"Finding the Magic" - a talk by Annette Emms, Friday 6th March

Annette is a textile artist, living and working in the beautiful Vale of Evesham.  From being a child, she has played with fabric, thread and stories.  Her work combines this with a fascination for the natural world, old churches, history and local legends.


As Annette explores the countryside around her, she loves to weave stories around her work, re-discovering the many legends and secret places full of magic and mystery.  She aims to build layers of fabric and stitch which form interesting textures.  These are then used to create dimensional pieces through which she hopes the observer can glimpse 'a little Magic'.



Inspiration and forgotten stories can appear in the most unexpected places.  Annette likes to think that there is 'magic' everywhere - we just have to look!

Find more information about Annette's lovely and whimsical pieces on her blog:

http://annettestextiletales.blogspot.co.uk

2015 De Denne Award for Leamington Junior Embroiderer

  
Leamington Junior Embroiderer, 12-year old Elizabeth Wilson, is the proud winner of the Second Prize in the Guild's 2015 De Denne* Competition: Age Range 11-16 years, 3D Object.  The theme for 2014/15 was "All that Glistens", which encouraged lots of great entries.  The competition is judged on interpretation, skills and originality.

Elizabeth won a prize for her snake .....

... which is made up of bands of material sewn together on the sewing machine.   These were covered with a piece of netting, and beads and sequins added between the two layers to make it shinier.  Elizabeth sewed the whole thing together by hand, adding  little bells to the tail.

This lovely slippery snake will be on display at The Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia on 5th-8th March.

 * The competition is named after the founder of the Junior Embroiderers section of the Embroiderers’ Guild.

February Folk Art talk and workshop

Jane Cobbett, ably assisted by her husband Peterson, also a historical textiles expert, and her son, who looked after the IT side of things, gave us a fascinating insight into the ways that old quilts were constructed and some of the clues to look for when trying to date one.  It was a privilege to be able to handle the samples Jane had brought from her extensive collection of over 140 bed quilts and quilted items with a better appreciation of how - and why - they had been made.

Jane's talk was followed by a workshop on a folk art theme that explored three different appliqué techniques - there are dozens, apparently!  All involved hand stitching using simple shapes and stitches, and below are some pics of our samples - hearts being very appropriate with Valentine's Day coming up of course!

Concentration needed .....