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February 2021 – Month 11 in Lockdown – Zoom meeting – ‘Bite-sized’ talk with Joanna O’Neill

8/2/2021

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Although it was cold, wet and even snowy in some areas of Lancashire the monthly Saturday meeting brought a little bit of sunshine into our lives once more.
After a few technical glitches, Kath let members into the meeting room and Kath (Chair) welcomed everyone, including several members of the Lytham Branch. Then Ann introduced our speaker Joanna O’Neill all the way (via Zoom) from Northumberland.
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Originally from Berkshire Joanna studied embroidery under Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn graduating in 1999 with the Diploma in Stitched Textiles. Her stitching career since then has included exhibitions, commissions, workshops, writing magazine articles and quilt judging. Since she moved to Northumberland in 2012 she seems to have become the ‘Stringer in the North’ for British Patchwork and Quilting magazine.
Joanna explained the term ‘Journal Quilts’ in case anyone had never heard of them. I certainly hadn’t so it was an interesting start. They are small quilts about A4 in size and were introduced in 1998 when a textile artist called Jan Williamson decided to ‘play’ and produce a small artwork each week. Several years later she is still doing this. 

Eventually the pieces became a monthly task and as each piece was about the size of a sheet of paper they became known as Journal Quilt pages. Over five years, 918 artists from all over the world, stitched nearly 6,000 journal quilts 81/2 x 11 inches and  400 of these can be seen in a beautiful book called ‘Creative Quilting – The Journal Quilt Project’ by Karey Patterson Bresenham.
When Joanna joined a contemporary quilt group in 2007, a challenge of stitching a quilt a month was set and although voluntary many of the members took part. It has become a challenge ever since. Joanna said that stitching Journal Quilts had many advantages over making large quilts, including they are inexpensive in both time and materials as they are only small. They are portable, easy to store, easy to stitch by hand or machine. A series of the same theme are easy to compare and are brilliant teaching aids to share whether in schools or textile groups. Just one disadvantage you won’t have a large finished piece.
 
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From 2009 to 2020 Joanna has developed lots of ideas for each series of twelve quilts from months of the year, folk art, sketch book pages, medieval tiles, disruptive patterns and colour schemes of red, yellow and blue to name just a few. The size can also alter from square to A4. She uses beautiful fabrics from the Heidi Stoll-Weber collections www.farbstoff.com. as well as felt and recycled fabrics. 

​May 2011

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                                February 2014                                                October 2011
As journal quilts are intended not to be washed Joanna also uses oil sticks, handmade paper, crayons and acrylic paint. She makes stencils from freezer paper and has tried using jelly plates. Some of the quilts have embellishments like buttons and shisha mirrors, some are hand stitched and others are machine stitched. 
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                              December 2017                                          September 2020
Her work was very inspiring and has given us lots of ideas for our own monthly challenge. After several questions Kath (Chair) thanked Joanna for a really interesting and inspiring talk and thanks also for giving permission for us to use these pictures of her Journal Quilts on our blog.

Once Joanna had left, we showed our piece from the January challenge (see the slide show below). 

Here is what each member wrote about their work

My inspiration came from an email I received from Peter Kieser, the shoe company. They had a wreath around a shoe in red, white and blue. I thought about using the word January and thought it would work well inside the wreath. I have used stitches that I don’t normally use and several I learned on the Zara day Course… padded satin stitch, woven picots, lazy daisy and a variety of different beading. Mel C.

A winter scene
Unfortunately it looks better in the flesh as the background is sparkly with snow, made using water soluble fabric and crystal machine thread.  The trees are made using cake wires. Sandie M.

The photo was taken by my late husband, Ian, on a trip to see the snow one January in the early 2000s.  The embroidery is straight stitches in a slightly sparkly single Madeira machine thread and a double strand of stranded cotton.  The fabric is in layers starting with a slightly patterned cotton, then a double layer of netting and then organza. Edwina W.
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One day last week we were watching the snow coming down - which is unusual for Blackpool. My husband was sorting some old photographs and I was knitting as we are due to be great-grandparents at the end of February/early March. The house was warm and with the dull day and snow outside we were cosy and warm. The snowdrops are showing in the garden, which prompted my theme for January and the children's nursery rhyme for my poem this month. Margaret G.



I am using a poem to illustrate my sewing each month. For the big picture I used Lampshade Vylene, painted in the background and embroidered the silhouettes by hand. Irene P.

I used a range of organza and free machined embroidered the pieces in place. I then machine embroidered skeleton trees and shrubs before hand stitching with line stitch, French knots and single chain stitches to represent the little flowers and blossoms you can see to brighten the dark days of January. Ann R.


I was inspired by a  walk across the local nature reserve, it was so frosty. I knew the colours had to be very cool for this January, so the gold work seemed to fit the bill. Barbara S.

This one is machined sheers on a dyed background (white). The next one is machining on dissolvable fabric with dyed leaves on a dyed background (purple). I used dissolvable fabric and organza to create hellebores. Kath R.
​Kath has also been busy on a couple of other projects; a purse and a needle woven picture of a parrot tulip. 
 For the purse she made the background by snipping bits of fabric onto a dark background. Then she stitched through the fabric with metallic thread. She cut out a bag shape from the fabric, made a lining and attached the fabric to the clasp and embellished it with beads.
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​Ann reminded everyone that the next month’s challenge (February) should include a piece of lace. Next month we have a ‘Zoom’ workshop with Nikki Parmenter and packs will need to be ordered by the 12th February.
We then had a general chat about happenings in The Guild. Again the time had flown by and soon it was time to leave.
Thanks go to Kath. R for overcoming technical problems with her usual calm and efficiency.
Keep safe and keep stitching and we’ll see you next month.
A.R.
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January 2021 – Month 10 in Lockdown – A fresh start to 2021 with Stitch and Chat via Zoom.

6/1/2021

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​As the snowflakes fell outside there was a positive note to our first Zoom meeting of the New Year. When Kath. R (our host) let us in to the meeting we were met with many Happy New Years and ‘how are you?’ It was good to see some other members had decided to join us.
Kath H. chair, welcomed everyone and then a few simple rules for using zoom were suggested. When someone is talking please mute your microphone, similarly if someone comes to the door or in to the room. If you want to ask a question of the speaker wave your hand and then Kath’s or Ann will pick you out. Obviously when we come to the stitch and chat session we will be able to unmute ourselves.
The session began with an explanation of the 2021 Monthly Challenge, which this month was a piece based around the month of January. Ann showed her book and how she had started her idea with words and phrases that sum up January to her. She had coloured her two pages and suggested a way of attaching the ‘post card’ to the book. Edwina showed her piece, which she had already started based on a photograph of a winter scene. She explained the techniques she was going to use as well.

Ann explained that next month we have a speaker from Northumberland- Joanna O’Neill who is a textile artist, author and quilting judge. Her talk entitled ’Bite sized’ is about working with small art quilts and embroidery on a friendly scale. 

When all the information was finished members were asked to show and tell about the projects they were working on. 
These included Liz’s knitted animal finger puppets for her great nephew, Gold work samples by Barbara, Ann has stitched two Crewel work designs inspired by the designer William Morris and the photographs she has taken of flowers during lockdown. Sandie showed her textile books for collections of photographs; Janet a busy board and Stephanie showed pretty little wedding clothes for children’s toys for her daughter. Kay is hoping to make a stitch book as her monthly challenge and showed us her ‘Slate Frame’ that she was in the process of preparing. Carolynne has been busy making a table runner for her Lithuanian relative and Irene has been stitching a piece entitled ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, which she adapted from a piece in Stitch magazine by Susan Elliot (October 2012). She changed the hat and butterfly using up lots of beads from her stash. She has also completed another piece called ‘Moth Snowstorm’. Again she adapted the piece from a project by Rebecca Mackey (Stitch Magazine September 2018). Irene said, “My moths look more like butterflies because I have used lots of bright colours.”
Edwina has been busy on her Book of Books made a couple of months ago from an old Filofax.  The outer cover is made of calico layered up with used wet wipes from the Linda Monks Summer School; then bonda webbed layers of other fabrics. It is handstitched and beaded.  The baubles are mini Temari balls - felted balls covered in woven Perlé which were made at mini workshop at Manchester EG.
 ‘It might become an entry for the competition with a very loose connection of Inspired by Authors.  It is a record of books I have read recently to remind me of the authors I enjoyed or didn't'.
By Kath R.
By Mel.C
Three members (Kath R, Mel and Kath H) had been on the online zoom course led by Zara Day and each piece was so different using stitches to make varied textures.
Mel had also been busy learning how to make paper flowers and had made a piece using recycled papers with the Chelford branch.

Stitch and chat was a very friendly and pleasant time. We discussed the virus, vaccines and lockdown restrictions (obviously) but it wasn’t long before the topics moved on to the Celebrity Sewing Bee, the Portrait Painter competition and what we thought of the winner’s work and the fact that Pottery Throw Down was returning to the screen. We talked about family and friends, walks we have done, snow and the West Preston Distributor Road. I am sure we talked about so much more- oh yes how to get discounts when ordering materials and kits (Thanks for the hints Carolynne).
It was 4 o’clock before we knew it, and time to leave the meeting. A wave goodbye and the meeting closed. It was a lovely afternoon. A real boost to start 2021. Next month with a speaker, we hope more will join us and step into a different Embroiderers’ Guild meeting (for the immediate future anyway).
A.R.
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A Zooming  Christmas Get Together- December 2020-Month 9

13/12/2020

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Excitement started to grow as we waited for other members to be allowed into the meeting room by Kath. R for our very first Zoom meeting. Yes, it has taken us time to get a grip of the technology but hopefully this is a new start for Preston Embroiderers’ Guild for the immediate future.

Once in the room it was so lovely to see members who had also got to grips with Zoom to join us. Unfortunately a few technical hitches meant Barbara couldn’t get through and Irene couldn’t be seen by everyone else but she could see us and joined in the conversations regardless. There were lots of cheery hellos and how are you before Kath. H (Chair) welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Rosie kept us entertained with a change of Christmas head gear every few minutes.

Then Rosie began her Christmas quiz which certainly taxed the brain. Carolynne tested our knowledge with her ordering game and Ann took us around the world with her Christmas decorations quiz.
Then we showed off our Christmas projects some of which are shown below.

After that Ann explained the forthcoming programme for 2021- it is on the website but she will be sending out a programme to everyone once May has been finalised. The programme starts with a stitch and chat where a monthly task will be set, then a variety of talks and an on-line workshop.
June and July have been kept quite open with National Celebration of Stitch day and the Strawberry Tea still in place. These will probably be virtual events but that will be decided later.
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After a final toast for a Happy Christmas and a reminder to keep safe; the meeting came to a close.
It was a lovely to get together and we hope more members will be able to join us in January 2021.

Members have been busy making items for Christmas Gifts and decorations and here are some of their projects:
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Kath R. set about making a Christmas bag, initially for the competition, which was subsequently deferred to next year. She had great fun using machine embroidery on sheer fabrics. She then added some handmade beads and tassels to enhance the overall effect.

She has also crocheted a little toy dog. Who would not love this little chap?
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Pam has been shielding since March but her embroidery has kept her busy and here are two of her Christmas projects.
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The two Gnomes were a request from her Granddaughter. Pam said, “I had to make my own pattern. I had a nosey on Pinterest and then used felt and other materials from my stash. The bases are filled with rice. They now sit in her first home she has just bought.  It was such a change from the usual request, curtain making!”
“The tree base is a Victorian spinning cone, which I lightly sanded and waxed. The top part (the tree) I painted and hand embroidered on silk noil. Then lightly padded it, before attaching it to the cone.

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​Edwina sent in pictures of her Christmas Tree and snowflake design. She explained, "The tree is made by machine sewing triangles of Christmas fabric together and then folding and stitching together with over stitch. I made this at a workshop at Cheshire Needlecraft, Goostrey a few years ago."
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"The snowflake is made out of two pieces of plastic canvas over sewn with lurex crochet cotton. The decorations sparkle beautifully on a tree.  I first saw these decorations on my Aunties Christmas tree on Vancouver Island, Canada."
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Ann R. decided to take up her serviette ring challenge and one afternoon having just finished another project and tidied her workroom, made some simple felt design motifs with machine embroidery and then added beads. Having covered the card rings with a nice bright green ribbon she used a glue gun to apply the motifs to the rings.
​Carolynne sent this piece in:
“I attended a live zoom workshop arranged with 'Beyond Knitting & Stitching Workshops' with Pat Archibald as the tutor on a Friday night, where we made a poinsettia appliqué.  As the workshop was between 5pm and 6.30pm I had to work quickly to keep up, so I think I will make this again, where I can give it more attention.  But for a first attempt it gives a pleasing result, I just have to add the beading around the edge later on.
 
We had advance notice of the requirements, so that we could have everything ready and started off with adding some 'heat activated' glue powder and gold foil on the background fabric, then adding the appliquéd pieces using Bondaweb.  The gold on the petals of the flower was created by using a foil adhesive glue, which when dried remains a little tacky and you can rub foil over the top to give it colour.  The edges were zig-zagged with three rounds of colours (red, green and silver), and then the beads were added at the end.

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I certainly think whilst we can't get to meetings, doing a workshop this way provided a bit of normality, and being able to ask questions if you were stuck, really helped.  A recording of the meeting is emailed out to you afterwards, so that for a time, it is available for you to re-visit and complete your project.
There is an up and coming workshop with Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn on straight stitching and other workshops that you can book on demand for around £20 to £25 if anyone is interested. 
The link to have a look at is here: 
https://beyondknittingandstitching.seetickets.com/upperstreet/workshops/beyond-k-s-demand?src=knsenews251120

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Carolynne has also made a Christmas Wreath using scraps of fabric, lots of beads, sequins and bells.  There are green and red leaves in between the hearts and bows and small flowers at the tops of the hearts.  Over the years she has made several for family members, and they are always happily received.  Apart from machine stitching the hearts together before they are stuffed with toy filling, the rest involves hand sewing which she finds very relaxing.
​​Irene used Christmas fabric from her stash to make cushions to sell at the church fair and she made an Advent Calendar for her Grandchildren. She said, “The material seemed to lend itself to little pockets. I put bars of chocolate in each one. I posted them through my daughter’s letterbox each week, so the children didn’t miss out.”
Kath H has had some success in the Search Press Craft competition. She won a  £50 gift voucher with the knitted space men. She also  knitted this scarf as a present for her sister.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed. I hope everyone enjoyed their first Zoom meeting with the branch. Remember the programme will be sent out in a few days, but look on the front page of the website if you want to know more.
In the meanwhile have an enjoyable Christmas and look forward to 2021 – It can only get better.
Keep safe, keep well, keep calm and keep stitching.
A.R.

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