Devore Workshop with Dionne Swift held in September.

The following is a report from Carole Sams – our Joint Chairman.

The devore workshop was a delightful day, Dionne Swift is a gifted textile artist and a proficient instructor.   Much of the successes we all had was down to Dionne being very well organized and good at keeping the group focused and working all the time. 

We had a choice between making a scarf or doing some samples, I chose the samples (it all helps for my City and Guilds).

The day started with everyone completing a sample utilizing a simple design and using the devore paste on a screen print frame, the velvet was dried, heated under a press then put into water to rub the treated pile away, later in the day the fabric was dyed.

We then went onto our final piece and I was delighted with my samples; however some of the scarves produced were absolutely stunning with lots of ‘oohs and aahs’ as they came out of the buckets of dye.  Dionne told us we were her last Saturday group as she intends to spend future weekends with her family so we posed in the rain for a photo to go onto her website.  We had a lovely day playing and ended up with some fabulous scarves and samples as you can see.

PRESTON THREADS EXHIBITION

The newly refurbished 
Rossendale’s Museum and Art Gallery, now known as
THE WHITAKER, Whitaker Park, Rawtenstall, Lancs. BB4 6RE
will be the venue for our latest exhibition
from 8th November to 8th December.
Open 10am – 4pm, Tuesday – Sunday

“EXPLORING THREADS”
will include 2 different collections of work carried out over the past 2 years to include -
‘SITE SPECIFIC’ – and - ‘COLOURED THREADS’

There will also be some new sample studies of ‘PORTRAIT’ pieces on show.

The Preview will take place on Saturday 9th November at 1p.m when you can ‘Meet the Makers’ – talking about their work.  
PLUS – 2 workshops
Saturday 16th November - 'Stitching from a Portrait'
Sunday 1st December - 'Exploring Hand Stitch'

Please contact the Gallery to book courses on 01706 218858
and our website for more information – www.prestonthreads.co.uk

                                  
          

Chairman’s Challenge winning entry

WEST BAY, DORSET by Anne Stark -

OCTOBER MEETING–Saturday 12th

Kate Bufton  will be our speaker this month with a talk entitled –
'Book Transformations - Get into the Mind of a Book Artist'

She will speak about her life as a book artist; where her ideas come from and her inspiration. Where she started & where she is now, with her creative journey in between.

By altering the  original form of books through various cuts and folds they are transformed from a carrier of text to an object of Art.

OCTOBER COLOUR RAFFLE - “PLACES”

SILVER COAST, PORTUGAL

Saturday 14th September–AGM

The meeting started with the AGM – reports from the Chairman and Accounts and the voting in of new committee members.

The retiring Joint Chairman – Anne Baldwin and Sue Tyldesley (who unfortunately could not be present) were thanked for their 3 years service to the Branch and presented with Gift Tokens in appreciation for all their hard work  – including the Outreach programme when we visited local Libraries, which gained us some new members and the very exciting and successful exhibition held in June this year.

New committee would be as follows -
Joint Chair – Carole Sams and Kay Kellaway.
Secretary – Marguerite McBride
plus 2 new members – Nicky Robertson and Deborah McLarnon-Riches.
All other posts would remain as before.

3 members of the Branch have completed their City & Guilds courses and a presentation of her certificate was made to  Carole Sams  by the Regional Chairman – a member of our Branch.

Carole, Eileen Bramwell, and Sue Tyldesley  - who were not present at the meeting -achieved distinctions and a merits between them, and should all be congratulated for their success in passing, with such excellent results.

At the end of the Chairman’s 3 years we hold a  Challenge competition for a piece of work following a theme set by the outgoing Chairmen - this year’s title was -
‘My Favourite Place’ – no bigger than A4 in any direction.

This year’s winner - Anne Stark being presented by our outgoing Chairman – Anne Baldwin – with the Therese De Dillmont Embroidery book – which she will keep for 3 years – hope you enjoy it Anne.

A photograph of Anne’s piece will be shown later.

September meeting–Talk by Karen Martindale ‘ Bags of Inspiration’

Karen is a self confessed ‘collector of bags and to prove this she brought with her a huge collection of different  types.

Karen explained that she comes from a long line of Textile workers and was surrounded by hats, bags, and clothes from a very young age.

She started collecting when she was about 6 buying her first purse at a jumble sale(for 6d – old money which some of us still remember!!), going on to collect Victorian beaded purses; Art Deco handbags with Bakelite clasps; gaming and misers purses; hanging pockets – as in the nursery rhyme ‘Lucy Locket’ and sweet bags which were scented with rose petals to disguise nasty ‘unwashed’ smells – another nursery rhyme –’Ring a Roses, a pocket full of posies’.

Some of the bags she brought to show us – far too many to photograph individually so I have shown a few that I particularly liked.