Our speaker for May is Kate Findlay and her talk is entitled "Nature in Textiles".

Kate is self employed as a textile artist and teacher.  She lives with her partner and son in Berkshire, and has a studio at home on the second floor which gives her plenty of exercise up and down the stairs!

Kate taught Design Technology and Art in secondary schools for many years, before getting a job as an art teacher in a private primary school after her son was born.  It was working part time here that allowed her own art to develop.

After creating a body of work inspired by the the Large Hadron Collider she turned to the natural world for inspiration and began a series of pieces inspired by birds, which has gradually grown to encompass a great variety of wildlife, and also landscapes and woodlands on a larger scale.

Kate travels the country giving talks and workshops based on all her work - and her ongoing interest in e-textiles and the use of other media.

Making art is a complete passion and is probably the most important thing in her life right now.

 

April Practical Evening

 Our meeting on the 1st April 2026 is a practical evening  starting at 7.30 pm.

The project is shown below:

You will need scissors, needle and thread.  

March Meeting

 At our March meeting our speaker, Jane Stock, explained how Japanese Boro developed.  She was able to show us many examples and how she has evolved her own style.

Boro has a long history and its use grew in the less affluent communities from necessity.  They used and re-used textiles for clothes for warmth and economy.  It involved putting layers of fabric over thin or damaged areas and securing them with simple stitching.

Jane explained the use of indigo dyes on cotton and jute fabrics; natural fibres that could be grown locally.  She showed us fabric that she had dyed using "tie/dye" techniques to achieve different "depths" of colour and many differing patterns as well as printed areas.

Jane's work was varied and showed how she has experimented to produce her individual style.

Kathy Francis

Examples of her work

March Speaker

Our speaker for our meeting on the 4th March at 2pm is Jane Stock.  Her talk is entitled "The History, Traditions and Techniques of Japanese Boro". 

Jane enjoys working with a range of fabrics and media but she is particularly drawn to materials and textiles that have had a previous life and show signs of wear and repair.

She uses different processes including hand stitch, printing, and dyeing.  Indigo is her favourite colour and she is fascinated by the various patterns and effects that can be produced.  Her hand stitching is all about mark making rather than precision or regularity.

II enjoy working with a range of fabrics and media but I am particularly drawn to I   joy working with a range of fabrics and media but I am particularly drawn to materials and textiles that have had a previous life and show signs of wear and repair.  Different processes include hand stitch, printing and dyeing.  Indigo is a favourite and I am fascinated by the various patterns and effects that can be produced. 

​

My hand stitching is all about mark making rather than precision or regularity. 

​

Textile history, from samplers, to the machinery and processes of large mills their pattern and sample archives, are of d textiles that have had a previous life and show signs of wear and repair.  Different processes include hand stitch, printing and dyeing.  Indigo is a favourite and I am fascinated by the various patterns and effects that can be produced. 

​

My hand stitching is all about mark making rather than precision or regularity. 

​

Textile history, from samplers, to the machinery and processes of large mills their pattern and sample archives, are t have had a previous life and show signs of wear and repair.  Different processes include hand stitch, printing and dyeing.  Indigo is a favourite and I am fascinated by the various patterns and effects that can be produced. 

​

My hand stitching is all about mark making rather than precision or regularity. 

​

Textile history, from samplers, to the machinery and processes of large mills their pattern and sample archives, are of particular interest. enjoy working with a range of fabrics and media but I am particularly drawn to materials and textiles that have had a previous life and show signs of wear and repair.  Different processes include hand stitch, printing and dyeing.  Indigo is a favourite and I am fascinated by the various patterns and effects that can be produced. 

​

My hand stitching is all about mark making rather than precision or regularity. 

​

Textile history, from samplers, to the machinery and processes of large mills their pattern and sample archives, are of particular interest.

February Meeting

Please note a change to our planned program as our February speaker is unable to attend this meeting due to ill health. We wish Sheila well, and hope to see her at a future meeting.

The AGM will be , followed by a Members' Meeting including the following:

Members Show and Tell - We'd encourage you all to bring along a piece of work for a general show and tell;  perhaps something you've made over the last year which you'd be happy to share. 

We will launch the2026 group 6 inch square project.  

You'll see items from previous workshops where the tutors will be here again this year - to give an idea of some of our 2026 workshops, which we hope will inspire you to come along! 

We will show our Suitcase Collection -  individual items made by members 

We look forward to seeing you all on the 4th February 2026.

Programme for 2026

Please note that the pages for Speakers and workshops have been update to reflect 2026.

December Meeting

 The meeting in December is a practical in the afternoon at 2.00.  The project is pictured below.