Coming up in December

Grassington Embroiderers' Guild has a change to their published programme this month. Unfortunately, due to a hip operation, "Using an Embellisher" with Stella Hughes is being replaced with:

"A Christmas Patchwork Wreath" with Caroline Nicholls. Thank you to Caroline for standing in at very late notice! Please bring your basic sewing kit, red and green threads, and beads to embellish. Fabrics and a pattern will be provided.

For all those keen to use and learn about an embellisher, the Grassington Embroiderers' Guild will be creating samples during the Stitch Mornings of 2020. A final day workshop, using ideas from the samples created during the year, will take place at the December 2020 meeting.

November's Meeting

Our talk this month at Grassington Embroiderers' Guild, was from Joan Murray, an artist buzzing with excitement and innovation. Joan graduated in Textiles from Belfast College of Art, went on to specialise in weaving at Winchester School of Art and then moved sideways into knitting for her MA at the Royal College of Art in London.

As well as continually exhibiting her own works, she is a teacher at Craven College in Skipton.

Joan's garments have been sold to collections in the V&A, the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester, the Brighton and Hove Museum, and to a growing list of private clients. Her work breaks away from conservatism and conventionalism, but draws out individualism and experimentation. Her costumes conceal or accentuate the movement of the body and the space it describes.

Her long experience with a wide range of patterns, textures, colours and yarns means that many decisions are made by instinct as the work takes shape, usually around the idea of a living moving body. Joan loves to watch and draw ballet and modern dance.

The intriguing geometry of ordinary things led to her black and white collection, while collage drawings of birds in the RCA conservatory were the basis for another abstract work.

Joan continues with her drawing, collaging and painting which continue to give her a fresh source of inspiration.

Joan has encouraged her students to explore and incorporate geometry into fashion. The two photographs below illustrate this as she showed a piece of work from a College student.

Emily, another student from Skipton, very kindly illustrated her work in progress after studying simplistic architecture and transferring the ideas to fabric.

I think that all our members will agree that Joan's passion for textiles and the ability to convey this excitement to others made our talk at Grassington Embroiderers' Guild very special this month. 

Don't forget that Sat 16th & Sun 17 November is the annual festive crafts market in Skipton "Crafts in the Pen 2019".

Bolton Abbey Village Hall is hosting "History Wardrobe: Woman in Gold" on 14 Dec. Here is your chance to explore the lure of gold in fashion and the hidden world of women in art.

The Yorkshire and the Humber Region Embroiderers' Guild are running their residential summer school with some wonderful tutors, Jenny Adin-Christie, Liz Cooksey, Pippa Foulds, and Julia Triston . 

The Lampeter Quilt Museum also has two workshops in the summer.

Grassington Embroiderers' Guild always welcome new members to our monthly meetings and our programme is a reflection of the character of this creative textile group. All abilities of stitching will receive a very warm welcome and our diverse membership means there is always somebody to help and inspire you.