July 2016

For our July meeting, four members travelled to the southern highlands region for a meeting at Annette’s home.  Annette’s warm welcome countered any winter chill in the air.

We began our gathering with a delightful morning tea, then it was time to begin stitching and show and tell.

Susan had been English piecing hexagons using fabrics in her stash.   We were impressed with Susan’s novel use of a thread organiser to contain her hexagons that are ready to stitch.

Geri has been given a commission and provided on overview of her plans and design.  Unfortunately, she cannot reveal any details.  Sourcing Geri’s preferred fabric has been a challenging issue.

Annette and Sheila both made bags using a multilayered design.  Annette incorporated a previously stitched needle-laced square into an overall bag design.  

Sheila continues to use her favourite raised chain stitch to decorate the bags she made.

Last month, we all looked at a bag design to determine how it was assembled and Sheila had made a sample.  The zipper wraps around the bag from one point to the opposite point.  Now to work out how and where to add the handle to it.

Sheila had been to  Melbourne and was able to view ‘The Dressmaker’ exhibition at Rippon Lea.  Rippon Lea is a National Trust property in Melbourne.  ‘The Dressmaker’ is an Australian movie starring Kate Winslet and a host of well known Australian actors.  The actors were dressed in a combination of vintage clothing and clothing designed specifically for the movie. 

 Then it was time for lunch, followed by delicious cakes compliments of Annette and Geri.  Annette’s collection of vintage place-mats were an added bonus to lunch.

After lunch, we assembled all of our works for our collaborative piece for the Embroiderers’ Guild biannual exhibition.  The details of that are under wraps until the exhibition is opened in late August.  It was exciting to see most of the works and determine the best arrangement for display.

The details of our collaborative piece will be revealed next month.

June 2016

Our small group of five met at the Powerhouse Museum this month. After coffee, our group headed the the Collette Dinnigan exhibition where we spent several hours oohing and aahing over the displays.

We had lively discussions about construction techniques, luscious fabrics and accessories as we wound our way through the exhibition. The ensembles ranged from the beautifully simple to the outrageous over-the-top. A constantly changing montage of models in different outfits was playing on one huge wall space to compliment the static displays.

Sheila especially liked looking at the story board displays. Three sides in a "U" shaped room were filled ceiling to floor with inspiration ephemera, fabric samples, buttons, ribbons, laces and such.

The museum presented paper dolls and paper ephemera at the end so that visitors could make their own designs. These were cleverly mounted on a mini catwalk for all to see.

Then it was off to lunch and show and tell.

Susan's scarf is made from a silk/merino mix yarn, from a fair trade group from Uruguay, which she found at her local wool shop in Pennant Hills (Sydney). The pattern is one that Susan made up herself. The body of the scarf consists of two treble crochets with a one chain space, while each end has  two rows of treble crochet and a fringe. The fringe consists of two rows of double crochet, the second with an addition of long chain loops. Susan found it easy to crochet a nice scarf with a lovely yarn and a simple pattern. Her treble crochet may be unconventional, but when she is making up her own pattern, she can make up her own stitch.

Sheila had made a number of bookmarks using off cuts from fabric samples. The stitch used is one that she learned at the recent Convenor's meeting  held at Newcastle. The stitch was taught by the  Newcastle Group. The flowers are stitched by running the thread through a small piece of knitting ribbon, and taking the stitch down in the same spot. Three pieces of ribbon create a simple flower. The ribbon was hand dyed by Sheila.

Lunch afforded some photographic opportunities for inspiration purposes.

There was also time to look at a selection of ceramics from the museum's collection. This work caught Sheila's eye, but in her excitement, failed to take note of the artist.

The day ended with afternoon tea. We are all looking forward to our July meeting with the intention of meeting in the Southern Highlands for a touch of winter and a large fire to keep us warm.

Note:- This blog post was produced with great help by our member Sheila.

May 2016

 Last Saturday was the May meeting for our little group, and this month we met at Sheila's home. As usual, there was lots of chit chat, copious cups of tea and coffee, lots of cake & biscuits, as well as lunch outside in the garden. In the afternoon there was the tour of Sheila's sewing space.

Show and tell was a very big part of our day, kicking it off with this scrap quilt made by Sheila. Using the 'quilt as you go' method of construction, this quilt not only used scraps from precious quilts made in the past, but scraps of batting as well.

This is the reverse side of the quilt, also made with scraps.

 Robyn had  finished her Hardanger doily that was started in a workshop with tutor Helen Harvey.

Sheila had made this bag using leftovers from her quilt above.

Jenny had been slowly working on her Bedforshire bobbin lace hankie edging, and is nearly ready to go around her second corner.

Jenny had trimmed her multi hooped scallops and they are now ready to decorate a bag. The full story of these scallops can be found here.

Jenny had also been knitting, using a pattern from the Shepherd Book 1003. All will be revealed what this project is later in the year.

Robyn had purchased a gorgeous panel of embroidered Shibori silk from Chee Soon & Fitzgerald in Redfern. Watch this space to see what becomes of this piece.

Wendy had made this heart decoration at the Newcastle Convener's meeting with tutor Marcelle Sandman.

This hand embroidered cotton towel was purchased in Pondicherry, India, in 2005, by Wendy. French nuns teach local girls to embroider on local woven fabrics. All are sold locally or in France.

A great day was had by all who attended. We thank Sheila for her hospitality on the day while our Guild building is undergoing construction. Next month we will be at another exciting and stimulating venue, some come back to see what we  get up to.

April 2016

Our April meeting was a little different than normal, well, all our meetings will be a little different from now on for a little while. This is because Guild Headquarters, where we normally meet, is undergoing some major renovations. So our group has decided to go out into the wider world to have our meetings while this construction work takes place. Each meeting will be held in a different place to help inspire us.

So our April meeting was held at the Art Gallery of NSW. Three of our members turned up for a very inspirational day of wanderings around the Gallery, both inside and out. First on the agenda was coffee in the park from where could be seen that one of the Gallery's pillars was a rainbow of colour. Closer inspection revealed that the column had been encircled in lengths of twisted yarn.

On entering the gallery, the girls immediately came across a second textile work and discovered that both pieces were created by Sheila Hicks for the Biennale of Sydney. The second work was a collection of strategically placed wrapped poles and medallians. Eyes were dancing around from one shape and colour to the next, and fingers were  itch to begin wrapping.   

'The Questioning Column’ and ‘The Embassy of Chromatic Delegates’ started our creative adventure for the day. 

Robyn and Wendy agreed with Sheila’s suggestion to see Art Express next.  Art Express is an annual exhibition showcasing some of the works by year 12 students completing their higher school certificates.  

This year’s exhibition has raised the bar to a higher level with an emphasis on drawing.  There was an increased level of maturity and professionalism in the works on display.  A number of works could easily be selected for special mention for the artistic endeavours of the students but it is difficult to narrow it down to only a few.  The work that resonated with me was Laura Myers’ ‘Ode to Arte Povera’.  This piece thumbed its nose at canvas and instead presented a rusty decrepit interpretation of architectural structures drawn and/or painted onto assembled cardboard scraps. 

The drawings of Veronica Xu’s ‘Pay the Price’ raised concerns about consumerism and the environment with a very clever twist.  Monh Monh Ly’s ‘Deliverance’ explores her family’s journey in a collection of matchbox books.  Eternity Lim presents ‘Where the Wild Things Aren’t’ in her work with black and white drawings of buildings thrown into 3D and interspersed with dugongs attempting to survive in the urban setting.  The stunning portraits of Christy Uen Ting Chan’s ‘What will we become’ combine environmental concerns with aging issues in a unique manner.  These are only a few of the outstanding works on display.  You will not be disappointed if you make an effort to attend.  More information about Art Express can be found at:

http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/exhibitions/artexpress-2016/

After a very stimulating morning it was off to the Courtyard café for lunch. 

Being in a public space, and travelling by public transport, show and  tell was a little subdued. We may have to work on other ways to solve that problem. Sheila did make some brooches for the Guild's sales table, and being little, managed to bring them along for the day. Pictured at the top of this post, they depict gorgeous faces stitched by Sheila, using surface stitching and appliqué. They were left overs from a recently made quilt

This was a molar that Sheila had been gifted by her visiting sister. The molar had been purchased in Panama last year.

Although having family commitments on the day, Jenny had still managed to achieve some multi hooping. Multi hooping is a term applied to digitized machine embroidery, when a design has to be hooped multiple times to get the full design. The trick is to get everything matching up with each extra hooping. In the test piece above, Jenny has stitched two rows of scallops, both about 50cm long, taking six hoopings in all. The scallops will eventually be trimmed, then used to decorate a bag. The full story of these scallops can be found on Jenny's personal blog. 

Refreshed, The girls  visually travelled to China with the ‘Tang’ exhibition.  The exhibition

explores life in Chang’an (modern day Xian) during the Tang Empire from 618-907.  There were a number of artefacts from the dynasty including gold, silver, ceramics and sculpture.  A favourite piece was a well satisfied looking earthenware camel driver on his camel.  His face could control a thousand camels!  The ceramic statues of various ladies also caught our eyes.  A virtual tour of a Buddhist grotto was an interesting experience.

The day at the Art Gallery proved successful and inspirational to those that attended. Refreshments were definitely the order of the day, and the group look forward to our next meeting.

March 2016

Our March meeting has come and gone with five of us attending. It was our last time meeting at Guild Headquarters for a while as the building undergoes extensive renovations. As classes were being run downstairs, we were delegated to the kitchen. Seated around the large table upstairs, show and tell was the order of the day.

Wendy had been to Effie's 'Stitch Play' in the Mountains and had produced this sample. The fabric collage was a great way for Wendy to learn the effect of one colour against another. Effie's variations with stitch proved such fun to learn, while learning with others in such a setting proved pure magic. The wonderful chance was given to purchase unusual coloured fabric and threads, with lots of play ahead. The building re-development was an important topic for discussion, as funds raised from the day went to the building fund. The excitement of the future of The  Embroiderer's Guild NSW Headquarters was everywhere, even in the stitches being produced.

Our new member, Kathleen, had also attended the same 'Stitch Play' weekend at Bilpin, in the Mountains, which  was nurturing, relaxing, and fun. The above collage was Kathleen's very first 'Effie Mitrofanis Scroll'. There was lots of chatting, walking, horizon gazing, and eating as well as stitching. Kathleen found Effie to be an amazing tutor and guide, teaching her students the use of colour, tone and beautiful stitches. There was  the concept of a piece of work speaking to the creator while relaxing and playing. Kathleen was also inspired by stories of the effort and determination of Guild members, who have been fund raising for the new building at Guild HQ. The excitement and anticipation is building as to what the future of the Guild will be.

Donna had been working on some  5cm squares. The above three pieces are by Donna, and all involve surface stitching.

Jenny had been working on finishing a quilt for a Great Niece's 1st birthday. If we look closely, we can see the free machine quilted flowers that Jenny has been practising.

The quilt is called "Grace's Garden" and is labelled so on the back of the quilt. The label was produced with digitized machine embroidery. Using her digitizing program, Jenny played with the star fill settings, the wreath tool, and the stitch fills  to produce the radiations in the petals.

Annette had been to Western Australia, and had purchased this scarf. From the "Tinctorium" Studio, the scarf has been dyed  with natural dyes from plants from the creators garden.

As our regular meeting place of Guild Headquarters undergoes it's fabulous new upgrade, we, the members of Stitchers Plus, will be meeting at various venues to gain inspiration in our work. Please come back and visit to check out where will be meeting and how it inspires our stitching.