Warrington Craftworkers’ Guild by Lyn Hasted

IN the social period before the start of the meeting, members have the opportunity to have a cup of tea, chat and to look at the sales and display tables.

Members’ work on display included a felted stole, a hat, and a patchwork quilt.

The sales table is always popular with members, providing a useful source for picking up odd pieces of fabric or thread at little cost, and today was no exception.

Anne Winspear’s charity table also received a lot of interest.

Anne makes soft toys from babygros to raise money for Cancer Research and to date has earned in excess of one thousand pounds in support of the charity.

Susan is continuing her work in cataloguing and displaying the library, making it more accessible to members.

Miriam Gibbons, chairman, welcomed members and visitors to the meeting on March 21.

Members were reminded of forthcoming events of interest such as World Textile Day in Frodsham on April 11.

The speaker was Katie Chaplin and her talk was entitled ‘Kimono – Costume of Japan.

Katie visits Japan two or three times a year where she sources vintage kimono and beautiful fabrics for her company Japan Crafts.

She informed us that her interest in all things Japanese was stimulated by reading Memoirs of a Geisha when she was about eighteen.

Apparently to don a kimono for a special occasion takes three to four hours as there are so many stages of preparation and ritual to be observed.

To demonstrate some of the intricacies Katie dressed a tailor’s dummy which involved many layers and much in the way of braid ties to hold everything in place.

Interestingly, the female form dressed in a kimono is one that has no curves and much of the binding and padding is to achieve that look.

It also helps the kimono to fall well.

All kimonos are constructed in strips of silk, hand stitched and taken apart to be laundered.

Kimonos with long sleeves are worn by women under the age of twenty and can cost upwards of one thousand pounds, considerably more for a special occasion.

After her talk members had the opportunity to look at the lovely Japanese print fabrics and kits she had for sale.

The next meeting will be on April 18 when the guest speakers will be Alan and Gerry Snape.

Their talk will be entitled ‘How We Exist as Artists and Artisans’.

New members and visitors are very welcome.

Please call Miriam on 815646 or Lyn on 819314.