Cherwell Valley branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild
online-news-06
Stitching Matters ……." Online newsletter of the Cherwell Valley branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild" Issue number six - November 2014
Hello again, and welcome to our new-style e-news:"
Our next evening meeting on Thursday 20th November is sure to intrigue. In ‘My Journey Through Stitch’, speaker Kirsty Whitlock challenges the preconceptions of embroidery and explores the potential of communicating a social m e s s a g e t h ro u g h t h e u s e o f discarded household items, using them as a format for embroidery. St Mary’s House, Broughton, Banbury, OX15 5DT. 7.30pm. Visitors welcome. (Don’t forget to bring your Textile Trails book with you if you are participating in this initiative.) Your editor: just so you know who I am when you see me at meetings or workshops - we need your input and material!
As your editor, I need first to apologise for the long wait for this sixth edition. Although scheduled for early Autumn, ill-health meant a set-back for me; and then the out-going committee felt it sensible to wait until after the AGM. The new committee has now met and thus we have all had a chance to discuss the way forward. It’s an exciting time with many discussions on the future of our Branch, and the changing nature of embroidery - mixed-media is now just as favoured as fabric and thread alone. " My main recommendation to the new Committee was that the e-news should focus on members’ work - visual opportunities offered by online publishing being excellent for showcasing a range of genres. Yo u r h e l p i s s o u g h t : p l e a s e , please send me images of your work; items in-progress as well as finished pieces. Not just items completed at workshops but work you undertake at home. Here’s an image sent to me by Jan Weedon who is brilliant and remembering to do so. “This was a background piece I did at The Oxford Summer School with Amanda Hislop. It consists of scrim, papers, threads and lots of machine embroidery!”" Ann Somerset Miles (Editor)
annsomersetmiles@me.com
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Cherwell Valley branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild
TACTFUL REMINDER: as we spread our wings to attract new visitors and members, don’t hold back from booking the 2015 workshops - we already have a waiting list for Angie Hughes. SOLD OUT! Our very next w o r ks h o p ( o n S at u rd a y 1 5 t h N o v e m b e r, 2 0 1 4 ) . S u b j e c t : ‘Birchwood Bondaweb’; Tutor: Angie Hughes (check her social media Facebook page) - click the link to activate.
M O R E E XC I T E M E N T: O u r Christmas Social on Thursday 4th December 2014 will have a bit of a twist this year. Not only will it be a bring-and-share evening with finger-food to feed your creative juices, we’ll also be undertaking ‘Lucky Dip Badge Creation’. (Remember the ‘Stitch and Share’ event in August 2013?)
‘Lucky Dip’ will be somewhat less formal, for it is after all a winter social evening. All you will need is your hand-sewing kit including embroidery threads - plus a sense of jollity as befits the festive season. Teaser, too: solve a stitch mystery!
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“ The workshop was ver y experimental. It was based on elements of land, sea and sky. I have used another sample in Clare Boomer’s textile trails book and another book of my own. It was a very useful workshop as I made quite a number of backgrounds for future development. Very good to come back to with fresh ideas.”"
! There ha ve been many talks and three workshops since the last e-news which sadly I have been unable to attend. But members have kindly stepped in with images and words, for which I am so grateful. Clare Boomer provided both for Jennifer Hughes’ ‘Shibori’ workshop in September, which “won the prize for brightest coloured show and tell! Jennifer did a demo of the basic Kamosage knot then had us all practising until our fingers ached. The bonus of this knot is that it is a slipknot; you should be able to pull it off the fabric after dyeing, at least in theory! We then went on to learn the possibilities of stitched techniques, the most basic of which is Mokume. Horizontal rows of running stitch are gathered up tightly at the side before dyeing, which gives the effect of wood grain.”"
(continued overleaf ….) Ann Somerset Miles (Editor)
annsomersetmiles@me.com
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Cherwell Valley branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild
online-news-06
Update on our Activities: A rethink on room layout at meetings - encouraging a feeling of camaraderie (not exactly cafe style, but along those lines). Easier, too, to s h a r e ‘ Te x t i l e Tr a i l s ’ amongst non-participants our books will be laid out rather as one does in a library or reading room. All very informal and friendly.
(If you are interested in our ‘Textile Trail’ project, please contact Jane Nicholson (07793 121101). It’s great fun, creating a small piece of work every month, though some of us (your editor included) seem to have slipped behind with their contributions! Some members create a complete piece (as Carolyn Walker did above). Others use their pages to explore new techniques, or record topics that inspire them (as did Jan Weedon (below).
“Many of us then progressed to making an Arashi (storm) patterned silk scarf, where we used a length of plumber’s pipe, secured the scarf with masking tape at one end, and then tightly wrapped a length of string round it, pushing it up tightly every few turns and taking no notice of creases. After that it was into the bucket of either hot pink or blue dye for an hour. Every one came out different! And all very wearable. Pink and blue fingers we may well have had by the end of the workshop, but much fun too.”"
CVEG Showcase:
Digital Collage created from images of members’ and speakers’ work, plus workshop displays (created by Ann Somerset Miles from members’ photos). A useful easy-to-use facility for displaying a selection of photos when space is limited.. (See also Breaking News, page 4.) Ann Somerset Miles (Editor)
annsomersetmiles@me.com
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BREAKING NEWS During the dark of winter, attendance at evening meetings often flags, or speakers cannot attend due to inclement weather. So the Committee decided that we would take advantage of our own members’ expertise. The result will be a couple of out-of-the-ordinary experiences which we are sure you will all enjoy. Thursday 15th January: member Irene Bradbury will guide us through ‘Tips to Aid Your Drawing Skills’. Thursday 19th February: a two-part evening in which you can participate in either one, or both, aspects. Irene will continue her January theme; or venture into innovative photo imaging tutored by a few of us. You can take a sketch and digitally manipulate it to change aspect and proportion; play is allowed!
Social Media Surprise: SEW Region is on Facebook. And your editor (unbeknown to her) has had her work featured! Click the link: take a look at what ‘our’ region is posting.
Cherwell Valley branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild
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Survival and Moving Forward: If we as a branch are to survive and attract new members, we must move forward. We need to ‘market’ as well as enjoy ourselves. This is a topic which at present is exercising the minds of your new Committee. We should be thinking beyond the stitched textile, to how we can share the delights of Cherwell Valley. Not only what we create ourselves, but the excellent talks and workshops that are available to our members, and to visitors (either those new to the Embroiderers Guild, or from other branches). With such a diversity of talent and experience amongst our members, and our speakers and tutors, it would also be so good if we could increasingly share news of our work pictorial l y. We ha ve this in hand; it’s challenging - and the possibilities are so exciting."
Technology moves forward inexorably, and whilst it may be of no interest to many, it impinges on the work of some of us. It can be particularly useful as one’s fingers become less supple - and is equally intriguing for the young who have an even wider design facility. (I was struck at our 2013 Regional Open Evening at how our speaker, Paddy Killer, had adapted her own techniques as age encroached, producing some exquisite work, in a quite different style to previously.) So our thoughts move towards introducing some digital techniques, tutored by some of our own members. Be not afeared, we are all still stitchers at heart!" COMMITTEE 2014/15: Chair, Anne Lowe; Secretary, Gill Manthorpe; Treasurer, Veronica Purdey. Members, Clare Boomer, Emma Coventry & Ann Somerset Miles; Jane Nicholson (co-opted ‘Textile Trails’). Thanks to other members for your offers of help with various routine tasks.
Ann Somerset Miles (Editor)
annsomersetmiles@me.com
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Cherwell Valley branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild
online-news-06
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Ann Somerset Miles (Editor)
annsomersetmiles@me.com
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Cherwell Valley branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild
online-news-06
! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Ann Somerset Miles (Editor)
annsomersetmiles@me.com
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