June - A Fifth Saturday Fun Day

Our second Fifth Saturday Fun Day was an outing to the Powerhouse Museum to see the exhibition 'Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear.'

Unfortunately, only two members were able to attend as it was a fabulous exhibition.  We encourage anyone with an interest in fashion, textiles or embroidery to attend.  The garments represented clothing from the 1700's to the present day.

We went through the exhibition oohing and aahing at various outfits and discussing construction techniques of the various garments.  Details that Robyn picked up and pointed out were matched with Sheila doing the same.

Most of the exhibition was taken in until towards the end where a welcome seat provided the chance to view short videos of the Reigning Men Ambassadors. Check some of them out here 

The gentlemen discussed their styles and also picked out some of their favorite outfits or suits.  With the viewing completed, Robyn and Sheila set back to the beginning to find their favorites.  And it was not an easy task.

One of Sheila's picks was a beautifully embroidered French coat and waistcoat.  The embroidery was extremely fine and exquisite, more refined than any embroidered coat seen before. 

Robyn took a liking to an Indian embroidered suit, perfect for the English colonials in the hot climate.  The jacket was embroidered, perhaps using a tambour, in a dark thread on a cream fabric.  A very stylish Indian design.

A Zoot suit from the 1930's caught the eye with a real sense of fun and wanting to dance and spin.  Also from the 1930's, a very elegant dinner jacket that was half white and half black.  Classy.

A Vivien Westwood suit consisted of a long coat and matching pants.  A series of stripes ran lengthwise down the front sides of the cream coat with a matching set of stripes crossing at shoulder to create a plaid.  Under the coat, a plaid shirt peaked out in pale colours.  A man dressed in this outfit would make many hearts swoon.

Perhaps the most stunningly simple article was a black woolen jacket with black silk detailing.  Lines of silk edged the jacket components as well as being used to emphasize angular design and shaping.  Absolutely stunning in it's simplicity.  The smallish jacket was made for the 'younger' man.

Fashion is alive and well for men.  Elongated necks, broad shoulders and narrow hips depict the perfect man.  Do make an effort to see this exhibition as you will not be disappointed.  

And we do have to giggle because there appears to be a direct reference to the Bridget Jones Diary movie where it is 'raining' men in a fight scene taking place in the rain.

February 2017

Our meeting this month was held in Wendy's home. Five of us gathered around her dining table, to show, tell, gossip, plan, and of course stitch.

These pink flannel flowers have been worked by Annette onto black merino/cashmere fabric using tapestry wool and butterfly gold thread. The design is by Tess Macgraw from the Macgraw label. The embroidery was worked onto a cape that was part of their collection for the International Woolmark competition recently held in Paris. Tess and Beth Macgraw, from the Macgraw Label, represented Australia and New Zealand in the international competition, having won an earlier competition for their region.

The above photos shows the back and front view of the finished cape. Annette felt privileged to embroider for such talented and hard working designers, and felt unbelievable that she had embroidered something that was worn on the catwalk during Paris Fashion Week.

Robyn had been continuing to work on her sugar skull. It has now been appliqued onto a pair of jeans which will then be made into a skirt.

Jenny had finished this Bedfordshire bookmark. A form of bobbin lace, the pattern is one by Olwyn Scott and Robyn Hueppauff, which appeared in Australian Lace, Summer 2005. The bookmark has been worked in two threads by accident, one linen and one cotton.

These little trinket bags have been made by Gerri. They are hession bags that have been embroidered with free style stitches, then lined, and closed with a press stud. They have been made to be sold at the Spring Garden Fair (CWA) , 7th October 2017 in Armidale.

Annette's almost finished "Hidden Treasures" . The piece has been trapunto quilted trapping bits and pieces from Annette's sewing bits box. The pieces have been trapped between a wool blanket and an old napkin. The piece was brought to group to get ideas on the best way to finish or frame.  

Jenny had been continuing on with her "A Year In Stitches" project, playing with blending threads to get interesting colours.

Jenny had also finished knitting a new jumper for a male member of her family. Made in an 8ply Wool/Alpaca mix from Bendigo Woollen Mills. The pattern is Sirdar 9248 purchased from Patternfish.

Robyn had knitted herself a pair of calf high socks ready for the cooler weather to come.

This 'Wrap with love" blanket is another finish by Gerri. Knitted squares of acrylic yarn that had been over stitched together to join into the blanket.

Jenny brought along her handkerchief collection following a discussion with Wendy ( our Guild's president) at another meeting earlier in the week. Jenny had not thought of her handkerchiefs as a "collection", and hadn't realised she had so many until they were all together. Some of them were made by Jenny , some by her Mother, and some had been gifts over the years. Many have hand made lace edges, and all are used every day.

Wendy's pin cushion had been purchased at the Wagga Wagga exhibition back in 2013. It has been made from sections of recycled doilies.

Meet Lily, who was purchased by Wendy for a Christmas decoration in Germany. There is a children's story of "Lily The Mouse"

This little gnome is also Wendy's. He is made of felt, has a knitted cap and sleeves with wooden beads for hands and nose.

Our Guild headquarters is still undergoing renovations but the end is in sight. We will be moving back to our new meeting space in just a few months. In the meantime, we all hope that you continue to follow our stitching journey as we still meet in remote locations. I wonder where we will be next month and what goodies we will all produce. Please come back for another visit to find out.