A little Owl

Ann is leading us through the world of Stumpwork this season, and we began last night trying to make tiny owls to go onto the needlecases which we will make at the November Workshop.

Perfect instructions and lovely little kits in hand away we went on our stitching jhourney

Some finished owls on the night, others of  us took them off home for completion or a re-think.

We are looking forward to seeing all the little owls come together and party at the November  Workshop

Please note the change of date for this workshop it is now on the 14th November and not the 21st as in your programme

A list of requirements will be sent out prior to the workshop to those attending

Dates for your diary:

21st and 22nd November - Crafts in the Pen ar Skipton Auction Market

(Lovely farm shop and cafe nearby too)

Sunday 22nd November  Craft and Gift Fair at the North Euston Hotel, Fleetwood

This follows the successful fair held there in July

Saturday 28th November

Craft Fair at Blackpool 6th Form College 10-

Work made by pupils and staff

Sunday 6th December

FY Creatives Craft and Makers Fair - Winter Gardens, Blackpool

2016:

Saturday 16th April  Rag Market in Hebden Bridge Town Hall

Organised by th WI and well worth a visit

Saturday 23rd April North West Regional Day

Hosted by Bolton Branch at Haigh Hall

Saturday 7th May National AGM in Manchester

(More details of these events to follow later)

Memory Tablecloth and a Banquet

The Memory Tablecloths are now complete and we were all very proud to see them hanging in the Winter Gardens this weekend for the Banquet and Food Festival organised by Left Coast.

Read more about the background to this event  on their blog post here:
http://www.leftcoast.org.uk/all/communities-and-artists-cook-up-a-banquet-at-the-winter-gardens


I understand that the performance on Friday night was fantastic, and the set up for the "Dishing the Dirt" event was certainly very impressive.


So many groups have been involved in this project from different backgrounds and with varied interests and it has been well coordinated by Left Coast to bring all the elements together in such a creative and interesting way.

There was a bustling atmosphere as lots of visitors checked out the produce on the various stalls, and it was interesting to see so many different threads brought together. 
From salt making to growing your own veg there was something for everyone.

Advice was on hand for people coping with dementia from Empowerment and Dementia Friends and lots of diet and food advice.


Here is a more detailed look at our project "Stitches in Time"
http://banquetblog.leftcoast.org.uk/

Harriet Riddell  busy stitching at the event on Saturday

Our tablecloths drew lots of positive comments and provoked several conversations. Many of our visitors were from different parts of the country and it was great to be able to talk about our involvement in this project to a new audience

The original intention had been to display one cloth, but thanks to all our members and their enthusiasm we had enough work to display two cloths on the day.

Left Coast have kindly allowed us to have temporary custody of the cloths and we are now hoping to get them out and on display around Blackpool.  
Empowerment will be taking them along to their groups so their clients can see the finished work.

This has been such an interesting project to work on and we have all been impressed by the people we have met along their way and it has been a privilege to be able to share some of their stories.,

Harriet has been an inspiration to us all and those of us who have been lucky enough to have our portraits done will treasure them as a memento of the project.

More detail and images of Harriet's work here: http://institchyou.co.uk/

Mixed Media Stitching

Emily Notman came along to our first meeting in October to speak about her work and talk us through her creative process.

Beautiful delicate wall hangings and other delights all made from layer upon layer of sheer and lace fabrics painted and "Bondawebbed"  (if there is such a word) enhanced by lots of delightful hand stitching. 

Lots more photographs are available on Emily's website:

www.emilynotman.co.uk

Mixed media and tablecloths!

October is upon us and we are embarking on our new programme which promises to be every bit as exciting and varied as the last one.  
Emily Notman is our speaker on Monday, her work is described on her website as follows:

"I create bespoke textile instillations mixing media and building up tactile delicate surfaces. I work and rework my pieces with paint, dyes, bleach and ink, burning and layering until finishing it with hand stitch. I find beauty in flaky walls, overgrown buildings and encrusted surfaces; this is something I recreate in my work.

My pieces evolve and grow with time, incorporate history with layering and sometimes the tiniest mark made or stitch changes a piece dramatically it’s this detail that excites me.

Initially I was inspired by a visit to a Fishermans village in Portugal it was the old flaky paint on boats and encrusted textures of the lobster pots that I recreated using fabrics and stitch. I developed my work to look as though it had been abandoned and that it developed its own surface over time. I work in response to old beautiful walls covered up by years of wall paper or overgrown doorways and walls in gardens. Some pieces of my work look as though they have been brought up from the bottom of the ocean with tiny glimmers of pearls and layers of coral stitch.

I studied at Leeds College of Art and Design between 2006 and 2008, which resulted in a passion for Photography, Textiles and Fashion. I then attended the University of Cumbria, graduating in 2011, with a 1st Class BA Honours Degree in Contemporary Applied Arts - specialising in Ceramics, Embroidery and Printed Textiles"

This promises to be a very exciting and informative evening and we look forward to our usual "full house" to welcome our speaker.

All images are from www.emilynotman.co.uk and must not be reproduced or copied without consent

Following on from the meeting there will be an opportunity to catch up on the Memory Tablecloth Project.  Harriet is arriving in Blackpool on Monday to undertake the completion of the project over 3 days during the week.

We have invited her to come along to our meeting, so there will be an opportunity to discuss ideas and plans for the completed piece.