A Picnic in the Park

 After such a long time without being able to meet up in our usual group of 40 plus; it was such a treat to be able to gather, albeit 'At a Distance', out in the fresh air for a Picnic and a Catch Up in a local park.

Here are a few photos of the event where around 18 of us arrived bedecked in fetching rain coats and trainers, carrying folding chairs instead of our usual Sewing Kit.

The weather was kinder than its been of late... we did not fry! (there was no sun) nor did it pour though it was a little windy.

Cells of Six

Social Distancing.

And lastly.... here is an Action Shot! (because I was banned from posting any 'Eating Sandwiches' Shots..... tho' I did unintentionally sneak one in 😀).

Sorry for the date on the photo above, no idea how to get rid of that as its a new camera to replace my old favourite Pink 'Blog' camera that mysteriously vanished a while back...hmmm but someone did buy me a nice new Purple one.

In case you are wondering what is going on with us - unfortunately due to the safety precautions and restrictions in place to help stem the tide of Covid 19 - we are still unable to meet each month at Branch Meetings for the foreseeable future. Plenty of stitching is still going on though and you can see our endeavours on our Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/LSAEG/

Cheery, Colourful and Bright - A Gift of Comfort

After the September meeting/AGM of the Lytham St Annes Embroiderers Guild; where we discussed all things business and were given a slide show highlighting the coming year's exciting events and workshops; I was thrilled to be shown these lovely ponchos that one of our members had knitted. 

Using donated wool, threads and fabrics she quickly sews lap quilts or knits up twiddle muffs and blankets for the elderly patients suffering with dementia who often have long stays at the local Clifton and Victoria hospitals.

These lovely items provide warmth and comfort whilst the Twiddle Muffs are something that keep the patients hands busy and help to reduce their stress and worry at being in an unfamiliar place.

The latest item our kind member has added to her repertoire are these colourful ponchos below.

Here are 9 ponchos on the sofa having a photo shoot. 

They were made in just a few weeks with left over tapestry wool and spools of thread that had been donated for the Sales Table at our recent exhibition in August. Ponchos have also been made with string and ribbon, so long as it is soft and not scratchy, pretty much any 'thread' can be used

I am told that the Ward Sister requested the ponchos as the blankets, whilst fine wrapped around a patients shoulders when sitting, were falling to the ground and becoming a tripping hazard when the person stood up and forgot about them.

Ponchos are a simple rectangular shape with the short sides sewn up and the top left open to go over the head. They are knitted on large needles using donated wool and left overs that cannot be used for anything else. The challenge is to make them bright and cheerful as much of the donated wool seems to be grey, maroon, navy blue, bottle green and black but our clever knitter uses a spool of Lurex that she was given and mixes that with the dull colours to brighten them up. 

Several hundred ponchos have been made so far and more are always needed.

Calling all Members - CAN YOU HELP?  Do you have any left over yarn, tapestry wool or threads that you no longer need? If so please consider donating them to this worthy cause and bring your surplus along to our next meeting/s. You can clear out a bit of space and it would all be put to good use to help to keep elderly patients warm and comfortable. 

Lovely Things - Highlights from the 2019 Exhibition

Here are a few more snaps from the Lytham St Annes Branch of the Embroiderers Guild Bi-Annual Exhibition. 

I am not sure if this post has a 'theme' but all are Unique and the Stitchers Own Design and Free Style - my kinda stuff! (if you can come up with a better title, just let me know!)

This is Rosie the Elephant, below, in Sumptuous Purples.

 A Klimt Inspired Wall Hanging, above, was made using the students own stamps to make prints on velvet using metallic paint. The class called Klimt Reworked in Stitch and Textiles was led by Wendy Cotterill during the 2019 North West Regional Summer School.
Below, is a wonderful quilty mixed media scene called Under the Sea. 

This Crazy Patchwork really sparkles in silky blue fabrics with a pop of purple. It was made on a Workshop led by the lovely Linda of Creative Threads in Garstang.

A wonderful Book Cover using snippets of sheer fabrics and threads that are free  machined over, looks cheerful in its blue and gold colourway; above.

Below, a Mosaic of scrunched coloured papers sewn together makes a Unique Pouch for keeping important scraps or cuttings from magazines.

Below, pretty sheers and voile have been free machined to embellish before florist wire was machined on the edges of Butterfly shapes to make this 3D piece called Flying By.

I hope that these items have inspired you to let you imagination run free to make your own Lovely Things? 
Thank you to everyone for allowing photos of your creations to show on our Blog.

Trees and Tie Dye - More Highlights from our 2019 Exhibition

Here are some pieces that were taught in workshops by our very own Sue Bennet - our talented longtime member and teacher of exciting new techniques and Free Machine Embroidery.

These first few were taught in a Woodland Scene Workshop at another branch a while back.

 Not having taken this particular workshop, I am not quite sure of the techniques but think that the trees are mostly made of Woollen/Yarn threads couched over the hessian threads that remained after removing most of the horizontal threads.

Using various colours of yarn makes the scenes look totally different according to which season you want to create.

Flowers add another dimension to the woodland scene.

I could not resist taking these snaps of a page by the Parbold Branch in our North West Regional Travelling Book. Click onto the highlight to read the previous post and also one here. 

How cheerful and succulent do these Fabric Pears look?

Above, a close up of pears and below, notice the cute bee.

Up next are some completed Tie Dye pieces from our recent Tie Dye Workshops with Sue Bennet. Read the posts here, here and here.


Here is a Sweet Heart embroidery using the tie dye as a background.

A pretty Blue Flower made by a piece of dyed lace on the Bulls Eye tie dye design.

Another Bulls Eye tie dye design called Purple Madness, below.

One clever member made her Tie Dye pieces up into this fantastic bag, below.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to today's Post.