Our group has welcomed many of the former MEG members and we also look forward to welcoming new members from all walks of life with an interest in any type of stitchery or a desire to learn all about what we do. Whatever your textile and stitch craft interests are, or levels of ability, the varied programme and opportunities offer something for everyone. Read more some About Us here. Or Membership Registration here.
Next meeting will be held on-
Saturday 15th February 2025
This Workshop is now FULL
Our next meeting is a Workshop with Miranda Farby to be held from 10.00am – 1.00pm on Saturday 15th February 2025 at All Hallows Centre, Greenhill Road, Liverpool L18 6JJ. Cost £5 members and £10 visitors.
Come and find out about the rather unattractive sounding Chicken Scratch embroidery, also
Chicken scratch sample by Miranda Farby
known as Australian cross stitch, Broderie Suisse or even Depression Lace amongst other names. Essentially this is embroidery on gingham, using the pattern as part of the effect to create surprising results. A form of folk embroidery, often dismissed because of this, it can be worked in floss, pearl cotton or stranded cotton. Originally worked in just white and perhaps one other colour, now can include any colours you wish to add details onto the fabric, you can even add a bit of sparkle to it. Using the white thread however does have a rather stunning effect and you can easily see why the name Depression Lace came about. During our workshop you can learn the main stitches and practise them to create a heart motif which can be worked in white and outlined in the colour of the gingham. There will be examples of other patterns to explore if you are a swift worker or you can add some bling to your heart with beads or sequins. Your heart pattern will be provided in two sizes and can be made into a cushion cover.
Bring with you your sewing kit & scissors plus any ‘bling’ you may want to add, as well as an embroidery hoop (approx. 7-8 inch/ 18-20cm) and we’ll embroider on gingham!
Our festive Winter Social for 2024 was held in November, comprising several different types of activities. The Sampson family Christmas craft stall was filled with items made by various members of the family and the MEsG sales table had lots of books and materials for making our own projects. The Raffle was huge with lots of donated prizes; it took ages to draw all the tickets; most people went away with at least one prize and some with two. The refreshment stall offered delicious items made by some of our members including cakes and other sweet and savoury items, as well as coffee and tea. On display was member’s work from workshops held during the past year. Additionally, a competition of pieces completed during this present year was held. Two mini-projects (folded-felt Christmas tree decorations and Dorset button gift tags) were available; they proved popular as a chance to make something and chat to both old friends and visitors. Towards the end of the event a quiz was held to test our knowledge of favourite board games, films, songs and Christmas traditions. At the end, all were wished a Happy Christmas. We look forward to seeing everyone at the January meeting. Michele xxx
Photographs are available to view here.
At our September meeting we saw the launch of our exciting new group project, which will be to embroider a new altar frontal for the 150th Anniversary of All Hallows Church. The altar frontal has been designed by Gill Roberts and it is a depiction of the church and the surrounding area. The design consists of individual motifs to be embroidered by members and the appliquéd to the background, and there are enough motifs for each member to have one to work on. We cannot show a photograph of the design yet as it has yet to be unveiled to the parishioners of All Hallows Church, but it is stunning!
Update: a few pieces have already been completed by members for the All Hallows altar cloth. Come along to our next meeting and see them displayed!
The dates for 2025 meetings have been announced (click here to view)
Pauline Lythgoe has enjoyed creating Dorset buttons following Miranda Farby’s workshop in February.
Dorset buttons by Pauline Lythgoe
Our April Workshop was led by the ever-popular tutor Gill Roberts. We began to create “Wrapped and Stitched Trees” under her expert guidance and had a very enjoyable day. You can see some photos of the day here…
Gill Roberts is our tutor today for “Wrapped and Stitched Trees” Workshop, April 2024
Here are the completed banners for Merseyside Expressive Stitchers’ group. Many thanks go to all members who embroidered the beautiful squares, and thanks to those members who spent hours assembling the banners and doing the final stitching towards completion. We are very happy with the final result.
Sunday 30th July 2023 was World Embroidery Day
Pauline and Michele, World Embroidery Day 2023
.Some of our committee are taking advantage of the sunshine with a coffee morning at Liverpool Cathedral. It was glorious!
Some of our committee having a social distanced gathering at the Cathedral, May 2021
There is a lovely write-up about NW Regional Day 2021 in the April edition of CONTACT. Read all about it here! https://www.megonline.co.uk/nw-regional-day-write-up/
North West Regional Day 2021
Saturday 24th April 2021.
Our first ever Virtual North West Regional Day was a triumph! We had 112 people registered and 103 attendees on the day, which was enjoyed by all. Our Speakers – Linda Miller, the acclaimed Machine Embroidery artist, and Michele Carragher, Principal Costume Embroiderer for Game of Thrones were magnificent. They both shared their work and were a great inspiration to us all. The Rose Bowl and Aurifil competition entries were up to the usual high standard and the winners were announced at the close of the day. The Rose Bowl was won by Sandra Kendal from North Lonsdale branch with PSYCHEDELIC LOVE and the Aurifil Award for Excellence was won by Diane Moore from Merseyside branch with A GLIMPSE OF VENICE. Congratulations to all the winners! Have a look at all the comments and reactions, also the Raffle Prize winners here https://www.megonline.co.uk/nw-regional-day-2021/
1st Prize Winner, PSYCHEDELIC LOVE by Sandra Kendal, North Lonsdale branch, computer printed photos with machine stitch and appliqué, Rose Bowl competition 2021
1st Prize Winner, A GLIMPSE OF VENICE by Diane Moore, Merseyside branch, painted pieced surface, worked by machine and some hand stitching, Aurifil Competition 2021
