BRIEF HISTORY OF PENDLE EMBROIDERERS' GUILD,
NOW KNOWN AS PENDLE THREADS
Kathryn Thompson and Elizabeth Johnson, then Regional Chairs of NWR and Yorks and Humberside respectively identified a gap in the EG distribution map. At that time, I was Area 2 rep on the NWR, so Kathryn asked me to oversee the plan and start a new branch.
October 2010, the stables block of Gawthorpe Hall was booked, fliers distributed, and we awaited possible members. The room was rather small but the support was there for us to make a start with a new Branch.
Monica Selway was our first speaker and inspired many with her tiny pieces of patchwork, made into huge hangings. The prospective members were keen, so we needed to put together an interesting programme and maintain interest. Our December meeting was then cancelled due to dangerous ice at the venue. However, I was already investigating possible venues as the room was too small, upstairs and fees quite high. We arranged to meet again in February but this time there had been a burst pipe at the Hall, and it would be out of action for at least a couple of months. This precipitated us to make a move.
The Unitarian Church in Padiham was available on Mondays. Plenty of space, parking and a little less expensive than Gawthorpe. Kathryn stepped in and gave a demo about canvas work and we all went home with a small sample. I presented felt jewellery in March, April 2011 was our Inaugural meeting. It was imperative that a committee was elected. I stood down at this point. Mona Fishwick was Chair, Joan Welch our secretary and Kathryn Thompson was treasurer. At this meeting the name Padiham and District was chosen. Kathryn stepped in again in May as a tutor was poorly and we heard and met Dolls with attitude. Barbara Ryall a close friend from Bolton brought much of her work and spoke about Mix to Match in June. We discovered that the Church had insufficient electric sockets to use sewing machines so our first workshop was held in Higham Village Hall.
We found this venue to be warmer and had greater facilities than the Church so we moved there in March 2015. A new name Pendle Branch was agreed by all our members. Our branch continues to thrive. There are about 20 of our 30 members at each meeting. We have contributed to three NWR Chairman’s Challenges, a travelling book, everlasting landscape and tablecloth. We have been involved in all the Guild National Stitch Days and joined in two village days in Higham. We made bunting for our first and then subsequent name and also a tablecloth. We have a summer competition; the winner being awarded with the Bell Trophy (in memory of Kathryn’s Mum)
There is always a warm welcome, so we are delighted that you have decided to join us. The more you get involve, the more you will enjoy…and one day we might be asking if you fancy joining the committee. Until then we are happy to hear your comments, good or bad. Bring along your friends, their first meeting is free.
Val Coleshaw Feb 2019
Covid hit us in 2019 and following government instructions, meetings were not allowed. We decided to introduce Zoom meetings to maintain our support to our members. We had a variety of meetings, sometimes a talk other times a demo and I believe they were well received.
During this time the Embroiderers Guild went through a massive transformation. They could no longer support the branches as actively as in the past. Pendle along with many other branches made the decision to leave the Guild. This was a major hurdle and we were not sure of our future viability. We celebrated our 10th anniversary with a pair of scissors and handmade case for each member. In the summer of 2021 possible members met and we decided that we could continue at least until Christmas. In theory we would work without a committee but Kathryn stayed on as “Chair” and me as “Treasurer”. I had a cake made with our Pendle witch as decoration, celebrating our 10 years but also a new independent group.
We decided to plan a programme and asked for £10.00 per person, Sept to Dec. Any member offering a talk/demo did this without charge. By Dec we thought we could continue for the following few months so I collected another £30.00 per member. We may only have about 19 members but they have been very loyal and keen to see us survive. We made it through our first year as Pendle Threads and last week had our first meeting of our second year. Members will now receive a token amount if they lead a meeting and we can afford two or three external speakers. We are even planning a play day for March and a Saturday workshop for October. So as before we would love to invite you to come and join us. You will be assured of a warm welcome.
Val Sept 22
No comments:
Post a Comment