Next Meeting: " Stitching in the Dales May 7th - 9th 2025" 10:30am - 4:00pm each day

 Textile News from Skipton

We wanted to get in touch about an upcoming artist residency at Skipton Town Hall that might be of interest to your members.

 

We have an artist (that had some pieces included in our Emerging Yorkshire Artists exhibition last year) spending the month of August in our Gallery space as part of a mini artist residency.

Nelson is a pre-dominantly textiles artist and has been studying at the Royal College of Art. She has also studied with the Royal School of Needlework. We are working together to develop different events throughout the residency and as part of that Nelson would really like to host ‘Let’s sew together’ sessions in our Gallery a few times during August. She has asked me to reach out to local groups to see if this would be of interest. We plan for it to be an informal and social get together for people to come together in the space and work on whatever pieces they are doing at the moment and learn more about each others work. She would really like to spend time with other textile artists in our community. Her mum lives close by and she spends a lot of time in the area when visiting.

 

I have attached an image of a piece Nelson is currently working on for the residency. Here is the link to some information about her residency and the themes she will be looking at https://www.nelsoncontemporaryart.com/nanas-cabinet Nelson will be working in the Gallery and is also preparing a small exhibition about her research and process, as well as talking about wider context of textile work. She is also preparing some interactive activities for our visitors in the space. The Gallery will be open to the public throughout the residency so visitors can visit Nelson and see her working.

 

We would love if any members of GTAG would be interested in coming along to the ‘let’s sew together’ sessions, and if you have any other contacts that we might reach out to about the sessions. We are just trying to gage if there would be interest in the first instance and then will put some dates/times in asap.

 

Best wishes,

Megan

 

Megan Hickes (She/Her)
Exhibitions Curator
Culture & Archives
North Yorkshire Council

 

Telephone: 01756706395
Email: megan.hickes@northyorks.gov.uk
Web: skiptontownhall.co.uk

Each year Grassington Textile Arts Group host a three day textile bonanza and this year is no exception! The event takes place at Grassington Town Hall and our tutor this year is Laura Edgar. We will be creating a coastal scene focussing on colour, texture, movement, and light. We will be manipulating vintage and recycled fabrics with hand embroidery techniques, using fabric and stitch as paint and pencil. There is still one place available and it can be secured by using the contact form on the Blog.

Our last meeting "Upcycling and Exchanging Ideas" was led by Chris Mitchell, one of our staunchest members, who brought along a wardrobe of recycled and upcycled items. From charity shop buys to laundry mishaps, from outgrown garments to outdated fashions , Chris showed us examples of how to make things beautiful by using needlework techniques and a stash of scraps, buttons, beads and other items of haberdashery.

Another member brought along her husband's favourite gilet, damaged by paint and then covered with a stunning textile collage of a leaping salmon.

Marjorie contributed the jeans she was wearing ( knees patched and darned with sashiko stitching); socks visibly darned in bright colours; a memory hot water bottle cover made from an embellished blanket; and altered books in bags made from teatowels.

Y&H Embroiderers’ Group Summer School 11-13th July 2025

A two-night retreat at Bishop Burton College

Summer School numbers are slow this year, there are still places with all tutors. 

contact Yorkshire and Humber Embroiderers' Group for details.

Next Meeting: April 16th. "Upcycling" with Chris Mitchell

 Our speaker at the last meeting, fabric weaver Richard Smith, described how Richard's family company, E&S Smith Ltd, manufactured and traded in the heart of the Yorkshire weaving industry in Bradford between 1935 and 2005. The mill acted as a contract weaver of Jacquard furnishing fabrics for decorative furnishing companies, hotel groups and cruise liners. Over the years, Richard collected an extensive archive of woven textile patterns which were translated by craftsmen onto special graph paper called point papers. Richard’s  Point Paper Art Company has selected designs from these collections to breathe new life into this historical textile craft. A fabulous and interesting afternoon with so many samples to look at and admire. A big thank you to Richard and we do appreciate how many heavy boxes you had to bring!

Our next meeting on April 16th, will be led by Chris Mitchell and is themed "Upcycling".

Recycling is a hot topic at the moment, and many people are very keen to stop buying new clothes only to throw away old ones. So we are going to have a look at some ideas to upcycle things to give them a new look. Lots of fashion magazines are promoting the same idea, so let us be fashion setters too! Here are a few ideas for starters, but please do bring along any thing that you have to share with others, from re-used fabrics to altered clothes and accessories.

Stitching in the Dales, May 7th - 9th, £175,  a three day stitching event in Grassington.

 With our tutor Laura Edgar, we will be creating a coastal scene focussing on colour, texture, movement, and light. We will be manipulating vintage and recycled fabrics with hand embroidery techniques, using fabric and stitch as paint and pencil. There is still one place available and it can be secured by using the contact form on the Blog.

Next Meeting: April 2nd. Talk with Richard Smith, "The Weaving Trade, its History and Heritage

 Before the advent of computer aided design, drawings of woven textile patterns were translated by craftsmen onto special graph paper called point papers. The Point Paper Art Company utilises a textile archive, collected over the last 35 years by fabric weaver Richard Smith. 

Next Meeting: March 19th. Stitch Day

This will be a "Stitch Day" for working on our own pieces and sharing ideas and inspiration with others.

The Carol Brown Award, judged by Jessica Kinnersley, at our last meeting was won by Chris Mitchell with her wonderful stitched book.

We welcomed Jessica Kinnersley at our last meeting with her "Sycamore Gap" workshop. What a fabulous tutor and a super day of working on designing our textile collages.. We went home with a piece of work ready to embellish with stitch. No doubt we will be busy doing this at our stitch day this week!

Next Meeting: March 5th. Workshop with Jessica Kinnersley, "Sycamore Gap"

 Our next workshop is with Jessica Kinnersley, a tutor that will encourage us to slow down,  and immerse ourselves in the creation of something special and unique. Working on a linen round, we will create a textured and abstract landscape using textile collage and stitch.

At our last meeting Judith Barlass shared her quilting journey with the group and overwhelmed us all with the amazing and beautiful work she had produced. Her attention to colour and fabric was stunning. Large quilts, smaller quilts, double sided,quilts and incorporating every design imaginable. She had tackled so many designs, log cabin, flying geese, nine patch, chevron, pin wheel to name but a few. Through her teaching workshops she has shared her expertise with so many. Thank you for a super mornings talk.

Stitching in the Dales, a three day stitching event in Grassington has been lucky enough to secure two more fabulous tutors this year, Laura Edgar and James Owen Thomas.

The event takes place May 7,8,9 at Grassington Town Hall and is open to any individual interested in enjoying three days of creative textile work. Please contact GTAG by the Blog contact form to receive further information and details. We still have a few places left.

Next Meeting: February 19th. Stitch Day and a Talk about "Quilts" by Judith Barlass

This will be a time for working on the new stitching project, "Friendship Ring" ready for a swap on Wednesday 5th March, or your own pieces.

 During the day, Judith Barlass will be giving a talk about her Quilts

Don't forget to finish your work to submit for the Carol Brown Award to be judged on our first March meeting.

 At our last meeting we hosted speaker, Julia Triston, zoomed from Denmark. She gave us a fascinating insight of her journey into the textile world. She explained that she had worked in the creative industries for more than thirty years teaching, lecturing, writing, making, exhibiting and selling her textile work. With a wonderful power point presentation, she was able to illustrate her strong passion for exploring innovative processes in textiles and art and the development of her work through time. Julia has curated, exhibited and researched internationally in many prestigious venues including one on the plinth in Trafalgar Square.

Julia began her talk with photographs of fabrics that had influenced her early design thoughts from Banjara and shisha embroideries in India, to Peruvian designs which inspired her with their strong colours and stripes. She had travelled widely from Mexico and Peru to Tunisia and Morocco gathering inspiration for her own unique textile designs. From this inspiration she has developed her own unique textile art style, and we enjoyed seeing her huge selection of photographs sharing her artistic journey with us. A wonderful afternoon which has provided us with so much food for thought. Thankyou Julia.

Stitching in the Dales, a three day stitching event in Grassington has been lucky enough to secure two more fabulous tutors this year. 

The event takes place May 7,8,9 at Grassington Town Hall and is open to any individual interested in enjoying three days of creative textile work. Please contact GTAG by the Blog contact form to receive further information and details.

The tutors are:

Laura Edgar, 

 "Coastal Northumbrian Castles Textile Workshop" . An example shown below, creating a coastal scene focussing on colour, texture, movement and light and all hand stitched.

 and

James Owen Thomas,

"Creating Collages from Recycled Materials", 

      new Stitching Project 'Friendship Ring' starting in February 2025. First swap on Wednesday 5th March:-

  

Next Meeting: February 5th. Talk with Julia Triston, "Identity and Intimacy"

 Julia Triston is a designer-maker and educator in stitched textiles and contemporary art and design techniques. This will be a fascinating zoom talk starting at 1:00.

Stitching in the Dales, a three day stitching event in Grassington has been lucky enough to secure two more fabulous tutors this year. 

The event takes place May 7,8,9 at Grassington Town Hall and is open to any individual interested in enjoying three days of creative textile work. Please contact GTAG by the Blog contact form to receive further information and details.

The tutors are:

Laura Edgar, 

 "Coastal Northumbrian Castles Textile Workshop" . An example shown below, creating a coastal scene focussing on colour, texture, movement and light and all hand stitched.

 and

James Owen Thomas,

"Creating Collages from Recycled Materials", 

In our first session of 2025 our members exchanged their White-Intricate-Calm pieces of work. A selection illustrated below:

Red-Patterned-Daring will be the guide to the next piece of work!

It was a day of working on our own pieces

 

Next Meeting: January 15th. This will be a Stitch Day , and a chance to begin all those 2025 new projects. There is NOT a meeting on January 1st!

 What a fabulous end of year meeting.

The day began with a talk from Barbara Brown, “Journey as a Dress Maker”. Barbara gave an illustrated talk with a power point presentation and a huge number of examples of her work.

What a talented and prolific seamstress we have as a part of our group. The attention to detail, the lavish embellishments and the variety of garments that Barbara has produced was overwhelming and she is an inspiration to us all. From bridal wear to jackets and coats,

to bags and textile items, her talent is never ending. Thank you for sharing your amazing story and for the time you put in preparing such a fabulous presentation.

  

We did our Christmas card exchange

and finished the day with a superb Christmas buffet lunch prepared by our Chair Lady Judith. A big Thank you to Judith for providing such a great feast to finish off our year.

A  quick note to let you know that the December prompts for our Year of Colour project are:-

White - Intricate - Calm

Please bring your piece of work on Wednesday 15th January 2025 to swap (no meeting on 1st January!). Thanks.

Next Meeting: December 18th, Talk by Barbara Brown, "Journey of a Dress Maker"

 

                     A teeny tiny bag for my teeny tiny books!

A huge thankyou to Zoe Phillips (Dekle and Hide), for the most fabulous leather workshop she came to give our GTAG members. This was a completely new area of stitching for our group, and Zoe with her wonderfully infectious positive attitude, coached us through a very action-packed day!  Her passion for the arts, arts education and accessibility to the arts was certainly very evident. Her "can do" attitude and person-centred approach was certainly at the heart of her workshop. 

After 5 hours of concentration and industrious stitching, we all came out smiling and thrilled with our finished leather bag.

We really appreciated how much time Zoe had spent in the preparation of the huge kit which includes specialist tools required for each participant. She is a dynamic, friendly, patient and very knowledgeable teacher and it is a superb workshop.

What a wonderful surprise to find that Zoe had not even forgotten the lucky penny for each of the finished bags, even better it was chocolate!

I have just had this machine mended and serviced at Paul Thomasons of Clitheroe. I am thrilled with the result. The sewing machine service and repair at Clitheroe has been a family firm since 1948. Paul services all types of machines, gave a free estimate and can even arrange collection. A local name to put in your address book for when required.!

Our last meeting of 2024 will be action packed!

Barbara Brown will be giving a talk about her dress making journey.

There will be a Christmas Card exchange for those who have had time to be creative.

GTAG wishes all textile artists a Happy Christmas and for those wanting to venture into something new in 2025, we look forward to welcoming you into our group and sharing our skills and programme.

Next Meeting: December 4th, Leather workshop with Zoe Phillips

 We are looking forward to welcoming Zoe Phillips as our tutor this month. Zoe who works under the name "Deckle and Hide", a name she felt encompassed all elements of her creative practice and provided a dynamic platform for her creative facilitation, has created a custom workshop for GTAG members. Aren't we lucky!

We are hoping to produce this leather bag for needlework trinkets! How adorable is that! Watch this space for the photos of our work next meeting.

For those ladies who wish to come along and work on their own projects, you are very welcome. During the day we will have time to exchange our Black, Whimsical, Simple, pieces. We will also select December's prompts to work on and swap on January 15th. Don't forget there is no meeting on 1st Jan !

All things festive seemed to be the theme of our stitch day last meeting. It was a very industrious day.