Written by Anne Carter with illustrations from Gwen and Diana Woods
The first speaker in June was Rachel Davies with “How Textiles Tell Stories.”
Having completed an Arts Foundation course in Chester, Rachel specialised in fashion and textiles for three years at Loughborough, mainly researching and drawing before she was asked to attend the Royal Society of Arts in London.
On moving to Macclesfield and having a family, she worked for Cresseys, designing socks and attending design fairs.
When her sons went to high school, Rachel became a college tutor. She created her pebble dress inspired by a visit to Anglesey.
In a Remix group she created a Cherry Blossom dress, inspired by her Grandmother’s sketchbook of cherry blossom painted in the Chinese style.
After several years, she decided to take a break from teaching to work for herself, upcycling garments. She is now back teaching, sustainable fashion.
Rachel had brought along several of her exquisite garments for members to examine at close quarters. The story of Ellen’s dress was fascinating. Heritage England asked her” to respond to the language of the city of Chester”. She discovered Ellen’s story and used black and white deconstructed blouses and shirts to create a piece very much in keeping with Chester’s buildings.
Another speaker in June was Anne Jeater from Macclesfield. Anne brought several antique wholecloth quilts from her extensive collection. She explained the differences in the quilting patterns from the different regions. Welsh quilts have hearts, spirals and fans, whilst Durham and North Country quilts usually feature feathers and swags and are usually made in two colours. Anne also demonstrated how patterns were drawn out on greaseproof paper a quarter of the size and then transferred to a quarter of the quilt.
In July, a box of educational textiles on loan from Leek, was shared around the room for members to enjoy and examine. ( photos to follow)
A Summer party was the last meeting before a break until September.
8th September is the first meeting of the Autumn and Winter programme. Andrea Lacy will be talking on “Making Cloth Books.”
