Bloglist

You may have noticed that I've added 'Dog Daisy Chains' to our bloglist. This is Jackie Cardy's blog, which shows her lovely work with hand-dyed velvets and silk. As she is scheduled to visit us in April, I thought you might like to look at her work.

February Meeting; Machine Embroidery with Jan Hicks

Val sent this report of last week's workshop;

Machine Embroidery with Jan Hicks –

Thursday 17^th February 2011

        As this was a basic machine embroidery class, Jan began at the beginning and showed us how to set up our machines for free embroidery. Then it was darning/embroidery foot on, feed dogs down and away we go, practising, may I hasten to add. We had all brought some cotton material and this was soon filled with free machining scribble, then as we got more used to it our names were added and then some attempt at flowers and trees.

        Jan explained how she makes embroidered ‘lace’ using water soluble fabric and as she had brought some with her for us to buy if we wanted to, most of us were soon machining over designs we had drawn on the fabric. Jan warned us to make sure we had machined all the bits together as it could all disintegrate when the fabric is dissolved! Adding bits of fabric and lace between two layers of the soluble fabric – this was to keep the scraps in place while machining – made for a more robust piece. For first attempts the results were quite acceptable.

        3 o’clock seemed to arrive all too soon and with heads buzzing with the possibilities hinted at, machines were returned to their original settings and packed away. It was an enjoyable workshop and, I for one feel that I have learnt something, all I have to do now is find the time to practise!

Thanks, Val; I was really sorry to miss this meeting.  Pat sent these pictures;

Thank you, Pat!

'Friends' squares

You may have seen here;    stitch&bake    some of the squares our group is producing for the Friends' Meeting House. Pat sent this picture of four more .............

 Lovely, I think!

Can anyone take some pictures?

I was really looking forward to our machine embroidery session tomorrow, but because of unforeseen circumstances, I can't be there. I would be really grateful if someone could draft a report for the blog, and/or take some pictures of what promises to be a lovely workshop. I can either upload them , or retype what I'm sent. Pictures are best sent as attachments rather than in the main text, as these can be a bit awkward to put in the blog, for some reason now that the site has been 'improved'.  Also, note that the bloglist on the right hand side of the page is very slow to up-date. Very often, if you click on a blog that claims to be the latest, you will find that it has been updated since. Very annoying, and I know this is the case on several sites, not just ours.

You may have noticed some changes to the blog; we have more pictures in our Gallery, so do have a look. Also, have you noticed the map which shows where visitors to our site live? I'm fascinated by this, although I know it is not recording all our visitors, and I look most days to see where the little red dots are! It would be interesting to know who the visitors are, how they found the site, what they think of it, and so on. Are they regular visitors? Fascinating to think of our activities being seen in Australia and the US, and other far-flung places.

So, have an enjoyable day, tomorrow, let me know how it goes, take pictures, (also of the Friends' Squares).

February Meeting .....Machine Embroidery

Our 17th February meeting is Machine Embroidery with popular tutor Jan Hicks, and will be a good opportunity to experiment with modern techniques. You will need to bring:

• Sewing machine   (need not be fancy)
• Usual sewing kit, including scissors
• Threads (machine and thicker)
• Hoop   (8" -10")
• Scraps of fabric    (assorted, inc sheers and velvets, etc.)
• Firm cotton to practise on

Jan will bring oddments of fabric and soluble fabric will be for sale.

Here's a link to Jan's website, if you'd like a look at her work, to whet your appetite!

 http://www.janhicks.co.uk/

NorthWest Regional Day

NORTH WEST REGIONAL DAY 16TH APRIL 2011

King Edward VII & Queen Mary School

Clifton Drive, Lytham, Lancs FY8 1DT

Madeira Lecture

Paddy Killer “What I Make - Art, Applied Art and Illustration”

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DVD 2010 UCLAN Graduate Fashion Students Catwalk Show

Competitions

• Rose Bowl – Lights Fantastic

• Coats Anchor Award for Excellence

• YE Kathleen Mansfield Trophy

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Exhibition of Work by the Fylde Branches

• “Bags, Books, Boxes and Dolls”

• “Postcards from the Fylde”

• 25th Birthday Projects

• Rainbow Squares

Traders

• Bits and Pieces
• Golden Hinde
• The Spellbound Bead Company
• Texere Tarns Ltd
• Fobbles
• Firey Felts
• Prospects
• Bizzie Fingers
• Colourcraft Ltd
• E G Book Stall

Demonstrators

Fylde Heddles and Treddles

Preston Lacemakers

Beading

Braidmaking

Patchwork and Quilting

February informal and jumble

A select group enjoyed the February informal meeting last week, and the textile jumble produced all manner of threads, fabrics, and equipment . Some of our Guild members had been to a workshop in Appleby during the week, and had been inspired by learning how to transfer images to fabric using the scanner and photocopier. They showed some of their results. In between the jumbling and the excellent bring-and-share lunch, progress was made on individual projects...........

 
Gloria's Lace

Detail from Val's work

Detail of Sally's Quaker sampler

Lesley's cushion