CONTENTS 3 4 5 6 9 10 12 14 16 17 20 23 24 27 30 32 34 36 37 38
Notes from the Editor Letter from the Chairman Memories in Stitch Regional Day For the Jubilee Basingstoke Embroidery move to Viables The Make It Exhibition Fit for a Queen Serendipity Strikes at Southport T h e m a k i n g o f t h e Po st C a rd s Tr i b u t e t o A n n M a r y J o h n s t o n e AG M S o u t h p o r t Ly m i n g t o n A r t s F e s t i v a l Tr a v e l l i n g B o o k s Tr i b u t e t o V e r a B r a d s h a w Te r r y ' s R o a d S h o w Tr i b u t e t o L i z H e i t z m a n On the Grape Vine For your Dairy S i t u a t i o n s Va c a n t
From the Editor
From the Chairman
Memories in Stitch
Basingstoke Embroiderers Move to Viables Basingstoke Branch of the Embroiderers' Guild celebrated their move to Viables Craft Centre with a special meeting and a visit by the Mayor and Mayoress of Basingstoke' Councillor Martin and Mrs Chansopha Biermann. The Branch also celebrated the 70th birthday of its Chairman, Mrs Rachel Haver who sponsored a specialist workshop on traditional and experimental smocking with Jean Hodges as the expert tutor. The Branch has been in Basingstoke for 13 years and holds monthly meetings with an active and varied programme of speakers on embroidery and other stitch and textile crafts. Membership varies from those who just enjoy the lectures to those just starting out through to local textile artists who often have pieces on display in museums including the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Branch holds regular workshops to introduce new skills and brush up on old ones. It also supports a Young Embroiderers' Group of children who meet monthly. During the morning session members could choose to do traditional smocking, experimental smocking, using smocking machines or to work on something of their own choice. Then there was a delicious buffet provided by members before the afternoon session. The Mayor addressed the members and wished them well in their new location. He also suggested that the
members design and make something for his Mayoral Parlour. After viewing an exhibition of Members' work, the Mayor and Mayoress examined pieces currently being worked on and showed great interest in all the work. Rachel Haver, the chairman, has challenged members to make something ‘Fit for the Queen’, hoping that the pieces of smocking started at the workshop may be transformed into a stunning design.
ean Hodges with Rachel and the Mayor and his wife.
The Mayoress, Rachel Haver (Chairman) Jan Messent (President) and the Mayor Cllr Martin Biermann.
The Make It Exhibition
Fit For a Queen
SERENDIPITY SERENDIPITY STRIKES STRIKES I a r r i v e d o n Th u r s d a y e v e n i n g a t t h e R a m a d a Plaza in So u th p o rt, s o th at I co u ld en jo y th e c o m p l e t e o ffe r i n g s o f t h e G u i l d ’ s C o n v e n t i o n w e e k e n d s t a r t i n g e a r ly o n t h e Fr i d a y . Wh i l e s i t t i n g q u i e t l y o n a c o m fo r t a b l e c o u c h i n t h e B a r, w a i t i n g t o g o i n t o d i n n e r, I w a s j o i n e d b y t w o o t h e r d e l e g a t e s . We s t a r t e d , a s u s u a l a t such tim es, to ch at abo ut wh ere we h ad co m e fr o m a n d t o e x c h a n g e n a m e s a n d b r a n c h a ffi l i a t i o n s . Im a g i n e m y g re a t s u r p r i s e w h e n I di s c o v e re d t h a t t h e y w e r e t h e C h a i r a n d Vi c e - C h a i r o f m y v e r y o w n r e g i o n – S o u t h E a s t We s t . T h e y w e r e e q u a lly de li gh te d to m e e t th e o n e m e m b e r atten din g th e week en d th at th e y h ad n o t m et p re v i o u s ly. D i n n e r w a s a v e r y j o l l y a ffa i r w i t h G i l l a n d A n n e o c c a s i o n a lly m e n ti o n i n g SEW m a tte rs . A t o n e p o i n t I s u d d e n l y r e a l i s e d t h a t I h a d o ffe r e d to u n dertak e th e vacan t ro le o f R egio n al Tr e a s u r e r ! ! ! To t h i s d a y I d o n ' t k n o w h o w t h e y p ers u aded m e, all I can th in k is , th e y m u s t h av e p u t s o m eth in g in m y drin k . B y b r e a k fa s t , t h e n e x t m o r n i n g , G i l l a n d A n n e h a d c o n v e n e d a c o m m i t t e e m e e t i n g a n d fo r m a l l y c o - o p t e d m e i n t o t h e r o l e , b e fo r e I h a d t i m e t o ch an ge m y m in d!
AT SOUTHPORT
The Making of the Post Cards
Iw aast t tehned ef idr st th eR eRgei go ino nD aDya yI
in Oxford, in 2010.This had attended, so I was all starry eyed at meeting the Guild's President and other members of the Council. I did not know anyone there so I found a place in the corner, where I could quietly watch. And if the truth was known, I probably drifted off as the day was hot & the room was full. My attention was caught by the announcement that because the Olympics were going to be in 2012 we were going to make Olympic Postcards. The name of each country attending had been put into a bag and drawn out along side each branch. Well! I thought, this won't be too hard, we all know countries like France, Germany or even Luxenbourg, hadn’t we been there for holidays? When my branch was called, what did we get Azerbaijan!!!
Th ehai rsd woaf s Aizne r2b0a1i0j a, nn.o Soi nn ec eh a d
then it has been in the news, both good and bad. All I knew was that it was somewhere past Turkey, had been one of the Russian Satellite Countries and therefore near
the Black Sea... Wrong Sea - it is the Caspian Sea. Well I wasn’t planning to go there so somewhere east of the UK would do.
W hat would my Branch members say when I told
them? That is after they got over being speechless. I would have to do some homework first.
Sw aos. . Wt ihkei pfei rdsi ta ,p ot hr at to of nclai nl le
font of all knowledge; well in our house anyway!! I found that it was a very interesting country, with a diverse cultural heritage, having been on the silk route, part of the Ottoman Empire and - more recently part of Russia. Their culture had absorbed all these influences from the historic cave paintings to the very modern architecture.
IA zpehr ob na ei jda nt h Ee m b a s s y
in London and spoke to a very bemused man who could not understand why we would want to embroider on paper when fabric would be better. I explained that we didn't want donations only information about his country, and that I had
very little correct information to go on, especially the flag as it had been recently changed since the Russian Occupation. He was very helpful and said he would send some information. When I opened the package, I was surprised to see a couple of flags, a book, and a DVD issued for the tourist industry. They were a wonderful source of inspiration. From these I copied a myriad of photos, some of which I printed onto calico.
Ai n ft otrhmea tbiroann, c tho gmeetehtei nr gw iI t hw at sh ea rcma el i dc ow i t( h I ahl al dt h e
misread the instructions that we should have used a colour from the flag, and not given to wasting anything thought calico just the thing.) Nearly all the photos were taken and used for inspiration and others took the printed fabric. I worried if using calico could make the embroidery look bland, but I needn’t have worried as we managed to produce two strips of cards, each diverse and very colourful.
TA thhel ey t eh sa vfer onmo wt h jeo iWn eo dr l dt h” ew eh xi chhi biist i ob ne i n“ gW sehl co owmn i n g
around the country. It will be at St Martins in the Field in London from 2rd August to 22nd September 2012. I do hope you will be able to see the Guilds work all together, it makes a magnificent sight.
Looking Through at Cherwell Valley
AGM
Southport 2012
Over 300 people
attended the AGM in
Southport. They met up with friends, took part
in workshops, listened to inspiring speeches
and were impressed by the display of work,
Lymington Arts Festival The Lymington Branch of the Guild, as part of the Lymington Arts Week, staged an extremely successful exhibition of work in the United Reform Church at the top of the High Street from 18th -23rd June 2012.
Many people visited the exhibition during the week, local people but also visitors to the town and those storm bound in their boats at the Town quay.
All were impressed, some returning two or three times during the week for further viewing. Numerous compliments were received about the beauty and diversity of the work. Always admired are the pairs of LEGS, the emblems of the Lymington Embroiderers Guild and the members self portraits also raised comments.
Additionally on display were cushions, wall hangings, pictures and quilts all exquisitely executed In various techniques. Of course, the Rainbow Squares as ever, were greatly admired. The exhibition was such a success the committee has already started to plan for next year.
Travelling Travelling
Travelling
Travelling
Books
Books
This is an idea that I was introduced to by another group and I thought it would be a great one for Oxford to try out as well. If you’re suffering from a little creative block, need a reason to keep stitching, or just want an excuse to try out new things on a small scale, then this fits the bill. It’s a great way of sharing inspiration and I can vouch for the monthly tingle of excitement and anticipation as you await the next book. It is a monthly commitment, but I’m sure you’ll find that the fun will outweigh that small consideration. This is how it works –
A number of people make up a group. We kept the group sizes small (5 people) to start with and made up the groups by picking names from a hat of all those who wanted to take part. Within the group, a person’s “place” on the list does not change. We suggested a spiral-bound book size of A5 landscape – this gave participants enough room to be creative but was not a scary size.
If they wanted to, each person in the group can have 2 books. One is their “home” book which they kept at home and the other book was their ‘travelling book’. However, if they only wanted to do a travelling book that is fine.Each month, everyone created TWO pieces of work (one for each book) - they didn’t have to be two pieces the same but it made it easier if they were. The pieces should fit across two pages of a book but it could be made up of a textile piece on one side and “inspiration” or something else that related in some way on the other page. The textile work could be of any sort – from something they’ve done before, tried at a workshop, or something new they wanted to try out. It didn’t have to be perfect or wonderful or even fit the whole page; it could be stitched, collaged, papers, painted or whatever; it could be just the piece of work; or a piece of work combined with something else like a photograph and words. If easier, they could create the pieces and then mount them into the book, but they didn’t have to work like this (however, they should always be aware of what’s on the other side of the page – particularly if they wanted to work directly into the book). They could be as timid or adventurous as they liked. One piece of work was put in EACH book and the related picture/words on the page alongside it. Remember it goes across two pages (not back to back on each side of a single page).
They then put their “home” book back on the shelf and passed their travelling book to the next person on the list. This was done at our monthly meeting and the travelling book was always passed to the same person.
If someone couldn’t be at a meeting, they could either ask a friend to pass the book on or they had to post it. Books should not be held on to or it ruins the flow throughout the group. Next month everyone did the same thing again (this is the commitment bit!) – two pieces of work, one for the “home” book and one for the travelling book which had been passed on to them the previous month and which they now passed on again to the next person. When their travelling book had been passed to everyone in the group it eventually came back to them. They then had not only their own “home” book full of their own ideas, but another book filled with pieces and ideas from everyone else.After the first time round, we mixed the names up again and created different groups to continue the books on their way again and we’re now onto our fourth journey round. I think we can class that as a success !! Any questions? Email creativethread@tiscali.co.uk
Terry's Road Show
LIZ HEITZMAN 1941-2011
Anne Beckingham sits and sews spreading her love for embroidery, when on duty at Greys Court, Henley on Thames
I have heard that Jane Davies will be talking on Yurts, Yaks and Yogurt at the Regional AGM. Discover the delights of fermented mares milk and yak yogurt; examine the beautiful susane wall hangings of trailing stems and plant tendrils, fantastic flowers and teapots from the east of Kyrgystan and neighbouring Uzbekistan
The Young Embroiderers' web site is up & running; well worth a visit. It is bright and cheerful, just what is liked but at the same time it is very informative. I understand one thing will be changed when the new web site comes into being and that is the Membership Forum. It will be easier to use and give better feed-back
We had set members the challenge of producing a piece of bunting which we strung up across the room. Each was very different and it made for a very colourful display and the whole thing just shows what talent there is in a group. We will use the bunting at our exhibitions so that others will be able to see what we did for the jubilee. We also dressed in red, white or blue and our refreshments consisted of jubilee crown biscuits and a non alcoholic pink champagne cocktail.
Keeper of the Wheelchair
Are there any younger members? Wanted, caring people to help us progressively elderly members with the p h a n t o m w h e e l c h a i r, o n Regional Days and at the AGM Situation 足 Where designated from time to time. Remuneration 足 Plenty of cups of coffee to keep the caffeine levels up and a brandy to u n w i n d a t t h e e n d o f t h e d a y.
Position
Roving Reporter
Duties Situation
Remuneration Rogue repor ters and paparazzi need not reply