Nine BETA members and a very welcome additional attendee, Barbara from Solihull had a wonderful weekend Eco Dyeing and stitching with Jane Hunter. After settling in on Friday evening following a delicious meal we spent Saturday and Sunday working together. On day 1 we used a wide range of leaves and plants, mostly provided by Jane. Using them to dye a very generous pack of varied fabrics also provided by Jane. The pictures below show our efforts after day one on the long work table and our work hanging up to dry overnight.

The long table where we worked during the day with some of the work laid out.

On day two after another lovely evening meal on Saturday (not to mention the lunches and breakfasts) we spent the day using our samples and adding stitch. Some of us worked on book covers for books provided by Jane. We had brought our own sewing kits but Jane was again very generous in sharing her threads etc. Pictured below are some of the finished and part finished projects. Jane was an informative and relaxed and easygoing tutor it was a pleasure to work with her and with each other.

Even the best weekends come to an end. We left having learnt a lot had fun and enjoyed two days of relaxed creativity. Some of us took home local honey and home made jam as a bonus.

Our first meeting back after the August break we were excited to welcome several new members, some of whom came following our exhibition. We all look forward to getting to know each other. The group this evening enjoyed Lesley’s presentation and valued the wonderful samples of work she allowed us to examine up close.

As the title suggests Lesley focused on her love of making marks on paper or fabric, using paint and stitch. She began talking about her work using mono print on freezer paper and then using those marks to develop other pieces. She has learnt from other textile artists who stretched her thinking, including Matthew Harris and Angie Hughes. Lesley has used a variety of methods including felting, layering and stitching into her pieces. Abstract marks are turned into images with different meanings for example the beautiful Metropolis, the largest picture shown below which demonstrates mark making highlighted with stitch and beads.

Lesley was also an inspiring speaker as she discussed, in a matter of fact way, obstacles and hurdles to her work, that she has faced in recent years and that she has managed to work around. As for all of us Covid was a significant challenge and she took part in the hundred day challenge and a sketch book challenge. Adding to the challenge of lockdowns, prior to Covid she had developed chest problems and had became allergic to cotton lint. She turned to photography in response, still using stitching and mark making. She then broke her shoulder, so again made changes, focusing on smaller scale pieces, inspired throughout by her love of looking at marks in the landscape and making marks in response. A book based on the Covid experience and the phrases that became common place is pictured below. Lesley can be contacted on lesley@lesleybrankin.com. She can be found on instagram as lesleybrankinart.

Following the talk and before members circulated and had the pleasure of looking in more detail at Lesley’s work, we held the purple raffle.

Janet Molloy also wanted to post this message on this blog about the tailoring project in Uganda she talked about at our last meeting. “Can I thank all of you who began my fundraising in July to extend the classrooms and provide equipment for the many budding young tailoring students in Uganda hoping to begin a new course this September. The course will provide them with marketable skills so they can have the opportunity for a sustainable livelihood as adults. BETA members raised £100 at the meeting and the final total raised was well over a £1000. Thank you all very much” Congratulations to Janet for this achievement.

October’s meeting will feature Ruth Parkinson-John on Layered Cloth and Loopy Stitches. The raffle bag colour is black and white please bring relevant contributions. Look forward to seeing everyone there and a reminder that all are also welcome to sit and stitch, which continues on the first Saturday of every month.

We were able, this year, to hold an exhibition at our meeting place in Cotteridge after a long gap and were delighted to welcome lots of visitors. We want to acknowledge the hard work that went into the day, making the exhibition pieces, working together to make items for the sales table which was very popular, setting up and taking down the displays and working hard on the day itself. Members spent time with visitors, worked on the sales table and served drinks and cakes.

It isn’t possible to do justice to the range and detail of the work displayed above, which covered a wide range of textile art, traditional and more experimental. You can see if you hunt the panel the group completed for the commonwealth games in Birmingham and a wonderful dragon completed by a group of young stitchers.

The garland of friendship rings also pictured above was completed by many individual members of BETA as were the letters making up our banner. Another group project the ‘ruby squares’ can be seen. They were completed to celebrate our 40th anniversary as a group. Working on projects together is one of our most satisfying activities, allowing a range of member skills and interests to be brought together.

We had wonderful comments added to our visitor book. Words and phrases like talented, wonderful, fabulous, fantastic variety, beautiful, professional, inspiring, fun, were all used often repeatedly. One visitor said ‘Gorgeous, impressive exhibition. Loved the beauty creativity and passion.’ Another added a mention of the wonderful home made cakes so some of them are also pictured below.

Finally we are meeting again on the second Monday in September 2023, having had an August break, and would love to welcome anyone who wants to consider joining us, perhaps as a result of seeing the exhibition.

An apology, the date of our last meeting was 12th June, not July

We began our AGM which was held in July, suitably fortified by sweet and savoury snacks. The admirably concise meeting then saw all the officers re-elected. Debbie is standing down from the committee and was thanked for all her hard work. Ruth is now joining the committee with the support of everyone at the AGM.

We held our summer competition. All the entries were of a high standard and a pleasure to look at and admire. The winner was Lynn with Rowan and Janet Lee joint second. Congratulations to them all and to all the entrants.

We also listened to two really interesting speakers, Hannah from the Anawin project came to tell us more about their organization. Anawin is an Aramaic work meaning poorest, outcast, person with no vote. This is a project run by women for women, started by two nuns who began a drop in for women in Mary St, Balsall Heath. The project now works with women from a range of communities, helping them deal with experiences of trauma. Many of the women have mental health issues and have experienced violence and sexual violence. They face financial difficulties, some have lost children and homes, following periods in prison. Staff and volunteers at Anawim work with them as they attempt to reestablish independent lives. The project offers a drop in with a food bank and a help line and live chat. they also offer classes and counselling. One of their popular classes is run by a member of BETA, Margaret, who has been running a successful sewing class every week. Stitching remains a an enjoyable part of the lives of many women.

Hannah’s presentation prompted lots of questions from the floor. She told us that Anawim isn’t funded from the government or city council so donations are crucial. BETA helps in a small way providing gift bags at Christmas which we were told are much appreciated. The project is also starting a shop, based in Edward Rd in Balsall Heath. There are opportunities to volunteer with Anawim and there are a range of areas where help would be appreciated. More information can be found on their website. Anawim.co.uk

We then heard from Janet one of our members, who for many years has been sponsoring an child through the World Vision Charity. Janet had just returned from a trip with the project, visiting Uganda, where she met the family of the girl she sponsors and where she saw a sewing and tailoring project. She also saw work that was being done by the charity, including an maternity unit and a water project. The sewing and tailoring project was encouraging children to return to education and Janet was presented with some lovely hand made gifts shown below. At the end of her talk Janet held a collection to raise funds so that they can build more sewing rooms and intends to continue fund raising. Both presentations made us think about the challenges faced particularly by women and children in the UK and overseas and the importance of working to make a difference in any way we can.

We don’t have a meeting in August but will meet again in September with a speaker Lesley Brankin talking about “Making my Mark’. The raffle bag will be purple so please bring suitable themed items to include in the bags.

A final item. Brenda went to an exhibition at the needle museum recently and shared the following stitching by Caroline Sibbald a sentiment may of us will agree with. We all hope for some time to stitch over the summer

Having been brought up on a farm, nature and what is around us, is a clear inspiration for Suzette’s work. She described her first pieces as reflective, cutting up fabric and using machine stitching to make new work, including from her mother’s Rose Queen sash. She began to use images of birds and took inspiration from landscape and a sense of place, using old fabrics and collage to tell a story. Inspired by a dress she had as a child she has made beautiful pieces using the shape of a child’s dress, inspiring memories for many of us. One is featured below, as is a large piece with four dresses.

Suzette uses mixed media and stitch and has used emulsion paint to transfer images and now also makes good use of bondaweb. One of the pieces pictured below included some vintage Suffolk puffs and she described exploring her journey through stitch. Many of her pieces celebrate particular walks or moments in nature and some include text cut from old discarded books. She creates her background before stitching and includes laser copies, cutting out images, placing side down on wet gesso and using damp sponge to remove paper once dried. Her presentation was informative and enlightening and she was generous in sharing many examples of her beautiful work.

Her work can be seen at an exhibition from 1st July to 19th August in the Willow Gallery Oswestry. Other artists will also be showing their work. Much more information and examples of her work and workshops she offers can be found on her website https://suzettesmart.com.

We also held our usual raffle after the presentation and the bags are shown below. Since the meeting we have held our very successful exhibition, members worked very hard, in preparation and on the day, and we had lovely and enthusiastic visitors. Hopefully some may choose to join us as a result.

Our next meeting on 10th July 2023 is our summer party, featuring our competition ‘items from my stash’ sharing of traveling books and savoury and sweet treats provided by the committee. The July raffle bag colour is pink.

A fascinating way to spend our bank holiday evening. Liz is an authoritative, informative and engaging speaker who allowed us to look closely at a wide range of her work, including Sashiko stitch on items of clothing, one shown below. Liz is a black work specialist but tonight shared with us her other love; Japanese embroidery. She covered all three techniques listed in the title above, some of which have their origins in a history when peasants in Japan were not allowed to buy cotton, so used stitching to strengthen and extend the life of garments.

Liz described Boro as a mindful and restful approach to hand stitching. It is a make do and mend technique, relevant to recycling and reusing. Scraps of fabric are laid down and stitched together using running stitch.

Kogin is a counted thread technique worked from right to left. Patterns developed in specific areas, just as Guernsey patterns did here. Liz recommended using 16 count Aida as a beginner, before potentially progressing to even weave, where counting is more challenging. Fairly thick thread is used and she recommended a blunt tapestry needle big enough not to break the thread as it is pulled through.

Lots of Sashiko patterns disappeared from Japan, but Liz told us they began to be collected again after the Second World War. They are also worked in running stitch, but the patterns are drawn on the fabric, she suggests using a fine pencil. A traditional Sashiko thread is mat. Patterns can be based on family crests, found all over Japan. She suggests starting bite size and potentially joining smaller pieces together.

Liz suggested some suppliers including Lakeside Needlecraft in Manchester where you can find rainbow gallery threads, including bright gold, copper and pewter. Beads are not traditional in this work but can be used and she recommends Mill Hill beads. Liz can be found on https://www.blackworkjourney.co.uk and also on Pinterest. We are lucky to be having a day workshop with her on 24th June 2023, covering all three techniques. We can’t wait.

Our next meeting on 12th June 2023 next meeting features Suzette Smart ‘Stories in Stitch’ and the raffle bag colour is blue/ turquoise. Apologies for not having photographs of this month’s bags which were as always beautiful.

The Northfield Sit and Stitch on the 6th May clashes with the coronation and several people have already said they can’t attend as a result, so we have decided to cancel. We will be there again as usual on 3rd June 2023.

Even though it was Easter Monday we had a well attended meeting. No speaker, instead we spent the evening working on card ideas, to sell at our planned exhibition, to be held on Saturday 17th June 2023, at the Friends Meeting House Cotteridge.

Easter Monday was a productive and fun evening. It is always good to have a chance to chat and stitch together. At the exhibition visitors will be able to see a wide range of work and will be able to discuss them with members of the group. They can also enjoy home made cakes and biscuits and the chance to buy a variety of cards and other hand made items on our sales table. Entry to the exhibition is free, with a small charge for refreshments.

On Easter Monday we held our raffle as usual, this time on a yellow theme. The two hand made bags were full of goodies and are pictured below, as are some examples of our card making.

Great day with Angie working on white velvet and using a variety of techniques, including spray dyes, ink and using stencils, printing and foils with information about other methods that can be used to develop work further after the workshop. The day was very well attended and it was lovely working alongside each other. Angie is very generous tutor, sharing knowledge and expertise with patience and enthusiasm. The images below include a work by Angie herself and pieces produced during the day by participants. It was very satisfying being part of a day when we were all able to made some real progress.

Angie can be found at http://www.angiehughes.com and on facebook.