November Meeting

Most of the members were here today and everyone was busy.  Christmas is obviously on everyone's mind but not in their hands as very few have started on their cards and presents.  Lots of work being done for the exhibition in May.  Barbara brought her weaving frame and started setting it up.  The room is so good as you can really spread out if you want to do a large project or get your sewing machine out.  I have started again on one of my small pieces as the background colour was wrong and didn't tie in with the other colours I had used.  The original will go in my workbook as a sample.

This is Barbara's frame as she tightens the long warp's ready for weaving.

Ann's lovely fabric book that she started last month is now about finished.  It's really delicate and lovely colour combinations.

Carolyn's picture is developing well.  She started this last month and has turned it into a sunset.

Ann's workbooks are always amazing.  Lots of samples and different methods.  Here she is still developing the Eden Project canopy.

This was a lovely piece by Kath who was just trying out Markel Sticks on fabric and decided to do something with them.

Jackie is working on the theme of fungi and this is a piece of whitework on that topic.

Christmas lunch next month and then it is 2017 - doesn't time fly when you are having fun!

October Meeting

We had another busy day today.  Welcome to new member Carolyn who enjoyed her day and is planning to stay.

Well,  the Christmas Lunch is booked as is next years exhibition so clear your calendars for the 13th and 14th May 2017.  We are now the proud owners of our own display boards which we have purchased from the Hutton Buscel art club who no longer require them.  They will give us a lovely display space and we will be able to put our exhibition on in other villages and at other events and so hopefully get our name more well known in the area.

We have a workshop booked for next March with Maggie Smith so that is something to look forward to, as is a talk by a friend of Fran's about looking after your muscles, tendons, etc. while doing embroidery.

I am quite impressed how well everyone is getting on with their 'Under the Canopy' work, it is certainly a popular topic.  Here are some of the pieces under construction.

This is Christine's autumn leaf which will be covered in frost and ice.

 Ann is working on the construction of a huge flower she saw at the Eden Project.

Barbara is stitching these lovely shadowy arches.

New member Carolyn brought this colourful piece to work on.

September Meeting

Looking at sorting out our next exhibition for next May so keep an eye open for the date, I just have to check that the village hall is free.

We had another postcard swop today and I am very pleased with the one I have got this time, I have started straight away on it.

Ann and I had a look at silk rods this time.  Ann split hers and then dyed them different colours.  She also had a go at loosening a silk cocoon but didn't get too far with it.  I split my silk rod and have attached it to some fabric and started stitching into it, think it might make a book cover.

 This is the view out of the village hall doorway.  Maybe we should look at what is under the canopy that we can see.

Christine is working on a piece of 'Silver' for the Embroiderers' Guild branch competition.

Mavis was working on tree bark using papers and lutradur.

Roma started this piece of delicate stitching as an experiment.

August Meeting

Not so many of us here today but we all managed to get some work done.  Barbara had brought some of her silk caps and cocoons and gave us a little talk about them and their differences.

We were all working on our Under the Canopy work (I think) and there is some interesting things going on.

This is Ann's work based on the Eden Centre.

Cath has also used the Eden Centre for inspiration.  This is the centre of a palm tree that has had it's top cut off.

Shirley has had her sewing maching out making these lovely trees.

July Meeting

Another busy day with only a couple of people missing even though summer is officially under way.  Most people were just getting on with their own work this month, however we have got plans for the future.  We have sufficient funds to look for another workshop so that is underway.  Also, we hope to do some experimenting with silk rods and cocoons and see what we can do with them.  There are lots of other thoughts in peoples minds about what they would like to do so we look as though we will be busy for a while.  No photographs I'm afraid, I was too busy stitching and forgot to take any.

June Meeting

Almost a full house this week, only one person missing.  We had a very active day with the two newcomers settling in.  Jackie and Cath made some felt as Cath had never done it before.  Ann was creating her biosphere (!) to cover her plants for Under the Canopy.  Liz was trying out her new sewing machine creating a lovely panel for her Under the Canopy.  Moira was painting papers and Colleen was experimenting with her embellisher.  Everyone else was sewing, drawing and working away like busy bees.

The exhibition at St James' Church went very well really although not very well attended, most of the people who came had not heard of us before so we are slowly reaching a new audience.  We will have to think about advertising in new places next time.

Our book covers that we made in our first year are now on display as a childrens area in the Bankfield Museum all this summer.  We have lent them out to the Embroiderers' Guild for their exhibition there.  Our First World War embroideries will be on display at Scalby parish church from the 1st to the 3rd July along with some of the other work.

Christina found this piece of embellising in the cupboard and has decided to stitch into it.

Christine is doing leaves trapped in ice for her Under the Canopy.

Colleen using her embellishing machine.

Moira's painted paper.

Maureen is making this lovely piece of canvas into a bag.

Pam is illustrating a poem about Autumn leaves.

St. James Church Exhibition

I was away for the May meeting having a wonderful time stitching in the Yorkshire Dales.  There seemed to have been a good number of members at the meeting and I am welcoming two new members Mavis and Fran.

We are set up now at St. James Church in their gallery which is a lovely space to hang embroideries and all other art work.  Unfortunately it is not on a road with a good foot fall but hopefully we will get a few people in.  Here is how we have displayed the work.

Lots of work to be proud of.

March Meeting

A quiet day today, everyone getting on with work.  Ann very kindly showed me how she uses Markel sticks to make the most beautiful patterns on fabric and then Liz spotted what she was doing and had a go too.  Several people are working on their 'blue' project and I managed to photograph a few before they got packed away.

This is Barbara's weaving.  It doesn't show in the photo but the sails of the boats have a lovely sparkle thread worked in them.

These pieces are from the Ruth Brown workshop two weeks ago.  Lovely shades of blue.

In this photo we have some of the Ruth Brown pieces but also some of the paper we made with Jackie last month.  Some people did coloured printing instead of black and white and this had made these lovely books.

Don't forget to tell your friends about the repeat of our 'Warriors' exhibition at St. James Church Community Arts Centre, Seamer Road, Scarborough.  From the 8th to the 13th June 10am to 4pm except Sunday which is 12 noon to 4pm.  Entrance is free and the Cockleshell Cafe next door has refreshments.

Ruth Brown Workshop

Twelve members joined Ruth Brown for a workshop in cyanotype printing.  We had a great day, the weather was fine and sunny so although we still used the sunbeds to cure our work, we were able to dry the prints outside.  Everyone enjoyed this workshop.  It wasn't too hectic nor too messy and we all came away with some lovely pieces to work on at home.

Here is the washing drying outside

Some of the pieces under the sunbed

Here we all are, busy working away.

This is some of the work we did.  This is a glorious shade of blue.

February 2016 meeting

A very busy day for most of us.  Jackie kindly gave us a workshop on the black and white paper printing she did while on a course recently.  Fourteen of us got messy with paint and mark making tools and some very interesting papers were produced.  We used heavy wallpaper lining paper and mostly acrylic paint and ink.  Some people did black, white and another colour, others did their own colour schemes while some made coloured papers for their own projects.

We hope to have our 'Warriors' exhibition on show again in early June.  Hopefully it will be at St. James' Church, Seamer Road, Scarborough in their undercroft gallery.  I will put out exact dates once I have got them confirmed.  It will be nice to have the work on show again.

The new postcard challenge has got underway with everyone bringing in their cards and swopping it for another one to stitch.

Now looking forward to our workshop with Ruth Brown on the 3rd March.

Here is some of the work from the morning workshop.

I apologize for my feet getting in the picture.

I have now cut my paper up and made it into a book format.  We have to embellish our work and then we will take it back in a couple of months and bind them.

January 2016 meeting

Lots of people here today to start the New Year off well.  We have now filled our next workshop with Ruth Brown doing cyanotype printing so we are all looking forward to that.  Jackie has got a workshop sorted for next month doing printing on paper similar to the work she did at a workshop last year.  There was a lot of work going on with everyone's 'Blue' piece ready for the next exhibition.  Some have already started on their main pieces looking at ideas and samples.  A real buzz today and everyone seemed glad to be back to normal.


This is Maureen's Blue piece coming along nicely.

Ann has been working with leaf skeletons and painting them with gold and incorporating them into designs.  She was working on these two pieces this week.

Here are some more of her leaves.

Liz has done this lovely delicate piece using transfoils over stitching and covering with chiffon before she stitches into it further.

Colleen brought these lovely dolls that she makes from all the fabrics she used in her City and Guilds course many years ago.  It means that all the work gets a new lease of life and the old files can be disposed of, making more room in the loft for newer work!