Handmade Books

Members Day in February provided an opportunity for us to get together on a Saturday at the studio to pursue various projects.  Free machine embroidery,  hand stitching or trying out the embellisher were all available, but most members opted to try making handmade books. Sue generously provided her expertise and materials and this proved to be a very popular and satisfying session with everyone taking a way a completed book by the end of the afternoon.  It was amazing to see how everyone produced such different and personal results, and I think we are all quite keen to make more of these lovely books.  Many members are now keen to try Bookmaking part 2.

Sue brought along many of her own samples which are works of art in themselves and provided a great source of inspiration. All this activity made for a very relaxed and enjoyable member's day and we are now looking forward to our next session.

Exploring colour through stitch

Exploring colour and stitches is the running theme for our stitch nights during this year. The events have offered something for everyone, with newer members learning about stitches and more experienced members developing the stitches in new directions.  Straight stitches have been explored in all their variations and uses. Fly stitch and variations were used and their application in floral subjects was explored.
In January couching stitches provided a very colourful and varied selection of samples:

Quick catch up

We have been enjoying lots of varied events within the branch so here is a quick update on some of our activities.
In November which seems like a long time ago now, Kathryn shared with us a technique for making Japanese Thimbles.  Many of us decided that the most useful tool in our kit was the glasses wipe as we needed 20/20 vision to complete the tiny stitches.
This is a fascinating technique and many members produced lovely results (some of us didn't quite make it to the finish line) and it was a very enjoyable afternoon.