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.

January meeting

The New Year started, as usual, with a happy Zoom meeting. Definitely too cold to travel this year, especially for those suffering from horrible coughs and colds.

Our challenge for this month was to cut six-inch squares from three different fabrics then cut each of these into 2 three-inch squares, 3 two-inch squares and 6 one-inch squares.

We had all chosen different combinations of fabrics, some all plain, others all patterned and some a mixture. It was then our task, should we choose to accept it, to layer the fabrics in a way that looked pleasing us then cut, stitch or patch them. And only four hours or so to play/faff and have lunch before we met up again in the afternoon to review progress.

An interesting exercise to get us started and a difficult one for those of us who struggle to be spontaneous! Thank you, Pam.

Hopefully, more photos next month after we meet in person. 

December meeting

It was a dark, dismal, December day outside ..... but inside there was chatter and laughter as members, and a couple of visitors, met for our Christmas stitching session.

This year we were led by Jean in creating Christmas tree decorations of Wild Women (angels, if we wanted to add wings). Here are Jean's samples:

After brief instructions and stitching tips, we were soon using the templates she'd provided (in 3 sizes/shapes!) to cut out our background fabric and sorting scraps to 'stitch & flip' to patch our creations. We could choose whether to do some hand-stitching over the joins and to add a face (a variety of expressions were also provided!). Whilst we were stitching, we also had to remember to vote in our two annual competitions.

After the raffle draw (with some excellent prizes this year) we enjoyed our Jacob's feast lunch that everyone had brought a contribution for.  

Most of us had intended to carry on stitching after lunch but a longer lunch break, clearing and cleaning up and the announcement of our competitions' winners meant that we finished slightly earlier than usual. Some did manage to (nearly) complete their projects, but others still had some way to go.

And the winners of our competitions were:

Nicole    The Kathleen Mason Award for Stitching (an amazing sampler)

Chris      The Anne Mullins Award for Design (a brilliant Gaudi-inspired lizard)

Thank you to everyone (you all contributed in some way!) and especially Jean, our tutor, and Pam, our Chair, who kept us on track throughout the day.