The Narrabri Group of the Embroiderers’ Guild NSW celebrated its 40th anniversary, embracing the art of embroidery with a stunning exhibition entitled ‘Needles on the Namoi’ staged at the weekend in The Crossing Theatre gallery.
The Gunnedah Group of the Embroiderers’ Guild NSW and Narrabri deputy mayor Brett Dickinson attended the opening ceremony on Friday followed by a large number of attendees throughout the weekend.
Special guest for the occasion was Alison Snepp, an embroidery tutor who has taught in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Alison is the author of several books and magazine articles.
She currently consults, writes, lectures, organises exhibitions and runs embroidery trivia quizzes.
Alison was the first tutor for Narrabri and has revisited the group many times during the past 40 years.
President of the Embroiderers Guild of NSW, Judith Burns, was unfortunately unable to attend the event due to prior commitments.
Narrabri convenor Ruth Palsson was delighted with the reception to the exhibition, which encompassed exquisite works created by members during the past two years and also featured prize-winning pieces.
“It all began in 1984,” said Ruth.
“Our founding convenor was Kay Tindall, and we have two of our founding members still with us today, Julie Roy and Christine Cain.
“I would like to thank the Narrabri Shire Council for their support of our group”.
From the very early days the group was inspired by tutors such as Alison Snepp, Vicki Grima and Helen Harvey.
Meeting on the 10th of each month in members’ homes, some members travel more than an hour to attend.
The group typically shares progress on current challenges, and work on their embroidery.
Occasionally mini workshops are held focussing on a particular stitch or a different technique such as geli-printing or the use of coloured pencils.
In recent years, the group has added Sunday Stitching to the calendar, held on the fourth Sunday of the month.
Solely dedicated to stitching, these meetings are held in the meeting room of community radio station 2Max FM.
An annual challenge is organised by one member or a group of members.
The challenge is not compulsory, but members are encouraged to partake.
These challenges embrace a different theme each year, with the current challenge entitled ‘Mothers, Memories and More’, organised by Julie Roy.
The weekend’s exhibition featured a display of these works consisting of family memorabilia and anecdotes, accompanied by beautifully constructed journals.
A piece from each of the 40 years from 1984 to 2024 was included.
Each year a workshop is held to further develop skills within the group.
The group alternate between traditional styles of embroidery and more creative styles, allowing members to expand their repertoire.
Tutors have included Yvette Stanton, Effie Metrofanis, Susan Barker, Annette Meldrum, Jenny O’Sullivan and Helen Parsons, all expert embroiderers who have provided invaluable knowledge to the group over the years.
Several of the Narrabri members have completed correspondence courses as well as other out of town workshops or attending what is known as ‘Summer School’.
Other annual activities include celebrating World Embroidery Day on July 30.
Biennial activities consist of exhibition and a retreat in alternating years.
Recent retreats have been to the ‘Cottage on the Hill’ at Nundle and the ‘Little Kickerbell’ homestead near Quirindi.
Road trips are undertaken as often as possible with embroiderers’ group activities at Gunnedah and Dubbo, and exhibitions which have been held in Tamworth, Gilgandra and Sydney.
Some of the group have enjoyed various successes at the Australian Cotton Fibre Expo, the Royal Easter Show and competing in local agricultural shows. At the prestigious Embroiders Guild NSW Inc 2017 Margaret Oppen Competition, the Contemporary Section was won by Vicki Jericho with her piece ‘Spots and Dots – The Design Process’.
