For our July meeting Anne Dixon prepared a workshop on Dorset Buttons. She began with the history of Dorset Buttons followed by instructions on how to make a simple button. Anne kindly provided all the materials and we all had a go, with varying degrees of success. Anne bought with her some wonderful examples of Dorset Buttons from her collection for us to look at. Our thanks to Anne for facilitating such an inspiring workshop. Unfortunately Anne didn’t have time to show us how to include beads and she will demonstrate this at our October meeting.

In July the Guild were invited to spin at the Sheep Day held at Hebron Meadow in Roydon. Two members of the Guild attended and said it was a lovely gentle day. 

In August several members had the opportunity to spin at the Camel Park Oasis near Harleston. The staff generously helped members with their wheels and equipment and fortunately found them a spot under cover as it rained quite heavily in the morning. Despite the weather there were quite a few visitors and children and adults alike were interested in the spinning. The children enjoyed making yarn using the wooly winders Jen and Mary had brought with them. Alpaca, Llama and Camel were the fibres of the day and it was great fun to try them out. Later in the afternoon there was a train ride around the park followed by a photo shoot with one of the camels!

Maureen kindly facilitated a Crewel workshop for our August meeting. Maureen gave a brief history of Crewel work before getting us to try our hand at a few simple stitches. Maureen provided all the materials for the workshop including fabric and embroidery hoops as well a range of resources for us to look at. We all had a go with varying success. We were provided with additional information on infill stitches to try at home. Our thanks to Maureen for a very interesting and inspiring workshop.