May meeting

Our May Day was actually 'Jane Hadfield Day' with a talk from Jane in the morning followed by an extended part-day workshop.

Jane's inspirational and well-illustrated talk took us from her family history of textiles and making through to her current work which has developed into 3-D forms.

Using natural, found, vintage and re-cycled materials, Jane uses a combination of painting and stitching to make 'something out of nothing'. Everyone greatly admired, - and were jealous of - her collections of items displayed in her workshop photgraphs.

Jane has exhibited widely with Threadmill Textile Artists but is now taking time out in retirement to more fully concentrate on her own practice. Since a Textile Study Group summer school with Polly Pollock, some of this time has focussed on creating vessel-like forms using free-weaving.  Which takes us into the follow-up workshop.........

.........where we were taught how to make formers using rice in plastic bags around which we then wound and wove paper string, with the judicious addition of masking tape where required.  Jane came extremely well-prepared with everything we needed and a very, VERY extensive collection of paper string. The most difficult part of any workshop is making choices!

By the end of the session most members had (nearly) completed their weaving.

Jane briefly told us how to complete the vessel to make it sturdy enough to remove the rice and plastic bag and the possibilities of adding embroidery.

Thank you, Jane for an excellent, enjoyable and fun workshop where we were all pleased with our achievements.

April meeting

It was another productive session at Megastitchers with a morning workshop led by member, Joy, looking at creating silk paper using cocoon strippings. Joy is a very accomplished practitioner and brought along many samples for members' inspiration.  Here are just a few of them

After teasing out the cocoon strippings, adding decorative items such as leaves, threads, paper etc and applying watercolour members, were able to iron their pieces (using baking parchment). They were also able to add colour to silk rods and begin the fiddley process of separating them into fine layers.

Some great ideas for creating backgounds ready for stitching! Thank you, Joy.

In the afternoon, we had a presentation from Pam about the choices for our next 'Artist of the Year' that will, hopefully, inform teaching for our member-led 2-hour workshops. We had the opportunity to vote for Jan Messent (textile atist), William Morris, Ton Shulten and Hundertwasser.  More news when all the votes have been counted.

March Meeting

In the morning we have a relaxed stitching session with Jean, creating small cylindrical covers for empty thread bobbins.

After covering the bobbin with wadding, members were soon able to start work stitching the cover. It was also possible to create a small pincushion top by using a stuffed Suffolk puff and trapping the edges under the removeable end of the bobbin.

Here is some of the work-in-progress.

Those members not taking part in the workshop were making progress on their own stitching, some completing work started in previous workshops and others on continuing with kits or other projects.

Our afternoon speaker was Lynne Stein, with a talk on Rags to Riches: a Contemporary approach to Rag Rug'.

Lynne combines her hooking and prodding with a variety of other techniques such as needle-felting and stitch. Her larger works are made using a tufting gun as we saw on a brief film clip. This craft has amazing textural qualities especially when using re-cycled and non-traditional materials, and lends itself well to the range of workshops that Lynne has taught for community, school and inter-faith groups. A well-illustrated talk with handling samples, a display of work and brief demonstrations made for an interesting and inspiring afternoon.

Lynne has written a book 'hook, prod, punch, tuft' which is excellent - it's a well-balanced combination of history, techniques, projects and good photos of 'rugs', old and modern.

Thank you, Lynn, for a great talk.   

Threads of a City: Manchester Tapestry Project

Led by Dr Lisa Gold, Senior Lecturer in History at Manchester Metropolitan University, Threads of a City is a unique, city-wide initiative that brings together students, artists, and community members to celebrate Manchester’s rich history and vibrant present through the art of embroidery

The project is supported by MMU staff, Manchester Histories, and the vibrant community. The aim is to create a large-scale textile tapestry that reflects the stories, cultures, and history that have shaped Manchester from its incorporation in 1853 to today. Through fabric, thread, and shared creativity, the project will capture the spirit of unity, resilience, and identity that defines the city. The completed tapestry will be unveiled at Manchester Town Hall’s grand reopening in 2027.

Threads of a City is more than an artwork; it is a storytelling project, a celebration of Manchester’s history, heritage, and people. Each stitched panel will reflect stories uncovered and interpreted by researchers, artists, and volunteers across Manchester. In Year 1 of the two-year project, from early February 2026, the focus is on research, story curation, and panel design. Later in 2026 the project  will move into the stitching phase.

It's still possible to join in the research phase; 

you can register through Eventbrite. The research phase meeting are all held in the ManchesterHistories Hub on the Lower Ground Floor of Central Library, Manchester on Wednesday afternoons from1pm to 4pm.

You can also share this invitation with others who may be interested. For any questions about the process or ways to get involved, contact us at l.gold@mmu.ac.uk.

There's a blog so you can keep up to date with progress on the project: 

https://threadsofacitymanchester.blogspot.com/

Also on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threadsofacitymanchester/?hl=en#

and Facebook: Threads of a City: Manchester Tapestry Project.

It's almost time for TexStyle!

This new fibre and textile show is at Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex) this coming Saturday and Sunday, 14th and 15 March. There will be knitting and crochet, quilting and sewing, weaving and more all from independent stitch craft creators.  

Follow the link for more info and the range of ticket options.
https://texstyle.uk/

February meeting

Another dark and dismal day in Fallowfield was brightened by our first face-to-face meeting of 2026 and a busy day of workshop, stitching, quest speaker, chatting and, of course, tea, coffee and biscuits.

The morning started with a workshop, 'Bayeux with Bling', led by Sue. Very appropriate for a year that will see the Bayeux Tapestry being displayed in London.

Here are some of Sue's samples:

After a stitching demo from Sue and some discussion about the threads to use (and keeping them neat) everyone was soon able to complete the preparation of their fabric and start work. Filling area with Bayeux stitch can be quite slow at first, but once a rhythm is established its an easy stitch and has lots of possibilities for adaptation - which can make choosing threads time-consuming, if there are lots of options! The instruction had been to make a design with relatively small areas to stitch, so everyone felt they had made reasonable progress by the end of the two hours.

Our afternoon speaker was Elizabeth Almond, an accomplished embroiderer and designer, perhaps best known for her Blackwork teaching. Liz had visited us before for a workshop on Kogin embroidery, but a talk on 'Whitework for Today' gave us the opportunity to listen to an authoritative and knowledgeable speaker and have a close look at work from this prolific stitcher.

Liz talked about using various whitework techniques and stitches suitable for modern fabric and threads (and eyesight!), with a very useful emphasis on checking 'colour'-matching for both. 'Shades of White' applies to embroidery as well as paint!  As you would expect with such an enormous catalogue of work, Liz had brought with her lots of samples we could pass round, a large display of mounted work and lots of patterns to choose from. Here are a few photos of her amazing work.

Thank you, Liz, for an informative and interesting talk. 

More of Liz's work can be seen on her website and she is also on Facebook and Etsy.

https://blackworkjourney.co.uk/contents.html

January meeting update

Our first face-to-face meeting of 2026 took place at the beginning of February when some of us brought in work-in-progress from the January zoom meeting. Here are a few photos.