A lovely evening spent

One week ago I set off on a journey to 'the other end of the county, over the border and beyond'! I was on my way to meet a group of quilters/stitchers who meet once a month in a village hall. I have never spoken to such a group before, I think I told them this, but just incase I didn't - don't tell. Sshhh.

I told them of my background, thinking this would give me credentials (ha) and the work I do now in the Children's Centers. I mentioned the Textiles C&G course I am co-tutoring on, I think this went down well.

Handing out patterns, templates and samples of my work, the ladies were soon inspired with my new range of lovely felt and bought a few colours to play with.

We chatted about the samples and I went round a few times to make sure that everyone was happy with their work and new what they were doing. I had some lovely conversations with people and felt very welcome.

It had been a birthday for one of the stitchers the previous week, so tea and cakes were served. I was informed that this was not the norm, perhaps a biscuit was there to keep strength up most months.

There was a great 'show and tell' time, where the ladies held up their finished work and spoke about what they had made and any points of interest that came up.

These are the pics I took, I have now come to the conclusion that I have to take my tripod everywhere I go. To capture natural colours and lovely detailed work, my shaky hand and small 'satsuma' of a camera is not enough. You will now see me with cute little tripod on tow too.

The evening finishes with a traditional 'raffle' I donated a brooch from my box of tricks.

As you can see there were some lovely colour combinations and great variations on the basic design. I had some lovely feedback from the group and they will be happy to have me back in the future. I look forward to it! :-)

A day of Heritage at the Library

Today I was part of a Heritage Day for Milton Keynes Council and various associated societies and groups. The event was called Our Place MK and has been held before, but not in the Library I think. I spent the morning on the ACE stand chatting and making with a number of interested people who may have come in for the exhibition or may have just been coming into the Library.

As you can see from the programme, it was a jam-packed day and I only wish I could have seen more for myself, but work and school runs got in the way this afternoon. :-(

I hope it was a success for all concerned I had some lovely chat's with potential stitchers and enjoyed making some brooches with a couple of ladies I know from previous classes. I have been working on a number of projects specifically inspired by vintage techniques, hence the Heritage connection.

As you can see, it was difficult to keep my space tidy, but such is the life of a crafting stitcher, don't ask my husband about that one.....

This is Barbara's prepared brooch which she has promised to finnish for a new class after Easter. More of that nearer the time.