GreatWesternEmbroiderers

2012-02-03T17:32:00.005Z

Details of our next Exhibition at Lydiard House.
The Official opening by the Mayor is on Wednesday 28th March.
Please make a note in your diary that Meet the Artists Day is on Tuesday 10th April. Hope to see you there.
More details about Lydiard ... here

January meeting 2012

2012-01-15T15:11:00.000Z

Wonderful meeting today, working on our own stitching and plannig the banners and sashes for the next Lydiard Exhibition.

November meeting

2011-11-11T15:38:00.002Z

Basic machining by Maggie Harris.

Members really learnt a great deal about the sewing machine and its capabilitiesand also lots of fun at the same time-- of course.

October meeting

2011-11-06T11:01:00.002Z

The October meeting was great fun with Maggie's workshop " Stitches -Use and Abuse.

The members also bought along the finished bags from Maureen's workshop last month.... we are all officially "bag" ladies. We all had great fun.

Congratulations Cricklade

2011-09-30T15:21:00.001+01:00

Cricklade

are

Champion of Champions

Well done everyone.

Have a look here for more details

Cricklade in Bloom

2011-08-04T14:36:00.003+01:00

Cricklade has very proudly reached the finals in the RHS Britain in Bloom top finalists.

In support we have displayed our Embroideries of the North Meadow, in the Town information

Office.

Urchfont Open Day 2011

2011-07-01T13:48:00.002+01:00

Lydiard House and Park 2011

2011-06-29T10:22:00.006+01:00

Our June meeting took place at Lydiard as planned and we enjoyed the morning in glorious sunshine exploring the walled garden and park for recording ideas by drawing or taking photos, in the hope of inspiring our next Exhibition for Lydiard called " Traditions".

Many of us also visited the Church, and despite having drawn and taken photos before, we found new ideas and inspirations this time

After a wonderful lunch in the new tearooms or in the " hut" which we hired for the day.. we went into the house to meet Sophie the curator. Sophie treated us to a wonderful talk and explanation about the textiles in the house, and allowed us to handle some of the pieces using white gloves of course.

This photo is of the black shawl. In our July meeting we will be looking at our Lydiard photos, sketches and inspirations and hopefully starting our sketchbooks of ideas.

May meeting

2011-05-18T10:31:00.004+01:00

We really enjoyed our May meeting, many thanks to Debbie for leading the way with the batik workshop. also a huge than you to Tom & Tom Dilley for talking to us about looking after our sewing machines and overlockers ( website click here) . A really great day.

Just a quick reminder our next meeting is taking place at Lydiard House. Sophie will be taking us behind the scenes and showing us textiles relevant to our next exhibition there next year. More details at the June meeting.

The latest edition of Workbox magazine an article about our embroidereis at the Fritillary tearooms. Wonderful!

Tea anyone?

2011-04-13T13:55:00.004+01:00

We had a wonderful meeting yesterday, gathering together the finished peices of work and mounting them ready to hang this weekend at the Fritillary tea rooms in Cricklade. Here is a taster of the work on display .. to see them all ( about 25 pieces of work) you will need to go and get a cup of tea and cake at the tea rooms this weekend or maybe sometime of the next 3 weekends when they are open. Don't miss the opportunity. The fritillaries in North Meadow are particularly wonderful this year too.

March Meeting

2011-03-15T11:26:00.002Z

Some wonderful examples of small stitched pieces, made by the members for our next exhibition, which will be at the tea rooms in Cricklade in April when the fritillary tea rooms are opened. For more details about the North Meadow tea rooms opening times have a look here.

February Meeting

2011-02-13T11:00:00.005Z

Lots of activity and stitching at the February meeting. Details were also discussed about our next exhibition.
It is going to be in the Cricklade tearooms on the weekends of the fritillary walks in April. To find out more about Cricklade and the Fritillaries click here.

We also discussed the next West Country Embroiderers Exhibition which is taking place in Brockenhurst, 6th - 18th August ... details here

The exhibition is " My Dream" so next month we will be concentrating all our energies into that.

This is going to be a busy year.

January meeting

2011-02-04T15:50:00.003Z

The January meeting was well attended. New membership subs were paid and the AGM also took place.
There was lots of time to catch up with our own work and it was lovely to chat with everyone and see the work produced for the next exhibition which is taking place in the Cricklade fritillary tea rooms in April. Watch this space for news.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-09T14:12:00.004Z

The Meadow Larks exhibition at Cirencester Museum was very successful. The visitors book is full of fantastic comments. Well done to all members who took part.

Our next meeting is the AGM on Tuesday 10th Jan. The AGM report will be short and starting at 10.30am.... we shall then be stitching our small pieces of work for the Cricklade tea rooms.

Medow Larks Exhibition

2010-11-09T09:13:00.000Z

This is our next Exhibition at Cirencester

Lydiard Exhibition 2010

2010-04-21T10:53:00.004+01:00

Extended due to popular demand... until 24th May 2010

The exhibition is a great success and we are so pleased that we have been invited to extend the length of the exhibition to May 24th.

( photo: Maggie, the Mayor of Swindon, Kath)

The exhibition was officially opened by the Mayor of Swindon and his wife. The 54 displayed works of art have been created by 21 artists, and are sympathetically arranged in the State rooms.

The work is very varied, from contemporary to traditional to experimental. something for everyone to enjoy. The exciting part will be to try and identify what in Lydiard inspired the artist. Some sketchbooks are also on show. All members also made a bug as part of the trail for children to follow in the house.

Day Group meeting -12th January 2010

2010-01-21T10:54:00.001Z

We did wonder whether we would have to cancel the meeting because of the heavy snowfall. I think though, as we were all so fed up with being isolated inside our homes, that we decided to meet anyway. The main roads had been cleared, and the footpaths and roads in Cricklade had been treated, so we went ahead and had a wonderful meeting.

Everyone was keen to show the work they had been doing for our Lydiard Exhibition in March, and some very inspired work is being created. Think this is going to be a brilliant Exhibition. We also celebrated the success of our December 2009 Exhibition at Frameworks in Swindon.

Evening Meeting - 18th January 2010

2010-01-20T10:43:00.001Z

Despite all the cold and snowy weather of the week before, the meeting went a head in the cosy warm room at the school. We had a wonderful and inspiring demonstration and workshop, led by our very talented member Brenda.

She had made up some small kits for us all to use, and showed us some wonderful ways of experimenting and playing with cocoon strippings.

Not the easiest samples to take photos of, but hopefully next month everyone will remember to bring their samples and I will get a photo of them all. I was so involved in working I must confess I forgot to take the photos!

Evening group-14th December 2009

2009-12-15T12:06:00.000Z

What a feast at the December meeting of the evening group. all provided by members. We had such fun too with a Quiz prepared by Kath, and we also stitched on our own projects. The Secret Santa Quiz was wonderful and everyone took part. I am sure all members present would agree, it was a good start to the social festivities of Christmastime.

Day Group- 8th December 2009

2009-12-09T20:28:00.004Z

We had a lots of fun making the bugs for the Lydiard Exhibition in April 2010 - see sidebar for more information. Many thanks to Kath Danswan for leading the session. We have also set up the Exhibition at Frameworks here in Swindon.. it closes on Jan 4th. Some fantastic work by members.

10th November 2009

2009-11-20T14:58:00.004Z

Thanks to Ros, who led a very successful session on looping the loop, we worked with blanket stitch and buttonhole stitch. Ros showed us a lots of wonderful examples to whet our appetites and encourage us to experiment with fabric and thread.

National Needlework Archive

2009-11-12T22:48:00.003Z

Thought you may be interested in this new centre near Newbury, called the National Needlework Archive.

This photo is the Country wife mural, created for the Festival of Britain 1951 by Constance Howard. Until recently it was housed at Denman College ( the home of the WI), and that is where I was most fortunate to see it.It has now been given to the National Needlework Archive to be cleaned and conserved. It is a massive mural 4.5 metre by 5 metres.

I went along the the NNA this afternoon to the open day at their new premises in Newbury. They need a lot of volunteers to help them move into the new premises.... so if you live nearby and have some time to spare.... have a look at the website here.. and offer to help..... it is a bit far for me..... but I would like to help. They are planning lots of exciting activities in the new year too, as well as having an on-site cafe.

Breaking News - Evening group.

2009-11-07T14:05:00.005Z

We are delighted to welcome a new GWE evening group that will also be affiliated to the West Country Embroiderers. This group will be meeting on the third Monday of each month from 7.30 - 9.30 pm at Churchfields School, Salcombe Grove, Swindon, SN3 1HQ. click here for map

First meeting is on 16th November starting at 7.30pm, please bring your own stitching or the ingredients to make a postcard with the theme "sparkle". We would love to see you at the inaugural meeting of the new evening group.
The cost will be £3.00 for the evening.
You may also like to bring a few threads or pieces of fabric to add to the raffle which will also be to the theme "sparkle".

October Meeting

2009-10-19T23:30:00.008+01:00

We worked on our designs and inspirations at this meeting based on our visit to Lydiard House and Park. Many of us had taken photos and created small sketches.

Ruth and Margaret R had a number of exciting design ideas to work on and develop at our meeting.

We had a wonderful time and went away with lots of ideas on paper.

We also wish Jane Lemon, president of West Country Embroiderers a happy 80th Birthday this month.

West Country Embroiderers AGM -Exeter

2009-10-01T21:14:00.006+01:00

It was a glorious day to travel to Exeter, and also luckily managed to get a space in the Car Park at The County Hall in Exeter, the venue for the meeting. Arrived there in plenty of time to peruse and indulge in some retail therapy. The opening speech of the AGM was given by Jane Lemon, who enthusiastically recalled WCE events of the past year.

A great deal of business was discussed and the new WCE website applauded as a vast improvement over the previous one. Go and have a look at the new website here. The Treasurer reported that funds were very healthy and that the membership fee would be reduced for 2010 from £5.00 per annum to £4.00 per annum per member , payable in January 2010. Wonderful news indeed.

In the afternoon we were entertained by the talk by Jane Price a local artist, click here to find out more. She certainly knows a lot about butterflies and moths. Her sketchbooks contained some very interesting drawings using graphite powder.

September Meeting

2009-09-23T19:53:00.006+01:00

All members in attendance in September were delighted with the new venue and commented on the hall lighting, which is excellent for the work we do, and the facilities provided.

Maggie described various examples of fabric manipulation. Everyone was given a piece of Lutrador which we coloured by using transfer-painted paper and heat from an iron - prior to gathering on the smocking machine and creating a great effect. Tucks, gathers and pleats were also possibilities for fabric manipulation. There was something for everyone to see - as well as learning something new.

Gill from Gillsew gave excellent retail therapy and also demonstrated to us, using Angelina fibres and printing blocks.
We are looking forward to working on our ideas for the Lydiard Exhibition in April.

All are invited to Radley College to the private view of the Losing the Thread exhibiion ( Maggie Harris) on Friday 9th October 6 to 8pm.
(click on iimage to see full poster)

July Meeting at Lydiard Park

2009-08-13T15:39:00.005+01:00

The visit to Lydiard was an excellent opportunity to draw and photograph the amazing artifacts and objects on display. Sketching is such a wonderful activity that has been practised for many a year. We were given a very comprehensive talk by Sophie the curator, and in between torrential rain showers and warm sunshine, we also had the opportunity of wandering around the walled garden and park.

Great news ..just heard.... we have been invited to exhibit at Lydiard House in April 2010. Better get the ideas flowing and the sketchbook full of design ideas .

We do not meet in August, but many of us are catching the Barnes Coach on Sunday 23rd August to the Festival of Quilts. Click here for more information. If you would like to join us than please book via Barnes.

June Meeting and taster for July

2009-06-30T16:31:00.009+01:00

Margaret R really had us all “in knots” at this meeting. The stitches she demonstrated were Sorbello, French, Bullion, and others plus variations for each one. We also enjoyed trying out silk paints on Bondaweb which, when dry, was ironed onto fabric to provide a coloured background design for stitching.

We would also like to welcome Vicky Fleming as a new member and were also pleased to have Rebecca Connolly and Ian Donaldson as visitors this month.

It is with sadness we had to say good bye to our venue at Blackthorne Centre at this meeting, as it is being converted into business premises. In September 2009 ( there is no meeting in August) we are meeting at new for us premises in Cricklade. The United Reform Church Hall in Calcutt Street will be our new venue. As usual it will be the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 10am to 3pm.

For our July meeting at Lydiard Park, Anne Carter has kindly arranged for us to have the use of The Stable Room at Lydiard (next to the Church) and will also be organising refreshments for us at £1.00 each to cover the cost of tea/coffee and biscuits.Please bring your camera, sketchbook, drawing materials, etc. If possible, bring along some stitching that you have been doing at meetings to share ideas. Also, don’t forget a packed lunch. Click on the link in the sidebar for further information on Lydiard House. The raffle colour for July will be lilac.

Steam Museum Exhibition

2009-03-10T16:48:00.008Z

We called our exhibition at Steam Museum " Off the Rails".

The Mayor opened the exhibition for us and we were very grateful for his enthusiastic opening speech. The Swindon Advertiser were also in attendance they published a full page review with 3 photos, we were very pleased. You can read the online version here. The Exhibition was running for a month and was well attended by embroiderers and visitors to the Museum.

Here are a sample of the photos taken at the exhibtion.

We had our meeting today at the Blackthorn Centre and concentrated on Lazy daisy stitch. It was incredibly relaxing and fun to work with a simple stitch.

Our April Meeting (14th April 2009) will take place at Lydiard Park, we are meeting at the Church car park at 10am and then will return to the Blackthorn Centre after lunch, to work together on our ideas. Click here to see Lydiard Park . Remember to bring your camera, sketchbook and lunch. Hope to see you there.

We started a new idea today, a raffle and very successsful it was too...... we all had to bring something from our stash that was yellow.. and the winner walked off with the pieces. Next month the colour is green.

We are also featured in the next edition of Workbox Magazine ( click here) also visit us on ukvillages.co.uk ( click here) under Cricklade.

Annette Ems Day School - Saturday 11th October.

2008-10-11T21:49:00.007+01:00

( all these photos will enlarge if you click on them)

Weather was fantastic for the planned day school and the Blackthorn centre looked wonderful with its Autumn mantle. Annette was already there when I arrived and had set up some wonderful work for us to look at.

I was very tired after the trip to Ally Pally yesterday with Kath, but once I saw what was in store for us today, and with a cup of tea in front of me, I was raring to go. So was everyone else. Firstly we made the covers for the books from the mount card we had taken with us, then we painted the covers with our own colour scheme. They were really great.

We then used the fabric and felt to start on the concertina book which was going inside the cover.

After lunch Annette showed us lots of different ways to transfer images from photos/ photocopies and magazines/ newspapers onto our fabric books. We tried a few, and much too soon we had to finish and pack up. I have never known a day pass so quickly.

Here is everyone's work. Hopefully you will all be able to have a much better look on Monday when we meet.

We also thought it would be a good idea to encase the CD cases in these covers, and Annette has given us permission to show you all how to make the cases. So we will try and plan that activity into a future session.

If you would like to visit Annettes Blog its here.

See you all on Monday next week, with all your stitching and ideas.

(Maggie)

Exhibition At Steam 13 & 14th September 2008

2008-09-26T12:28:00.008+01:00

Thanks to Shirley for this photo. We had a very good weekend with lots of people interested in our forthcoming Exhibition in February 2009. The CD cases were admired by all, for the diversity of images and the wonderful textile work. Thanks to everyone who submitted the work for us to display and a huge thank you to those volunteers who stewarded over the weekend. Angela also took some good photos.. watch the October newsletter for more photos.

See you all at the next GWE meeting on Monday 13th October 10am- 3pm at Blackthorne Centre.
(Maggie)