Newsletter, January 2010

Keswick Embroiderers' Guild

- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! The K E G NEWSLETTER - January 2010

This is a short Newsletter, as a reminder, and to give you new information.

An informal meeting will take place on Thursday, 7th January at Pat’s house – 10 till about 3pm. Ring for directions if necessary, (and to see if the snow has allowed us to use the drive again!) Bring along your own work and your own lunch, or some lunchy things to share if you wish.

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On the day of the February informal meeting (4th Feb), we are going to have a bring and buy, swap, jumble, of sewing, knitting, craft items, so take the opportunity to have a sort out. This will probably take place at Pat’s house again. More information as the weeks pass.


Our next ‘proper’ meeting is - 10am on Thursday, 21st January, at Threlkeld Village Hall. Marilyn Hughes is going to lead us in a day to make Felt Jewellery (small items).

Marilyn says – “this is intended as an experimental day, where you can explore different techniques, both wet and dry felting (needle felting) to make small items such as jewellery, cards, small purses, pictures, phone or glasses cases. The emphasis is on small so no physical workout rolling felt this time! A relaxed, chatty day! I shall bring several ideas, so that you can choose what you want to try”.

Please bring with you:
Normal sewing kit – scissors, needles, etc
Beads, to stitch on, and to thread up (ie small and large)
v Embroidery threads
An old towel and plastic jug, and pure soap if you have some (plus rubber gloves if you are allergic to soap)
A block of polystyrene, or thick sponge, or cheap kneeling mat (to stab needles into)
Jewellery ‘findings’, ie brooch pins, earring hooks, necklace fastenings, etc.
*** Your lunch – no shops in Threlkeld!!!

If you don’t have any of these items, don’t worry – we usually share!
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As you probably all know by now, the Friends’ Meeting House was flooded again, and is undergoing repairs. As a result we have booked Threlkeld Village Hall for the next few meetings, but we will keep you informed. So ……. meetings at Threlkeld until informed otherwise. Ring Pat if you’re confused (about anything) [but perhaps not the meaning of life] (yet!).

Look forward to seeing you on the 7th January!

Pat Knifton 017687 79448

Sally's Christmas Cake (hic!)

Sally has provided this recipe for Christmas cake. Given how fraught everyone is by this stage, it looks very tempting!

CHRISTMAS CAKE

Ingredients

2 cups flour1 stick butter1 cup of water1 tsp baking soda1 cup of sugar1 tsp salt1 cup of brown sugarLemon juice4 large eggs1 cup of nuts1 bottle of wine2 cups of dried fruit

Sample the wine to check the quality. Take a large bowl, check the wine again.

To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure the wine is still ok. Try anothercup.... Just in case. Turn of the mixerer thingy.

Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner.. If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the wine to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Check the wine. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you can find. Greash the oven. Turn the cake tine 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window. Finish the wine and

wipe counter with the cat.

Bingle Jells!

Chairman's Challenge ; More details from Val

"This was a sampler I did to illustrate the various stitches I was teaching at an adult education class the other year. We made a small article each week using the stitch but I also made this sampler. I use any of them for workshops . This Sampler is the sort or thing I was thinking of for the Chairman's Challenge though on a larger scale than the challenge. The nine months we have before the Exhibition in July lends itself very nicely to 9 squares in any format (if anyone is short of a stitch then I can show them one). My workshop in April teaches one stitch which can be shown on the sampler AFTER the item is made on the day."

Val.

Time marches on! And I, for one, need to get going on this challenge. I have bought the fabric......... Val also pointed out that some of the workshops, Phillippa's, for example, involved more than one new stitch.

Feltmaking in January ....Message from Marilyn

Felt Jewellery (Small items)
This is intended as an experimental day, where you can explore different techniques, both wet and dry felting (needle felting) to make small items such as jewellery, cards, small purses, pictures, phone or glasses cases. The emphasis is on small, so no physical workout rolling felt this time! A relaxed, chatty day! I shall bring several ideas, so that you can choose what you want to try.
Above are some examples using wet and/or dry felting, but I shall be working on more over the Christmas period.
Marilyn

Christmas Lunch at Dalemain

It seems to have come round very quickly.......... where did this year go? Time, yesterday, for our Christmas lunch at Dalemain House, near Penrith. Lovely surroundings, and as always, delightful meal in the Mediaeval Hall. The photos show most of us meeting up first at Rheged, a very happy bunch at Dalemain, and a picture of the house itself.

Val reminded us that because the Friends' meeting house in Keswick is still recovering from the flooding, the first few meetings of the new year will be held in the Village Hall in Threlkeld. We also wondered how we'd represent the day's celebrations on the Sampler?

We exchanged gifts then, mostly embroidery-related, and we all received lovely examples of the skill and imagination of our members. I've posted a picture of the gift I received; gorgeous colours, and just right for my tree!

The Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate

Cumbria was reeling under the deluge that had dumped the floods on the Lake District on Thursday, 19th November, and a car-load of KEG members had planned a visit to the Harrogate Knitting and Stitching Show on the Sunday. Unfortunately, Lesley (our KEGBLOG person) was unable to get through on the shattered road system (bridges down etc), and Joan was poorly, so I set off on Sunday morning with Kate (a friend from the village) and picked up Gloria in Penrith (flooding was minimal to the east of us).

The three of us had a great time. After a two hour, uneventful journey to Harrogate, we found the multi-storey car park easily and arrived at the exhibition at just gone 10am, just in time for a coffee within the beautiful theatre area (I think the Queens Hall) which has recently been refurbished. The Knitting and Stitching was, as usual, very good – so many trade stalls to choose from; really good exhibitions; a full size hand-knitted boat(!); friendly people; etc. As usual for me, it needed a superhuman effort to keep my bearings in the many halls and, again, you feel you might have missed a whole area. Very disorientating when you’re so engrossed in everything!
Gloria managed to track down the Yorkshire Women’s group who provide kits to make little crib figures, Kate bought a bargain pack of superb knitting wool, and I ended up with many beautiful threads ‘just in case’, and had a full demonstration of a Janome embellisher – wow!

We all agreed that there were definitely more stands on knitting than before at the show but, nevertheless, a good mix. Some stalls had run out of some of their wares, it being the last day, but in other cases there were bargains to be had as traders didn’t want to take too much stuff back. The time went by so quickly. I always come away feeling I should have gone back to get that book, or kit …

Pat Knifton

Christmas Lunch at Dalemain

Nearly December already! Just a reminder......... Lunch at Dalemain is this Thursday; the plan is , to meet up at Rheged at 11am for coffee, and to organise lifts , should anyone need them or, be at Dalemain itself by 11.55, to eat at 12 noon. A small embroidery-related gift can be entered into the gift exchange!

Look at this site!

Just wandering through from one site to another, I came across this one. www.onestepon.co.uk It houses the web pages of a group of textile artists, and shows examples of their very varied work. As we missed our bag-making day, you might like to get some inspiration from some of these examples! You need to click on the artist to see their work So far, I have drooled over bags made by Sandie Maher, and Ann Christy. Worth a peek!

Floods

The November meeting had to be cancelled, of course, and in the light of what happened next in Keswick and Cockermouth, it seems a very minor disappointment. Maybe we'll be able to do that workshop in the future.

Val has provided me with an example of a stitch sampler, to post, showing the idea behind her 'Chairman's Challenge.' It has a stitch, or technique inspired by each of our meetings this year.(In our case, this will be a mere nine motifs!) I will try soon to link this picture to a larger version, so that you can see it in more detail, but in the meantime, you get the idea!

Programme Changes

I will miss the bag-making session, sadly, but hope you all have an inspiring day! Please note the changes to this year's programme, set out on the right. Also, note that the felted jewellery session in January will be held at Threlkeld Village Hall rather than at the Friends' Meeting house.

Book Review

Machine Embroidered Woodlands

Alison Holt

I've just bought this book, and was seriously inspired from the first glimpse. To help you achieve the lovely finished embroideries , there are clear step-by step instructions which cover everything from the very basics of machine embroidery, to painting the backgrounds, and achieving the detailed effects. The instructions are clear, and accompanied by close-up photographs which make everything look so easy! We shall see! I did buy Alison's DVD last year,which dealt with Machine Embroidered landscapes. This was useful, too, if you like working alongside the PC, but I am always more comfortable with a book, somehow.

Anyway, this book is tempting me to my machine!

(It's published by Search Press)

Crewel Work October meeting.

There was something for all levels of skill at Phillippa's crewel workshop, our October meeting. We had several visitors, and we ranged from relative newcomers to this particular embroidery, to the very experienced. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day, and we all left knowing about (and able to stitch) laid and couched work. It will be interesting to see all the peonies when they are finished, and the little crewel work example on everyone's challenge sampler!

Those patchworkers among you might like to check out the Fobbles link , as they have a sale day coming up very soon, when many of their lovely fabrics will be reduced in price.
The new Embroidery/ Beading shop is now open in Cockermouth. The Silver Beaded Needle is in Lowther Went, and is stocked with some gorgeous threads, and packs for all kinds of embroidery.

I have added the blog links of two other guilds in the north, Parbold, and Blackpool .They both look very busy, and produce lovely, inspiring work. If you haven't already, take a look.

Have you found a book or a shop recently, which you think we should all know about? It would be great if you could write a review for the blog. Let me know!

A New Online Home!

This is our new online home! I'm not as expert as Lyn in the art of setting up a blog, so I will need your patience as I learn how to do it.

We held our AGM on 17th September, when Val Osborn was elected our new Chairman. The other officers stayed in post for another year.

Val began by issuing a Chairman's Challenge!

Including the Applique workshop we did after the business meeting, there are nine workshops in this year's program. We are challenged thus;

On a piece of evenweave fabric (not Aida), produce a small example of work after each of the workshops, producing a sampler, finished by the Summer exhibition, in the Moot Hall in July. It is a really good idea, because we'll all have a record of what we've achieved during the year. (I'm already behind after just one workshop, but I do intend to catch up!