Newsletter – Witwatersrand Embroiderers' Guild

Newsletter — February 2023

Our February newsletter is getting to you a little late, but is still jam-packed with information and fun. As with the January edition, it is now a multi-page PDF. You can read it here on this page by clicking within the frame below and then scrolling, or you can download it by clicking the ‘Download’ button below the cover image.

Please note that the AGM will be taking place at the Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre on Saturday, 25th March 2023 from 12h00 until 13h00.

Some changes to the WEG Constitution and Rules are being proposed and we would like input from all our Members so please make every effort to attend. Please remember that only paid-up Members are able to vote.

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Newsletter — January 2023

Our newsletter is now a multi-page PDF which includes a crossword and lots of information about the range of activities that make up the Guild. You can read it here on this page by clicking within the frame below and then scrolling, or you can download it by clicking the ‘Download’ button below the cover image.

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Newsletter — November 2022

This is a long newsletter with some important things in it. I am going to use headings, which I think will make it easier for you to keep track of what is happening.

Market Day

What an amazing day it was on Saturday! Our first official Embroidery meeting since lockdown. The tables looked lovely, we were welcomed by a very helpful Trinity Methodist Church and it was good to see everyone again. I took a number of photographs, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to include them in this letter. They use a lot of data, and some of your domestic computers will not be able to handle the load, and you’ll miss out. I shall however put some of them on the WhatsApp group after this letter has been sent. Even though this was the first official meeting, we should express appreciation to Paputzis who hosted us at their restaurant last summer, and also St Martin’s in-the-Veld who let us use their parish room free of charge, and even provided tea and coffee for us, even though we didn’t ask them to.

I think the Piece de Resistance of the market was the frieze. Jenni Langford did a wonderful job of putting it all together, and it would not have happened had she not taken it under her wing and got on with it. However we are also grateful to Hilary Walker whose idea this was – she suggested we do something to keep us focused during what proved to be a long lockdown. Lynn Puttick, with her professional art training was a valued advisor on materials, and Robyn de Klerk, Louise von Glehn and Helen O’Hanrahan also helped in the initial stages. Thanks are also due to “Buttons and Bows” and “Ribbonfields”, both embroidery shops, who agreed to be delivery points while we weren’t able to meet. I think a valuable piece of history has been documented here. Thank you to all of you who contributed. This will truly be something to show your grandchildren.

Meeting at the Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre

Now we are back to normal – if that’s possible. I am re-printing the relevant part of Danny’s letter which I sent out to you earlier this month. Mark the date – we are longing to see you all again.

I am very happy to be able to write to you with so much good news. I know some of you will have heard already, via the WhatsApp group, but for those that are not on the group here goes:

The first and most important thing is that we have arranged with Ina to reopen meetings at the Recreation Centre, from January 2023. The first meeting of the year will be on Tuesday the 10^th January, 2023, from 9am to 12 midday. The first Saturday meeting will be on the 14^th January 2023, from 1pm to 4pm. The Guild Committee will do the tea for the first meeting and we will be encouraging people to sign up to provide the eats for tea, as before.

Please start planning what you will be sewing, and come back to us!

We have had long, difficult discussions about costs, teas and subscriptions etc. The outcome of these discussions is the following:

We will no longer collect separately for tea and subs. These will be amalgamated into a membership fee of R300 per year, payable by the end of February 2023.
We have obtained a Yoco machine which will allow us to take payments using debit cards. We are still trying to establish if credit cards can be used and will let you know once we hear back from Yoco.
We would very much like to limit the collection of cash at meetings, but of course, if this is your preferred way, we will take your money! However, I feel sure that most members would prefer the convenience of paying by card.
There will not be any different charges for various age groups etc. other than for those over 90, who will be exempt from paying anything.
Payments for Workshops and any other transactions, will need to be made separately. In that vein, we have some exciting plans for future workshops, but more about that later.

Annual General Meeting

As Danny says, there are many exciting things in the pipeline. But most importantly, PUT THE DATE OF OUR AGM IN YOUR DIARIES NOW.

It will be held on:
Saturday, the 25^th March 2023 at 12h00

The committee has spent a lot of time over the last few months listening to you, thinking over the changes this Virus has brought, and what place in society our art takes. We are going to have to make some changes in our approach so as to encourage new people to come, to teach embroidery to those who have never done it, to investigate advanced forms of it, and to look seriously at promoting it amongst children and teenagers so at least they know what it is and how special it is, even if they don’t actually get as far as picking up a needle themselves. SO … We need as many of you there as possible. Some changes to the constitution will probably have to be considered (and our lawyer-chairperson Danny is well up on how to do that!) and we also need your contribution to the future of our Guild. Please make it a priority.

Guild History

We have a store room of some beautiful banners and in the minds of many of our members are memories of wonderful stories of the Guild. I have taken on the job of putting together some sort of history of the Guild – all sorts of things. What is the story behind this or that banner and who was involved? Who were some of the characters of the past? What things have been learnt? Anything special that gives you warm happy memories of your time at the Guild. Also, if you know of people who no longer can or do come to the Guild and they have good stories to tell, please put them in touch with me, and let me put it all together. You are receiving this from me, so use my email address above if you have any bright thoughts about this.

An offer we can’t refuse!

Now here is something I haven’t heard of before. A lady by the name of Suzette Plekker makes shoes and bags out of TAPESTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN WORKED! So if you have cupboards of tapestries that are beautifully done, but are too expensive to frame, you have run out of wall space and relatives to give them to, perhaps this might be an option. Apparently she will take unworked tapestries too, so if you have that kit which you bought as a bargain, or that present which really doesn’t inspire you, send that too. I’ve never seen tapestry shoes, but tapestry bags are very smart. Here are her details if you are interested:

Suzette Plekker
SUZ FABRIC ART
Facebook – SUZ Shoes; Fabric Art, Shoes and Bags
Email – suzette.p@telkomsa.net
Address – 14 Bosman Street, Paarl
Contact – 083 250 5005

Finally

We will be meeting again in January, the same arrangement as before – every Tuesday morning, and every 2^ndand 4th Saturday afternoon. Beginning on the 10^th and 14^th January 2023.

See you then!

Newsletter — October 2022

Just a short letter this time, but still an important one.

Firstly, about when we can meet again. As yet, nothing firm, but things are looking promising. The Roosevelt Park Recreation centre seems to be grinding along to finishing their renovations, but no definite date yet. The committee are investigating another venue, but there are still a few things to be managed. We’ll let you know as soon as we have definite confirmation. It will be wonderful to meet as a Guild again.

The other BIG NEWS is that our market is going ahead. On the 29^th October our Craft Market will be held, at the Trinity Methodist Church in Linden, corner 5^th Street and 5^th Avenue (bordering on Montroux – about half a Kilometre away from Arthur Bales, and round the corner from the Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre). It will run between 09h00 and 15h00, and you are invited to come and spend, spend, spend, and if you don’t want to add to your stash (but we bet you won’t be able to resist it,) there will be all sorts of things to eat. I have attached the flyer (see image below, or download here). Please send it on email to EVERYONE, copy it on to your social media, and print out copies and give to your book club, your bridge club members, and you relatives. Make more copies and put some in each of your favourite shops.

One of the BIG ATTRACTONS will be the first ever display of our Covid “Through the Eye of the Needle” frieze. Jenni Langford has put it together beautifully, and we thank Robyn de Klerk (as she was then), Louise von Glehn, Lynn Puttick and Hilary Walker for their input. It is looking totally stunning!!!!!!!! Thank you to those of you who contributed to the making of it. I have added a mini-flyer for that as well, which you can also print, send, copy etc, and perhaps staple it to the main flyer (see image below, or download here). Drag your family along to look at that if nothing else, and if they don’t want to come, I suggest you go on kitchen strike for a month! That’s all for this month. See you before the next newsletter.

The first displaying of the "Through the Eye of the Needle" Covid lockdown frieze

Newsletter — September 2022

Spring has arrived, and with it the promise of new things. I hope you are enjoying the slow greening of all our plants and trees, and that your embroidery captures some of that joy!

New life seems to be abounding in our Guild as well. We ARE going ahead with the Market, and Danny posted a notice to that effect on the WhatsApp page, the salient information of which I have reprinted here:

Morning all, I promised news about the Market, and we will be posting an item about it in the newsletter. The details are as follows: 29th October 2022 at Linden Methodist Church corner 5th Avenue and Milner Avenue, Linden. Set up from 8am, Market from 9am until 3pm or until you have had enough. 😀There is no charge for a table, and Linden Methodist will provide tables and chairs. We ask that you give the Guild 10% of your takings – an honour system. Someone will be available to help you offload and carry your things. We will have a card machine available. You can sell anything you like. We will send more details later. Even if you decide not to have a table, please come and support us.

So now you have a chance to find those pre-loved things you no longer use but someone else would love to adopt and love too, you can sell some of your creative work, and above all, come on the day and have fun with all the wonderful things the committee is planning.

The next new thing is that it is looking VERY likely that we will, in the near future, be able to go back to the Recreation Centre. We anticipate the rest of this year will be taken up with catching up on all those post-renovation things that need to be sorted, but hopefully by early next year we should be back “home”. Come the day!

We will be meeting again at St Martin’s this month at 10h30 on the 6^th and the 20^th September (Tuesday mornings) and on the 10^th at 09h30 (Saturday). We will not be extending our time there. Too few of you came, and the church really put themselves out with providing tea/coffee etc for us. So on those days, if any of you would like to bring some wool supplies for their knitting group, or would like to make a donation to the church, please do. They gave it all to us for nothing, so it would be a nice “thank you” to them. If I am not there, take them to the office and leave them with either Kuda or Nataski who will see to it that it reaches the right people.

In the meantime, the committee are looking at a venue nearer the recreation centre. More details will be posted on the WhatsApp group, or in the next newsletter. We will meet until the end of the year, so keep your eyes peeled..

One final thing, I would like to remind you again of the exhibition of the Keiskamma Trust which will be held on the 24^th September at the Constitutional Court. For those of you who know very little about it and what it does, I have taken a section from their website (see below). It is not only a worthwhile project, but is a significant contribution to the creation and development of a valuable art and culture identity in this country. Please support this! It is well worth it.

Keiskamma Trust

Keiskamma Trust (KT) is a not for profit making trust established by Dr Carol Hofmeyr in 2000 in Hamburg in the Peddie South District of the Eastern Cape, and registered with the department of social development in 2005, in response to local impoverished communities’ basic needs such as health, education and employment. Over the past decade, the Trust has assisted thousands of vulnerable people in 53 rural villages to enrich and encourage healthy individuals, families and communities.

The Trust provides support via the following four programmes:

Art Project began as a means of restoring the self-esteem of people in this poor area, and providing a diversion from their bleak circumstances. This soon grew into the Keiskamma Art Project, a talented group of developing artists who communicate through their artworks. More than 200 people in Hamburg and surrounding villages have been trained by the Art Project and it creates much-needed opportunities for income for over 130 male and female crafters and artists. Their work showcases local culture, heritage and environment through award-winning textile works, ceramics, bead and wire-works.

As the HIV pandemic spread through the Eastern Cape and began impacting upon artists’ lives, a Health Programme was established. Today, it provides HIV prevention, testing, counselling and treatment, in addition to an extensive community-based health care network, which consists of 80 Community Health Workers who conduct home based care, community awareness events with a special emphasis on HIV/AIDS, TB prevention, PMTCT, TB screening, sexuality and HCT, community dialogues, psychosocial support, nutrition & food gardens and patient transport in 53 remote villages. The Health Programme is also involved in advocacy campaigns and/or other actions in collaboration with different stakeholders to ensure access to health facilities and social services.

The Music Academy was founded in 2006 and has introduced over 120 children to music tuition. Fifty-six committed students attend several classes weekly, following a full programme of instrumental tuition, music theory, aural and ensemble workshops. The young musicians undergo examinations and perform concerts to standing ovations nationally. KMA gives children an opportunity on developing not only a creative skill but an attitude of responsibility and dedication that they’ll carry throughout their lives.

The Education Programme provides the full spectrum of care, education intervention programmes, nutritional support, developmental activities, and access to ICT training and facilities to approximately 700 children from 12 months old to youth in their early 20’s. The programme activities include early childhood development, after school-care classes, nutrition, creative development, nutritional support & food gardens initiatives as well as the youth development resource centre called Vulindlela Centre, which focuses on youth connectivity and development activities. The Vulindlela Centre offers educational resources, supplementary education, career guidance, driving lessons through driving simulators, teacher development, ICT training & internet access, assistance with bursary and tertiary applications and Isango (Gateway) youth bridging programme which trains and prepares out of school and unemployed youth for apprenticeship and college/university access.

The Trust is governed by a strong Board of Trustees, with Trustees who are experts from several different fields such as business, economic development and HIV/AIDS work, as well as community representatives. An experienced Management team runs the day-to-day operations of the Trust, consisting of the heads of each programme, as well as an Executive Director.

Collectively the Trust budget is over 10 million rand per annum, and our beneficiaries number in the thousands. Our reach extends to 53 rural villages in this area where endemic poverty and disease continue to have devastating effects.

Our strength is that we remain focused on fostering the resilience and creativity of the communities we live in, in an effort to ensure a hope-filled future for every member.

Newsletter — August 2022

Another month gone, and another month nearer to springtime. It has been wonderful meeting again, both Tuesdays and Saturdays, although it’s a pity so few people have taken advantage of the opportunity. We will be meeting again on the 13^th August at 09h30, and then on Tuesday the 16^th at 10h30, both at St Martin’s in-the-Veld church. Let’s try and spend a bit of time with one another to keep up our art and to keep in contact with other members. Since President Ramaphosa’s announcement about the abating of the pandemic at the moment, we will no longer insist on vaccination certificates or masks, but we will continue to keep doors and windows open, and anyone who feels vulnerable is welcome to keep their mask on and to move their chair to a distance they feel comfortable with.

It appears that the Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre still has a “snag list” to complete, but we are cautiously optimistic that the end may be in sight. No definite date yet, but we’ll keep you informed.

Please would you pay your dues to Helen O’Hanrahan, either at the meetings or online. The fees for this half-year are R50, and we are going to re-think how it all works at some stage next year when (hopefully) we are back at the Rec.

The Flag is an ongoing project. Since it is government, there will probably be tenders and we have to abide by the processes. Materials are being sourced, and plans and designs are underway. While the waiting is frustrating, it IS going to happen, and we will keep you informed along the way.

The year-end Craft market IS going ahead, and everything is in preparation for that. Please continue preparing for it.

Finally, unfortunately I have been asked by Jenni to post the notice below from Trish Burr. Theft takes all sorts of forms, and embroidery designers are no exception. If you are a supporter of Trish’s designs and do shop on Etsy, be aware of this person who is guilty of copyright infringement.

Until next time, keep sewing.

Trish Burr Embroidery Blog

Copyright Infringement

trishburr
Jul 30
Hello everyonePlease take note of this buyer and share it with any friends that make purchases on Etsy – she has copied and is selling illegally many of my patterns on her site ALISA HANDICRAFTS.
As you know this is an ongoing problem which I am having to address on a regular basis. I appreciate your support.
Thank you
Trish

Newsletter — July 2022

Now that we are past the shortest day of the year, we can begin to look forward to Spring and new things. and what exciting things we have in store!

Firstly, WE ARE MEETING AGAIN!! It’s official. Beginning this Tuesday, we have been given permission to meet at St Martin’s In-the-Veld church in their smaller hall, called the Parish Room. We will be meeting on the first and third Tuesday mornings of the month beginning in two day’s time, on the 5^th July, and on the second Saturday MORNING of the month beginning on the 9^th July. This is not a long term arrangement. The church is a busy one, and they are helping us out at no charge as part of their social efforts to help communities rather bruised from the Covid experience, but it will only be in the short term. The committee are busy investigating some more permanent possibilities, but in the meantime, we are meeting at this venue which is fairly central to all our members, and we can become a Guild again.

The address of the church is the corner of Eastwood Road and Cradock Avenue in Dunkeld. Cradock Avenue, which runs parallel to Oxford Road, is where you go in. There are two gates in Cradock Avenue, you go in in at the LEFT hand gate and park in the grounds. The right hand gate is the exit and you may meet someone head-on if you try to go in there.

The Tuesday meeting is at 10h30 and finishes at 12h30 at the latest. There is a service earlier in the morning, and the ladies have tea in “our” room afterwards. They usually finish at around 10h15, but we have been asked to respect their space and not go into the hall before 10h30. We will bring our own tea/coffee/milk/sugar and, while they said we can use their cups and saucers, I think it unfair to expect their staff to wash up and tidy after us when we are not paying anything towards their service, so please, as other groups in the church do, bring your own cup and spoon and take it home with you afterwards. The Saturday group will be meeting at 09h30 and finishing at 11h30 at the latest. On Saturday, the church’s craft and knitting group will be meeting in the hall, and you are welcome to look at what they do, and I have said they can come and see what you are doing.

Since we are using their premises, the committee decided that some form of donation to the church would be the decent thing to do. You can bring a cash donation or you can bring any knitted blankets, beanies, jerseys or baby clothes that you have made, and we can give to their knitting group to be distributed amongst their charities. Failing that, you can also bring some knitting yarn or bits of material for them to use in their own making of things.

Finally on this topic, you WILL be required to show your Covid vaccination certificate the first time you return. We will note it on the register, and you don’t need to bring it again unless any new venue we will find demands it. Unfortunately the committee is unanimous on this issue – no certificate, no admission. Covid has not gone away, we are just not testing any more, and we are people of a vulnerable age and our society is totally freed us from protective practices. We are not prepared either to expose a non-vaccinated person to serious illness, or unnecessarily spread this virus. Masks are at your own discretion, but the hall’s windows and doors will be open.

As regards FEES for this year, we have decided to make it one flat fee of R50 for the rest of the year. Please bring that with you to one of the meetings. The fee structure for next year will be a little different from before – much more user-friendly, and not expensive.

Secondly, the Flag project is going ahead. Danny has been extremely busy sourcing material, and Jenni likewise has been looking at threads. It’s going to be very effective, and it really puts our Guild on the map. However, we need more people who are willing to be part of this. Some of you have been unnaturally coy about your talents. No one is expecting machine embroidery perfection, so please let’s have some volunteers.

Thirdly, the committee has decided that instead of an end of year party this year, we will hold a come-and-sell-craft day. Anything you make, from jams to jerseys to duvet covers to embroidered tray-cloths, will be acceptable. There will also be the opportunity to sell those craft materials we no longer want to use, so you can make space in your home, and earn money for it. It will be on an individual table basis – you will be able to book a table, possibly for a fee, and you set up your stuff. The pricing system, we’ll let you know later. WE WILL ALSO SEE OUR COVID FRIEZE which will be on display. More details about that later.

Finally, the Keiskamma Trust will be displaying some of their magnificent work later on this year on Heritage Day, 24^th September, at the Constitutional Court. Mark the date in your calendar. This is not something to be missed.

That’s all for now – a very full and exciting time ahead. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday/Saturday, and let’s hope this is the beginning of a new era in our Guild. Like everything else, these two years have changed a lot of things, and we may have to think seriously about attracting new members, about passing on our skills to a younger generation, and about taking our work seriously once more.

I want to end with a poem by Mary Oliver. I think it may resonate with where we are now.

“I Worried”

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.”
― Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems

Newsletter — June 2022

This letter is a week late, but I decided to wait until we had our committee meeting (the first full meeting in about a year) and I could keep you up-to-date about what we discussed. We have some very exciting news, and we are intentional about starting up again as soon as we have found a suitable place to meet.

Firstly, some loose ends that need to be tied up. Jenni Langford is getting the last couple of pieces of the Covid Frieze together and will put the whole thing together soon. There were not sufficient contributions to make a decent frieze, so she is forming them into a large wall hanging instead. That should be quite eye-catching.

Some people have been asking about the Instagram page that we started. It seems that there was not enough input – too few people were posting, so it is in abeyance until we start meeting regularly again. However the Facebook page “Jozi Stitch” is still running, and Jenni has been posting several useful articles, and anyone who has work to show can put it on that page. The Wits Embroidery Facebook page, a newer initiative, will be closed. There is also the WhatsApp group which has been our main source of day-to-day communication and anyone who is not on that group can ask to be included. Hilary Walker is the chief administrator.

It appears that the Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre is still not ready, and no one seems to know how soon we will be able to go back there. It is really not very satisfactory but there doesn’t seem to be much else we can do. The meetings at Paputzis and Random Harvest went/are going well, but it’s an expensive way of doing things if we want to meet regularly for a longer time. We are investigating other alternatives, but other recreation centres are in exactly the same place as ours, and those which are not being renovated, are not suitable for other reasons – the lack of on-site parking being one of them. We’ll get back to you on that one. We will have to pay – nothing worthwhile comes cheaply, but we are planning to have another venue available soon. We have waited long enough.

In the meantime, we have decided to delay the need for annual subscriptions until we DO actually meet. We have also decided to delay the AGM until we are meeting regularly, and the committee has agreed to remain in office until we are back to normal. In the meantime, please download and print a copy of your Covid vaccination certificate. The Recreation centres have ruled that no one is to be admitted unless they have shown on the government official form that they have been fully vaccinated. Most other venues are likely to have similar regulations, so be prepared to present that document.

Now for some more “newsy” news. I had a phone call from Helen Bird – who is now 101 years old and recovered well after a fall from her stationary bike which resulted in a nasty cut on her leg. She was doing Sudoku at the time and wasn’t concentrating. She manages to walk to the embroidery meetings held at her village, and has at last had to get a hearing aid. But she is well, she is enjoying life to the full, and sends her love to all of you. I have tried to contact Helen Paton’s daughter to find out how she is doing, but have not managed to do so yet. I have also not been successful in contacting her retirement village either, but will keep trying and will let you know as soon as I have made contact, and I’ll let you know.

Now for a VERY EXCITING REQUEST! Our Chair, Danny Wimpey was contacted by the South Africa Air Force near Pretoria, and our Guild has been asked to make a new flag for this important part of the army. It is to replace a similar one which has become very worn, and we will have to submit a quote (yes – all expenses will be met) which will cover material, threads, and anything else we need. The flag is big – at least a metre by a metre and a half. The material will be something very durable and hard-wearing, and the thread will be most likely number 5 cotton. The design is four large proteas in each corner, and an eagle in the centre, and probably some lettering as well. All of this is to be done in satin stitch and long and short stitch, and will hopefully fly aloft for many years to come.

SO………. We need volunteers who are passionate and very good at satin stitch and long and short to offer their services. We will ask for a sample of your work – not because we have any doubt as to your capability (we wouldn’t have been asked otherwise) but we need to match tension and style so that the whole thing looks uniformly done – this is the military, after all! Please contact Danny or any one of the committee if you are willing to help, and we will let you know further details. This is a marvellous opportunity not only for our status as a Guild, but also it is a significant affirmation of our art. Please let’s hear from you.

Now for the last thing in this very long letter. We need to update our membership list. Some of you have changed address since lockdown and other details may have changed. PLEASE UNDERSTAND WE ARE POPI COMPLIANT and will never share, give away, sell or do anything else with your details without your permission. If you have left Gauteng and would like to continue receiving the Newsletter and remain on the WhatsApp group, you are very welcome to do so. Please answer ANYWAY. Don’t remain silent and let us guess whether you still are a member or not. If you wish to be taken off the membership list, please reply.

The form can be downloaded by clicking this link, and must be filled in and returned to our secretary, Toni Billing.

That’s all for the moment, have a wonderful month, and we’ll be in touch as soon as we can find a meeting place.

Newsletter — May 2022

I would like to begin by thanking everyone for the fortitude and stalwart efforts you have all made over the past two very difficult years. You have cheered us all up with your happy messages on the WhatsApp group, I know you have met with other members of the group, online or in person (in safe environments) and not only kept the art of embroidery going, but have also kept the ethos of the Guild alive. So many groups, societies, businesses have gone under – and not because they were at fault, but the world has been caught on the back foot with this thing, and a lot of mistakes have been made, a lot of good and necessary things were legislated but were onerous in the carrying out of them, and there has been a lot of suffering too. Whenever we meet again as a whole Guild, it will be different, but our art has seen a lot of changes over the generations, and it will survive. Let us keep on going, keep on being careful and healthy, and look forward to the time when we can meet again.

This month we say goodbye to Colleen Goy who, with her husband, Tim, has moved to Plettenberg Bay to be nearer family. I’m sure the cold wind of the last two weeks has been the draught caused by the gap she has left. She has been a remarkable teacher, and her classes will miss her a lot. Plettenberg Bay ladies have no idea what they will be gaining, and how enriched their world is about to become. She has also been and will continue to be a strong, creative force in the embroidery world, and we look forward to many new designs that will no doubt be arriving in due course. Our very best wishes to Colleen and Tim, and may this new venture in their lives be a happy and fulfilling one. We will miss you!

We have had very happy and successful informal Guild meetings at Paputzis over the last few months, and it has been wonderful to see one another again. However The Virus has always hovered over us, and the committee has decided that since it is getting colder, it’s not pleasant sitting outside, and small rooms inside, while comfortable and isolated, are small and ventilation is not great. The Tuesday group in particular are all people of a vulnerable age, and we felt it is best to hold these meetings as official Guild meetings in abeyance for the next few months until things warm up and the current spike of infections goes down. It’s heartbreaking to do this, but we have to be responsible and erring on the side of caution is the safer option.

However, if these issues don’t worry you, and you would like to get together as friends, on either Saturday or Tuesday, there is no reason why you shouldn’t. Through the WhatsApp group you have access to your friends, and Paputzis isn’t going anywhere. If you want to meet in your personal capacity, by all means make your own arrangements. I shall be staying away for the time being, but you all know how to eat at a restaurant, and we wish you joy in your self-made satellite embroidery meetings should you wish to hold them.

In the meantime, we can all sew at home, and we look forward to (probably) August when we can meet again – maybe back at the Recreation Centre. Let’s hope so anyway.

Newsletter — December 2021

So here we are at the last letter of the year. It seems like forever since we met, and except for those few brief meetings earlier this year, we haven’t seen one another for a very long time. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It appears that the renovations at the Roosevelt Park recreation centre are underway, at last, and, if everything goes according to plan, we should be able to meet again next year at around Easter at the latest. Let hope so anyway.

Hilary Walker has asked PLEASE if those of you who are not going away this December, would give a few hours of your time to sew up the pieces of the Covid “Eye of e Needle” project. They need to be hemmed with some lovely fabric which the team has found, and then placed on a background of the same material. This is a very arduous task when it is done by only one or two people, but if everyone does something, it will go much faster. It’s not difficult work, but it does take time.

An idea for Christmas – a woman took the pictures that her grandchildren drew for her (the stuff you keep on the fridge forever) traced them and embroidered them and made the finished work into a wall decoration as a Christmas present to the artist when she was old enough to appreciate the work gone into it. That might be an idea for you to take on if you are at a loss as to what to get children or teenagers for Christmas. I would love to show you a picture of it, but it was from a friend of a friend of a friend, so I don’t have permission to share it.

Jenni Langford has offered a special service to Guild members at this point in the year. If you need anything researched – how to do a certain stitch, information on a style of embroidery, where to buy what, or anything else embroidery connected, she will research it for you and give you whatever answers she can find. This is a generous offer, and for those of us who find trawling our way through the internet rather challenging, this is a wonderful initiative.

That’s all for now. There is not usually a newsletter in January, but if there is any news about when we can meet again, or anything else important, I will send out an interim letter. Until then, have wonderful holidays, spend time with those you love – even if it’s only electronically, keep well away from the Virus, and hopefully, we’ll see one another in the new Year.

A Christmas decoration by Mandy Kort, from the Guild's 2016 exhibition. — A Christmas decoration by Mandy Kort, from the Guild’s 2016 exhibition.