Scilly Stitchers

Scilly Stitchers

On holiday last week, I was in St Mary's, in the Isles of Scilly, somewhere I've wanted to visit for a long time. It's not exactly easy to get to from the West of Cumbria!  Lovely, lovely place. I was especially delighted to find that, as part of an Art  Exhibition around the island, Scilly Stitchers were holding their annual exhibition. 

There was beautiful work on show here, very varied, from traditional patchwork and quilting, through ribbon embroidery, and gorgeous hand-made felt. If you click on the pictures below, you will get a better idea of some of the work.

Click on the link below to find out more about this talented group from their local paper.
                                                         
                                                         Scilly Stitchers


Thank you , ladies, for the tea and cake, and the unexpected treat of seeing this lovely work!

Dumfries.......Solway Quilters

Here are more of the pictures from the Trio of Textiles exhibition in Dumfries.There were so many beautiful pieces of work; I've just picked out a few.

Celtic Connections ....... Maybelle Coltart's own design

The Lofoten Archipelago... Tanya Burlison

Lovely Landscape quilt

Baltimore Quilt and Cushion.....Eileen Thomson, and Lone Star...Barbara Watts

Chicken Run...made by members at a workshop day, these chooks are having fun on slides, roundabouts and swings. What fun! these are only a sample!

Bag....Doreen Gibson, Cushion, 'Spring', Anne Clark, and Cat cushion, Sheena Gar. (This one is chenille work)

 Below are more pieces from the Embroidery section that caught my eye. I had a catalogue for the Quilting section, which is why I'm able to give names. 

Chenille work, again!

There are more pictures on Lyn Armstrong's blog, Stitch and Bake

A Trio of Textiles

We enjoyed amazingly sunny weather for our annual day out on 3rd May, when we travelled to Dumfries for the Trio of Textiles Exhibition . Held every three years at Gracefield Arts Centre, it is a celebration of work by three guilds, The Solway Quilters, Dumfries and District Embroiderers Guild and The Dumfries and Galloway Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers.
We travelled in members' cars, along with ladies from Cumbria Patchworkers, and met for coffee at the centre, before launching into the exhibitions. 
There was something for everyone, here, from beautiful quilts  to skilled weaving, luscious dyed fibres, to embroidery spanning techniques and ideas from traditional to contemporary, work on a large, and impressively small scale, and quirky exhibits like the 'Chicken Run' to make us smile.
Half way through, we indulged in a lovely lunch, (some of us unable to resist the meringues) before making sure we hadn't missed anything.  On the way home, we regrouped at Houghton Hall Garden centre for tea..............
The exhibition continues until12th May, and is well worth a visit.




Here are some of the images I brought back of the day......... 

Crewel work

Contemporary machine embroidery

Traditional canvas-work with a modern twist

Evocative images of Mull, created using an embellisher, silk and wool fibres, and embroidered.

Art Nouveau panel, chocolates good enough to eat, and panel embroidered on  treated papers.

More images soon.....................