Hand embroidered items were once the sign of wealth and status today they are cleverly crafted for pleasure, art and gifts.
World Embroidery Day was acknowledged this week by members of the Ashburton Embroidery Guild who held two events to celebrate. A stitch-in day last week and a public display of their work at the Ashburton library on Thursday with members doing their needle work.
Roslyn Austin, who has been with the guild for 45 years, said belonging had educated her on techniques and style.
“I have also enjoyed the fellowship that comes from joining up with like-minded people to share our crafts, see the work each person is creating and learn from others,” she said.
The day The Ashburton Courier visited members were doing variety of forms ranging from counted cross stitch to freestyle. Several members were also working on pieces for the Mystery Stitchery Challenge, a fundraiser to help cover costs of the national biennial conference.
The challenge is one offered biennially as they prepare for their national conference. All those taking up the challenge are sent the same pattern and it’s over to them how they interpret it.
They receive a new block every month and it takes about 10 months to complete the challenge.
Joan Lawn, with the guild for about six years, said while she has enjoyed all the pieces, she has created one of her favourites has been a style called gold work where all the threads and material were gold.
From the last mystery stitch challenge in 2024 for the Dunedin conference, Joan has turned her creation into a visually stunning bag. Each block of the design had been carefully thought through and designed to tell a part of the history of Otago including penguins, tartan, albatross and the gold fields.
Members of the Ashburton Guild meet up to three times a month to share their skills and knowledge and learn new techniques from speakers, swap patterns and ideas.
Members have attended local, regional, national and international workshops to learn new techniques.
Many have taken the opportunity while travelling to learn about or visit different cultures embroidery and then try that style on their return which has created so visually stunning pieces of work.
The Ashburton guild has been operating since 1972 and as a guild they have completed a panel in a significant embroidery piece for the Tapestry Trust of New Zealand.
The Trust of New Zealand is in the process of creating a large series of panels depicting the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Made up of 98 panels, some completed, some started and others yet to begin.
The Ashburton panel is called ‘‘From Mountains to the Sea’’.
It is made up of pieces depicting the areas including the RDR, a nor-west arch, farming, the town clock, history and recreation.
The panel which costs $5000 was supported by the Community Trust of Mid and South Canterbury. It was designed by Alex Gilks who with a small team designed all the panels. Twenty one members of the guild worked on the panel over three years from September 2013 to July 2016.
– The Ashburton Embroidery Guild meet the first Saturday of the month from 10.30am to 3.30pm, the second Thursday of the month from 1pm to 3.30pm and the fourth Thursday of the month from 10.30am to 3.30pm at the Seniors Centre, Ashburton.
