June 2018

 A little group of four met last Saturday for our monthly meeting, with some of our members un-well, and others attending Stitching At The Tops. We were lucky to meet in the front room up stairs to enjoy the warmth and sunshine, as well as dedicate a whole table for show and tell.

 

Jenny had finished the needle lace edge on her UFO letters and had added them to a book cover. UFO number three completed.

At the same time that Jenny had found her unfinished letters, she also found a part worked circle of Tenneriffe Lace, still on it's little home made pillow complete with pins.

The circle of lace has now been finished and mounted into the corner of a purchased handkerchief.

 A little needle lace edge was also added around the edge to finish it off. UFO number four finished.

Meet Sheila with her completed 'Monet and Me'. It was Sheila's challenge in April to do a stitched collage every day. She enjoyed the practice so much that she extended it into a project to completely fill the Monet Diary. The diary no longer closes and is more or less tied closed.

A fabulous view from the side of Sheila's 'Monet & Me'.

Just one of the many pages inside Sheila's 'Monet & Me'.

Gerri was preparing for Christmas making multiple cross stitched tree decorations in mini hoops.

Multiple appliqued pillow cases were also on Gerri's Christmas preparation agenda. This is only the beginning with many more to go. These ones have been appliqued with buttonhole stitch using  items from her stash. 

Robyn had been having fun stitching a design from the circle exercise back in  May . She is using Bokhara couching in different patterns to  give different textures.

Our little creative exercise for the day was to play with Pueblo Stitch. Sheila had found instructions in a Stitch magazine, and we all went off in our own creative direction, using different threads and fabric bases. I wonder what will eventuate form this stitching play?

Sheila also entertained us with recalling 'Susan and Sheila's Excellent Adventure', a trip the two made together in late May and early June. The purpose of the trip was to see the Marimekko exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery. 

On their travels, they also took in Donna Caffrey's exhibition at the Creators Artspace Gallery in Woodonga. Donna is a member of our group  who now lives in Southern NSW. We congratulate her on an excellent exhibition.

'Grandmother's Garden' was an installation of an eclectic mix of re-purposed linens reminiscent of old time afternoon teas.  The grandmothers, wearing the appropriate head gear for an afternoon of gentle conversation, kept an eye on the visitors.  A delightful exhibition staged in a gallery within an arts precinct.  We congratulate Donna on the success of her installation.

Continuing on their journey, the girls also took in the Raquel Ormello exhibition at the Shepperton Art Museum and the Michelle Hammer exhibition at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. Both are textile artists and the exhibitions are well worth a visit.

Some fun was definitely had over the last month by our members. I wonder what fun we will have over the next few weeks? Please come back and check out what we get up to. Until then, happy creating.

May 2018

 Our May meeting was once again in the library, this time with a visit from Jacky from  Victoria, and Margaret finally being able to join us after lunch . This gave us eight in attendance.

Show and tell always gives us varied and interesting items to look at, ponder over, and generally be inspired.

This little triangular coin purse was made by Sheila. It has been decorated after attending a class with Jenny O'Sullivan.

These coffee cups are by Sheila, ready for the display at upcoming quilt and craft show in June.

Jenny was adding a needle lace edge to some UFO letters that she had found while looking for something else.  The actual letters were unfinished when she found them, and they have since been finished, had extra stitching added, and hemmed. They will eventually adorn a book cover. The letters were started quite some years ago for another project.

Above are two pages from Sheila's journal, which was her daily practice for March. Her task was to journal every day, and her first priority was to complete the journal that she had made with paper shopping bags. Sheila had been working through the 'Art To The 5th Document Life Project' , and three years later the journal is finally completed. The two pages above have been completed with different journaling techniques.

Sheila's daily challenge for April was to do a stitch collage every day. The idea came from Cas Holmes 'Stitch Stories'. Sheila has enjoyed the practice so much that she has decided to continue until she has filled a 1984 Monet diary . Sometimes there is a connection between the Monet painting and her stitching or design. The leaf above is just one of her pages.

This Christmas tree has been made by Gerri using small wooden embroidery hoops. Using a variety of printed fabric, Gerri has added embellishments to the front, felt to the back, then glued the hoops together.

Annette had completed Gerri's mandala. Her starting point was that her life was going around in ever increasing circles, and that nothing was ever just black and white. The sparkly beads indicate the high points of her life.

Gerri had finished her needle roll from Annette's blind stitching exercise , gaining enjoyment and satisfaction by adding further embellishments.

This dove has been embroidered by Gerri using a cut out Christmas card as inspiration and made intp a small pouch.

This is the beginnings of Annette's Southern Highlands and CWA craft group project that many of the members are working on.Some of the ladies are working exactly to the published pattern, but Annette is modifying hers to make it more personal. She is using 'stuff' from her stash and will not be buying any extra bits.

Gerri had turned her two extended  squares from last month  into business card holders.

A crocheted mixed thread wall hanging made by Gerri using a large sized crochet hook. The work has been turned sideways with a fringe added to give extra length.

Susan has completed a top for the Installation 4 section of the EG exhibition at the upcoming Craft and Quilt Show. A top with moth holes became an exercise to do lots of chain stitch family stitching - more visible mending than a new wearable art garment

Susan's table runner has also been finished, with lots of fun playing with a family of stitches.

This is Gerri's Christmas quick fix Teddy. Used for stocking fillers and made from felt and blanket stitch.

A Very Nice Mice made by Sheila from Ann Wood's pattern and instructions found at Anne wood Handmade

Sheila had made a book of cards for her sister as an encouragement while she was going through treatment for a serious illness. Above are two of the cards that were sent.  

Early in the day Jenny had given us all a creative design exercise using only circles and their properties. Below are some of our efforts.

We will all meet again in June for another creative exercise, some more show and tell, and lots of fun and laughs . Please come back for another visit to see what we get up to.

February 2014

There were eight of us present at our first meeting for 2014, with much talk about our project for the coming year.

Show and tell, as usual brought a wide range of  eye candy.

First up we had Annette's biscornu featuring an Afghanistan reversible stitch. Although not visible in this pic, the little flap at the top opens to reveal a needle-case. The flap is only a single layer of fabric, and  on the reverse side, the colours of the stitches have reversed, ie green squares and  red crosses. This stitch is illustrated in some versions of Jacqueline Enthoven's "The Stitches of Creative Embroidery".

Next we have Sheila's book. It features both fabric and paper  leaf prints, dyed in a class with Kirsten Ingemar. Some surface stitchery has been added  and  the book assembled.
 

 

Just some of the pages inside Sheila's book.

Sheila's  "Beneath The Trees" . Natural dyed shibori silk made in class with Kirsten Ingemar. Surface stitched to highlight the gum leaves.

Jenny had been working on her latest piece of Tennerife, joning the motifs together and adding a filling in the center. The piece is still in progress.

Gerri had finally made the fabric she bought  in Paris into table runners for Christmas presents.

Susan's left handed artwork due to a broken arm. A shell in mixed media, and first thoughts for printmaking, based on Gwen Harwood's " Carapace". A piece for her OUA Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Sheila's book cover, made from a re-cycled cushion cover using raised chain stitch.

Susan's cup and saucer, an unfinished molar variation and an exercise for the textile unit of her OUA Fine Arts course.

Jenny was  knitting a wrap in a 2ply wool that she bought on sale in country NSW. Using 3.75mm needles, the yarn is producing a very open structure. The pattern is a slight variation of the free "Meandering Vines Shawl" to be found on Ravelry.

Gerri's crocheted blanket for her No 1 son's future children. These children are a long time coming so she is wishing, hoping, and being prepared.

Annette's Furoshiki bag will be the February surprise for the Southern Highlands Group. A square of fabric, dyed with Drimarene K dyes, featuring a shibori dyed corner.