Rochdale Branch meeting June 16th 2016

Hilary, our chairman) s opening remarks were mainly reminders of dates for the diary
Day schools July 7th
There are still places for "That darned stitch"
Cream tea  July 9th
Please take tickets and posters
Sign up to help
Bring work for exhibition
Raffle prizes needed
Capability Brown Pieces 
Should be brought to Cream tea

Day of stitch August 6th 10am to 2pm
To be held at our usual venue
All welcome
Opportunity for any 
one to have a go

We were also delighted to welcome to visitors, Wendy who will be joining us in September and Liz from Manchester
 We were all delighted to see Joyce Bargh back with us after her course of treatments and Helen Jackson after her road accident, both ladies expressed their thanks for cards and flowers received

Speaker Serena Partidge

This lady brought along some amazing samples of her work which is all in miniature
Unfortunately the technology wasn't all it should have been so we missed out on her slides but we were all hugely entertained by her revelations about her early and developing work and stunned by the intricacy and detail in her tiny productions

Examples of her work can be seen at the Bronte Parsonage until the New Year

Rochdale Branch trip to Browsholme hall, near Clitheroe June 6th 2016

This lovely day trip was organised by Joyce Sankey from a suggestion by Anne Whaley.

A 10.15 start at Rochdale Town Hall was followed by a trip through the stunning Ribble valley 
The views were superb ---dressed as they were by some glorious June sunshine.

We arrived in time for a drink ( I copied Marie and had a Pimms---lovely!!) and then a lunch with a first course of delicious quiche followed by lemon drizzle cake with all the trimmings was enjoyed before our guide invited us to join her in the walk over to the hall.




These are external views.

Our guide was extremely well informed and had a charming mode of delivery and we progressed through the hall gaining insight of it's history as we went.

This was followed by a walk around the gardens

What a "grand day out" Thank you, Joyce

New venue for NWEG Summer School3rd to 5th June 2016

With the closing of Alston Hall a new venue needed to be found for this annual event and eventually Waddow Hall, near Clitheroe, was decided upon. Many thanks to Sue Chisnall-Sumner for her role in securing this venue.
Two tutors were engaged for the weekend. Lynda Monks was presenting "Creative Surfaces" and Maggie Hickman Smith was presenting "Painting Garden Themes with Stitch"

This reflects my experience of the weekend.

I was a bit daunted when I arrived to be told that my room was on the top ( third floor) and there was no lift. I made the trip and found a cosy, spotlessly clean, single room with a compact but very adequate shower room. 

The view from my window was lovely. It is a bit hazy ( it

was a very warm weekend) but you can see the flag flying on Clitheroe castle.

A walk down the hill revealed this lovely weir

The food all weekend was really impressive and did nothing at all for my weight problem

 I was in Maggie Smith's group. an experience which turned out to be delightful.

On the first evening Maggie did a talk introducing us to her career and then we saw some of the many samples she had brought with her.

 These are samples of the work featured in her three part series in Stitch magazine.


The workshops were a mixture of demonstration by Maggie, and implementation by us.
We all painted a piece of calico and, in our own time, decided on our choice to stitch
I decided to try my hand with  a spray of Wisteria,

This was Maggie's sample of Wisteria

and this was my , somewhat more exuberant, piece.

For me the whole weekend was thoroughly enjoyable and I certainly hope to be at Waddow Hall next June.