Glossop EG 15th Anniversary

Our meeting on 27th March was a special event to celebrate fifteen successful and eventful years since the branch was formed.  Some special guests were welcomed and a warm welcome was given to 'retired' members.  We were also delighted to welcome Cllrs George and Jean Wharmby who have always given their support.

A marvellous - and delicious - cake took pride of place.  Many thanks to Pat for baking and to Joy for decorating the cake - something to be very proud of.  

Ann was helped to cut the cake by Muriel Campbell, Chair of the Board of Trustees, who had travelled all the way from Glasgow to join us.

There was an exhibition of members' work from many of the workshops run by our branch, and pieces which won the annual Rose Bowl competition:-

And, of course, the travelling books were displayed as was the travelling book for North West Region:-

Our Chair, Ann, talked about the branch's history, its recovery from an eventful split of members and its many successes over the last five years.  Our CEO, Terry Murphy, then described the work involved in extending the use of new technology and a range of developments which will make sure the Guild continues to be relevant in the 21st century.  Finally, Terry presented Chris Harris, a founder member, with a gift from the branch to celebrate the huge amount of work she has done over the last fifteen years.

Then - what everyone was waiting for - afternoon tea and cake were served and very much enjoyed!

Everyone was very pleased to leave the meeting holding a generous piece of our celebration cake.

Sew good at Chatsworth

After our Chatsworth exhibition was opened to the public our Publicity Officer, Belinda, put this news item in the Glossop Chronicle:-

Printing on fabric

This event was held by our Chair, Ann, and was a day of discovery for all who attended.  Everyone was shown how to make their own stamps with a variety of materials, and there was a range of paints and other media for use with the stamps.

Ann had lots of experience and advice and everyone shared their own discoveries and ideas.

There were lots of experiments in making  printing blocks using card, wood, pizza bases and other materials and Ann had lots of ideas on using rollers to make different marks on the fabric.

Everyone was also shown how to use a gelli plate for printing - they are durable and reusable and gave amazing results.  Sales of gelli plates may be increasing!

Here is some of the work produced during the day:-

Our second exhibition at Chatsworth!

... is now hanging in the Carriage House conservatory.  Ann, Sheila and Judi took all the embroideries up to Chatsworth House this morning and the joiners made a speedy and easy job of hanging all the work.  Here is Sheila laying out the work and helping the joiners:

Everything has been mounted on four panels which are all displayed together and already receiving praise:

If you are planning a visit, the house and garden are closed until 23 March and the Carriage House cafe (including our exhibition) will be closed 11-13 March.

February meeting - Little Stitches

We were fortunate to have an original and inspirational speaker for our first meeting of 2019: Julia Wright of 'Little Stitches'.  As well as producing her own work, Julia is a teacher of A Level textiles.

She talked about coming from a family whose history is in textiles: knitting, weaving, crochet, and showed us a sample of her own style of knitting:

She likes to use natural fibres and found objects and much of her work is focused on decay and deterioration:

Some of her work incorporates metals or wire - such as this stitched copper ring, and a selection of rusty wraps:

She talked about her tiny sketchbooks, such as this book based on pebbles which can be used as inspiration for textile work:

The audience were left feeling inspired - looking at objects and techniques in a different way and wondering whether they will ever be able to knit in a straight line again?!