Requirements List Felt Applique - Elaine Terry May 2026

 

The Longest Thread

There is an exhibition at Rheged [Penrith] entitled The Longest Thread. If you are in the area or you want to make a special trip it is well worth a visit but it ends on the 28th April.

It is set from the beginning of World War 11 until VE Day in 1945 and is made up of 80 knitted/crocheted dioramas covering a wide range of scenes. Below is a sample.
 

British Expeditionary Force sent to France

Dig for Victory

Battle for the Atlantic plotting room

Food Rationing

Volunteering for the Home Guard

Battle of Britain

Little ships gathering at Dover to rescue the men at Dunkirk

Sinking of the Royal Oak at Scapa Flow

Churchill's " we shall fight them on the beaches" speech

Churchill speaking to the men of HMS Exeter after victory over Graf Spee at the Battle of the River Plate.

The blitz on London

Firemen dealing with the aftermath of the blitz

The arrival of the Americans

A very interesting exhibition on many levels.

Finished Pieces of Work

 Wendy B. has finished her delightfully tactile white-tailed bumble bee. He is extra soft and fluffy from the closely packed rya stitch that makes you want to touch him.

The wings have been edged with buttonhole stitch over wire and sheer fabric with the veining stitched on the sheer.

Thanks Wendy he is wonderful.

Sandra has carried out a little experiment. The day we did the Forest Floor embroidery was frosty and snowy and Sandra decided she would turn one of the green embroideries frosty.

After completing the embroidery mainly in green she then passed a roller of white paint over the top after most of the white paint had been rollered off onto newspaper. The result is above with a few sprinkles of glitter and beads.

Thank you Sandra and I believe the experiment is worth trying again.

Stump Work Butterfly - Tanya Shaw April Meeting 2026

Tanya arrived with her bags full of beautiful stump work/3D embroideries to inspire us to embroider a 3D butterfly.

Tanya had devised three different ways of making the butterfly according to how many wings we wired and could be 3D.

We could wire all 4 wings, wire 2 wings and embroider the bottom 2 wings or wire 1 wing and attach it to the side [a closed up butterfly].

Tanya talked us through what we would be doing and provided us with comprehensive instructions and skeleton outlines of the butterflies.

Most members started by making the padded body with 3 layers of felt stitched to the background.

Once the body was stabbed stitched to the background members began to satin stitch over the top producing a raised body. Tanya informed us we could cover the body with other stitches or leather.

The lower 2 wings could be stitched onto the background fabric and stitched in long and short stitch or satin stitch.

The shape for the wired wings was  drawn onto the fabric,  the wire was couched around the shape and finally buttonhole stitched closely to cover the wire

The wired wings could be embroidered, left as a pretty fabric or the veins stitched. After the wing had been cut out the wire ends would then be poked through a hole  attaching them  to the body making them 3D.

3D work is very time consuming and fiddly so the butterflies would be finished at home but members would find that the result was worth all the fine stitching with one thread!

A big thank you to Tanya for inspiring us, organising the session. preparing the instructions and helping us through the steps. We are all looking forward to seeing the finished butterflies.

Requirements List for Stump work butterfly/moth April Meeting 2026

 

March Meeting Show and Tell

 Shelagh has completed the little book to go in her box by drawing and painting these beautifully coloured birds. It makes a wonderful keepsake.

Thank you Shelagh.

Anne has also finished her book by drawing individual little pictures that each fit in a pocket. The more you look the more detail you see with little messages, bits that open and extra details.

The graphic detail is fantastic and you have made graphic detail your own.

Thank you Ann.

Sandra has finished her woodland diorama with the addition of model making moss and leaves used in scenes for model trains. It looks great fun with animals to look for.

Thank you Sandra

Sandra has also finished her piece on papyrus in Ancient Egypt.

A papyrus plant was embroidered and then surrounded by geese, hieroglyphs, a young woman holding papyrus, a scribe and a column based on papyrus. These pieces were embroidered on fake papyrus made with silk fibres and strips of silk rods. The pieces were made separately and then added together to make one large embroidered picture. The scrolls and beads were bought from the British Museum.

Thank you Sandra for an interesting piece.

March Meeting 2026

 This months workshop was cancelled at the last minute due to an unforeseen car breakdown.

Some members decided to stay and work on pieces they had in their bags.

This is a delightful knitted blanket made from Sean the Sheep squares interspersed with patterned squares.

This embroidery has a lovely graphic quality to it.

Another crab is in its infancy and ready to join the wonderful crab already completed.

Another woodland piece in the making which will be frosted when finished. The result could be a masterpiece or a disaster!

This beautiful embroidery with hints of Indian embroidery is well on its way to completion. The background will be kantha stitched to complete the piece.

A very pretty checked pattern is emerging from this weaving frame by combining the colours together different colour combinations are forming.

One member decided to go ahead with her version of goldwork and sparkly circles began to appear inside of her heart shape.