Happy Holiday

These days with so many religious beliefs in the world (some who don't celebrate Christmas)it seems safer to say Happy Holiday rather than Merry Christmas. We'd really like to wish our members a great time with your family and friends over the holidays. Take care, keep safe and remember to wear your sunscreen outdoors. Most of the YTFG Clubs will have finished for the year already or be about to have their last meeting and perhaps a small Christmas party. Here at Guildford Club we're having a Christmas afternoon tea on Saturday and won't meet again till February. The kids will be making a simple craft item using fabric and polystyrene shapes, pins and sequins. Can you guess what it is? I'll add a photo to this post after Saturday so as not to spoil the surprise for any of my kids who may read this blog.
Christine.

Guildford Club News

We have 13 members at the moment, with the average attendance at meetings being 9 students and 4 adults. Although I don't have an "official helper" mums and grandmas who stay with the kids are happy to help if needed. There are always needles to re-thread, knots to tie in threads, and suggestions to make about decorations.

Some of our favourite projects this year have included finger knitting, Dotee dolls (see second and third photo) and stitching cards. At our last meeting in September we re-visited finger knitting and made some headband covers (see first photo), snakes and belts from the knitted strips. I trialled knitting with cut up store branded plastic shopping bags, which was then threaded with fancy yarns and threads. I was then able to thread the strip onto a thin plastic headband. Veronica made one too, in a different colour. The girls sewed button eyes onto the strips to make friendly "snakes" as well.

In October, we'll be stitching Christmas designs on pre-punched window cards. We also made these cards at Easter time and they were a great hit with the kids. Then in November we'll be making some Christmas Dotee dolls when we start looking at Christmas crafts.
Christine.

Winter Workshop success

Our tutor Susan Barker was amazed that everyone managed to complete their Notre Dame basket by the end of the session. The adult helpers spent the last 15 minutes of the day applying quick drying craft glue to basket linings so that everyone could take a finished project home with them.

Everyone agreed it was a great way to spend a cold wintry day in the holidays. "The best bit", said one student, "was the hot chocolate drink we had!" For us, the "best bit" was seeing the kids really enjoying themselves stitching and creating a wonderful and useful basket. I don't think anyone was planning to give their basket away as a gift, they all loved them too much.

Unfortunately, my camera was on the blitz so I dont' have a photo just yet. The Guild camera was put to good use though, so I'll try to chase a photo up for this post.
Christine.

Winter Workshop - Notre Dame Basket

We've arranged a great Winter Holidays workshop at Headquarters at Concord West on Monday July 14th. Here is Susan Barker's description of her workshop.

"Something with a French flavour, they said, as 14th July is a French National Holiday.
Ater a couple of days and a 'brain storming' session it was decided......
"Notre Dame Basket"
Taking the beautiful 'Rose windows' in many French churches as inspiration, we’ll make a decorative lid for a small woven basket.
We’ll use a 'reverse applique' technique, combined with surface stitchery and beading to make very individual lids for our baskets.
Keep your basket, as a treasure box or give as a gift to another 'special' someone!"

Time: 10am - 3.30 p.m.
Where: Guild Headquarters Concord West
When: Monday 14th July, 2008
Cost: $25 for Members, $30 for non-members (includes most materials)
Bookings to Guild Headquarters on 9743 2501, limit of 12 students.

Hope to see you there, should be great fun, and we'll try to arrange something French for morning tea!

Wagga Wagga workshop in July

Here's the publicity release from the Museum of the Riverina in Wagga Wagga about the workshop on 9th July.


School Holiday Puppet workshop, Wednesday 9th July, 2008.

"Presented by experienced textile craft worker Fay Grant. Come along and learn how to make an original Wagga Wagga Crow Puppet. Fay, who is a member of the Embroiderers' Guild in Wagga Wagga has designed and taught many creative workshops.


This is a fun workshop. Learn how to turn a hairdresser’s hair clip into a crow's head and make a detachable wagga rug for its back. Stitching together scraps of fabric your crow puppet will even have a movable beak! Suitable for ages 7 years and up.


Where: Museum of the Riverina Botanic Gardens site
When: Wed 9 July 10am-2pm
Information: $33 per child includes a workshop kit
BYO lunch
Bookings: Phone 6925 2934 (the Museum)"

This workshop is open to YTFG members and non-members alike. Bookings direct to the Museum on the number shown please.

2008 Great Postcard Swap

At the recent Annual Leaders Meeting we announced a great new challenge for ALL members (including adult leaders and committee) for 2008, and this time you will receive something very special in return for making a challenge piece !

The idea is to make a stitched fabric postcard about yourself and send it in to Headquarters where we will swap it for one made by another member of YTFG. Your postcard can tell us a bit about yourself, where you live, your hobbies, your favourite school subjects, your pets, whatever you would like your swap partner to know. You will then send it along in a business sized envelope (DL) with a stamped, self addressed envelope of the same size to

YTFG Great Postcard Swap
P.O. Box 109,
Concord West 2138 NSW
by Friday August 1st, 2008

A selection of your postcards will be exhibited at the Stitches and Craft Show at Rosehill Gardens at the end of August, and then they will be swapped out by late September. You should write or email your swap partner to say thankyou. It's then up to you and them whether you keep in regular contact or not.

Important making details:
- Finished size is 4 inches by 6 inches (10 cm x 15 cm) NO BIGGER
- Make a "sandwich" with your card using fabric on the front, stiffening like pellon or iron on stiffening in the middle and a fabric or paper back. Edges variable.
- If you decorate with beads or buttons, you may need to wrap the card in some cardboard to protect it from the postal sorting machine and may need a larger envelope.
- Any kind of stitching or decoration is allowed, so be as creative as you wish!

The photos above show some of the cards made by the adult Guild members for the recent 50th Anniversary challenge, left click on a picture to enlarge it. Some more details of these cards to help you design your own are as follows:

1. Appliqued cats and a pot plant button, with quilt type binding, Bathurst
2. Painted background with organza overlay, surface stitchery, Bathurst
3. 3D flowers with an appliqued teddy, Parkes
4. Surface stitchery with sequins and beads on a hand dyed cotton background with satin stitched edge, Mt Colah and aged 79 years
5. Surface stitchery including metallic threads, Mosman
6. Appliqued on muslin background, heavily beaded, bound like a quilt, Mosman
7. Wessex stitchery on linen background, backed with cotton fabric
8. Surface stitchery on cotton fabric, Wyong
9. Surface stitchery on linen background, cardboard inside and cotton backing
10. Surface stitchery on furnishing fabric, braid around edges after overlocking

So you can see there is no limit to your technique, just the size and thickness to go through the postal sorting machinery.
If you need further instructions, look at the following link:

http://www.fibreandstitch.com/pdf/postcard.pdf

You may also bind the edges like a quilt, make a backing and binding in one, blanket stitch the edges, zig zag the edges, overlock the edges and cover with braid or ribbon, enclose edges in bias binding or ribbon, or leave raw to make a statement !

Everyone who sends in a postcard will be guaranteed to receive one in return.
Start stitching NOW !!

YTFG members successfully exhibit at Sydney Royal Easter Show

2 members of our YTFG club at Nepean were successful exhibitors at the recent show.

Lilli Harvie entered her small applique wall hanging in section S405 and gained first place, and a cash prize sponsored by the YTFG. Her sister Grace Harvie entered section 0408 for Machine Sewn Needlework 12 - 17 years, and gained second place. Well done girls, and congratulations also to your teacher of many years Del White. It's great to see our students doing so well in such an important competition as the Royal Easter Show. Next year it would be great to see even more entries from our members, wouldn't it?

YTFG at Sydney Royal Easter Show

Once again the YTFG was included in the Embroiderers' Guild display at the Royal Easter Show on Thursday 27th March. The 2 banners showing the various statewide Clubs and the Distance Course students as at October 2007 were on display. We also showcased the special work commissioned from the recent Graduate students which is on loan for 12 months for display purposes. Nola Williams and Judith Langdon spoke to many, many people who stopped to look at the work, and I'm sure some new students for the Distance Course will come from some of those discussions. We also had the Group photo album with photos of events since 1995 on show. The Group banners from the some of the country adult Guild Groups were also on display and lots of interest was shown in them too. A very successful day all around. Special thanks to Nola's husband Laurie, without his help and support we would not have had the display in Sydney on time, or Nola and Judith to (wo)man it !
Christine, outside events co-ordinator for the Guild.

Nowendoc workshop

The third and final Distance workshop was held at Nowendoc in January, where Wendy Fuller led 21 children in making a desk tidy with a Jungles theme. Using some machine embroidered animals which were kindly donated to the workshop, the children decorated recycled tins with felt and handmade braids, then added the embroidered animals to make a useful, fun desk accessory. Once again the workshop was very well received and the children of this remote area were very grateful for the opportunity through the Distance Course team. The CWA ladies provided hospitality to Nola, Laurie and Wendy once again showing that the country really does know how to look after its visitors.

Summer School at Concord West

4 students booked into "Let's go Crazy" on January 16th during Summer School, including Chloe who came from Cowra in western NSW. The students were offered the choice of 3 projects to do in Crazy Patchwork and they all decided to make a "kite shaped" scissor case. Isabella and Terry were younger students who needed more guidance while Chole and Claudia were choosing fabrics and starting to stitch them to the foundation square almost immediately. As soon as the squares were covered the students chose the beads, ribbons and other decorations to stitch on, and as Isabella had to leave early, she took her decorations along to finish her scissor case at home with her mum's help. Terry made a long "tail" of beads to finish his scissor case, while Claudia and Chloe were stil trying to decide whether to make a scissor case, or use the decorated squares in some other way such as on a cushion or bag. Everyone seemed to enjoy their day, although I was the only one who remembered to bring along their "crazy hat" !!! Another successful workshop for everyone involved.
Christine.

January school holiday workshop at Granville Library

The YTFG was asked to send a tutor along to Granville Library in January for a free workshop, sponsored by Parramatta Council. I decided that as the closest club leader I would be happy to do it as a little PR exercise for my club, and to show the local kids a little embroidery. There were to be 2 classes, actually 3, but we only managed to fit in 2 in the 1 and 1/2 hours allowed. My group did a little embroidered and beaded lavender sachet, while the other group did some cross stitch on plain fabric. Here are a few photos taken on the day, with permission.
The kids all enjoyed the time, and I did give out a couple of flyers and put up a poster in the Library for future students to see.
Christine, Guildford Club.