May 2025 Duo of Workshops with Gill Roberts and Kim Parkman.
This month we began to attach and appliqué the individual motifs on to the All Hallows Altar Frontal.We also had the choice of learning and practising the technique of appliqué as used by the Royal School of Needlework, if we were not present last month. At the same time we had a Bring and Stitch session for those members who just wanted to meet up with like minded people for a time of socialising.
April 2025 Workshop “Appliqué” with Gill Roberts and Michele King
Appliqué is a stitch technique that involves attaching fabric pieces to a larger piece of fabric to create a design. We learned this is the method used by the Royal School of Needlework and is a preparation to sewing the individual pieces we have stitched on to the altar frontal background. As a group we are creating a new Altar Frontal for All Hallows Church, which will be used to celebrate the church’s 150th anniversary. We discovered that this is a very slow painstaking method, using a very small curved needle, which was not readily mastered by all who took part in the group.
March 2025 Workshop “Spring Cross Stitch” with Michele King. Photograph by Michele King
Cross-stitch dates back to the sixth or seventh centuries AD. It is a simple stitch that can be used in many ways. During this 3-hour workshop, Michele showed the group two different ways to make the cross-stitch. There was a wide choice of different patterns to make, each of which could then be used for a card, hanging decoration or put into a frame. A few of the pieces from the workshop are shown below.
MEsG Cross Stitch Workshop 2025
February 2025 Workshop “Chicken Scratch” with Miranda Farby
Miranda Farby ably showed us how to embroider gingham with Chicken Scratch embroidery to make a cushion front in a 3 hour workshop. Chicken Scratch is a form of folk embroidery made with simple stitches on gingham, using the pattern as part of the effect to create surprising results. This was a very enjoyable workshop and everyone came away having achieved a lot as you can see from the photographs
January 2025 Talk and Zoom “My Practice” by Anne Kelly
We booked the internationally renowned textile-based mixed-media artist Anne Kelly to talk about her work and practice from her studio in Kent. Anne’s work spans a wide range of techniques applied to a variety of different types of items. She is interested in nature as a theme and showed us slides of some of the many embroideries she has created and exhibited. Anne Kelly mixes traditional and contemporary stitches, machine embroidery and other media to create unique pieces. She has exhibited and won prizes world wide, and is the author of several best selling books.