Stirling Stitchers

22/06/2021

The Royal Highland Show this year has been in a different format due to ........... !
The Handicrafts competition still took place and the theme of 'the Olympics' was carried over from last year because that event is still taking place. Unfortunately it was all done behind closed doors so there are no photographs to show you and even the small video that came from the RHS only showed a very small selection.
Anyway the good news for Stirling Stitchers is that Rowena Barnet, Margaret Beith, Jane Currie and Katherine Huggett all won in their various classes. I do not know if there were any special award this year. But well done to all of you.
I look forward to next year's competition and await the theme and class titles with anticipation !

09/06/2021

We are now officially Stirling Stitchers ! After 16 months we were at last able to meet and on Saturday we had our annual summer outing to Culzean Castle. Despite the usual social distancing, we had a great day, good company, lovely setting, pleasant drive, coffee and lunch out at last.
Our next meeting will be our social meeting in August, we all hope by then that we can meet together and catch up with 18months of news and hear what we have all created in that time !

02/12/2020

The November meeting was once again conducted via Zoom. 17 members tuned in and Kirstine continued with her presentation of the second half of our exhibition. It was very interesting as those who had contributed a piece were able to describe the detail and the inspiration behind the design.
Next month's talk will be given by Lynda Shank , who will tell us more about her bead work. The date of that meeting is the 19th December.

31/10/2020

The exhibition in the Smith Art Gallery and Museum is looking
fabulous. Here are just a few photographs of what is on show. The talent and imagination of those
who have pieces on display is truly amazing. It is still open for a few weeks so if you can, do visit. The cafe is open and the coffee and cakes are excellent !

26/09/2020

23/04/2020

This week is flower pounding. Collect some flowers with obvious markings eg primula, pansy, viola, and some soft leaves eg acer - hard ones do not work. You will also need cotton fabric ( you can also use paper, but not the thin copy type ) a medium weight hammer and a magazine or pile of paper. Place the flowers and leaves on a piece of the cotton, cover with a second piece of cotton, put it on the pile of paper and gently hammer the whole thing. As you do so you will see the images of the flowers coming through, carefully look underneath to see that all has been hammered. Then carefully remove the top layer of fabric and peel off the mashed up petals. You will have 2 images, one on each piece of fabric. My first set was not very exciting, so I added more leaves and hammered it again. Finally I stitched a couple of elastic bands to the back and put a stick through so they could be hung. I found a butterfly sticker so stuck that on the violas. Adults stitchers - they would make a great background for something ?
Health and safety and risk assessment ! Adult supervision needed with the use of the hammer. It might be useful to sellotape the sandwich of fabric to the pile of paper then little fingers will not be in the way.
As I wrote last week this is my last posting. I hope you have all enjoyed doing these projects - I have enjoyed doing them!
Thank you for sharing them and liking them.

Stay safe and keeping having fun.

16/04/2020

This week it is wild weaving!
On my daily walk I collected all sorts of things for the weaving. Including a magpie feather, sticks - covered with lichen, moss, and buds - , a bit of sheep's wool caught in wire, a lump pf lichen and some bracken amongst other things. I am sure you will find lots of things depending on where you walk and where you live. Photo 6
You will also need some sticks for the frame. Cut them to aprox. 30cm x 25cm. Lash them together at the corners in a figure of 8 movement with garden twine, string or raffia - or whatever you have. Photo 1
Then wrap around some twine, string or raffia to form the warp of the weaving. ( sorry the photographs have not arrived in the right order ) Photo 1
Now for the fun!
Weave your findings in and out of the warp from right to left - your findings become the weft ( rhymes with left )
Push them up as you go but not too tightly or you will spoil the feathers ! Photo 5
Tie an extra piece of string etc for a hanging. Photo 2 and 4
Then hang in the garden on a tree .
I look forward to seeing what you find on your walks.

Not week is flower pounding !
It will be the last week, there is now so much on the internet, something new appears everyday - I am not competing with that level of professional craft!

09/04/2020

There are bumble bees and ladybirds in my garden so these can join them !
Choose a roundish shaped pebble and give it a good wash. If you do not have acrylic paint, give the pebble a coat of emulsion first - I am sure there will be some lurking in the garage! Then paint a ladybird or bumble bee. I have stuck google eyes on the ladybird, but if you don't have them use a white 'shirt' button and put a blob of black paint in the centre. I stuck my eyes on with a blob of acrylic paint.
If you have a very artistic member of the family they could use their imagination to paint the white pebble. Why not paint a rainbow and put it on the doorstep for 'hope'
Next week is 'wild weaving'
I look forward to seeing your insects.

02/04/2020

As promised an embroidered weather barometer.
You need a largish piece of felt cut into a circle with aprox 16cm diameter. It does not have to be blue - think pink, red sky ?
Cut some clouds, a sun and some rain drops also from felt.
Stitch them on - making big stitches for the sun rays - in 3 corners and stitch some windy lines in the other corner.
I have stitched little sequins in the raindrops for sparkle - you could just glue them.
Now sew a button at each weather and one in the middle.
Cut a circle of cardboard - the same size as the felt - and staple a ribbon on, then glue on the felt circle.
Tie a ribbon around the central button and each day tie the end around the weather for the day. I tied mine in the middle as today it was windy and sunny.
I have made a paper version incase you do not have felt to hand.
You could make a weather chart for the week using the same drawings instead of writing.
You could also add other types of weather - a rainbow, lightening etc.
I look forward to seeing what you have made.