Newsletter June 2026

There is a lot to read and act on within this newsletter and so if you possibly can please find a quiet place to sit down and peruse it. It is important.

June 2026

Stitch day was a quiet opportunity to meet peacefully, exchange news and stitch. The committee and steering group met in the morning with much to plan for the forthcoming months.

July meetings.

Visit to Stamford Bridge Tapestry

Thanks to Ione and Ann for ensuring everyone knows the plans for the day. Remember that in the afternoon when we visit Viking Loom if you wish to shop for something specific it might be as well to contact them beforehand.  (www.vikingloom.co.uk. Email to vikingloom@vikingloom.co.uk. Phone: 01904 620587

AGM July 16^th

The AGM will be held at 12 noon and we hope as many as possible will attend to reflect on the past year. It is also our opportunity to thank retiring committee and steering group members and hopefully welcome new members to the committee and steering group. Please consider if you might serve on the committee. We are a large group but if we share the tasks we will continue to thrive and flourish.

The agenda for this meeting, minutes of the AGM held in July 2025 and requests for nominations will all be attached to the accompanying email. If you wish for anything to be considered in AOB please ensure you give notice to Carol W on or before July 2nd.

We will follow the AGM with lunch at 12.30 followed by strawberries and cream and non-alcoholic fizz. Please bring a bowl and spoon for the strawberries as last year.

After lunch will be the chance to look at the Member’s Challenge pieces, so please remember to bring them. There is a proforma attached to the email with this newsletter to fill out to accompany your piece.

Can you also please bring other work done since our last AGM including  the Palm Hearts you have been making, travelling books, and workshop pieces (from R&LCS workshops both internal and external) you have done between June 2025 and May of this year.

It is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on all that has been produced and allow people to admire and see what they have missed!

Flower embroideries

Jackie has produced many copies of the books containing the flower photos from our exhibition at Tennants last year. A few people missed her deadline so if you wish for a copy of the book please email her direct itreprlcs@gmail.com to arrange either a copy of the book or individual photo of your flower embroidery for you. Individual prints will cost 20p each and a complete book will be approximately £7.00 depending on how many she  orders.

Forthcoming workshops

Stitch Day August 6^th. At this stitch day Melita is offering to help those members could not attend her earlier workshop to make a book. The samples on view look enticing. Melita, it seems, has never made two books the same. Every book she showed us in May was a further development. Ingenious fastenings, mystery pockets and windows, soft covers and hardbacked books. Please sign up if you are interested.

Saturday 19^th September. Kay Leech will be giving members the opportunity to make Textile Vases. Full details are available at meetings. And you will need to book a place before the end of July. The cost will be £25.50 for the workshop and a further £10 for materials on the day. Remember if you want to use a sewing machine it should be PAT tested.

Using a cylinder of glass or plastic with vertical sides you can make a vase out of virtually any textile.  However, in this workshop we will be using Decovil Light, which is a light weight, dimensionally stable and resilient iron-on interlining with a leather-like handle.

You will be painting, adding papers, threads, material and stitch.  You can paint the Decovil and it has a shiny, coated side which is adhesive therefore you can iron on layers before adding stitch and embellishment.

ANSG

You will know that we are part of the Association of Northern Stitch Groups (ANSG). The initial objectives of the ANSG was to foster the art of embroidery and related crafts in the North East by the provision of a communications hub for the regional ISGs, offering advice and information provided by other regional ISGs and relevant groups.

Currently the ANSG provides six newsletters per year.  Events organised by the Association include two workshops each year.  Tutors and subjects are recommended by members of the committee and often from suggestions from groups plus an AGM followed by a speaker in April and an Association Afternoon in October which has taken many forms. A Speaker / Tutor database is sent to each group and a the ANSG has a website which gives details of programmes from each group with images and highlights of the Association’s events.

The ANSG committee would like to know your opinions on what we provide such as

1. What activities do you enjoy 
2. What can we do to improve or extend the current activities

We would like to send a whole group response but you are also very welcome to send individual responses . You will find further details attached to the email accompanying this email.

And finally:

Please ensure you use the front door to enter the Hall and do not come through the kitchen. My good wishes to all of you and please do offer your suggestions as to how the group may continue to flourish. We hope that those members currently unwell or looking after incapacitated family members will soon be back with us.

Hope to see you at the AGM. Thank you for reading this. Happy Stitching,

Carolyn.

 Chair1rlcs@gmail.com  07454 536 072 https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com

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Newsletter May 2026

Greetings to you all. I hope this finds you enjoying the Spring weather although I am sure at times over the last week it has been too hot to stitch. I am pleased to be able to tell you that Liz is out of hospital and recovering at home. I am sure you will join me in sending good wishes. I would ask that you continue not to send any emails to treasurer1rlcs@gmail.com but any queries regarding finance should be directed to me please using chair1rlcs@gmail.com

A few years ago we produced Palm Hearts to donate to RVI at Newcastle for patients and their near relatives. These are made in pairs; one for the patient and the other to be held by their partner/ close relative. Pauline kindly and generously offered to run two inhouse workshops to help us make these bringing a pair of hearts for each participant ready for stuffing and decorating. We intend to display these at our AGM in July and if you wish to contribute more hearts they will be gratefully received and can be knitted,sewn or crocheted.

Our grateful thanks go to all our members who help with inhouse workshops for all their preparation, time and effort.

On May 21^st our speaker was to have been Liz Almond but unfortunately she has had to cancel her visit. We hope she will be able to join us at a later date. We are fortunate that Karen Gibson-Brown a beading expert was able to give us her talk postponed from 2025. This was both informative and very interesting with lots of examples and ideas.

.

June meetings

Stitch day is June 4^th and your committee and steering group will be planning for future events. Anne Brooke, who many of you know, will be our speaker on the meeting day with her talk entitled ‘Whole Hole’ and I am certain that will be a very interesting event.

Many of us have been looking forward to four days of workshops led by Jenny Adin Christie in June but unfortunately she has had to postpone this event. She apologises but unfortunately her daughter is unwell and I am sure you will all wish to join me in sending our best wishes.

Visit Wednesday July 1^st.

This visit to see and hear about the Stamford Bridge tapestry is widely anticipated and we hope will be very enjoyable.

Members’ Challenge Reminder.

We hope everyone is working on a piece for the 2026 Members’ Challenge: “Inspired by Great Artists”.

Reminder that the piece can be in any medium and must include stitching. Measurements to be no larger than A4 in any direction, whether 2 or 3 dimensional. Members’ Challenge pieces to be displayed at our July meeting.

AGM on July 16^th

We are a large group and to ensure our smooth running many of you are willingly involved in all the regular tasks for which we are all collectively grateful. I am so grateful for the support from you all but especially from the core committee and steering group making the coordinating task so much easier. As Chair for the last three years, it is time for me to step down and for someone else to lead the group. Liz has been an efficient and meticulous Treasurer, but she also is standing down.  The AGM is the time for members to consider if they are willing to take on the responsibility of joining this core group for a while. We have had offers from members to take on the roles of both Chair and Treasurer, but we definitely need more support for the Treasurer and if anyone is interested now is the time to consider it seriously and perhaps talk to a committee member. We also need a few more members on the steering group to share the load and replace those stepping down.

Like the Members’ Challenge and Palm Hearts we hope to view Travelling Books at the AGM in July so please check that your latest journey is complete. It would also be good to see finished pieces from R&LCS workshops attended since the AGM 2025.

Finally

This comes with all good wishes to you all and especially to those of you with health issues either personally or family ones. Happy Stitching,

Carolyn.

 Chair1rlcs@gmail.com  07454 536 072 https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com

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Newsletter April 2026

April meetings
Stitch Day was quiet and so a great opportunity for lots of stitching. On our meeting day the speaker was Alice Fox, a
well-known textile artist, who related how she works with hand-processed natural fibres and gathered materials,
mostly from her allotment. She uses natural dyes and stains, stitch, weave and soft basketry techniques. These
elements come together in different combinations to create intricate surfaces and structures.
In the morning a group had worked with Pauline T. to make Palm Hearts ready for dispatch to RVI in Newcastle.
There will be a further opportunity to make more of these on the morning of May 21st. Our grateful thanks to Pauline
for all her preparation, time and effort.

May meetings
On Stitch Day on May 7th Melita has kindly agreed to lead a Book making workshop. The samples on view look
enticing. On May 21st our speaker was to have been Liz Almond but unfortunately she has had to cancel her visit. We
hope she will be able to join us at a later date. We are fortunate that Karen Gibson-Brown a beading expert will be
able to give us her talk postponed from 2025. On the morning of our meeting date as mentioned above there will be
a further opportunity to make Palm Hearts
On 9th May Tracy Franklin will be leading a workshop for us entitled ‘Embroidered Knots’. Those choosing to take part
will be creating a sampler including French and Bullion Knots based on design elements such as colour, texture and
line, and learning how these might be used in both traditional and contemporary style embroideries. Please ensure
that you arrive with your material ready with your grid of squares measured and tacked as detailed in your
requirements list.

Visit Wednesday July 1st.
This visit to see and hear about the Stamford Bridge tapestry is now full and hopefully those booked onto it are
looking forward to a good day out.

Members’ Challenge Reminder.
We hope everyone is working on a piece for the 2026 Members’ Challenge: “Inspired by Great Artists”.
Reminder that the piece can be in any medium and must include stitching. Measurements to be no larger than A4 in
any direction, whether 2 or 3 dimensional. Members’ Challenge pieces to be displayed at our July meeting.

AGM on July 16th
We are a large group and to ensure our smooth running many of you are willingly involved in all the regular tasks for
which we are all collectively grateful. I am so grateful for the support from you all but especially from the core
committee and steering group making the coordinating task so much easier. As Chair for the last three years, it is
time for me to step down and for someone else to lead the group. Liz has been an efficient and meticulous Treasurer,
but she also is standing down. The AGM is the time for members to consider if they are willing to take on the
responsibility of joining this core group for a while. We have had offers from members to take on the roles of both
Chair and Treasurer if no one else comes forward but if anyone is interested now is the time to consider it seriously
and perhaps talk to a committee member. We also need a few more members on the steering group to share the
load and replace those stepping down
Like the Members’ Challenge and Palm Hearts we hope to view Travelling Books at the AGM in July so please check
that your latest journey is complete. It would also be good to see finished pieces from R&LCS workshops attended
since the AGM 2025.

Finally
This comes with all good wishes to you all and especially to those of you with health issues either personally or family
ones.

Happy Stitching,
Carolyn.
Chair1rlcs@gmail.com 07454 536 072
https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com

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Newsletter March 2026

March meetings

Stitch Day there was the opportunity for some to take part in a ‘Marbling Workshop’ led by Yvonne. Lots of examples were glanced and our grateful thanks go to Yvonne who is repeating the workshop in July.

Our speaker in March was Heather Audin talking about ‘Treasures from the Quilt Collection’. This was a very informative and fascinating talk enjoyed by many. On 14^th March there was a day workshop led by Donna Cheshire entitled ‘Landscape in Fabric and Stitch’.  Many of you will remember that Donna gave a talk to the group recently and this was a chance to see how she applied some of the principles she had spoken about. The day was well attended and I am certain much enjoyed.

April meetings

Stitch Day is April 2^nd and meeting day is April 16th when the speaker is Alice Fox, a textile artist https://alicefox.co.uk/.

Forthcoming workshops

On 9^th May Tracy Franklin will be leading a workshop for us entitled ‘Embroidered Knots’. Those choosing to take part will be creating a sampler including French and Bullion Knots based on design elements such as colour, texture and line, and learning how these might be used in both traditional and contemporary style embroideries. At the time of writing this there is one spare place.

Pauline T. has kindly and generously offered to run two morning workshops on Thursdays 16^th April and 18^th May from 10.15 -12.15 to make more of these hearts Palm Hearts as illustrated. She can accommodate up to 10 members on each workshop. I do hope you will support these workshops. There will be a sign up sheet at meetings and Pauline will bring a pair of hearts for each participant ready for stuffing and decorating.

Visit Wednesday July 1^st.

There are a few places left for this visit to see and hear about the Stamford Bridge tapestry. There are 15 panels depicting the story of The Battle of Stamford Bridge which took place in 1066 when King Harald defeated the Viking Army. It was stitched by the local community between 2015 and 2021 under the direction of Shirley Smith, a professional textile artist and former Minster Broderer. On our way home we have arranged to call into Viking Loom a real shop crammed full of threads, wools, fabric, canvas, kits, charts, beautiful patchwork cottons, dressmaking fabrics and patterns!

Members’ Challenge Reminder.

The title of the 2026 Members’ Challenge is: “Inspired by Great Artists”.

The piece can be in any medium and must include stitching. Measurements to be no larger than A4 in any direction, whether 2 or 3 dimensional. Members’ Challenge pieces to be displayed at our July meeting. It would be helpful, not essential, to show an image of the inspiration alongside your piece.

Finally

This comes with all good wishes to you all and especially to those of you with health issues either personally or family ones. Happy Stitching,

Carolyn.

 Chair1rlcs@gmail.com  07454 536 072 https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com

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Newsletter February 2026

February meetings

We duly arrived for our normal stitch day on February 5^th but unfortunately the electricity failed. This was eventually rectified by Norther Power Grid several days later. Some of our members decamped to warm up with coffee at Tennants where they were offered a room at short notice which they accepted on our behalf. Many then joined them for a few hours in comfy chairs with good lighting and warm loos! It was very relaxing but unfortunately not cheap and it was explained that even if we wished to, we could not have a permanent booking as the rooms are used for View Days prior to Sales events. Our grateful thanks must go to those who saved Stitch Day though.

Our speaker on February 19^th was Tanya Bentham, making a return visit with a talk entitled ‘Colour in Medieval Embroidery’. As always this was both entertaining and very informative. It was interesting to both hear about the dyes used in medieval times and those Tanya uses herself today. As always Tanya brought a vast array of worked examples and kits to sell.

March meetings

Stitch Day is March 5^th when some have signed up to take part in a ‘Marbling Workshop’ led by Yvonne. Judging by the samples this promises to be a very interesting occasion. Yvonne has kindly offered to repeat the workshop in July for more members.

Our meeting day is March 19^th when Heather Audin is talking about ‘Treasures from the Quilt Collection’. Heather is a historian, costume & textiles enthusiast, author, and sometimes maker.

Forthcoming workshops

On 14^th March there is a day workshop led by Donna Cheshire entitled ‘Landscape in Fabric and Stitch’. This is an opportunity to create a landscape using fabric applique and hand stitch from your own source material- a photo or sketch of somewhere special to you. You will use this to make a line drawing to the size of your piece, around A4 size that will become the template for your work. The cost of the day is £28. There are a few places so please do ask if you are interested.

On 9^th May Tracy Franklin will be leading a workshop for us entitled ‘Embroidered Knots’. Those choosing to take part will be creating a sampler including French and Bullion Knots based on design elements such as colour, texture and line, and learning how these might be used in both traditional and contemporary style embroideries. Sign up sheets and requirement lists will be available at the March meetings.

Members’ Challenge.

The title of the 2026 Members’ Challenge is: “Inspired by Great Artists”.

The piece can be in any medium and must include stitching. Measurements to be no larger than A4 in any direction, whether 2 or 3 dimensional. Members’ Challenge pieces to be displayed at our July meeting. It would be helpful, not essential, to show an image of the inspiration alongside your piece.

Visit Wednesday July 1^st.

We have arranged a visit to see and hear about the Stamford Bridge tapestry. There are 15 panels depicting the story of The Battle of Stamford Bridge which took place in 1066 when King Harald defeated the Viking Army. It was stitched by the local community between 2015 and 2021 under the direction of Shirley Smith, a professional textile artist and former Minster Broderer. On our way home we have arranged to call into Viking Loom a real shop crammed full of threads, wools, fabric, canvas, kits, charts, beautiful patchwork cottons, dressmaking fabrics and patterns! Save the date!

Finally

This comes with all good wishes to you all and especially to those of you with health issues either personally or family ones. Happy Stitching,

Carolyn.

 Chair1rlcs@gmail.com  07454 536 072

https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com

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Newsletter January 2026

January meetings

The weather defeated us, so we cancelled Stitch Day. I do apologise but it was lovely to see so many at our meeting day on the 22^nd where many of us spent time exploring Counted Satin Stitch which is the stitch we have sponsored on the RSN Stitchbank.  A description can be found at https://rsnstitchbank.org/stitch/counted-satin-stitch

Andrea led us into the exploration of the stitch as used in Hardanger embroidery and many tried their hand at stitching kloster blocks and then the scary process of cutting and withdrawing threads. Please do bring in your finished  examples at the next meeting. The afternoon was spent on producing the ship pattern also often seen in Hardanger work. Grateful thanks to Andrea and to all the other members who supported people including but not limited to Ione and Ann E . Members also brought in a variety of complex stitched examples. Something to aspire to!

Travelling Books

There was an exchange of travelling books and the return of books following the ending of our exhibition at Tennants.

February meetings

Normal stitch Day on February 5^th and then our speaker on February 19^th will be Tanya Bentham, making a return visit with a talk entitled ‘Colour in Medieval Embroidery’

Forthcoming workshops

On 14^th March there is a day workshop led by Donna Cheshire entitled ‘Landscape in Fabric and Stitch’. This is an opportunity to create a landscape using fabric applique and hand stitch from your own source material- a photo or sketch of somewhere special to you. You will use this to make a line drawing to the size of your piece, around A4 size that will become the template for your work. The cost of the day is £28. The maximum number of students is 15 and you can sign up on February 5^th when you will be given a requirements list. There will be the opportunity to buy an optional pack from Donna on the day of the workshop.

Members’ Challenge.

The title of the 2026 Members’ Challenge is: “Inspired by Great Artists”.

 The piece can be in any medium and must include stitching. Measurements to be no larger than A4 in any direction, whether 2 or 3 dimensional.

This year marks the 250^th anniversary of the births of JMW Turner and John Constable in successive years. An exhibition of their paintings at Tate Britain demonstrates very contrasting styles. It is also the centenary of Claude Monet’s death in 1926. No need to feel restricted to artists having anniversaries, however.

Choose any work of art which you love or which will inspire you. Whether that is Jack Vettriano’s The Singing Butler, Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss, Edvard Munch’s Scream, Constable’s Haywain, Monet’s Japanese Bridge, JMW Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire, or one of Degas’s many ballerinas….

Please be inspired to be as creative as ever. Members’ Challenge pieces to be displayed at our July meeting. It would be helpful, not essential, to show an image of the inspiration alongside your piece.

Visits

Last year members enjoyed a visit to Durham Cathedral. If anyone has ideas of where we might go this year please do let me know as soon as possible.

Finally

This comes with all good wishes to you all and especially to those of you with health issues either personally or family ones. Happy Stitching,

Carolyn.

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October 2025 Newsletter

Firstly my apologies that this newsletter is late. Time ran away from me!

October meetings

We were treated to a fascinating talk by Pippa Foulds ‘Don’t Forget the Plain Ones’ on the meeting day. This was about Pippa’s research into large tie-on pockets worn by women in the 18th & 19th centuries. At a time when women had few if any rights over themselves or their property, these pockets gave them a place where they could ‘own’ and store their most personal possessions. Pippa explained that the majority of pockets, throughout this period, whether for aristocrats or fishwives, were made from plain or re-purposed linens or cottons, often with no embellishment other than maybe a laundry mark. In museum archives there are collections of embroidered pockets but few plain ones. Pippa explained that overlooking the ‘plain’ ones meant missing a rich source of contextual information about women’s lives in the past. Using museum examples and evidence from the criminal courts about the contents of the pockets she endeavoured to tell the stories of some of these women.

November meetings

Stitch day is November 6th and at the meeting day on November 20th we welcome Helen Poremba who is a textile artist, working from her home studio in the Northumbrian village of Felton. Her artwork is based mostly on botanical subjects and her designs are informed by the shapes, patterns and colours of flowers and foliage. She will be both demonstrating and talking so the format of the meeting will be slightly different. More details on the day.

Unfortunately Helen cancelled owing to adverse weather conditions

Travelling Books

We saw the first exchange of books at the October meeting and, as always, it was fascinating to see the range and variety.

Exhibition at Tennants Wednesday 19th November – Thursday 18th December

Reminder that these are the dates for our forthcoming exhibition at Tennants Garden Rooms of all the incredible f lower embroideries you have produced for RHS Harlow Carr. If you can spread the word, bring your friends and family and join in on one of the Open Stitch Days we hope you will. We will also provide flyers with details of our group. Reminder that the opening event is on the 19th November at 3pm where after light refreshments Sam Findlay the librarian at Harlow Carr will be giving a short presentation. Numbers that we can accommodate are limited so if you have not already signed up and wish to attend please do speak to me at the Stitch Day, November 6th . As you will be aware we would like to include in the exhibition a display of some of our travelling books. Obviously these cannot be the ones journeying this time! These books will be behind glass for the entire exhibition for visitors to look at. If we get a good response we may well rotate them and the pages they are open at. If you have not already passed to Jackie any travelling books you wish to be in the exhibition please do so at the Stitch Day. As mentioned before the books will be on display at your own risk. There is a rota as we would like to ensure that there are at least four members stitching and chatting on the two open stitch days at all times. Please encourage participation. On both days there will be stitching that visitors can participate in and kits to take away if they wish to make their own decoration. Some of the sample pears and birds for the Open Stitch days have already been taken by members willing to start stitching but there are more available for preparatory work. We hope you will help.

Happy Stitching,

Carolyn.

Chair1rlcs@gmail.com 07454 536 072             https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com

September 2025

The chill of Autumn seems to be approaching fast but at last we have had some much needed rain and plenty to occupy us all.
September meetings
Helen Barnes with her talk ‘Vietnamese Textiles’ at the September meeting was interesting and inspiring. I know I learnt a lot and Helen had obviously researched thoroughly.
Thursday 25th September Visit to Durham Cathedral It was a joy and a privilege to visit the Cathedral and our heartfelt thanks must go to the three members who are Broderers, Ann, Ione and Melita. I certainly learnt a lot and I know from feedback that many of you did too. It was inspiring to see so many pieces of detailed embroidery in such close detail. They were truly beautiful.
October meetings
Stitch day is October 2nd and at the meeting day on October 16th we welcome Pippa Foulds with her talk entitled
‘Don’t forget the Plain Ones’.
Workshop Saturday October 11th
We are sorry that this workshop has been cancelled but hopefully we have learnt from the experience and we look
forward to better things as we move on.
Travelling Books
There are five groups going forward (including a ‘Chinese Whispers’ group) with the first exchange taking place at the October Meeting Day: October 16th. Our thanks to Elaine D and Jackie B for organising this and to Alison F. for her detailed explanations for the ‘Chinese Whispers’ group.
Exhibition at Tennants Wednesday 19th November – Thursday 18th December
Reminder that these are the dates for our forthcoming exhibition at Tennants Garden Rooms of all the incredible flower embroideries you have produced for RHS Harlow Carr.
We will be holding an opening event on the 19th November and we will be asking you to sign up if you wish to attend. The event is scheduled from 3pm and after light refreshments Sam Findlay the librarian at Harlow Carr will be giving a short presentation. Numbers that we can accommodate are limited so please do sign up on October 16th. We would like to include in the exhibition a display of some of our travelling books. Obviously these cannot be the ones journeying this time! These books will be behind glass for the entire exhibition for visitors to look at. If we get a good response we may well rotate them and the pages they are open at.
On the two stitch days in the upper gallery on Monday 24th November and Tuesday 9th December (10am-3pm) we would like some travelling books on a table and these may be handled. This will allow visitors to ‘follow a journey’. Would you please let Jackie know if you are willing to lend your travelling book and then we will collect them at the meeting on 16th October. The books will be on display at your own risk. We would like to set up a rota to ensure that there are at least four members stitching and chatting on the two stitch days at all times. We will provide flyers with details of our group. Please encourage participation. On both days there will be stitching that visitors can participate in and kits to take away if they wish to make their own decoration.
Some of the sample pears and birds for the Open Stitch days will be ready for preparatory work on October 16th. We hope you will help.
Happy Stitching,
Carolyn.
Chair1rlcs@gmail.com 07454 536 072
https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com

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August 2025

Another busy but hopefully enjoyable month with lots of time for stitching. No doubt many of you were on holiday or visiting or entertaining friends and family so we were pleased to see so many of you at the meetings.

At our meeting day we displayed the items you had stitched for the member’s challenge. The variety and imagination was impressive from embroidered handkerchiefs to needlecases and stitched models of Jane Austen herself. I hope you all enjoyed seeing the exhibits as much as I did. Our thanks must go to Carol Waterhouse for all her organisation, information and encouragement.

We also heard how the ‘Chinese Whispers’ group had produced their pieces and I am glad to say that by the end of the afternoon another such group had been formed for the forthcoming journey.  

We also took the opportunity to examine the pieces stitched for the recent Travelling Books journey (aside from the Chinese Whispers group). So much inspirational stitching which was a delight to take the time to examine.

Many members brought in pieces from workshops both internally and externally tutored over the past 12 months. So much variety and hopefully you all enjoyed the time to admire and be inspired. Thank you all for your contributions.

Now is the time to stitch your piece for the new Travelling Books journey. It should be in your book and ready to swap at the October Meeting Day: October 16^th.

September meetings

Stitch day is on September 4^th  and the meeting day is on September18th when the speaker will be Helen Barnes with her talk ‘Vietnamese Textiles’

Thursday 25^th September Visit to Durham Cathedral There is one space on this visit as someone is no longer able to join the group. Please do get in touch if you would like to join us.

Workshop Saturday October 11^th

Further details will be available at Stitch Day on September 4^th.

Exhibition at Tennants Wednesday 19^th November – Thursday 18^th December

 Reminder that these are the dates for our forthcoming exhibition at Tennants Garden Rooms of all the incredible flower embroideries you have produced for RHS Harlow Carr. We will be holding an opening event on the 19^th November and two stitch days in the upper gallery on Monday 24^th November and Tuesday 9^th December. Please do save the dates.

And finally: My good wishes to all of you and please do offer your suggestions as to how the group may continue to flourish.

Happy Stitching,

Carolyn.

 Chair1rlcs@gmail.com  07454 536 072 https://richmondandleyburncreativestitchers.wordpress.com