Show and Tell at May Meeting

This is the first instalment. The items in this post are all from the Richmond members, beginning with 2 lovely bags.. Note the bead closures and the kumihimo braid trim.

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Ooops! I got that wrong.  The bags were made by Sue Baskett. I originally attributed them to the wrong person.  Sorry Sue.

 This silk wrap is Julia's. It can be worn as a fabulous fashion garment and then folded up into a neat flat package.

 And now for something different!  Esmae wove this bag out of plastic grocery bags. It is lined and has strong kumihimo handles. It will last for ages.

 Back to Julia again, this time with exquisite work in linen. What an inspiration!

This is one of several table runners made by Esmae (I'm pretty sure I have the names right. If not I hope someone will let me know.

A few more photos to come in a few days.

May Meeting: Visit from Richmond

Four of our friends from the Richmond Group came to visit on Monday for our May meeting and post-festival catch-up, and previous member Lesley happened to be visiting as well.  It was a glorious sunny day for our first daytime meeting this year and it was great to have a good turnout of our members who brought along soup and finger food as well as their show and tell.

 Noelene and Judy have a chat and Joan catches up with Lesley

 Jan, Julia, Anne and Win . . . and the remains of a well-catered lunch.

 Visitors Pam and Sue enjoying their day out.

Esmae and Chris surveying some of the work on show.

Teatowels had been woven in cotton at various time by both Marlborough and Richmond groups so we were asked to bring along our examples . . . old and new.

 Many of these had been made for a group project in 2006

 Following which Barbara was inspired to weave some more, this time in different colours.

 Julia brought this elegant twill one in muted blues and greens.

 Two of our members had participated in another group project/exchange, this time in linen with a huck pattern.  Beautiful articles from some excellent weavers, these ones are still unused but much appreciated.

Show and Tell photos still to come so keep watching.

From Mountains to the Sea

 Mountains to the Sea was the theme of the Australian & New Zealand Exchange tapestries which were on display at Festival.

 They are quite small (most approx 15 cm square) but many of them are amazingly detailed.

 These are just a few close ups that appealed to me and I thought our tapestry weavers at home might like to see.

 There were about 60 tapestries in total.

 This one is by our Jan Hannay.  Well done Jan for getting it finished on time.

I'm sorry I didn't note the names of the weavers or the individual titles.

More from Festival

There were busy bodies everywhere. This was a 'hands-on' station where people could thread a necklace.  Someone must have been hoarding beads for years!  It was so popular it was hard to get in for a photo.

Festival is a great place to meet friends - of the colourful sort!

And 'Holy Moly' . . . the decorations were colourful too.  They were everywhere . . . strips of felt with perfect holes punched in them, dyed every colour of the spectrum.  Who would know they were industrial waste; a by-product of the manufacture of washers!  The pile of golden 'coins' in the photo below are perfect felt circles. Now what could they be used for ? There was a free-for-all rush to souvenir the decorations at closing time. Yes, I'm sure some came to Marlborough so watch this space.

And of course there was the Trade Hall. . . Oh so tempting. 

 That's Agnes in red in the centre foreground.

There are loads more pics to show, so call again soon.

Fashion at Festival

Yay!  Thanks to Chris we now can show you a very happy Jan with her entry in the Runway Show at Porirua. Good work Jan, and well done to top off the outfit with a hat. 

Exhibition entries from Marlborough are just below.

National Exhibition 2013

Marlbourgh was well represented in the Exhibition with nine entries being accepted, one of them winning the Innovation award and one a Merit certificate.

This black alpaca wrap with a central cotton crochet lace panel incorporating crochet flowers was made by Win and very fittingly won the Innovation award sponsored by Kim Thittichai.  In the catalogue a different photograph shows it draped on a mannequin and it looks even better than it does here. Congratulations Win.

Chris's signature block weave mohair throw looked cosy and warm even though it is in cool colours. This photo under gallery lighting doesn't do it justice.  Below is her table runner, the end result of a group project on three-shaft petit point pick up weave. Very impressive Chris.

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 It was very satisfying to have four pieces of handwoven linen from our group on display.  June's runner is in the photo above and Win's below.

 These two runners are by Rose; the lower one was granted a Merit award from the Linen Trust.  Why that piece was singled out is a mystery because all the linen was beautifully executed. Perhaps it was because it was hemstitched.

The emphasis of the Festival was on Fashion and yardage of all varieties was asked for. This is Rose's piece in cotton, linen and silk.

The Felters were represented by Christine with this piece incorporating silver wire and mounted on perspex.  It was appropriately titled 'Every Cloud has a Silver Lining.' Note the red dot!  In fact our members had several sales to add to the satisfaction of being accepted.

Unfortunately I don't have a photo but Jan also represented the felters in the Runway Show. She entered a three-piece outfit named 'Hot Sunrise' comprised of a nuno felted pink skirt and navy top, complemented by a felt hat.  It looked great coming down the runway.

Well done everyone . . . but where were our spinners and knitters?

The Festival will be in Dunedin next year.  The time to start planning is NOW.

Festival 2013

It was a treat to go to the Festival at Porirua and have no organising to do and no responsibility for running the show . . . unlike last year when Marlborough was host.  Several of us hopped on the ferry or a plane and met up at a rented house close to the action. We were joined by Judith and Helene from Hokitika and Lesley from Wellington. Eleven of us filled the spacious house and its attached flat and were very comfortable as you will see from the photos.

 On the ferry.  Every day is Knit In Public Day with Creative Fibre members.

In the house . . plenty of room to socialise.

The day's events were discussed at length.

Exhibition photos in a day or two so keep watching.