Christmas Makes, and a request

Just before we indulge in another look at the Christmas makes we saw at the Christmas Jolly, a request:

🎄If you still have new Christmas makes that haven't been included, 

please do share your photos.

🎄 We will also be posting an article on competition makes from previous years. If you have items you made for previous branch Christmas competitions, please also send photos to: leamingtondistrictitrep@embroiderersguild.co.uk

We asked members to send in photos of anything they had made recently as Christmas gifts, decorations or simply completed projects.  

It's been wonderful to see such a range of items and to appreciate our members' skills and creativity. 

Advent calendar made for Judy's daughter's dog - daily treats :)🐶

Lucy's trees were made from scratch by bending metal to form the branches and twigs, 

wrapping them in fabric, then making the decorations.

Judi's entry to her village Christmas Tree Trail - based on the TV ad featuring Kevin the carrot.

Two of a set of six placemats.

Norsemen (Please don't call us 'gnomes'!)

The Christmas tree fabric on the left was inspired by our ceramics workshop a few months ago.

A further example from Anne Griffiths' Illustrated Letters workshop last month.

Beth has recently been doing a printing course.

Inspired by a boro stitching course.

The Christmas tree decorations are sitting on a stitched tablecloth.

Intended as gifts for family and friends.

Two reindeer - not the back and front of the same one!

Hand stitched Christmas ornaments

Reusable face cloths, headbands and bags: gifts for family members.

Back and front of a boro/sashiko stitched pouch using vintage and recycled materials.

Photo shows the pouch opened out and inside pocket.

The centre picture was started at our Black & White workshop earlier in the year.

All items made by Caroline, including honey, wax stars and beeswax from her own bees.

Gifts made from vintage linens

Upcycled jacket with embroidery

Experimental sketching

 

Our grateful thanks go to Programme Secretary, Gill, for organising the super presentation of members' stitching at our Christmas Jolly.

Christmas Jolly - a cover-up!

Saturday's "Christmas Jolly" was great fun in spite of our being at a distance from each other on Zoom.  It's a pity we couldn't take a group photo with so many people wearing their festive head gear - 🎄mistletoe, flashing baubles, antlers, Christmas trees, reindeer hat ....🎄 - which made a really jolly sight on screen.

We made 'simple' stars based on wire or cardboard shapes, bound with ribbon and decorated with tinsel, bells, beads, anything we fancied - so many different variations on a theme (there will be lots more pics of these on our Instagram page)

The quiz never seems to get any easier, especially after lunch when people were getting into the festive spirit with a glass of wine or sherry. 🍷 It was good to be able to keep the tradition going, though.

Members had been extremely busy and creative, making festive face masks and sharing photos of their Christmas makes. The makes will be on here separately, but we thought you would like another look at the masks first - (No. 6) Janet R's reindeer was voted favourite:

Don't go away!  Christmas makes will be appearing soon.

Christmas Pop-up Arts Shop, 4 - 6 December

 

Please send your photos for the Christmas Jolly ...

🎄 Photo reminder 🎄

Please share photos of anything you have made for Christmas 

- from jumpers to bags to decorations to anything else at all -

for the Christmas Jolly slideshow.

We're all dying to see what everyone has been busy making - and get more ideas!

Please send photos to: leamingtondistrictprogsec@embroiderersguild.co.uk

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Also delighted to share more of our members' work:

A very tactile hoop created by Mary on Zara's Creative Stitches course:

Margherita's completed piece following Haf Weighton's workshop:

which depicts an Italian village near Amalfi

Wendy's illuminated letter P from Anne Griffith's workshop:

Thank you all for giving us the chance to see your makes.

Illuminated Letters by members

Anne Griffith's talk and demo were very timely and appropriate for the season, and it's great to realise that fabulous designs can be produced from such humble materials as tomato puree tubes.

Anne generously provided us with templates and design ideas to get us started, and members present for the afternoon show-and-tell session had produced some impressive pieces. Anne's comment was that people working on their own seemed to have made much quicker progress during the morning than if we had been in a group - a salutary thought!

Thank you to members who sent their photos:

Carol:

Liz:

Sue:

Jenny (painted on a fine cotton using acrylic paint and Lumiere metallic acrylics):

Margherita:

Gill:

Gill says she learned that next time she would outline her letter in a much paler colour.  She adds that she is putting her sample in her lockdown book - this is the cover (made on an embroidery attachment - not free machined, in case you were wondering): 

Finally, following up on the discussion about the use of Ormoline, Anne sent a photo of her bottle for clarification:

 

Illuminated Letters by Anne Griffiths - 6 / 7 November

 Illuminated Letters

by Anne Griffiths 

Talk on Friday 6 November, 7 pm  &

Workshop on Saturday 7 November, 2 pm via Zoom*

Our tutor, Anne Griffiths, is an experienced textile artist, who has worked on a number of community projects and residencies.  She was Artist in Residence for Diamond Light Source, funded by the Wellcome Trust, and presented the project and a gift for HM The Queen on the opening of the installation.

Anne's Fine Art practice revolves around collections and taxonomy, and she hopes to extend her practice to include her love of both history and textiles.

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Friday 6 November - members should log into Zoom, as usual, from 6.45 pm. 

Anne will give a 25-minute talk using a Powerpoint presentation of a seasonal book she has made using illuminated letters, text and seasonal embellishments and images.

Following this, Anne will give a 15-minute demonstration of how to prepare a tomato puree tube and transfer and stitch a letter onto it. She will also demonstrate how to copy a design onto fabric. Both can be stitched either by hand or machine, and embellished with beads, stumpwork, contemporary or modern embroidery. The metal letter would be suitable for attaching to a greetings card for Christmas. 

Anne will set a small activity to be done on our own on Saturday morning, and the Friday session will finish about 8.15 - 8.30 pm.

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Saturday 7 November - log into Zoom from 1.45pm.

Anne will be present for a show-and-tell session and to answer questions.

* Members have received materials list and login details via email, but if you need these again, please contact leamingtondistrictdaysch@gmail.com

Support our local suppliers

Many members know Karen Delahunty's sewing machine shop on Warwick Road in Kenilworth, which also has a tempting array of fabrics and yarns.

Karen is in the process of extending the shop floor area and has just installed a brand new Mettler thread stand, which offers an exciting range of types and colours of thread. These include mercerised cotton silk in plain and multi colours, polysheen in plain and multi colours, and metallics.

It's well worth a browse.