices used through history e.g. use of a verse,
flowers and birds as in an embroidered hanging of 1895 which were used in his
designs and work
Family friends Edward Burne – Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
as Morris would often use figures from their work as a basis for embroidery e.g.
Angel figure 1870’s
Trellis wallpaper (designed by Morris in 1864)which was
hung in Mays bedroom for 7 years until they moved to London
1597 Herball or Generall Historie of Plants by John Gerrard which contained very detailed
sketches
Kelmscott House (1878 – 96) close to the Merton Abbey
Works(factory where fabric dying took place) and where William Morris was
fascinated by weaving carpets/textiles taught himself to knot carpet, May
watched her father and at the age of 11 - 12 helped him to hand colour in his
hand drawn carpet designs
The Persian/ Middle Eastern influences and blues, greens
and reds used by Morris
For inspiration when designing May looked at real life and
natural forms studying them closely to use as a basis for her work, the honeysuckle
silk furnishing fabric required the use of 39 blocks to print it.
In her Decorative needlework embroidery book showing
design, drawing and embroidery she required all lines in a design to serve a
purpose. May would design on paper and then use these to prick onto the fabric
(Ashmolean have a large collection of her paper designs). She enjoyed symmetrical,
stylised designs as opposed to the organic designs of William Morris.
Stitches used
Darning stitch in a brick formation (resembles weaving)
quick to do on large designs
Satin stitch – straight stitch evenly laid in one
direction (flower pot first kit)
Stem stitch – outline and filling in
Long and short stitch – worked from the outside edge of
the shape
Feather stitch – worked from the centre of the leaf
/shape
Laid work – (Bayeux Tapestry) uses half the thread and
gives a ribbed effect when the stitches hold the thread down (like couching).
May designed bed hangings for her fathers bed in Kelmscott.The embroidered bedspread, pelmet and curtains were a
collaborative venture between Morris’s wife Jane, his daughter May, Lily Yeats
(sister of William Butler), and two women named Maude Deacon and Ellen Wright
who came from Hammersmith where Morris had his London home. The pelmet and
curtains were embroidered from 1891-93, while the bedspread was not made until
1910, some years after Morris’s death. As a whole the bed is a fine example of
women collaborating in the Arts and Crafts style, and a testament to the Morris
ladies’ skill with a needle and thread.
The pelmet, running around the top of the four posts, is
stitched with a poem by William Morris himself entitled ‘Inscription for an Old
Bed’. May Morris embroidered the words in Gothic script, and like an
illuminated manuscript the letters are punctuated by little leaves and flowers.
The bedcover(embroidered by May and Jane in 1910) is a
meadow, with small bouquets of wildflowers like embroidered botanical drawings
set in an intricate network of twisting yellow borders; tiny birds and insects
can be seen resting and crawling around the edges as if in hedgerows.
These creatures are rather like those which nestle in the margins of the Bayeux
Tapestry or medieval manuscripts. Also running along the edge of the bedcover
is a stylised depiction of the River Thames, which flowed past the house,
ending at a small embroidered miniature by Jane Morris of the manor
itself.
15th January 2015
Mary "May" Morris (25
March 1862 – 17 October 1938) was an important figure in the
Arts and Crafts Movement as an embroidery and jewellery designer and maker, socialist and editor. She was the younger daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite
artist and designer William Morris and
his wife and artist's model Jane Morris.
May Morris was born at Red House, Bexley Heath and named Mary . She inherited
her father’s talents and skills and followed his footsteps into his company
Morris and Co. but her accomplishments have tended to be obscured by her
father’s fame, and her devotion to him and his memory.
Her sister Jenny was
nearly 2 years older than May but her promise was not fulfilled as at twelve
she developed epilepsy, a trait carried by her father’s family.
Morris encouraged an interest in craft in both his
daughters and by the time they were seven and eight they were learning
embroidery from their mother Jane and aunt Bessie Burden, who had been taught by
William Morris.
May was expected to do something with her life, and may have seen herself as her father’s heir. She was a talented artist, and could have gone to study art at the Slade, but she decided to follow in her father’s footsteps and chose craft. At 19 she trained at the South Kensington School of Art/Design (this was next door to the V and A), and in 1885, aged 23, she took over the embroidery section of Morris & Co. from her father. She had already designed some embroideries for the firm, and from that point all new designs were done by her and Morris’s assistant, John Henry Dearle. Dearle eventually became the Art Director of the firm.
May ran the embroidery
section until her father’s death in 1896, although she continued in an advisory
role after that date.
Although she designed many of the smaller items: fire
screens cushion covers and tablecloths she probably didn’t embroider them
herself.
She was a highly skilled embroiderer and worked on the larger
commissions for the firm such as portières, wall hangings and altar cloths
(Maids of Honour Design 1890). When she set up her own house at 8
Hammersmith Terrace, the workers came and worked in her drawing room(probably 6
– 8 girls), with a visitation from Morris every morning.
May
Morris was an influential embroiderer and designer, although her contributions
are often overshadowed by those of her father, William Morris is credited with
the resurrection of free-form embroidery in the style which would be termed Art needlework.Art needlework emphasized freehand stitching and
delicate shading in silk thread thought to encourage
self-expression in the needle worker in sharp contrast with the brightly
coloured Berlin Wool Work needlepoint and its "paint by numbers" aesthetic which had gripped much of home
embroidery in the mid-19th century.
Throughout
the 1890s and 1900s May was heavily involved in the Arts and Crafts scene in
London. She designed jewellery; she wrote a play, White Lies, in 1903;
she wrote articles and a book on embroidery: Decorative Needlework, published
in 1893. She taught, and was then in demand on the lecture circuit – in
1910 travelling on a tour of America. She was an advisor and teacher at
the Central School of Arts & Crafts and at Birmingham, where friends and
old employees also taught. She was a regular exhibitor at the Arts and
Crafts Exhibition Society, and in 1907 she was a co-founder of the Women’s
Guild of Arts.
The latter part of her life was dedicated to her father’s memory. She spent years editing his collected works, a mammoth twenty four volume collection for which she wrote the introduction. She spent her time between her house in London and Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire. Only now, though, is her artistic legacy being re-examined.
The latter part of her life was dedicated to her father’s memory. She spent years editing his collected works, a mammoth twenty four volume collection for which she wrote the introduction. She spent her time between her house in London and Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire. Only now, though, is her artistic legacy being re-examined.
Influences
Her father a skilled embroiderer who studied Medieval and
Elizabethan work often unpicking them to find out about the stitches
Design devices used through history e.g. use of a verse,
flowers and birds as in an embroidered hanging of 1895 which were used in his
designs and work
Family friends Edward Burne – Jones, Dante Gabriel Rossetti
as Morris would often use figures from their work as a basis for embroidery e.g.
Angel figure 1870’s
Trellis wallpaper (designed by Morris in 1864)which was
hung in Mays bedroom for 7 years until they moved to London
1597 Herball or Generall Historie of Plants by John Gerrard which contained very detailed
sketches
Kelmscott House (1878 – 96) close to the Merton Abbey
Works(factory where fabric dying took place) and where William Morris was
fascinated by weaving carpets/textiles taught himself to knot carpet, May
watched her father and at the age of 11 - 12 helped him to hand colour in his
hand drawn carpet designs
The Persian/ Middle Eastern influences and blues, greens
and reds used by Morris
For inspiration when designing May looked at real life and
natural forms studying them closely to use as a basis for her work, the honeysuckle
silk furnishing fabric required the use of 39 blocks to print it.
In her Decorative needlework embroidery book showing design, drawing and embroidery she required all lines in a design to serve a purpose. May would design on paper and then use these to prick onto the fabric (Ashmolean have a large collection of her paper designs). She enjoyed symmetrical, stylised designs as opposed to the organic designs of William Morris.
Stitches used
Darning stitch in a brick formation (resembles weaving)
quick to do on large designs
Satin stitch – straight stitch evenly laid in one
direction (flower pot first kit)
Stem stitch – outline and filling in
Long and short stitch – worked from the outside edge of
the shape
Feather stitch – worked from the centre of the leaf
/shape
Laid work – (Bayeux Tapestry) uses half the thread and
gives a ribbed effect when the stitches hold the thread down (like couching).
May designed bed hangings for her fathers bed in Kelmscott.The embroidered bedspread, pelmet and curtains were a
collaborative venture between Morris’s wife Jane, his daughter May, Lily Yeats
(sister of William Butler), and two women named Maude Deacon and Ellen Wright
who came from Hammersmith where Morris had his London home. The pelmet and
curtains were embroidered from 1891-93, while the bedspread was not made until
1910, some years after Morris’s death. As a whole the bed is a fine example of
women collaborating in the Arts and Crafts style, and a testament to the Morris
ladies’ skill with a needle and thread.
The pelmet, running around the top of the four posts, is
stitched with a poem by William Morris himself entitled ‘Inscription for an Old
Bed’. May Morris embroidered the words in Gothic script, and like an
illuminated manuscript the letters are punctuated by little leaves and flowers.
These creatures are rather like those which nestle in the margins of the Bayeux
Tapestry or medieval manuscripts. Also running along the edge of the bedcover
is a stylised depiction of the River Thames, which flowed past the house,
ending at a small embroidered miniature by Jane Morris of the manor
itself.Members meeting - in addition to the business this consisted of a sales table, raffle, a display of older pieces of embroidery brought in by members as well as the opportunity for the new travelling book groups to meet.
Both the sales and raffle tables were well supported with an interesting selection of goods and prizes.
Raffle prizes on display and below are featured some of the lucky members with their selected item.
The older embroidered items were facinating and had interesting and varied stories behind them some of which were reported by their owners.
Also on display was a selection of work that members had undertaken at various workshops throughout the year.
The sales table was well suported with donations which encouraged many members to buy items to incorporate into their future projects - perhaps the travelling books, or Chairmans Challenge for the 25th Anniversary Exhibition in September.11th December 2014
Christmas Speaker and Lunch
Arrival at Brookfield Golf Club was 10 to 10.30 am for
coffee and chat prior to the ‘Surprise speaker’ and lunch. On arrival members
we welcomed by Chris and Judith, who informed them as to the table they would
be seated at for the meal. The tables this year were designated by different
cotton fabrics e.g. Percale with each having a card with information about the
origins and uses of the particular fabric. 
The ‘Christmas swap’ this year was a small receptacle e.g. a
comb case which would fit in a handbag. The idea was popular with members as
shown by the variety of containers and the range of techniques used to create
them. 
Our Surprise Speaker this year was Notty Hornblower who
brought with her a wonderful selection of clothes, hats, bags and accessories
from her collection with which to illustrate her presentation of ‘From Vapours
to Votes’. The 3 models (small sizes e.g. size 6) were excellent displaying the
outfits to good effect and illustrating how the stature of people has changed
over the years due to increasing availability and affordability of foods.
1830/40’s - pure wool winter dress, cream with flowers,
accessorised with a Dorothy bag.
1850’s – Taffeta dress (taffeta is a hard wearing fabric
which is long lasting) it has a stiff petticoat to support the skirt. (Stiffened
with Buckram so it should not be washed)
1840’s/50’s – Cotton voile dress worn with an original
crinoline, accessorised with a paisley shawl from the 1850’s and boots.
1870/1880’s – Satin paddle train dress with silk tassels –
this was worn in the TV programme ‘The Paradise’
1870/1880’s – Brown jacket (this was donated in pieces that had not been made up) the hat is velvet and the bag which was made in Paris has a silver frame.
Victorian/ 1910 – Cotton nightdress accompanied by a shawl.
1908/1910 – Edwardian cream short coat, featuring frog fastenings and dress, the hat is made from straw with black velvet and ostrich feathers to trim. At this time the hem lines are shortening to between ankle and mid calf.
1914/1916 – Blue/grey heavy cotton twill Edwardian suit, the hat is from 1914 and is made from ribbed velvet and ostrich feathers.
1910 Blue silk dress with ruched over bodice and lace trim
at the neck (referred to as Lady Marys’ dress – Downton Abbey) Featuring a beaded and braided front, the sleeves have a stiff mesh for shape. The shoes are T bar and are typical of the period.
Votes for Women – Black wool suit the skirt is a slightly
longer hobble skirt and braiding features on the jacket.
1914/1916 – paddle train blue dinner dress with gold embroidery on the sleeves, worn with a cape coat – this can be worn as a cape but also has sleeves and can be worn as a coat.
Ball gown made from gold taffeta accessorised with a feather fan and black gloves edged in black lace these date from the early 1900’s.
Mother of the Bride/ garden party - pure silk Edwardian high waisted dress, worn
with a straw hat decorated with flowers dating from 1916/18.
1918 – Wedding dress worn to get married on return of fiancé
from war, cream calf length linen with embroidered lace modesty front, the hat
dates from 1918 (unfortunately the frame of it contains mercury).
1875 – An early white muslin dress with gold stripe this originally
belonged to a farming family.
1904 – Wedding dress made from silk with a lace veil.
Silk stockings with an embroidered design.
Beaded black bag
Ladies shoe trees20th November 2014
Dyeing for Fun by Fiona Nisbett
Fiona is a Textile Artist who is involved in spinning, dyeing,
weaving, felting and papermaking; she has her studio locally and runs a range
of courses related to these techniques (leaflets available).
The display included examples of Fiona’s work, books, merino
wool for felting, fibres for dyeing, rainbow dyed wool, knitting yarns(100%
wool) which she uses for weaving as well as a selection of dyeing and weaving
equipment (she is a supplier for the Ashford Company – catalogues are with her
exhibition ‘Glorious Colour’ at Audlem Mill until 7th December or at
her studio)
There are a variety of dyes available for use with specific
fibres and it is important to select the right dye as it gives better
colourfastness, appearance and is more effective. Turquoise dye is really the
only problem in terms of ‘mess’, the other colours being easy to use.
For dyeing wool, mohair, silk and nylon(nylon made to mimic
silk) use an Acid Milling dye – this is suitable
for wool fibre or yarn and is very colour and light fast and no excess dye
washes out.
When dyeing use the following:
A stainless steel bowl (a proper dye bowl with a lid is
expensive but large dog bowls covered with foil are cheaper and work well)
Acid – vinegar quantity is ¾ of the weight of the fabric i.e.
if fibre is 100g then use 75ml of vinegar
Water
Dye– equal weight to fibre i.e. 100g of fibre then use 100ml
of dye (this will give a medium colour). If using Wood and Wool dyes then a 10g
pot of powder dyes 1 kg of wool (cost £4.50 a pot).
Yarn – clean fleece or yarn however if dyeing dirty fleece
add washing up liquid (do not use a powder as it contains a filler which gets
trapped in the fibres) 75ml into 100g this removes the lanolin.
Beware as acid corrodes stainless steel you can use Pyrex or
an un-chipped enamel bowl (enamel bowls which are chipped are not as suitable
as the metal takes some of the colour).
Method
Put the water into the bowl, add malt vinegar, immerse the
fibre and to ensure it is all wet squeeze it in the water to ensure the air is
expelled and water drawn in.
Add dye –do not use more than 3 colours of dye together.
Dyeing is complete when the water is clear.
NB Acid dyes remain usable for up to 10 years, although the
colour can fade slightly. Use a 1 litre container, put dye in, add some hot
water and stir to make a paste then add cold water, pour into a bottle and
label ready for use.
Microwave method (small quantities up to 50g)
Wet fibre /fleece in water and vinegar, squeeze fibre/
fleece and place onto cling film, spoon on dye, roll up and cook on low heat
for 2 mins (check water content) then high for 30 secs.
Metal Complex or pre metallised dyes –used for dyeing wool,
mohair, silk and nylon – give a softer more muted colour.
Acid milling and pre metallised dyes can be mixed together
in use.
Fibre reactive or procion dyes are available in hot water
forms (H) or cold water (MX).
The fibre reactive dyes have a chemical called procean in
them. They are for use with vegetable fibres – cotton, linen, bamboo, soya bean
and banana – where they work at the molecular level, merging together in the
dye bath to give a different molecular structure.
With cold water MX put the fibre (cotton, linen, rayon or
silk) and dye into the dye bowl and leave to work i.e. dye locking together
with the fibre.
Direct or hot water fibre reactive dyes for cotton, linen,
rayon or silk.
If Fibre reactive dyes are used for wool they change the feel
of the wool.
Disperse dyes – this is a chemical dye used to dye manmade
fibres, it will only give pale to medium hues as the dye is only on the surface
of the fibre. They can also be used for transfer printing applying dye to
paper, drying; then cut out shapes, place onto polyester cotton fabric and iron
on.
When making manmade
fibres the dye is added as the fibre is being made so a coloured liquid is
forced through the spinnerets, these thin fibres are treated to harden them and
are then spun in order to be able to be knitted or woven into fabric. This
gives the deeper colours found in commercially produced fabrics and threads.
Synthetic dyeing by Frances and Tony Thompson.
16th October 2014
Learning by my Mistakes by Kate Cawley
This was a very interesting and informative presentation
with many wonderful examples of her work, many of which had been created for
entry into the WI and Cheshire Shows.
From these Kate identified the ‘mistakes’
she had made and how she had ‘learned’ from these that a less is more approach
is perhaps more desirable although not easily achieved by a ‘fiddler’ who wants
to demonstrate varied skills and techniques to create items in as much detail
as possible.
Kate started with her early mistakes /problems one of which
is that she is left handed whilst the rest of the family are right handed, this
resulted in a visit to the Doctor to remedy the problem which he wisely advised
to leave it alone. The next was a kit for a picture of a bridge completed in
stem stitch however the name of the bridge is incorrect!
At Grammar school in Domestic Science they made a hat with a
circle logo into which they had to stitch their initials in satin stitch the
problem was her initials KM would not fit – much unpicking resulted. The next
project was to make a Dirndl skirt which consisted of 4 widths of material
gathered into a waist band, Kate was allowed to buy her own fabric – she
selected sailcloth! This created many difficulties e.g. gathering, distribution
of fullness and the fashion show at the end!
Whilst at teacher training college she started to think
about her ‘bottom drawer’ so made an afternoon tea cloth but rather than
produce the usual lady with trellis design Kate wanted to be different so
selected a flower and leaf decoration, she also observed the words from her
mother that the back should look the same as the front of the work.
Kate knits as well and decided to knit her husband a sweater
– navy blue with a roll neck all went well until her father in law said all
that was missing was a logo for ‘Mersey Ferries’.
Then she joined the WI, attending meetings and enjoying the
continuing social event at the pub, then came the show which she was persuaded
to enter.
Kate decided to make a Noah’s Ark complete with animals (elephants,
sea lions, pandas, giraffes, camels, snakes, monkeys, rabbits, lion/lioness,
penguins, kangaroo and baby, Mr/Mrs Noah and the dove)using felt. After
displaying the items the members then had to leave for the judging, on here
return she was greeted by the President who told Kate that she would cause
trouble in an empty room, she gained a turquoise star and comments identifying
problems as – use of felt, over sewing edges, splaying legs, spots glued on
giraffes.
Kate decided to make a Noah’s Ark complete with animals (elephants,
sea lions, pandas, giraffes, camels, snakes, monkeys, rabbits, lion/lioness,
penguins, kangaroo and baby, Mr/Mrs Noah and the dove)using felt. After
displaying the items the members then had to leave for the judging, on here
return she was greeted by the President who told Kate that she would cause
trouble in an empty room, she gained a turquoise star and comments identifying
problems as – use of felt, over sewing edges, splaying legs, spots glued on
giraffes.
For the next show Kate was determined to produce a correctly
made exhibit, she selected Rudolf with a sleigh loaded with presents. If she
had stopped at Rudolf all would have been fine but the sleigh, which used
cardboard for support, was here undoing.
Next were covered padded coat hangers - used crochet to
cover, included a lavender bag, flower and even covered the hook using
embroidery this was not a good move as the embroidery twisted round a sure way
to lose marks! On the second one to vary techniques Kate made bobbin lace and
used this to provide a frill along the lower edge – comment was a shame to hide
the lace underneath the clothes.
The subsequent theme in spring was toys, Kate considered the
competition deciding most would submit chicks, bunnies, lambs therefore she
decided on a hen on a nest with an egg inside containing 3 chicks. Again she
used felt although stab stitch was used, the nest was embroidered, and
cardboard avoided although as the neck was not stiffened the head of the hen
wobbled. Result – Gold comment lovely idea well done for trying!
Dolls
Kate makes the eyes
using button moulds which she covers when attached these can be pulled in to
make an eye socket.
Ballet dancer – she was offered a wig of real hair which was
silver/grey in colour – not really suitable for a young dancer but this was not
the main problem that was the ‘lumpy legs’. Avoid this by using a good quality
stuffing and stuffing a little at a time leaving it to settle and continuing in
this manner until complete.
Calico doll – has drawers with crochet edging, pin tuck
underskirt, dress, hat etc the problem is the hat is too large and not
attached, the ribbon is crinkly and insufficient hair (hidden under hat!).
Calico doll (mark 2) – smocking and embroidery used to
decorate, correct ribbon, more hair should be a winner problem the pin tucks on
underskirt are not even Kate thinks why do I complicate items?
Mice (based on Beatrix Potter) – made from felt embroidered
with long and short stitch to resemble fur, has drawers, wiggly tail made from
pipe cleaners (chenille sticks now) Kate adds a baby mouse a finger puppet sewn
on a plastic thimble so it does not fall
off , whiskers made from nylon thread. Comments –mouse is fine but the baby lost
marks as it was not 3 D.
Mouse (not clothed) – embroidered, whiskers made from
horsehair. Full marks!!
Tailor of Gloucester mouse including bobbin, glasses (bought) comments – lovely embroidery, stuffing only got 19 marks!
Jemima Puddle Duck - the felt is embroidered to give the impression of feathers achieved 20 out of 20.
Frogs
Jeremy Fisher, lily pad, fishing rod, basket – the basket
was the problem made from darned raffia again if Kate had not included it she
would have gained full marks.
Embroidered felt frog – Kate embroidered the felt pieces
first before making it up as this stops the ‘pilling’. This gained full marks
20 out of 20 time to quit frogs whilst ahead!
Sleight of Hand class – Kate decided on a child’s play mask
‘The frog prince’ with the frog mask turning inside out to reveal the prince
mask. Gained 20 out of 20 but no rosette (she was told it was not a horse
show).
Knitting
Grey Fair Isle jumper – Kate had woven the threads all the
way through on the reverse and sewn it up carefully but decided the seams were
too bulky and she re knitted the welts, gained 19 ½ as the patterns did not
match exactly at the shoulders! Without the final row of pattern this would
have been successful again less is more!
Next an Arran jumper for a child - the problem was the neck
not being large enough to fit over the head – the items must be able to be
worn.
Kaffe Fasset kit for a cardigan - here the triangle design
on the front borders did not match.
A day at the races provoked Kate to make and decorate a hat
using crochet, beadwork and embroidery this gained her 20/20 and a much desired
rosette however the mistake was that once lined the hat did not fit her head!Embroidery
Little Moreton Hall in Blackwork – this was then
professionally framed a mistake as it was not stretched correctly resulting in
the vertical lines not being straight therefore it only gained 17 out of 20.
Van Gough Iris created using tent stitch for the background,
long and short stitch on the leaves however when framing an appropriate colour
of mount board could not be found so Kate decided to leave this out as did the
original unfortunately the lost ½ a mark.
On retiring Kate decided to extend her range of techniques
with patchwork and quilting. The first demonstration of this was cushions with
a flower design, crochet edging and hand quilted – the mistake was soft floppy
corners – a stuffing error!
Crazy patchwork memory bear with embroidered Aida foot pads
here the problem was loose legs! 
A course at Denman College Jointed Jesters taught Kate how to achieve perfection with jointed limbs and also creating faces with a nose rather than just using French knots.
Desert Island Discs led to a Mermaid with a nose and bendy
fingers although making it using cotton was a mistake as the seams tended to
split whilst stuffing.
The WI lady out for afternoon tea is a character doll(slightly
weathered ladies.com) with shape, separate toes, sandals, beads, ear rings,
sculpted eyes, crochet hat, handbag and
to complete the scene a chair, table and jam tart. For this Kate gained a
rosette and was the first name on the Capesthorne Rose Bowl.
Music, Music, Music –provoked the making of a singer this
then extended to a group with a conductor. However the schedule stated one item
and these were 4 individuals so the judges selected one to mark unfortunately
they chose the one made from silk which had problems due to fraying seams.
 |
| Old man – slippers, shirt out, short cardigan 20/20 |
 |
| Lady in deckchair at Henley Regatta 20/20 |
 |
Chelsea Flower Show Gnome
– an excellent exhibit. |
 |
Morris Men complete with knitted
socks were this year’s entry |
18th September 2014
This
was the AGM which featured the Members Challenge 'In shades of one
colour' and the viewing of the now completed second round of the
'Travelling Books' as well as the business of the AGM and notices.
The
Members Challenge entries featured below were voted on by the members
at the meeting with the winner receiving a prize of Guild Membership.
 |
| Winning entry |
Travelling Books
 |
| Books from a group featuring covers |
 | ||||||
| close up of a book cover |
AGM
SOUTH CHESHIRE EMBROIDERS GUILD
MINUTES OF AGM HELD ON 18TH SEPTEMBER 2014
Present:
Trisha James(Chair)
Hazel Cable (Treasurer)
Judith Booth (Secretary)
Pat Parry
Glenys Jenkins
Jean Marshall
Ruth Colley
Chris Smith
In attendance: General membership
Apologies
Janet Clarke
Judy Fairless
Pam Dunning
Vi Pritchard
Joyce Turner
Jan Aldersay
1.Welcome and Introductions
Trisha welcomed all those members present, with a special welcome to Jackie Woolsey our branch president.
She explained that the email sent to all members with copies of minutes, agenda and financial statements was to save cost of printing and that paper copies were available.
2. Minutes of Previous AGM
The minutes were read by Rita Duncan, who was secretary at the time. They were approved by Sylvia Stead, seconded by Sylvia Renn and signed by Trisha James.
3. Treasurer's Report
Hazel Cable presented the audited accounts (copy attached) which showed an overall profit of £798.
She explained that workshops were now self financing, trips had not been subsidised and members had donated fees when running mini workshops. In addition the raffle and sales table at the July members meeting had raised £100. The subsidy to Young Embroiderers had been increased to £180 to allow for their expansion to a larger venue.
Proposed: Ann Watson
Seconded: Marjorie Derbyshire.
4. Young Embroiderers Report
Ruth Dalby reported that the FACT group now had 12 young people who were members of Young Embroiders now nationally known as JETS ( Junior Embroiderers and Textile Students). The group had been highly commended for their entry in the Embroiderers Guild de Denne competition and had also sent an entry to the West Midlands Regional Day competition.
Ruth outlined the programme of meetings and was pleased to report the progress made by members of the group. The meetings were now held in the larger venue of Stapeley Community Hall allowing the group to do more mixed media projects.
She thanked the committee and members of the branch for their support.
5. Chair's Report.
Trisha thanked Ruth and all the team of volunteers for their work with JETS/FACT group. She reported that Ruth had put her name forward as Regional representative for Young Embroiderers and hoped she would be successful.
Trisha felt that it had been a positive year for the branch and thanked the committee for all their work. Last years programme had provided a wide range of speakers, who had talked on a variety of topics. The Christmas lunch had been very well attended and produced the largest number of swaps for a lunch. Trisha thanked Chris for her work in organising the event.
This had been the branch's first year as part of the West Midlands Region. The branch had been active in the region, with members attending the Regional AGM in the Wrekin and the Regional Day in Stafford. Trisha was a member of the regional committee and reported that she had attended the AGM and Terry's regional road show.
A number of members of the branch had been involved in the creation of the Staffordshire Hoard Wall Hangings, which would be part of a new permanent exhibition at Birmingham Museum.
Trisha reported that she had spoken to a number of branches, sharing the success of the travelling books, which were also featured on the guild website.She thanked members for taking part in the travelling books and the members challenge.
Looking forward to the Silver Anniversary Year Trisha highlighted an exciting programme of speakers and workshops and in particular the introduction of a two -day workshop run by Isobel Hall and the anniversay meeting in March with Bobby Britnall. Ruth Colley was thanked for organising the speakers and workshops. It was planned to present 25 year badges at the March meeting and a request was made for any information of continuous members who may have moved to or from other branches in the 25 years.
July members meeting would be an extended meeting with a celebration lunch.
The committee would be asking for volunteers to help with the exhibition in September.
The Christmas lunch will be £20 and the swap will be a handbag receptical e.g comb, glasses or phone case.
The trip to the Ashmolean would now be an extra £2.00 -£2.50, as 10 people had dropped out since the cost was calculated.
Sue Jones thanked Trisha for all her work during the year.
6. Election of Officers
Trisha James (Chairman)
Hazel Cable (Treasurer)
Pat Parry (Assistant Treasurer)
Glenys Jenkins (Membership Secretary)
Judith Booth (Secretary)
Proposed Sue Jones
Seconded: Sheila Webster
7. Continuing Members
Jean Marshall
Ruth Colley
Janet Clarke
Chris Smith
Proposed: Annie Pearce
Seconded: Sue Moulson
8. New Committee Members
Sue Jones
Marjorie Derbyshire
Miriam Winnard
Proposed: Norma Dabrowski
Seconded: Val Mackin
Rita Duncan, who had left the committee due to a move to Oswestry, was thanked for her work as secretary and presented with flowers.
9. Jackie Woolsey President
Jackie thanked Trisha for her work on the regional committee and stated how proud she was to see the South Cheshire branch on the website and its involvement in the region. She praised the standard of member's work.
She spoke of how she had started the branch 1989 with Annie Pearce and Maggie Phillips and was looking forward to visiting next year for the anniversary celebrations.
10. Any Other Business
Young Embroiderers group. Ruth Dalby wished to formally thank all the volunteers for their work in running the FACT group and presented certificates to Janet Clarke, Julia Flanaghan, Sue Jones, Val Mackin, Mairi Sutton, Una Larkin,Judy Fairless, Rita Duncan and Sheila Jones.
Tea rota. Pam Jones was thanked for organising refreshments and the rota. She in turn thanked all the members who had volunteered.
Member's Challenge. Sheila Webster was declared winner of the challenge and was presented with a years free membership.
The next AGM will be on Thursday 17th September 2015.
There being no other business the formal part of the meeting was closed.
SOUTH CHESHIRE EMBROIDERS GUILD
MINUTES OF AGM HELD ON 18TH SEPTEMBER 2014
Present:
Trisha James(Chair)
Hazel Cable (Treasurer)
Judith Booth (Secretary)
Pat Parry
Glenys Jenkins
Jean Marshall
Ruth Colley
Chris Smith
In attendance: General membership
Apologies
Janet Clarke
Judy Fairless
Pam Dunning
Vi Pritchard
Joyce Turner
Jan Aldersay
1.Welcome and Introductions
Trisha welcomed all those members present, with a special welcome to Jackie Woolsey our branch president.
She explained that the email sent to all members with copies of minutes, agenda and financial statements was to save cost of printing and that paper copies were available.
2. Minutes of Previous AGM
The minutes were read by Rita Duncan, who was secretary at the time. They were approved by Sylvia Stead, seconded by Sylvia Renn and signed by Trisha James.
3. Treasurer's Report
Hazel Cable presented the audited accounts (copy attached) which showed an overall profit of £798.
She explained that workshops were now self financing, trips had not been subsidised and members had donated fees when running mini workshops. In addition the raffle and sales table at the July members meeting had raised £100. The subsidy to Young Embroiderers had been increased to £180 to allow for their expansion to a larger venue.
Proposed: Ann Watson
Seconded: Marjorie Derbyshire.
4. Young Embroiderers Report
Ruth Dalby reported that the FACT group now had 12 young people who were members of Young Embroiders now nationally known as JETS ( Junior Embroiderers and Textile Students). The group had been highly commended for their entry in the Embroiderers Guild de Denne competition and had also sent an entry to the West Midlands Regional Day competition.
Ruth outlined the programme of meetings and was pleased to report the progress made by members of the group. The meetings were now held in the larger venue of Stapeley Community Hall allowing the group to do more mixed media projects.
She thanked the committee and members of the branch for their support.
5. Chair's Report.
Trisha thanked Ruth and all the team of volunteers for their work with JETS/FACT group. She reported that Ruth had put her name forward as Regional representative for Young Embroiderers and hoped she would be successful.
Trisha felt that it had been a positive year for the branch and thanked the committee for all their work. Last years programme had provided a wide range of speakers, who had talked on a variety of topics. The Christmas lunch had been very well attended and produced the largest number of swaps for a lunch. Trisha thanked Chris for her work in organising the event.
This had been the branch's first year as part of the West Midlands Region. The branch had been active in the region, with members attending the Regional AGM in the Wrekin and the Regional Day in Stafford. Trisha was a member of the regional committee and reported that she had attended the AGM and Terry's regional road show.
A number of members of the branch had been involved in the creation of the Staffordshire Hoard Wall Hangings, which would be part of a new permanent exhibition at Birmingham Museum.
Trisha reported that she had spoken to a number of branches, sharing the success of the travelling books, which were also featured on the guild website.She thanked members for taking part in the travelling books and the members challenge.
Looking forward to the Silver Anniversary Year Trisha highlighted an exciting programme of speakers and workshops and in particular the introduction of a two -day workshop run by Isobel Hall and the anniversay meeting in March with Bobby Britnall. Ruth Colley was thanked for organising the speakers and workshops. It was planned to present 25 year badges at the March meeting and a request was made for any information of continuous members who may have moved to or from other branches in the 25 years.
July members meeting would be an extended meeting with a celebration lunch.
The committee would be asking for volunteers to help with the exhibition in September.
The Christmas lunch will be £20 and the swap will be a handbag receptical e.g comb, glasses or phone case.
The trip to the Ashmolean would now be an extra £2.00 -£2.50, as 10 people had dropped out since the cost was calculated.
Sue Jones thanked Trisha for all her work during the year.
6. Election of Officers
Trisha James (Chairman)
Hazel Cable (Treasurer)
Pat Parry (Assistant Treasurer)
Glenys Jenkins (Membership Secretary)
Judith Booth (Secretary)
Proposed Sue Jones
Seconded: Sheila Webster
7. Continuing Members
Jean Marshall
Ruth Colley
Janet Clarke
Chris Smith
Proposed: Annie Pearce
Seconded: Sue Moulson
8. New Committee Members
Sue Jones
Marjorie Derbyshire
Miriam Winnard
Proposed: Norma Dabrowski
Seconded: Val Mackin
Rita Duncan, who had left the committee due to a move to Oswestry, was thanked for her work as secretary and presented with flowers.
9. Jackie Woolsey President
Jackie thanked Trisha for her work on the regional committee and stated how proud she was to see the South Cheshire branch on the website and its involvement in the region. She praised the standard of member's work.
She spoke of how she had started the branch 1989 with Annie Pearce and Maggie Phillips and was looking forward to visiting next year for the anniversary celebrations.
10. Any Other Business
Young Embroiderers group. Ruth Dalby wished to formally thank all the volunteers for their work in running the FACT group and presented certificates to Janet Clarke, Julia Flanaghan, Sue Jones, Val Mackin, Mairi Sutton, Una Larkin,Judy Fairless, Rita Duncan and Sheila Jones.
Tea rota. Pam Jones was thanked for organising refreshments and the rota. She in turn thanked all the members who had volunteered.
Member's Challenge. Sheila Webster was declared winner of the challenge and was presented with a years free membership.
The next AGM will be on Thursday 17th September 2015.
There being no other business the formal part of the meeting was closed.
