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Ican hardly believe that we are in Decemberalready – a time for reflection and a time to look

forward. Branches up and down the country havecelebrated being part of the Guild for 10, 20, 30 yearsand more, up to 60 years. All started from humble beginnings but with a desire to share and enjoy stitch.Whether your branch is 1 year old or 60 years old itthrives because of the willingness of members to takeon various roles within the branch and region. Somehave celebrated with exhibitions and some with teaand cake - another thing we all have in common!

As a charity the Guild could not function without thewillingness of its members and, as with other charities,we depend on our volunteers to promote and supportthe Guild. On behalf of the trustees I would like to sayhow truly grateful we are for the time and support yougive to the Guild. The trustees are also volunteers andover recent times we have seen our workload increase,especially with the demands placed on us by compliance.

We, as trustees, are also aware of the impossible

workload our CEO and staff have. We take them forgranted and assume they are there at the end of aphone or email, all of which they do with unfailinggood humour. On behalf of us all I thank them andhope they know how much they mean to us all.

As we look forward to 2020, let us reflect on thegood times we have - in our branches and regions, atworkshops and day schools with like-minded people,not forgetting the cake!

As members of a charity we are all custodians of theorganisation. We would like it to be there for the fu-ture of stitch for others to enjoy and share the manygood experiences and friendships made over the years.

On behalf of the trustees I wish you all a very HappyChristmas and a stitch-enriching New Year.

Muriel CampbellChair of the Board of Trustees

Do you know a teacher or lecturer who is beyond competent,someone who is truly inspirational?

The £1,000 prize from the Embroiderers’ Guild is presented to help theaward winner take their practice and teaching to an even higher level.

We are seeking nominations for or from someone who is truly inspira-tional, with results to match, including students who achieve beyond expectations. If members know of a particularly talented textilesteacher/lecturer please let them know about the Award.– Applications are welcome at any time– The closing date is 24 February 2020– Shortlist interviews (dates to be confirmed) – Award ceremonies (dates to be confirmed)

Applications are welcome from:Teachers, lecturers and tutors in higher, further and communityeducation.

For further details please go to: www.embroiderersguild.com/Teachers & Students Beryl Dean Award

Beryl Dean Awardfor Teaching Excellence 2020

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Commemorating Peterloo

‘Commemoration’ was Manchester Branch’s theme for2018 and 2019, enabling us to include the Guild’s 100Hearts project, our own ‘Suffragette Hearts’, and mostimportantly for Manchester, the 200th anniversary ofthe Peterloo Massacre.

The three key features of any group project were evident: thinking for a long time, designing ‘as-you-go’and frantic stitching. Everything came together eventu-ally, however, in time for the finished panel to be dis-played for a couple of months in Stockport Library,where it was a backdrop to their Peterloo events, before moving on to the Working Class Movement Library in Salford for six weeks just before the actualanniversary on 16 August.

The starting point for the design was the events of 16August 1819 being hidden and forgotten. The base

panel is an interpretation of an 1819 Peterloo mapheld by the British Library, overlaid with the nine frontbays of the building that now partially covers the siteof the Massacre – formerly it was the Free Trade Hall(actually the third hall on the site) and is now a hotel.To enable the map to be partially seen, the stitching ofthe bays is on silk organza.

At the foot of each bay there are two faceless (andtherefore forgotten) people – 18 in total – the numberthought to have died as a result of the day’s events;other members of the crowd are represented in profileon the side panels. Ideas were taken from a drawing ofthe time, which is now available as a print – and wasactually printed onto commemorative handkerchiefs in1819/1820. Banners in the crowd show wording fromthose carried on the day.

The horizontal panel at the foot of the hanging showsthe wording ‘Ye are many, they are few’ taken, ofcourse, from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem ‘The Masqueof Anarchy’. Horizontal and vertical sashing have thenames of those who died and the home towns and villages of some of the hundreds who were injured.

Twenty or so of our branch members took part in thehand embroidery, with more helping create the crowdwith oilsticks and paper masks – a punishment for requesting too many repeats of questions at our December meeting quiz!

The hanging has now returned to the branch but willbe on display again on our stand at the ManchesterCreative Crafts Show from Thursday 30 January to Sat-urday 1 February 2020 and upstairs at The ManchesterAntique Textile Fair on Sunday 29 March 2020.

Sue Johnson

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We would love to hear of the events and experiences your branch has enjoyed in the last year and share themwith all our members in future issues of Contact Monthly. Please send your copy and any images (high res jpgs) to contact@embroiderersguild.com.

NEW BOOK IN 2020The New Year sees the publicationof the third book in the Embroi-dered Treasures series, publishedby Search Press. The latest book, ‘Embroidered Treasures, Animals’features historical work from theEmbroiderers’ Guild Collection and

contemporary work by members ofthe Embroiderers’ Guild in response to recent projects and exhibitions. From crouching tigers,to fearsome dragons and tiny harvest mice to magnificent elephants, the range of animal lifeis extensive. Chapters include; animals in monochrome, animalsfrom many lands, applied materialsand machine embroidery.

This is not a techniques book butis full of inspirational photographsand stories behind the featured embroideries. It is fascinating to seethe work of young girls in the 17thcentury samplers and comparetheir meticulous work with the exuberance of colour and design,achieved by children today. It is interesting to see examples of earlymachine embroidery achieved on ahand operated sewing machine andthe free machine embroidery of today.Black work, white work, raised

work and metal thread embroideryare just some of the techniques inthis book, which is a celebration of animals, of embroidery and the Embroiderers’ Guild.

Annette Collinge

Retailing at £20.00, the book isavailable to pre-order from SearchPress. Guild members can take advantage of a £6.00 discount perbook. Add the book to your basket,click on ‘View Basket’, enter the discount code EGBOOKS30 in thePromo Code box and click on Redeem. This will automatically deduct£6 from the retail price of £20.00. https://www.searchpress.com/

For a chance to win a signed copyof the new book, please see our competition on page 12 of thisissue of Contact monthly.

Ross-on-Wye branch met for thefirst time in November and got offto a great start. Twenty six ladies attended the first meeting to makename badges, progress their own

work or just chat, and continued inthe same vein at the ‘sit and stitch’meeting a few days later. Bothmeetings were much enjoyed andeveryone looked forward to Richard

Box’s talk in December.

Judith MortimoreSW Region Secretary and Ross onWye branch member

A SUCCESSFUL FIRST MEETING FOR ROSS-ON-WYE BRANCH

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Starting from humble beginnings, embroideries, photo-graphs, articles on embroidery and original designswere accumulated for the purpose of distribution, inboxes , to members. They were called ‘Model Boxes’and they were the forerunners of present-day foliosused by members and Guild branches for study, inspiration and learning.

Borrow a FolioThe Embroiderers’ Guild Collection contains a numberof Folios which are available for individual membersand branches to take out on loan for use at branchmeetings or study. A Folio contains up to 20 boards ofexamples of a particular type of stitching, embroideryor textile from a certain period. Each board is placed inan acetate envelope and the board can be removed forhandling, scanning or photography. The contents mayalso be displayed at exhibitions. A full list of the foliosand their current status (in use, available dates, inneed of refurbishment etc.) can be viewed by clickingon the heading Folios, ‘Status/Availability’ on the Guildwebsite. A brief description of the contents of eachfolio is shown under the heading ‘Contents of Folios’.

Book a visit The Collection is an exciting record of embroidery fromthe 16th century onwards and is worldwide in its content from Britain through Europe to Asia and beyond. Ranging in date from Coptic times to the present day and gathered from around the world,these embroideries give insight into how embroideryhas been made and used in the past and the presentcultures around the globe. Catalogued items also include designs, threads and needlework tools.

The Bucks County Museum Resource Centre is openfrom Monday to Friday and this is where you will findthe stored EG Collection, Folios and Library. Volunteerswill select or respond to requests to see pieces notpart of the permanent gallery exhibition. They will alsomake available a selection of folios. The library booksare easily accessible and there is no charge to visit theResource Centre to view the EG Collection.

Allow 1.5 to 2 hours for a visit to the Resource Centre. Perhaps planning a visit to both the museum(say in the morning) and the Resource Centre (say inthe afternoon) and stop for lunch and a walk around inthe pretty village of Wendover. Subject to your direc-tion of travel you may wish to visit the museum in theafternoon. There is ample free parking on the ResourceCentre site.

If a group of branch members wish to visit BucksCounty Museum and/or Bucks County Resource Centreplease download the booking form which you will findon the Guild website under Members’ Room , News forMembers then scroll down to available dates and thelink to Branch Group Visit Booking Form for BucksCounty Museum and Museum Resource Centre. Complete this and then email it to: conservationtrustee@embroiderersguild.com.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Liz Smith

Visit the Embroiderers’ Guild Textile Collection

Floods bring two new members...

Derbyshire Branch’s 9th Novembermeeting, a wet and windy day withfloods in the town centre and accessto the Hall we use being difficult formany – not to mention that our

Speaker had cancelled at 7.00amdue to flooding on the train linesshe was intending to use. It was decided to cancel the meeting,phone calls to members from7.30am informing them of this. OurChairman, Eve Cook, thought it bestto go to the Hall ‘just in case’. Noregular members turned up – the

phone calls had worked – but twoladies who had visited the previousmonth, but had not joined, did turnup. Eve gave them a coffee, had achat and they duly joined. So despite no meeting, we now havetwo more fully signed up members!!

Pam Keeling

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Eastern Region 2019 Summer School

Twenty eight of us gathered at the Belsey Bridge Conference Centre in Norfolk in August for our Summer School weekend. Some of us were old hands,coming for years and looking forward to a creativeweekend with friends in the embroidery world, others were newbies. We had all chosen one of three options,one involving layering and hand stitch, another machine embroidery and the third sculptural 3D experiments:

Dilys Harvey on Libby Smith’s course ‘Kantha Still Life’‘We all came prepared having researched modern stilllife artists for a suitable design source and learnedfrom Libby that we were going to interpret by layeringsheer fabrics, using the shapes of the chosen design,and then stitch them together with running stitch, justas Bengali women do for their famous Kantha Quilts,giving texture and depth to the background fabrics.This contemporary approach to update the ancientKantha technique fascinated me.

Libby is a most generous, innovative and informativetutor and we learned an unusual way of using Prociondyes to colour sheer fabrics used in the background.Some wonderful results emerged as the weekend progressed reflecting the wide design choices of water-colours and oil paintings, including flowers, fruit, fishand ceramics.’

Helen Durrant on Lindsay Taylor’s course ‘Shoes’‘With our sewing machines ready and a generous packof materials from Lindsay, our first task was to makepixie-shoe pincushions of leaf shapes free machined onorganza silk giving us an insight into some of the basicprocesses. Lindsay demonstrated techniques extremelywell, encouraging and supporting each of us. As well asher beautiful samples, we also had access to lots of inspirational reference books.

Then we began to consider our own flower shoeideas. We made the soles from Buckram, which we covered with silk and moulded into shape. Everyonechose a different flower including sweet-peas, delphiniums and orchids and we worked on water soluble fabric making the parts of the flower, stemsand leaves. Stems and leaves were made in a variety ofways for example stitching torn fabric over wire. Weenjoyed responding to the natural world, working inthread as much as fabric, exploring a more three-dimensional approach and working together with ourgenerous and supportive tutor. We were all inspired bythe intricacy and visual delight of Lindsay’s work, aswell as the thoughtfulness behind her creations.’

Image top right shows our shoe creations.

Frances Overy on Debbie Lyddon’s course ‘Sculptural Forms’

‘I wanted to learn something different, a techniquethat I could take further and develop in my own way toshow my work in a different manner, and I certainly didthat. Debbie’s brilliant teaching invited us all to playwith paper and then fabrics that we had stiffened bycutting, bending, folding and pleating to create won-derful architectural shapes into which we stitched. Inspiration came from organic and man-made shapesin the local environment, from Debbie and from eachother. There was much fun and laughter within thegroup, the gelling process between us was almost instantaneous as we all had a common purpose.It was a fantastic weekend.’

Throughout the weekend we all wandered into theother workshops and then before finishing we had a‘Show and Tell’. All agreed that the results were verygood, we’d had such a friendly time in the company oflike-minded stitchers from not just the Eastern Regionbut distant ones too and some non-Guild members. .

Dilys finishes by writing: ‘Now I can’t wait for nextyear’s summer school!’

Next year’s programme is published and applicationsare coming in. The choice is between Lino Cutting withAnna Pye, Batik work with Jenny O’Leary and Land-scape Machine Embroidery with Nodeen Salmon.Details are on the Guild website, or email Ruth Holmeson ruthkingslynnembroideryguild@yahoo.co.uk.Frances Overy

A Talk by Deborah Collum Wednesday 15 January 7pm – 9pm Deborah will show examples of her textile work using arange of materials including fabric and stitch. The Warwickshire countryside colours, textures, local land-scape, farmland and fields inspire her. Using vintagematerials, her textile art reflects the traditions ofwomen from a bygone age and her entertaining talkwill walk us through her textile journey. Free for members, £5 for visitors. Workshop – ‘Four Fields’ with Deborah Collum Wednesday 19 February 7pm – 9pmFollowing her talk in January, we will create ‘FourFields’ in her colourful and textured style. Materialssupplied, bring basic sewing kit. Free for members,£5 for visitors.

The Joy of SAORI Weaving - Amanda Edney Wednesday 18 March 7pm – 9pm Amanda will talk about, explain the philosophy, showsamples and demonstrate this Japanese form of freestyle hand weaving on a SAORI loom. This form ofweaving has been developed to make it accessible toall abilities and ages. See www.beautifulcloth.co.ukFree for members, £5 for visitors.

Theatre & Costume Design Wednesday 15 April 7pm – 9pmThis promises to be an exciting evening with Abi Jack-son, who is a designer and maker of custom garments.Over the past 30 years she has built up a client basethroughout the UK from her Northampton studio. Hertalk will be illustrated with examples of her innovativecreations. See www.abijackson.com and be inspired.Free for members, £5 for visitors.

STOP PRESS – ‘Abstracted Land’ Workshop withAmanda Hislop Monday 17 February, 10 – 4pmBDF Village Hall, Bourton on Dunsmore, CV23 9QT

A design workshop using mixed media and stitch tocreate a collage inspired by the landscape. Members£35, non-members £40. Limited places. Emailgosling456@btinternet.com Heart of the Stitch welcomes beginners wishing to enhance their skills and more experienced embroider-ers looking for inspiration. We have speakers on many related topics, workshops, demonstrations and opportunities to exhibit and study the world of embroidery and textiles. For programme informationcontact: judlaundon@aol.co.uk

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The Heart of the Stitch embroidery group meets monthly7pm - 9pm on the 3rd Wednesday at Daventry Methodist

Church, Golding Close, Daventry NN11 4FBFor information contact Janet Gosling by email:

gosling456@btinternet.com

EVENTS IN 2020

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East Surrey Branch Banner funded by Banstead and Reigate Arts Council and designed by a member’s daughter

WHITE DOVES IN SCUNTHORPEA flock of white felt doveswith embroidered wingsand tails settled on theChristmas tree Scun-thorpe Branch entered inthe Rotary Club's ‘Festivalof Christmas Trees’. Thisannual event is held overtwo weekends in Decem-ber to raise money for thelocal hospice and this wasour second year ofinvolvement. Confirma-tion that we were allo-cated a space came justbefore our Septembermeeting, giving memberstwo months to make theircontributions.

I really shouldn't be sosurprised that such a limited space for embroi-dery produces such colourful results and

other tree decoratorswere equally impressedby our beautiful birds.

After our embroideryexhibition earlier this yearin the Museum of NorthLincolnshire we were invited to lend a somepieces for their ‘IronYouth’ winter exhibitionand we have three pieceson display. Ruth Neller

Triangle Challenge ExhibitionRunning until the 20 December, our exhibition washeld at The Hub, Community Centre, Reigate andwanting to maximise any opportunities for a publicpresence in order to recruit more members, wewere grateful to the Community Centre for the opportunity to show the public a small sample ofour work.

Carol Hicks, Secretary, East Surrey Embroiderers

The National Day of Stitch will be held on Saturday20th June 2020 and the theme is ‘BIRDS’ as agreed atthe last meeting of Council.

How that is interpreted by your branch or region isup to you. Our members up and down the country always come up with amazing and innovative ideas.

Design Trustee Loetitia Gibier will be working samples and providing patterns and templates for youto use as she did this year, and these will be availablenext year on the Guild website and in the March 2020issue of Contact monthly.

NATIONAL STITCH DAY 2020

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Random Stitchers of Cleveland branch (Guisborough)were asked by Gisborough Priory Project group if theywould be interested in making a banner to mark the900th year of the Priory.

After much discussion amongst the members, aworking party of 4 began to explore the brief – thesewere Sue Chipchase (who designed the banner), BerylFrank (who sourced the fabric) with Marion Calvertand Lynda Jamieson. The time scale was tight as it wasnow spring 2019 and the banner was to be ready forthe end of September 2019.

Certain subjects were to be included and the projectwas divided into areas. Each member would choosetheir own style of working.

The centre section depicts the herbs and flowers of

the Priory garden. Shades of green cotton fabricsquares were worked by individual members. A rangeof freestyle and traditional stitching was used includingstumpwork, ribbon work, applique, beading and machine embroidery. Leather and fabric formed the 3Dmedieval Gisburne Bible.

The ancient trees of the Monks Walk in the Priorygrounds were created out of painted, raised andcouched strips of fabric.

A silhouette of the Priory east window was bondedon to a yellow ground then machine embroidered. Foliage was added by hand. Embroidered silver dates1119-2019 frame the priory.

The dovecote is a popular feature. It was paintedand enhanced with stitch and diamond and squareshapes based on found medieval tiles that werepainted onto calico and then highlighted.

Four historic shields complete the banner with thecentral figure 900 worked in Bayeux stitch. From left toright there is the Fauconberg shield in patchwork andcouching, the De Brus and the Priory shields worked inneat long and short stitch and the Thweng shield withits stumpwork green parrots.

During August all individual pieces came together. Bystarting with the centre area and using the 'stitch andflip' method each section was assembled ontowadding, backing fabric and then the edges were finished with contrast binding onto the reverse. Ahanging sleeve was added detailing the names of all 30members who had contributed.

It was a fascinating learning process for us all. Thecompleted banner was gratefully accepted by the Priory Project Group who were delighted with the result.

The banner can be seen in Guisborough Library during the winter months and in the Priory InformationOffice during the summer. (Check venues for opening times.)

There have been historical changes to the spelling ofGisborough over the years. Today it is Guisborough.

Linda Danby, Chairman.

Gisborough Priory Project

Embroiderers’ Guild AGM 2020, Saturday 25th AprilThe Priory Rooms, 40 Bull Street, Birmingham B4 6AF

The Priory Rooms is located in the heart of Birmingham City Centre and is easily accessed from three mainline railway stations, tram and by car.

Early-Bird Ticket – only available until 31st January 2020: £39.50 Delegate Ticket: £44.50 – ticket price for the day includes a sandwich & salad lunch and teas & coffees

Please download and print the BOOKING FORM (all details on how to apply are on the form)https://embroiderersguild.com/index.php?page_no=1003

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COMING SOONto a PC, phone, or tablet near you!

You will know that the Guild has been working on thecreation of a virtual on-line branch for some time. It’snot been easy and has taken a lot of work but we cannow give you a taste of what is to come!

The Virtual Branch will be known as ThreadIT. Providing not only a shared, on-line community formembers, but – like any other branch – will inform,teach, and challenge them, helping members to improve their skills, and try out new ones.

We are currently in a testing phase, with volunteers

busy chatting in discussion groups, reading featuresand checking out the ThreadIT library, which containsan extensive Stitch Directory and where we are alsodeveloping a dictionary of techniques (and one forproducts and tools, too).

Among the regular features we are planning to publish will be a series on vintage transfer patterns andother motifs, articles about group projects such as theStamford Bridge Panels, focus features on particularstitches or techniques, interviews with textile artistsand embroiderers about their work, book reviews, andpractical ‘how-to’s’. There will also be a series of stitching projects, exploring different techniques andapproaches.

The projects we have prepared so far include a Kantha inspired panel, a chain stitched motif and themaking of a stitch sampler book – and much, muchmore to come!

We are hoping to extend our testing in the New Yearand will be asking for volunteers to join us in makingsure that ThreadIT supports the kind of shared community we want to see.

Penny Hill, Social Media TrusteeSocialMediaTrustee@embroiderersguild.com

Image from left Featherstitch sampler, Celtic motif

GUILD MEMBER AND PAST SCHOLAR TO LEAD TEXTILE TOUR TO INDIA

We caught up with Helen Sill at the Knitting & Stitching show in London where she was an ‘Artist in Action’ withArt Van Go. Helen is looking forward to leading a fabulous Colourlicious Textile Tour to Rajasthan in October2020. If you are interested in textiles and eager to take a closer look at the traditions and textiles of India thenthis could be a great holiday for you. Helen has recently returned from a textile tour of Gujarat in North WestIndia and she teaches and talks to groups about her textile work and travels. If you are interested in joining heron her next textile trip or would like to book her for a talk please visit her website for more details: www.helensill.com

Early on this year the Collection Committee receivedoffers of works from the families of Val Campbell-Harding and Muriel Best. We were very excited to receive the work of two of our long-standing memberswho had given so much to the world of embroideryand the Embroiderers’ Guild in terms of their own personal body of work and their teaching. Thisprompted us to launch an addition to our portfolio provision for members.

We feel that it is vital to document the contributionof those who have helped us and guided us in the development of our skills and design. We hope to beable to continue with the high level of presentation inthese folios with the help and guidance of our amazingband of volunteers at Halton, Bucks County Museum.

With the addition of more information in terms oftheir career, writing and teaching, we hope that students of embroidery will find these a unique research facility in the future.

One slide from the work of Val Campbell-Harding

illustrates a book cover in machine embroidery and theother illustrates just one of the pages from her visualresearch books.

One of the slides from the work of Muriel Best illustrates a collection of historically inspired walnutsized purses which form part of a large collection ofcontemporary and historical purses. The other slide illustrates a North American cigar pouch.

We hope that this will encourage other embroidererswho have influenced others with their teaching andpersonal work to feel that this is a wonderful way tocelebrate their contribution for future generations tostudy and enjoy.

Anthea Godfrey

Top left Val Campbell-Harding book cover (detail), Muriel BestNorth American cigar pouch (detail)

NEW items FOR THE GUILD COLLECTION

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Coming up in the JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020

edition of Embroidery magazine…

We’ve packed the January/February 2020edition of Embroidery magazine with plentyof inspiration for a new year and a fresh creative start. On the cover, Anna Ray’scolourful deconstructed tapestry sets thetone. Whether working with hand embroidery or large-scale mixed media, sheis one of our brightest talents, as is IanBerry, who creates portraits and 3D installa-tions that are so realistic, people often mis-take them for photographs. In fact Ianmakes his work from old denim jeans, whichhe repurposes, saving them from becominglandfill. We talk to Ann Goddard, whostarted her journey as a City & Guilds textilestudent, and has just been awarded the£5,000 first prize in the Vlieseline Fine ArtTextiles Award, and it’s a joy to meet NicolaHenley and find out more about her expressive textile hangings. Finally we findout about ‘Unbound’, a new exhibition thatreveals the stories of seven female textilecollectors from the Victorian age through totoday, and launch a new series called TheSewing Room, where we step inside Ali Ferguson’s studio space: she reveals whyher ‘purple shed’ is a home from home.

Jo Hall, Editor

Nicola Henley, Curlews and Mist (detail) 2017,118 x 83cm. Photographer Max McClure

SUPPORT YOUR GUILD...and take out a subscription to Embroidery,each issue is filled with ideas and articles toinspire you. To subscribe to the print edition of Embroidery call the hotline:01778 392468, email: Embroidery@warn-ersgroup.co.uk, write: FREEPOST, WarnersGroup, (EMBR), online:mymagazinesub.co.uk/embroidery. Six issues per year inc p&p:UK £31.25, Europe £39.00, USA £45.30, Other £46.50.

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‘Seeing this is such a life-enriching experience!’‘Absolutely speechless, and in awe ofthe skill on display here! Thank youfor all the pleasure it has given me’‘Such a creative selection and beautiful exhibition’‘Absolutely incredible - as a geogra-phy teacher I enjoyed all the mapsand global artwork; as a person whoadores craft, I have been amazed atthe quality and genius of many of thepieces.’‘A wonderful exhibition - a lovely variety of well executed pieces, thank you.’‘The work on display is absolutelybeautiful as ever, always a treat tosee such skilled art.’

HOME Should you have missed visiting theHOME exhibition at both Knitting &Stitching shows this year, all thepieces will be on display at the Fashion & Embroidery Show next yearat the NEC, Birmingham, 19-22 March. The following are just some of thequotes left by visitors to the stand:

COMPETITIONEmbroidered Treasures: Animals, by Dr Annette Collinge

You have a chance to win a signed copy of the new book on the Guild Collection, due to be published nextspring by Search Press. Email your answers to the 10 questions below (all of the answers can be found in thisissue of Contact monthly) to contact@embroiderersguild.com with your name and membership number. Closing date for entries is 10 March 2020.

1 Which central figure on a banner is worked in Bayeux stitch?2 When did the Ross-on-Wye branch first meet?3. Whose textile hanging is called Curlews and Mist ?4. What is the Guild’s Virtual branch called?5. Who is leading a textile tour to Rajasthan next year?6. Which Guild exhibition left a visitor ‘absolutely speechless’?7. What prize was Ann Goddard awarded?8. Where will the 100 Hearts be displayed in February 2020?9. Which poem is ‘Ye are many, they are few’ taken from?10. Where did ‘a flock of white felt doves with embroidered wings and tails’ settle?

Clockwise from top left ‘HOME’ by Lesley Wood, Sian Kibblewhite and Laura Edgar

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IN MEMORY OFJoyce Mary Pitcairn StevensonI have recently been given the information that one ofour former members has died. Unfortunately due to illhealth she had been unable to come to Guild meet-ings for some time but had still kept in touch, sendingfabrics and threads to the Young Embroiderers atevery opportunity.

Joyce Mary Pitcairn Stevenson, died on 15th Sep-tember 2019 aged 95. She was born on 10th April1924, in Shinyanga, Tanganyika (Tanzania), and movedto Cyprus. From here she was sent to England to go toboarding school and during this time the SecondWorld War broke out. She later trained as a teacher inBedford. Her first love was always art and art courses.She was privileged to have been tutored by John Farleigh at Central School of Arts & Crafts, London.She also loved music and played violin in the BedfordCollege Orchestra.

Her parents returned to South Africa and she joinedthem to take up a teaching post, then married in 1946.She spent early married years in Malaya where Andreaand Adrian were born. The family returned to Scotlandin 1957 where Alison completed the family. Joycetaught in primary schools in Aberdeen and becamehead of the Nursery Nurse College there. On retire-ment she moved to Crediton, Devon where she soonbecame a member of the Exeter Embroiderers andQuilters Guilds.

What Joyce instilled in her three children was a loveof the outdoors and nature, a love of art and music,the importance of reading and to be aware of the feel-ings of other people.

Joyce was a great help with the Young Embroiderersand also taught many adult workshops over the years.

Lynn Bennett, Exeter Branch

Sheila ArmstrongSadly, Sheila died on 3rd November after a short stayin a hospice. She had not only been a member of New-castle Branch but also a member of Whitley Bay andPonteland, where she was Chairman for a number ofyears also serving on the Regional Committee.

She attended every Spring School (apart from onewhen it had been over-subscribed) and every SummerSchool at Wooler. Sheila would have a go at anythingeven though she didn’t like to get ‘messy’ but her reallove was traditional embroidery. Always attending theRegional Day, she was the first winner of the ‘MargaretHowe Trophy’ and won the Branch ‘Members’ Choice’on many an occasion. The amount of work shestitched put us all to shame. Whenever we had abranch project Sheila always did twice as much aseveryone else. She was so generous with her booksand threads, she always had what any of us wantedand willingly gave it. To save the Branch money shewould often take a workshop. We could always counton her to make new members welcome and share herknowledge with them.

Sheila supported the Guild as a whole and wasproud to be a member – as one member said ‘she wasa stalwart of the Guild’. She always had an opinion butwas also able to stand up and put into words whatmost of us were thinking anyway. There was always acard of thanks for the committee after they had organ-ised a celebration or an event.

Being a prolific reader Sheila had a fantastic knowl-edge of lots of subjects. Travelling abroad with herhusband increased that interest and having a terrificmemory she could talk on any of those trips.

Sheila will leave a big hole not only in the NewcastleBranch but in the wider family of the Guild – we havelost a good friend.

Jean Woodhouse, Newcastle upon Tyne Branch

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Three Embroiderers' Guild Scholarships of £1000 eachare awarded annually to students to develop and further the practice of embroidery.

The three categories are as follows:- Graduate - up to 30 years of age Scholarship- Post Graduate - over 30 Scholarship- Post Graduate Education Scholarship (significant

experience within the education sector required)All applicants should have studied the practice of

embroidery or stitched textiles through formal or

informal learning. In addition, applicants for the Educa-tion Scholarship should have significant experiencewithin the education sector.

The Application Form and Guidance Notes for2020/2021 are now available as a Word document andcan be downloaded from the Guild website (see section Students and Teachers, Guild Scholarship). The closing date for application is no later than 21stFebruary 2020.

Guild Scholarships 2020 – still time to apply...

14 CONTACT MONTHLY

UNTIL 16 JANUARY 202077 DEGREES NORTHDISCOVERY POINT CAFE, DISCOVERY POINT,DUNDEE D1 4XAA new exhibition by Edge Textile Artists. 77degrees North showcases new work from around 20different artists in a variety of techniques and media,inspired by the 19th century Scottish whaling industry,an industry once vital to Dundee. Open 10am -4.30pm, Sun 11am - 4.30pm. Free entry.

11 JANUARY – 22 MARCH 2020THE NEEDLE’S EYEWHITCHURCH SILK MILL, 28 WINCHESTER STREET,WHITCHURCH, RG28 7ALAn exhibition by Basingstoke branch of the Guild. Open Tuesday – Sunday 10.30am to 5pm. Mill Entry fee ap-plies. This will be an opportunity to see a wide selec-tion of stitching styles from traditional tocontemporary. Further information fromwww.whitchurchsilkmill.org.uk

egbasingstoke.blogspot.co.ukembroider1906@yahoo.co.ukwww.embroiderersguild.com

25 JANUARY – 22 MARCH 2020‘FOLLOWING THE THREADCITY SPACE, DISCOVERY EXHIBITION CENTRE,JEWRY STREET, WINCHESTER SO23 8SBAn exhibition by Winchester Embroiderers’ Guild fea-turing pieces reflecting the long thread of historical tradition in embroidery as well as contemporary inter-pretations of this ancient craft. Includes contributionsfrom their thriving Young Embroiderers groups.Open daily 10am - 5pm.www.winchesterembroiderers.org.uk

30 JANUARY-1 FEBRUARY 2020 THE CREATIVE CRAFT SHOWEVENTCITY, MANCHESTER M41 7TBThis show is the North West haven for textile, dress-

making and stitching enthusiasts; offering the latestsupplies, ideas and innovations in the hobby world.You’ll find everything from kits, charts and patterns totools and accessories plus opportunities to glean ad-vice from industry experts! The Manchester branch will be having a stand at theshow and their ‘Commemorating Peterloo’ wall hang-ing will be on display. Open 10.00 – 16.30 Thursdayand Friday, and 10.00 – 17.00 on Saturday.

8 – 23 FEBRUARY 2020MAKERS FESTIVALTHE FORUM, MILLENNIUM PLAIN, NORWICH, NR2 1TFThe Norwich branch of the Guild will be representingthe Eastern Region at Makers Festival in the ForumNorwich in February next year. We shall be joined bymembers from other regional branches. We shall havea huge, eye catching display of stitched luggage labelsin the Atrium and will be inviting the public to stitchsome with us to be added to the display or to takeaway with them. There will also be a gallery exhibitionof work done by members either in workshops or as individuals. There will be two workshops which thepublic can book a place via the Makers Festival web-site: https://norfolkmakersfestival.co.uk/01603 727950 or email info@theforumnorwich.co.uk

27 MARCH – 5 APRIL 2020VISIONS OF EDENRHS GARDEN HYDE HALL, CREEPHEDGE LANE, CHELMSFORD CM3 8ETTextile exhibition by Guild member Pauline Medinger.Tel: 01245 402019 or visit:www.RHS.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall

WHAT’S ON in 2020

A selection of the 100 HEARTS will be on display at theCRAFT4CRAFTERS CRAFT AND TEXTILE SHOW WESTPOINT ARENA EXETER

Thursday to Saturday 13th – 15th February 2020 – 10am – 5pmA selection of the Guild’s 100 Hearts will be on display at the Craft Show in the Westpoint Arena, Exeter nextFebruary. Visitors will find over 170 of the finest craft suppliers and there will also be over 70 daily workshopsto choose from including felting, embroidery, needlecraft and more. Along with many textile and quilt displays,restaurants and cafes with free car parking this truly is an incredible crafting event and a wonderful day out.£10 Adult £9 concession, under 16s free - £2 off if booked in advance www.craft4crafers.co.ukhttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=459634214657793https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x55kxpih18xc8wv/AADYWV18890YtPVzHCs_SAUHa?dl=0

All correspondence including membership & branch magazine subscriptions should be addressed and posted to:

Embroiderers’ Guild at Bucks County MuseumChurch StreetAylesburyBucks HP20 2QPThe Embroiderers' Guild Collection, Library and Folios areheld at:

Embroiderers’ Guild Bucks County MuseumResource Centre Rowborough Road, HaltonBucks HP22 5PL

Please note that all Folios should be returned to the Museum Resource Centre addressed for the ‘Attention of Will Phillips’.

Visits to Bucks County Museum – see their websitewww.buckscountymuseum.org

Visits to Halton Resource Centre – emailconservationtrustee@embroiderersguild.com to checkavailability

FINANCIAL ENQUIRIESAnthea Murphyfinancemanager@embroiderersguild.com

Natalie Vickersfinance@embroiderersguild.com

EMBROIDERY and STITCH SUBSCRIPTIONSsubscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk 01778 392468

FOLIOS – Diana Spencerfolios@embroiderersguild.com

COLLECTION– Liz Smithcollection@embroiderersguild.com

LIBRARY – Will Phillipslibrary@embroiderersguild.com

Terry MurphyCEOceo@embroiderersguild.com, 07973 198468

Kirsten Blakeadministrator@embroiderersguild.com, 07455 597039 and Jo HeadJo@embroiderersguild.com, 07365 143915 Membership Services Team

AGMs – Guild, Regional, & BranchAnnual reporting to Companies House & Charity CommissionCommittee support – Branch & Regional (with Board Chair)Banking – Unity BankDatabase – Programming, features, functions, architectureDistance learningGuild projects – international, national, regional & localLegal – Branch Constitutions, Copyright, Contracts, Disputes etcMember offers & opportunitiesRelationships – patron, partners, sponsors, suppliers, contractors

Membership subscriptions renewalsBranch support for membership renewalsAuthorised Code Holder & Member Profile changes

Louise Frazer-JonesWebsite & Young Embroiderers /JETSlfrazerjones@embroiderersguild.com, 07455 586708EG Website (Guild, Regional, Branch, Member) entriesFind a Branch entriesYE/JETS Groups, DBS checksEmbroidery – Branch subscriptions

Pat TempestShows, Contact monthly Editor, Designptempest@embroiderersguild.com, 07455 591826

Isla RossDigital Marketing digitalmarketing@embroiderersguild.com

Shows – design, set up and stewardingContact monthly – design, editing, production & distributionDesign services for regions, branches, exhibitions, local & national eventsDesign – for the Guild, Stitch and Embroidery websitesStitch – Branch subscriptions

Facebook (Embroiderers’ Guild, I Love Embroidery)

EMBROIDERERS’ GUILD – WHO TO CONTACT

– Either email your copy to us at contact@embroiderersguild.com or send to:Contact monthly Magazine, Embroiderers’ Guild, Bucks County Museum, Church Street, Aylesbury HP20 2QP

– Please send all pictures as JPEGS/TIFFS, high res taken at 360 dpi

– Copyright © the Embroiderers’ Guild, EG Enterprises Ltd 2019

– Published by the Embroiderers’ Guild, Registered charity No 234239

News for Contact monthly

Membership informationTo log on to Members' only area on the Guild website:www.embroiderersguild.com, you will need your GuildMembership number, for example 5***** and yourpassword. If you do not have your password or wish tochange your password, please go towww.embroiderersguild.com and select the MEMBER LOG-IN option. You will then see at the bottom of thenext page ‘Haven’t received or forgotten yourpassword? – Click Here’ and follow the instructions.

PLEASE NOTE: Copy deadline for the next issue of Contact monthly is

10 JAnuARy 2020The editorial staff reserve the right to alter copy to

a) rectify errors and b) to fit space available

datacontroller@embroiderersguild.com