My favourite workshop this year! Anyone who knows me will know that I am very interested in flax and have grown a small plot of flax in my garden for the last 3 years. My goal was to use my own flax and make a garment with it, which I was able to complete this year. I am very proud of my top. It was a very lengthy process - many, many hours were needed. 

Enough of me. Simon and Ann from Flaxland in Stroud came on Saturday and talked about flax and its history and how they arrived at having a flax farm. It started with boats and the desire to make rope and sails from traditional materials. This was almost impossible and it led them to grow and process and experiment with flax. This is a very short summary of Simon's talk to 14 of us from guild. He showed us photos of flax being used in times gone past and explained that there was now very few places to buy flax and even less places to process it. The machinery has long gone and so have the people who had the skills to use it. However there is an interest now in flax as a sustainable fibre and there is flax growing again in some places in the UK. Most flax has been grown in Northern France and Belgium as the climate is right but with climate change it is becoming hotter and some people predict that it wont be able to grow in these places in the not very distant future.

In the afternoon Simon demonstrated how flax was broken and scutched with some simple tools. They have these for sale in their shop. He gave us each a length of flax (it was Belgian) to use and we were shown how to dress a distaff and how to spin flax with a spinning wheel or spindle. Simon and Ann have distaffs in sets of 4 so we could all use a distaff with our wheels and spindles. Everyone was able to produce some spun flax and Simon and Ann helped us when needed. 

It was an excellent workshop and everyone enjoyed the talk and the practical activities. I bought a distaff and now I have to get it set up with a pole. I have used a cone of card as a distaff for 3 years so I am very excited to have a proper one at last! The flax sticks better on a wooden distaff and doesn't slide off so easily.


​www.flaxland.co.uk

We were so privileged on Saturday to have a visit from Isabelle Homer who talked to us about her work as a costume cutter for Birmingham Royal Ballet. Her job is to liaise between designer, costume manager and dancer. There were at least 30 members listening to Isabelle, a very good number for our guild.

Here are a few facts from her talk that I found particularly interesting.
Tutus were first worn around 1830. At first they were quite long, but they have become gradually shorter with time. By the 1950s you can see the whole leg and this was deemed to give a more elegant look.
Fashion has played a part in tutu design. Curvy body shape is seen, without the clothing 'squashing' the body as small as possible
The basque is made of cotton drill which is not stretchy so its better for the gentleman to lift and hold his partner.
Bobbinet is used to make knickers. There was a lot of discussion about bobbinet, what its made of, what it looks like etc. Isabelle told us that it is hard to buy in recent times as less people know how to make it and the machines used are old and need maintenance but there's very few people left who can do this. She has had to use a nylon replacement which she hates!
Tutu nets have 10-13 layers of nylon and these have to be steamed into place.
Costume planning for a show starts 12-18 months before the show
A tutu takes 2-3 days to make and the labour cost for this can be around £1500
She talked about how dyeing and printing was done. Also about embroidery and the Irish machine that is used for intricate embroidery. I'd love to play with one of these.
Dancer's bodies are stronger than they used to be. This is because of modern physio and health care which is good. she said that feet and heads are bigger than they used to be so sometimes older costumes cannot be re used.

After listening to the amount of skill and work that goes into the costumes I realise why tickets for the Nutcracker (which I love) are so expensive!

Thank you Isabelle for this brilliant, fascinating glimpse into your work and the costumes of the ballet dancers in BRB.

Below are some of our members with their projects in the morning before the tutu talk. I thought there was such a variety of crafts that it needed recording.​

Here are some photos from Heritage Day. We became part of Birmingham Heritage Weekend for the first time this year, thanks to Charlotte contacting the organisers and managing to get our guild included. It was a very successful day, with over 30 visitors and more than 20 members looking after them and demonstrating our crafts. We invited visitors to come and watch, have a go and drink tea and eat cake! We hope this will just be the first of many - and that we can repeat it again next year and in the future.

Our last meeting before the summer break was a fascinating talk by Jayne Murray. Jayne talked about the project she has been leading for the last 8 years in Druids Heath. I live about a mile from Druids Heath and I was very surprised to hear all about this brilliant project as I had never heard about it before!

What is it?
Jayne has obtained funding from many places to work with the community in Druids Heath. The aim was to improve the status of the area and record its history by working with the residents. She says
'We arrived in 2017 with an idea for a project called 'A Level Playing Field' offering access to the arts to people in Druids Heath. We started small and over time we have grown, learning more about the community and introducing different art projects in response to what is wanted in the area'

Funding
Funding has come from many places including
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Birmingham City Council
Arts Council England
Maypole Community Fund
The Active Well Being Society
Selly Oak Neighbourhood Network Service
Commonwealth Games Creative City Fund

What have they done?
Its hard to know where to begin as they have worked on so many projects and groups over the years. A book has been made about Druids Heath because there were no books about the area at all. Residents were asked to come forward and talk about the history of the area and to bring pictures, photos etc. The material was used to make the book and also an exhibition that toured the estate. Some oral stories were recorded too. As well as recording the heritage, flags were made by clubs and groups in the area to give them a better identity. They were able to hire a container to use which was called Basecamp and it was used for meetings and workshops. Later they were able to take over a shop in Pound Road.
A youth club was started on Saturdays and a nurture group for young children. They realised that Druids Heath's high position and open aspect meant that they saw wonderful sunsets in the west and a sunset club was started with lots of artwork involved. A mural was designed and made with ideas from the community. Its a very striking painting with linked hands as the artist said that the people were always kind and helpful. The buzzard is a symbol of protecting the community. I have often seen this as I drive along Bells Lane and wondered about its story. Now I know!
There was much work with fashion and upcycling, involving young people and artists in the area. A fashion show was put on. 

This only touches on Jayne's work over the 8 years and I have only included a small part of what she said. Everyone at guild was very interested and lots of questions were asked. We were all impressed and a little overwhelmed with the hard work and volume of activities that Jayne and many others had initiated. 

Here are a few pictures from In One Place, a book about the project.

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Exhibition
There were items from several of our members. Rachel has been busy knitting as there were 3 sweaters she had made. Janet had 2 jackets, both beautifully finished. Sarah had a waistcoat made with naturally dyed yarn. I had made a few things too. There were lots more but I'm afraid I would make a very poor reporter as I can't remember them and don't have photos - apologies! Here are some of our display items in the exhibition.

Workshops
We had a good few things made at workshops. They were from an inkle loom workshop with Jane Antill, artwork using nails and thread with Imogen Morris, the Dyers picnic and basket weaving with Averil Otiv.

Finally I should definitely mention the cakes made by members and enjoyed by everyone. I forgot to take a photo but there were lots and they all looked good. I will also say a big thank you to Sarah for organising most of it and bringing large structures to display everything. This is hard work loading her car and remembering what to pack. She also made the professional labels. Well done Sarah and everyone else who helped.

It was my favourite day of the guild calendar again yesterday - our Dyers Picnic at Sarah's house! For anyone who hasn't been or wasn't able to come this year, it is when members meet in Sarah's house and garden and have a go at dyeing. Sarah has an outside area where she sets up camping stoves and uses dye pans to experiment with natural dyes. This event is every 2 years. 

This year we had weld, artichoke, sweet woodruff, wellingtonia bark chips, logwood, cochineal, avocado, french marigold, plum, madder and indigo. I think I have remembered them all. We bring small mordanted skeins to put in the dye pots and watch and wait. Natural dyes are often a surprise so its fun to see what happens. Mordanted means they have been pre-soaked in alum (we usually use this) so that the dye is able to 'stick' to the wool. Indigo dyeing doesn't need mordanted fibres. It was a lovely sunny day so we could sit outside. 

This isn't all that happens at the Dyers' Picnic. Rachel brings acid dyes and pots and we can have a go at dyeing sock wool skeins in any colours we choose. We have some instruction first to remind us how to do it and then we can get stuck in! The dyes are mixed with white vinegar first which acts to fix the dye to the fibre and then water is added. Depending on whether we want striped yarn, plain yarn, splodgy yarn or anything else we dip the yarn in pots or paint it on the skeins or even syringe it into cakes of yarn. The amount of water you need depends on whether you are dip dyeing or painting or syringeing! The final skein is then wrapped in cling film and needs steaming for 30 mins or so to fix the dye (heat is needed as well as the vinegar). The skeins are then left for 24 hours before unwrapping (very difficult) and washing. Mine is now hanging on my washing line and I like it a lot.

There is more to the day than just the dyeing. We bring food for a bring and share picnic lunch. Everyone brings something and there's always lots of delicious food. It was a great day and thanks to Sarah and Rachel for all their hard work. Enjoy the pictures to get an idea of the day.

Yesterday we had the lovely Tina Francis talking to us about her stitching project. She was full of passion and excitement for her stitching and sharing it with care and love in the community.
She calls herself a stitch innovator and is working on creating connections in community through stitching.

She says it started when she bid on ebay for a box of patterns. When she received it she saw that it was the life of one person shown through her collection of patterns from childhood to old age.

She is working on a Masters Degree and has developed this project as part of it. She has written a book, likes tapestry and tiny stitches.

She also likes....
noticing small things
needles
working with her hands
people in art (especially on the ground!)
Showing love through making things for people
Listening to people's stories
Stitching together
.....

She is a community artist and has commissioned the Connect More screen - see picture above. She explained to some university students what she wanted it to do and they produced the Connect More and she loved it! It had to be easily transportable, familiar not scary and facilitate listening and talking and sharing. She showed us how it works with 2 people sitting opposite each other and stitching together, passing the needle through the net and touching fingers as they pass the needle. They can talk and tell stories, keeping their hand busy without necessarily needing to make eye contact.

The finished art work is displayed in community areas.

Any mistakes are mine!

https://tina-francis-tapestry.co.uk/

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Here are 4 of our entries to the National Exhibition at Hay on Wye. We talked about them before the AGM and explained how they were made.

The jacket was made by me and was inspired by the pieces I made at Jane Callender's workshop in 2021. I saw a jacket at the Quilting Show in in 2022 and put the ideas together with help from Susan Briscoe's 'Book of Boro'

The bag was made by Rachel using some yarn she had from an advent calendar last Christmas. The colours didn't inspire her to make an item of clothing so she borrowed the guild loom and wove a long narrow piece (Its a small loom). Rachel explained that she has done very little weaving but it looked pretty good to me although she said she had to hide the edges in the seams as they were a bit wonky!

Sarah wove this hanging for her bathroom to go around a mirror when her husband asked her to make something. It was woven on her scarf loom and inkle loom with lots of adjustments and additions until she was happy with the trees and sky. She explained in great detail how it was made and showed pictures of it as it progressed. We were all in awe at the skill and intricate work that it involved.

The beautiful Estonian mittems were also made by Rachel on very fine needles. This is the custom in Estonian knitting and they are very warm to wear.

All these items were selected for the juried exhibition. There were 2 others made by members who were not able to attend this month.

December was our Christmas lunch and 20 of us sat down to enjoy a bring and share feast. Before the lunch a group of us made up 20 'bags of bits' These were on sale at the end of the meeting for the sum of 50p. The idea is to use what is in the bag to make something using one or more of our skills (weaving, spinning and dyeing) and then bringing it to the annual competition at our June meeting. 

In the afternoon we had a show and tell session where everyone brought in something they had made and talked about it. It was incredible as we admired the range of skills shown by our members. This was enjoyed by everyone and I wish I had remembered to take photos at the time and not after everyone had finished! However I did take photos of our members enjoying the Christmas Party.

Here is Jo from Second City Yarns. She talked to our guild yesterday about her business which has only been going for 2 years here in Birmingham. She was a very inspiring speaker and her enthusiasm for yarns and dyeing was apparent all the time. She began by telling us how her business came to be...

She was visiting a yarn shop with a friend and wanted to be able to knit socks like the ones she saw there. She also wanted to leave the company she worked for and set out in a new direction. So she learnt to knit socks and dye and decided to start a yarn business. She went to a workshop to learn the first steps in dyeing. It was going to be an environmentally friendly business, so all yarns and fibre would come from British suppliers. She would have no plastic packaging and no superwash wool which uses chemicals in the process. Her colours and names would be inspired by Birmingham.

Her inspiration has come from The Botanical Gardens, Bartley Reservoir, Woodgate Valley, Moseley Bog, Hurst Street, Kimichi School, The Custard Factory, St. Peter's Church-Harborne, the 11 bus route, the Brummie Beanie and The Jewellery Quarter.

She showed us how she keeps meticulous records of everything she does and all her dye recipes in journals. She had 3 books full and maybe more she didn't bring. She talked about how hard she has worked and how she found outlets to sell her yarn. She learnt many new skills in the process. She uses her own house, kitchen and utility room to dye and wind her yarns and we saw pictures of her rooms with yarn taking over!

I was super impressed by her organisational skills. Also she told us she plays a cello (I think it was a cello) in an orchestra as well as running the business.

Any details that are incorrect are because I have a terrible memory and I apologise for any mistakes. 

Thank you Jo for such an inspiring talk and we wish you good luck in continuing to grow your business. I will definitely be one of your customers. (I love the peacock yarn I bought to knit myself a pair of socks, knowing that it is 100% Blue Faced Leicester.)

Here is the Brummie Beanie with all the images Jo used to create it.