meetup.com

Our volunteer Katrina Williams has told me about something that I've only peripherally been aware of - www.meetup.com.
It's a site where you sign up and register your areas of interest. Then you get to know about relevant groups meeting locally. Katrina has been to a few needlework and sewing gatherings and says they've been brilliant.
Her theory is that meetup.com is soaring in popularity because Adult Education classes are so expensive now.
Meet-up gatherings are usually free or have a nominal fee. Katrina has met some very interesting people, exploring all sorts of different stitch related work, in the needlework groups. I will have to ask her to send me some photos.

Finishing up and starting exhibition pieces in Harrow

Photos from the latest class at Harrow.

Choosing materials for exhibition pieces

FInished Rose and Nightingale motif

Bina's completed work - finished beautifully with borders of her own design

Starting on exhibition pieces. Most people start with a pencil sketch on the calico to guide them.

Jacobean style patterns are proving popular

Bridging Arts' Katrina Williams with Lata

Texture and detail

Katrina Williams, our extremely hard-working and dedicated volunteer, has sent me some lovely photos from last December's workshops at Trillington House, Shepherds Bush (west London). Lots of close ups of embroidery that really capture the texture and detail of the pieces - you almost forget that they are embroidery as they seem to have a life of their own. (She has also sent some pictures of the group - that show how absorbed everyone became - even those who had never done any embroidery before.)
These photos are of embroidery brought in during the sessions - that people wanted to show others (it was interesting to see the wide range of things brought in). The ecclesiastical robes from Holy Innocent's Church, Hammersmith, are dazzling. But the detail on more mundane items dazzles, too.

Embroidery and a birthday party....

Photos from our latest embroidery workshop in Harrow. Am so sorry not to be able to make these classes myself - but Katherine Eves, who is leading them with Katrina Williams, is keeping me up to date with photos and info.
So many people brought in their embroidery - the photos speak for themselves.... And birthday celebrations, too... a great day by the look of it. I think I glimpse our long-standing and hugely supportive Wendy Benn -recently back from Japan  - in one of the shots!  Katherine reports...

"Everyone's sewing is coming on nicely ...The lady in the jumper is Kiran. I thought we made a good pair.

The lady who made the placemats is called Mosea. She painted them as pictures first and then made them into placemats. The designs are all her own.

It was Sweet's birthday. And she sang You're my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey.... which was lovely! I reminded them to bring something in next week. And the lovely lady who looks after them all said she would remind them. I hope they are going to wear their saris!"

(Am very sorry that I missed the singing!)

Goldwork

Birthday celebrations. Wendy Benn - far left

The fish motif, completed. Interesting how everyone adds a personal touch

Kiran and Katherine

And a close-up of Kiran's jumper

Next round of Faiths in Action workshops

Just to give the full picture: these started on Thursday 20th January at the Marlborough Hill Centre in Harrow. We have almost a full house. The idea is to give people of different faiths the chance to come together and build friendships through a shared interest - in this case, embroidery. Some familiar faces from other projects. Meherun, at the Asian Women's Resource Centre, has worked hard to bring people on board.
We have also advertised via Gumtree and local churches.
Leading things this week: Katherine Eves and Katrina Williams, the second workshop of the week for them.
Thanks to our funding from Faiths in Action (via Communities and Local Goverment) we can offer these sewing circles and the materials needed for them, free of charge.
There is also a lunch club at these sessions.

Tea party on Uxbridge Road

Our first event at Trillington House, Uxbridge Road. This is sheltered accommodation run by Notting Hill Housing (a major London housing trust). We have been hoping for some time to work on embroidery with groups of elderly people in residential homes, and at last we have the chance. It is an icy morning but everyone is in good spirits. We are very fortunate to have Rosa Martyn from the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) to demonstrate some stitches.  And of course Bridging Arts workshop assistant Katherine Eves and volunteer Katrina Williams, who has been a mainstay of the project from the start.

Katherine Eves talking about her new embroidered book, about her Uncle.

Andrew, telling the group his story

Rosa from the Royal School of Needlework, demonstrating crewelwork (embroidery with wool). She is embroidery a Christmas present for her grandmother.

 

 

 

 

 

A break halfway through.

Katherine Eves, an illustration graduate who has cast aside her drawing pen for the needle, shows her latest embroidered book. I show the dress embroidered for me by my mother, for my first birthday. This is a work of art, with a fringe of flowers from Cornwall (where I grew up) around the hem.

 Inspired, Norma and Sylvia go upstairs to fetch some of their own collections.

A needlepoint picture owned by Norma

Tania's crochet

The Stitch Roadshow at the Meena Bazaar

The Stitch Roadshow at the Meena Bazaar, a day for women only at the Baitful Futuh Mosque, Morden, south London. The embroidery on display was created in Wandsworth over the past 12 months with groups of Muslim and non-Muslim women. 

Our new packs were on display (we're starting another course with them in July) ....

Visitors looking at embroidery...

The mosque...

Katrina Williams, who has helped with the project from the start ...

A visitor's henna-ed hands

And another visitor's pink handbag, chosen to match her long-sleeved pink t-shirt.

Friday Late Stitched Up

Katrina reminds me that there is a Friday late night stitching evening on 30 April at the V&A, to coincide with the Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition. More on the V&A website.

Quilts 1700-2010

Meet up with Katrina later in the week at the V&A to go to the long-awaited quilts exhibition. A big show and a lot to see.
18th century work amongst the most intriguing - made of treasured and valuable scraps of fabric, in particular Indian chintz so admired that the government banned its import (to protect domestic production). Pictured: A Bed Hanging (1730-50).
Would have liked to have seen more from the US.
And .....I have to say, I think I saw more breath-taking contemporary quilts at Creative Exhibition's Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham last summer.
Great to see that The Subversive Stitch by Rozsika Parker has been reprinted, presumably in honour of the show.
Am almost inspired to take the sewing machine out over the weekend.

Projects for the Easter holidays....

I am not a Daily Mail fan. But keen Stitch supporter Katrina Williams points out that they have a good craft page ... Interesting projects - maybe - for the Easter holidays....

Two Stitch Christmas cards and a present

Two wonderful Christmas cards with a Stitch theme ....
Crocheted snow-white flowers from Katrina Williams (above) who has been a lynchpin of the project since it started. And from Momtaz Begum-Hossain a printed card with a button and flower edged with inked stitches. Plus.... a spectacular brooch with which to dazzle on dark winter afternoons. (Momtaz and her sisters are loyal supporters of Bridging Arts, all producing fabulous entries for the British Sari Story annual competition.) A very Merry Christmas to Katrina, Momtaz, Joleka and Fatema - and everyone who has worked so hard on Stitch this year.

Making up the embroidery packs

Only four days to go before we launch the packs in Battersea. Katrina Williams hard at work cutting felt for the goldwork packs.



















She has already cut 20cm swatches of calico, measured threads, sorted needles....

Knitting and Stitching Show team

At the Knitting and Stitching Show.
We were so fortunate - thanks to Twisted Thread - to have a fantastic position for the display by the doors. About 50,000 people visit the show over four days. Early afternoon on the first day, just after the lunchtime rush, there was a chance for a photo. Katrina Williams (left) who has volunteered throughout and taken the project to her heart, Bridging Arts' Hannah Walker, me, and Priya Kulkarni who looked stunning in her sari. And a rare chance to capture our designer, David Cross (below) the mastermind behind the display, on camera.