Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 8
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 7
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 6
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Monday, December 17, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 5
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 4
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 3
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Friday, December 14, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 2
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Members Competition, Christmas ATC 1
Displayed in no particular order, except the winning entry which will be shown on Christmas Day
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
12 December 2012, Christmas Social
Given the weather (freezing fog) there was a very good turnout for Christmas Social Meeting.
We tried to do a few things slightly differently from our usual ways, some intentionally and some unplanned. When members arrived they drew a card to decide which table they would sit at. We have several new members this year and we hoped that by mixing people up we would make them feel more welcome. Judging by the continuous hum of conversation, this worked well.
We had some very nice prices for the raffle but no raffle tickets! Instead of the usual method members paid to have their name included in the draw, a pound a go. It was not a very big deviation from a normal raffle but the lack of raffle tickets was cause for some amusement.
Alex came up with a fun and topical variation of bingo for our entertainment. Each table was given a pack of cards with stitch and textile related pictures. Alex then selected and called the cards. Some were easy to identify, needles, black work, buttons, etc, but others were in the form of a quiz, "a piece of work by ...", "this magazine was first published in ...".
Some things were the same as usual. Everyone came “Dressed to impress”, we had a lovely selection of sweet and savoury nibbles and there were some very lovely submissions for the members’ competition which was won by Maureen Ergeneli. They will be making an appearance on the blog in the days leading up to Christmas with the winning entry on Christmas Day.
One of the hot topics of the evening was The Big Stitch. Everyone said how much they had enjoyed the event. The accolades keep coming from far and wide ...
My friend and I had a wonderful day at the Ashmolean, thanks to many of you demonstrating and exhibiting there.
Member of Kettering branch
I really did enjoy the day and so did the other members of my party from the Chesterfield Branch. Huge thanks and congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to make the day such a success. It was a really good `advert' for the best of The Guild!
Member of Chesterfield branch
... and, of course, from closer to home
What a fantastic experience the Big Stitch was. Jean Littlejohn’s talk in the morning: Echoes of the Past was very informative with lots of slides giving an insight into what inspires her work and examples of the inspiring work she has produced recently using a variety of textile materials combined with anything else she can find that suits! Kay and Michael Denis’ excellent workshop on stump work enabled people to produce very realistic looking strawberries ... well explained and great fun. It was wonderful also to see so many fascinating demonstrations of textile techniques by Guild members.
Rosemary Howden, Co-Chair Oxford Branch
We tried to do a few things slightly differently from our usual ways, some intentionally and some unplanned. When members arrived they drew a card to decide which table they would sit at. We have several new members this year and we hoped that by mixing people up we would make them feel more welcome. Judging by the continuous hum of conversation, this worked well.
We had some very nice prices for the raffle but no raffle tickets! Instead of the usual method members paid to have their name included in the draw, a pound a go. It was not a very big deviation from a normal raffle but the lack of raffle tickets was cause for some amusement.
Alex came up with a fun and topical variation of bingo for our entertainment. Each table was given a pack of cards with stitch and textile related pictures. Alex then selected and called the cards. Some were easy to identify, needles, black work, buttons, etc, but others were in the form of a quiz, "a piece of work by ...", "this magazine was first published in ...".
Some things were the same as usual. Everyone came “Dressed to impress”, we had a lovely selection of sweet and savoury nibbles and there were some very lovely submissions for the members’ competition which was won by Maureen Ergeneli. They will be making an appearance on the blog in the days leading up to Christmas with the winning entry on Christmas Day.
One of the hot topics of the evening was The Big Stitch. Everyone said how much they had enjoyed the event. The accolades keep coming from far and wide ...
My friend and I had a wonderful day at the Ashmolean, thanks to many of you demonstrating and exhibiting there.
Member of Kettering branch
I really did enjoy the day and so did the other members of my party from the Chesterfield Branch. Huge thanks and congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to make the day such a success. It was a really good `advert' for the best of The Guild!
Member of Chesterfield branch
... and, of course, from closer to home
What a fantastic experience the Big Stitch was. Jean Littlejohn’s talk in the morning: Echoes of the Past was very informative with lots of slides giving an insight into what inspires her work and examples of the inspiring work she has produced recently using a variety of textile materials combined with anything else she can find that suits! Kay and Michael Denis’ excellent workshop on stump work enabled people to produce very realistic looking strawberries ... well explained and great fun. It was wonderful also to see so many fascinating demonstrations of textile techniques by Guild members.
Rosemary Howden, Co-Chair Oxford Branch
Sunday, December 9, 2012
The Big Stitch - Jan Beaney Talk
by Margaret Craig
Jan Beaney, Joint President of the Embroiderers' Guild, talk on the "Songs of the Earth".
Jan had the last slot of the day, being post-parandial might have been a difficult slot for some, but not for Jan! She gave an interesting insight into the inspirations behind her work and the mutual interests and destinations she shared with her friend and fellow Joint President, Jean Littlejohn. Jan’s talk concentrated more on the motivations that led to the creation of her work, rather than a technical explanation of her methodology. Her lecture opened with an appreciation for the Native American traditions which were rooted in landscape traditions, her comment brought the work of Jackson Pollock to mind, as he was equally inspired by these traditions, though with very different results!
Jan focused in particular on various trips she’d made in Australia and the Middle East. Much emphasis was placed on the intensity of tones and coloured shadows she experienced in both locations. She showed images from her sketch books (some of which were created whilst being driven around in a car!), which were then translated into magnificent textual landscapes. She frequently attempted to capture the essence of a place and the effects of light, shadow, on places such as Ayres Rock. She said at a particular time of day the shadows were virtually emerald, a phenomenon attributed to the intense red earth and rocks there. She was particularly sensitive to the inclusion of the cooler turquoise and emerald colours in her work. In order to capture these effects in textiles she often created her own fabrics, simply by stitching and overstitching into dissolvable fabric, ultimately creating a slightly ephemeral effect, with the lacy perforated surface that ensued.
My daughter who had been fortunate to attend Jean Littlejohn’s talk in the morning was able to see the huge difference in their responses to similar stimuli. Jan referred to the fact that Jean was a frequent traveling companion during her travels. Jan recounted an episode when she and Jean wanted to fully experience the quiet glory of an Australian outback sunrise without the other tour members, so early one morning they very quietly snuck out. Once out in the middle of the outback they worried that if anything happened to them no one would know where they were or that they were even gone. However on their return they found they had no need to worry! According to their sensitive Aboriginal guide as a result of walking along the gravel path as they left it meant, as far as he was concerned, they’d made as much noise as a heard of kangaroos!
Jan’s talk was a remarkable journey through her varied responses to landscapes one might call arid and featureless, but she was able to respond to the nuances of nature found there to create her own "Songs of the Earth".
Jan Beaney, Joint President of the Embroiderers' Guild, talk on the "Songs of the Earth".
Jan had the last slot of the day, being post-parandial might have been a difficult slot for some, but not for Jan! She gave an interesting insight into the inspirations behind her work and the mutual interests and destinations she shared with her friend and fellow Joint President, Jean Littlejohn. Jan’s talk concentrated more on the motivations that led to the creation of her work, rather than a technical explanation of her methodology. Her lecture opened with an appreciation for the Native American traditions which were rooted in landscape traditions, her comment brought the work of Jackson Pollock to mind, as he was equally inspired by these traditions, though with very different results!
Jan focused in particular on various trips she’d made in Australia and the Middle East. Much emphasis was placed on the intensity of tones and coloured shadows she experienced in both locations. She showed images from her sketch books (some of which were created whilst being driven around in a car!), which were then translated into magnificent textual landscapes. She frequently attempted to capture the essence of a place and the effects of light, shadow, on places such as Ayres Rock. She said at a particular time of day the shadows were virtually emerald, a phenomenon attributed to the intense red earth and rocks there. She was particularly sensitive to the inclusion of the cooler turquoise and emerald colours in her work. In order to capture these effects in textiles she often created her own fabrics, simply by stitching and overstitching into dissolvable fabric, ultimately creating a slightly ephemeral effect, with the lacy perforated surface that ensued.
My daughter who had been fortunate to attend Jean Littlejohn’s talk in the morning was able to see the huge difference in their responses to similar stimuli. Jan referred to the fact that Jean was a frequent traveling companion during her travels. Jan recounted an episode when she and Jean wanted to fully experience the quiet glory of an Australian outback sunrise without the other tour members, so early one morning they very quietly snuck out. Once out in the middle of the outback they worried that if anything happened to them no one would know where they were or that they were even gone. However on their return they found they had no need to worry! According to their sensitive Aboriginal guide as a result of walking along the gravel path as they left it meant, as far as he was concerned, they’d made as much noise as a heard of kangaroos!
Jan’s talk was a remarkable journey through her varied responses to landscapes one might call arid and featureless, but she was able to respond to the nuances of nature found there to create her own "Songs of the Earth".
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The Big Stitch - Japanese Pocket Book Workshop
by Margaret Craig
Japanese Pocket Book Workshop, tutor Gill Riordan, Regional Chairman of the Embroiderers’ Guild East Region
I was fortunate enough to get a pre-booked place on this highly popular workshop (they were turning people away on the day, as they were so over-subscribed!) which was thematically linked to the Japanese textiles exhibition ‘Threads of Silk and Gold’. Many people had travelled quite a distance to attend, with the woman next to me having travelled 2 hours just to get to Oxford!
Gill Riordan was the tutor for the 2 hours long workshop, amusingly supported by her husband, who had clearly been involved with the preparation of the various materials used. The Japanese Pocket Book we were making was essentially an origami-like folded silk covered holder for 3 differently sized small tasselled ornamental notebooks. The notebooks tuck into the origami folded pockets, hence the name!
We were each given a packet of materials containing all we would need for the workshop. The most important initial step was learning to create the folded pocketbook, but practising with an A4 piece of paper first. Once we had mastered the intricate folding process we could apply it to the carefully prepared silk backed paper. This had been created by Gill’s husband, who indicated that it was merely lining paper! He had painted the paper with a metallic deep terracotta colour acrylic paint on one side with the beautiful bronze, black and maroon stylised floral silk applied to the other side. The silk was adhered with double-sided sticky tape along the 4 edges rather than an overall application of Bondaweb, as some give was needed with all the folding involved.
After we’d created the folded pocket book, we needed to create our small notebooks to put in the pockets. These were much simpler with only one fold! They were also made from acrylic painted lining paper (an ochre colour this time) for the covers and a few pages of white cartridge paper for the inside. These were then simply stitched to create a book effect, which we embellished with tassels made from gold and/or black embroidery thread. However we didn’t stop there, as we were provided with a range of variously sized coloured/patterned glass and ceramic beads to choose from to add to our tassels! The small notebooks could also be further embellished through the application of corner ink stamps of a variety of designs.
But, we weren’t yet finished as we were encouraged to add beading to the folded pocket book, along the edges. We were provided with small golden glass beads to apply in whatever fashion we liked, but the emphasis was on creating a picot beaded edge. Although most of us didn’t fully complete all the edging we were encouraged to take away a small bag of beads and complete it at home. Being a rebel I didn’t do a picot edge, but embroidered a chevron pattern to tie in with the angled pocket edges instead (OK, that was for a quicker effect, but I’ve now added the picot edge too!). We were all asked to place our work along one table for the final viewing, a very satisfying time was clearly had by all!
Japanese Pocket Book Workshop, tutor Gill Riordan, Regional Chairman of the Embroiderers’ Guild East Region
I was fortunate enough to get a pre-booked place on this highly popular workshop (they were turning people away on the day, as they were so over-subscribed!) which was thematically linked to the Japanese textiles exhibition ‘Threads of Silk and Gold’. Many people had travelled quite a distance to attend, with the woman next to me having travelled 2 hours just to get to Oxford!
Gill Riordan was the tutor for the 2 hours long workshop, amusingly supported by her husband, who had clearly been involved with the preparation of the various materials used. The Japanese Pocket Book we were making was essentially an origami-like folded silk covered holder for 3 differently sized small tasselled ornamental notebooks. The notebooks tuck into the origami folded pockets, hence the name!
We were each given a packet of materials containing all we would need for the workshop. The most important initial step was learning to create the folded pocketbook, but practising with an A4 piece of paper first. Once we had mastered the intricate folding process we could apply it to the carefully prepared silk backed paper. This had been created by Gill’s husband, who indicated that it was merely lining paper! He had painted the paper with a metallic deep terracotta colour acrylic paint on one side with the beautiful bronze, black and maroon stylised floral silk applied to the other side. The silk was adhered with double-sided sticky tape along the 4 edges rather than an overall application of Bondaweb, as some give was needed with all the folding involved.
After we’d created the folded pocket book, we needed to create our small notebooks to put in the pockets. These were much simpler with only one fold! They were also made from acrylic painted lining paper (an ochre colour this time) for the covers and a few pages of white cartridge paper for the inside. These were then simply stitched to create a book effect, which we embellished with tassels made from gold and/or black embroidery thread. However we didn’t stop there, as we were provided with a range of variously sized coloured/patterned glass and ceramic beads to choose from to add to our tassels! The small notebooks could also be further embellished through the application of corner ink stamps of a variety of designs.
But, we weren’t yet finished as we were encouraged to add beading to the folded pocket book, along the edges. We were provided with small golden glass beads to apply in whatever fashion we liked, but the emphasis was on creating a picot beaded edge. Although most of us didn’t fully complete all the edging we were encouraged to take away a small bag of beads and complete it at home. Being a rebel I didn’t do a picot edge, but embroidered a chevron pattern to tie in with the angled pocket edges instead (OK, that was for a quicker effect, but I’ve now added the picot edge too!). We were all asked to place our work along one table for the final viewing, a very satisfying time was clearly had by all!
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