Rye Creative Stitchers held their annual show on Saturday May 13.
Walking into the Baptist Hall to be greeted by the chairperson, Carol Trill, I saw it had been transformed into a wonderland of needlework colour, texture and design. This was no ordinary display of a craft. This was an art form. It showed off the creativity and artistic skills of the makers, with exquisite workmanship. All the pieces must take hours of careful and painstaking work, and were a surprise and delight to the less expert visitor and would-be maker
Work on display included beautiful quilts, patchwork, embroidery, applique and felt work, as well as the Linus Quilts, providing new home-made patchwork quilts to sick and traumatised babies, children and teenagers. Knitters were represented by two ladies showing their skills.
Founded by Wendy Harvey, formerly of the old Martello Bookshop, it started with five members meeting there about 20 or more years ago and now has more than 50 members, some of whom travel considerable distances to attend. Each meeting includes a project organised by one or more of the members, which can be completed in the two hour meeting, or a talk and demonstration.
There is also a programme of all-day workshops, led by expert makers and which enable attendees to develop or learn new skills. They are great fun and everyone leaves with a piece of needlework to be proud of. One example, led by Fay Maxwell in March, taught the participants “Embroidered Letters, Cutting out lettering, leaves and flowers and decorating with various threads”. The completed pieces were on display.
It was such a pleasure to see the degree of skill and creativity demonstrated here. Visitors were so struck by the exhibits and the makers who were there to speak to them. Some members are graduates in fine arts and Shelley Cox is a graduate of the Royal School of Needlework, for other people, needlework is an absorbing hobby and some are beginners, but everyone is able to show their best work. Rye Stitchers meet on the first Thursday of the month at 7pm for a 7:30pm start, in the Baptist Church Hall in Cinque Ports Street.
Photos: Gillian Roder