This morning we had a Stitch and Chat which was a really nice change to have all the members together in one room, so often its half of us doing a workshop and the other half doing their own thing in another room.
It was surprising how many different projects our ladies had brought with them to work on, we had part finished pieces from previous workshops which included Appliqué Pictures from last month, Trapunto, and Lichens and Encrustations from last year.
Other pieces included hand embroidery, needle weaving, patchwork cathedral window, cross stitch, stump work, beadwork, Ipad covers in a gorgeous Harris Tweed, canvas work, puffs, crochet and even knitting baby bonnets for charity.
This shows the vast range of interests and skills our members have. One member kindly brought along her sewing machine to demonstrate free machine embroidery on water soluble fabric which was extremely interesting and informative.
Other pieces included hand embroidery, needle weaving, patchwork cathedral window, cross stitch, stump work, beadwork, Ipad covers in a gorgeous Harris Tweed, canvas work, puffs, crochet and even knitting baby bonnets for charity.
This shows the vast range of interests and skills our members have. One member kindly brought along her sewing machine to demonstrate free machine embroidery on water soluble fabric which was extremely interesting and informative.
Moving on from work in progress we had two finished pieces from our Workshop Appliqué Pictures, Ann had made a lovely cushion and Yvonne had done two beautiful pictures already framed for hanging on the wall.
Everyone being so enthusiastic, even lunch time included a discussion on the next Travelling Books project, which starts this month.
As usual our shop was available for those who needed some threads or spare fabric, kindly run by two of our members. Together with our library with lots of interesting books for hire.
In the afternoon we had a talk by Kathryn Thompson about Dolls with Attitude.
Kathryn, started by telling us she was one of the Blackpool Heritage Champion volunteers, and does tours at the Winter Gardens, Stanley Park, Illuminations guided tour, and the circuses of Blackpool which have had various venues in the past, not just the Tower. Her Dolls with Attitude have been introduced into her heritage tours, describing some as typically Blackpool Ladies, and a Pirate of Penzance or Johnny Depp, a Mermaid and many others, all of which had ATTITUDE.
We learned some of the complex processes involved in making the dolls. There are specific tools to use in order to turn the fingers the right way out, and certain types of stitching to pull the faces into shape from the nose to the eye. One of the dolls had beading covering her feet, which gave the illusion of shoes. They also had metal rods inserted into their legs, to help them stand up on a block of wood.
Kathryn, started by telling us she was one of the Blackpool Heritage Champion volunteers, and does tours at the Winter Gardens, Stanley Park, Illuminations guided tour, and the circuses of Blackpool which have had various venues in the past, not just the Tower. Her Dolls with Attitude have been introduced into her heritage tours, describing some as typically Blackpool Ladies, and a Pirate of Penzance or Johnny Depp, a Mermaid and many others, all of which had ATTITUDE.
We learned some of the complex processes involved in making the dolls. There are specific tools to use in order to turn the fingers the right way out, and certain types of stitching to pull the faces into shape from the nose to the eye. One of the dolls had beading covering her feet, which gave the illusion of shoes. They also had metal rods inserted into their legs, to help them stand up on a block of wood.
Having had a most enjoyable day together, were amazed at the skill and precision that had gone into making the dolls.
If you are interested in joining us, we meet regularly on the first Saturday of the month at 10am, St. Andrew's C of E Church Hall, 240 Tulketh Road (off Blackpool Road), Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, PR2 1ES. You will find a map on our 'location' tab.
Many thanks to Zena Clayton who wrote the blog for us this month.
If you are interested in joining us, we meet regularly on the first Saturday of the month at 10am, St. Andrew's C of E Church Hall, 240 Tulketh Road (off Blackpool Road), Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, PR2 1ES. You will find a map on our 'location' tab.
Many thanks to Zena Clayton who wrote the blog for us this month.
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