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Demonstrations in 2014
Mary Arden's Farm www.shakespeare.org.uk/visit-the-houses/mary-ardens/farm.html
May 3rd, 4th, 5th Strictly Tudor Dancing and May Day Celebrations
May 24th, 25th, 26th Tudor Festival
July 26th, 27th Crafty Beasts
August 23rd, 24th, 25th Tudor Hiring Fair and Tudor Harvest Fair
September 26th, 27th Apple Days
Shipston Wool Fair www.shipstonwoolfair.org
May 26th
Henley in Arden Arts and Music Festival
July 5th, 6th (in the Guildhouse Garden and Jubilee Garden)
May 3rd, 4th, 5th Strictly Tudor Dancing and May Day Celebrations
May 24th, 25th, 26th Tudor Festival
July 26th, 27th Crafty Beasts
August 23rd, 24th, 25th Tudor Hiring Fair and Tudor Harvest Fair
September 26th, 27th Apple Days
Shipston Wool Fair www.shipstonwoolfair.org
May 26th
Henley in Arden Arts and Music Festival
July 5th, 6th (in the Guildhouse Garden and Jubilee Garden)
In 2013 and again this spring we showed tapestry weaving at Packwood House with a display of vegetable dyes to show the colours that their collection of tapestries would have been when first woven. After four or five hundred years of exposure to daylight the only colour which has not changed is the blue from indigo or woad, which was extensively used with a variety of yellow dyes to make greens. Visitors were fascinated to learn the reason for all those blue leaves on the trees and had not realized what strong rich colours would have been used in the original work. To show this we started weaving copies of two small sections of two of their tapestries beside photographs of them as they look now.
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Samples of various traditional dye plants and the colours they produce on display at Packwood House in 2013
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Left, a detail of one of Packwood's original tapestries, and, above, our re-creation using vegetable dyes.
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Calendar of demonstrations for 2013
We have an ongoing demonstration with Packwood House, Solihull form June through to October, every Thursday and Sunday, where guild members will be showing the visitors tapestry weaving.
Amidst this commitment at Packwood House we will also be demonstrating at various other venues throughout the summer/autumn.
Mary Arden's Farm
June 1st/2nd
July 20th/21st
August 24th/25th/26th
September 29th
Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shottery
September 8/9th Gardening Festival
Leamington Embroiderer's Guild
September 14th
Forest of Arden Ploughing Match
September 19th
Amidst this commitment at Packwood House we will also be demonstrating at various other venues throughout the summer/autumn.
Mary Arden's Farm
June 1st/2nd
July 20th/21st
August 24th/25th/26th
September 29th
Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Shottery
September 8/9th Gardening Festival
Leamington Embroiderer's Guild
September 14th
Forest of Arden Ploughing Match
September 19th
Calendar of Demonstrations for 2012
Stratford upon Avon Guild at Compton Verney - Oct to Dec 2012
Compton Verney will be showcasing “Tapestry: Weaving the century at Dovecot Studios 1912 – 2012” from 20 October 2012 to 16 December 2012.
Tapestry is an extraordinary and special art which brings together two worlds to make a new one. At its best, an artist and weavers create a unique work of art in which skill, texture, colour, form and space together spark magic.
Stratford upon Avon Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers will be setting up a studio within the exhibition space, demonstrating tapestry weaving on Thursdays and Sundays during the exhibition.
December 2012
For the three Family Weekends in December 1st and 2nd, 8th and 9th, 15th and 16th, we shall be leading the weaving-based Family Activities.
May 2012
12th & 13th May
Hatton Country World - Sheep Shearing
27th May
Shipston on Stour Wool Fair
June to September 2012
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
2nd to 4th June - Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote Tudor Festival
21st to 22nd July - Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote Crafty Beasts
September 29th and 30th - Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote Apple days
Compton Verney will be showcasing “Tapestry: Weaving the century at Dovecot Studios 1912 – 2012” from 20 October 2012 to 16 December 2012.
Tapestry is an extraordinary and special art which brings together two worlds to make a new one. At its best, an artist and weavers create a unique work of art in which skill, texture, colour, form and space together spark magic.
Stratford upon Avon Guild of Weavers Spinners and Dyers will be setting up a studio within the exhibition space, demonstrating tapestry weaving on Thursdays and Sundays during the exhibition.
December 2012
For the three Family Weekends in December 1st and 2nd, 8th and 9th, 15th and 16th, we shall be leading the weaving-based Family Activities.
May 2012
12th & 13th May
Hatton Country World - Sheep Shearing
27th May
Shipston on Stour Wool Fair
June to September 2012
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
2nd to 4th June - Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote Tudor Festival
21st to 22nd July - Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote Crafty Beasts
September 29th and 30th - Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote Apple days
Craft Taster Sessions in Felting, Weaving & Spinning – 28 June & 5 July
We held 2 mornings of taster sessions for Felting, Spinning and Weaving at the Buzz Cafe in Stratford-upon-Avon. These were Introductory 2 hour classes at £5 each.
Thursday 28th June 10.30 to 12.30 - Felting or Weaving
Thursday 5th July 10.30 to 12.30 - Spinning or Weaving
At the Buzz Cafe, St Gregory's Hall, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon
Numbers were limiited so you needed to reserve your place by contacting Ann Howells annhowells@talktalk.net, telephone 01789 450417, or send a cheque for £5 made out to Stratford-upon-Avon Guild of WSD together with a note of which class and which day you wish to book, and a contact phone/email; to Orchard Cottage, Alderminster, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 8NX.
Thursday 28th June 10.30 to 12.30 - Felting or Weaving
Thursday 5th July 10.30 to 12.30 - Spinning or Weaving
At the Buzz Cafe, St Gregory's Hall, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon
Numbers were limiited so you needed to reserve your place by contacting Ann Howells annhowells@talktalk.net, telephone 01789 450417, or send a cheque for £5 made out to Stratford-upon-Avon Guild of WSD together with a note of which class and which day you wish to book, and a contact phone/email; to Orchard Cottage, Alderminster, Stratford-upon-Avon, CV37 8NX.
Demonstrations held in 2011
May 2011
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
28th-30th May - Mary Arden's Farm – Tudor Festival and Sheep Shearers' Feast
Shipston Wool Fair
Monday May 30th - Shipston Wool Fair
June 2011
Hatton Country World
Wednesday 1st June - Hatton Country World
Sunday 5th June - Hatton Country World
July 2011
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
23rd-24th July - Mary Arden's Farm – Crafty Beasts - a celebration of our great British Rare Breed farm animals
October 2011
1st-2nd October - Mary Arden's Farm – Apple day
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
28th-30th May - Mary Arden's Farm – Tudor Festival and Sheep Shearers' Feast
Shipston Wool Fair
Monday May 30th - Shipston Wool Fair
June 2011
Hatton Country World
Wednesday 1st June - Hatton Country World
Sunday 5th June - Hatton Country World
July 2011
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
23rd-24th July - Mary Arden's Farm – Crafty Beasts - a celebration of our great British Rare Breed farm animals
October 2011
1st-2nd October - Mary Arden's Farm – Apple day
Demonstrations held in 2010
Court Barn Museum these demonstrations were in association with the exhibition "Spinning, Weaving and Chipping Campden
Saturday 8th May
Monday 31st May - Dyeing in the North Cotswolds since 1900"
Wednesday 9th June
Wednesday 23rd June
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
Saturday 29th May - Tudor weekend
Saturday 5th June - Sheep day
Sunday 3rd October - Apple day
Hatton Country World
Sunday 30th May - sheep shearing
Wednesday 2nd June - sheep shearing
Holy Trinity Church - Stratford-upon-Avon
Saturday 12th June - Mediaeval Fair to celebrate the 800year anniversary of the church
Compton Verney
17th-18th July - Folk Weekend
Saturday 8th May
Monday 31st May - Dyeing in the North Cotswolds since 1900"
Wednesday 9th June
Wednesday 23rd June
Mary Arden's Farm – Wilmcote
Saturday 29th May - Tudor weekend
Saturday 5th June - Sheep day
Sunday 3rd October - Apple day
Hatton Country World
Sunday 30th May - sheep shearing
Wednesday 2nd June - sheep shearing
Holy Trinity Church - Stratford-upon-Avon
Saturday 12th June - Mediaeval Fair to celebrate the 800year anniversary of the church
Compton Verney
17th-18th July - Folk Weekend
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Shakespeare Parade - 24th April 2010A group of our Guild members met at the Shakespeare Birthplace ready to join the Peoples' Procession. Our Honorary President, Mary Jeffery, unfurled one of the flags and then joined us as we set off through the town with our banners held high and bands playing. There were people in Elizabethan costume, school children and local dignitaries all carrying spring flowers for the Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried. There were musicians and dancers and lots of other local groups as well as ours, all out celebrating this very special day. The sun shone and everyone looked cheerful and we all had a very happy time.
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Demonstrations held in 2009
8th, 9th, 10th July - The Royal Show
The Heart of England Alpaca Group asked the Stratford WSD guild to demonstrate spinning on their stand at the last Royal Show, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. We were there on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8th, 9th and 10th July.
21 June 2009 - Coughton Court
On Midsummer Day, Coughton Court arranged the creation of a modern "Throckmorton Coat" as part of their celebration of 600 years of the same family living there. The original coat had been made between dawn and dusk on midsummer day in 1811 to win a wager made by the then Squire of Throckmorton who had boasted of the speed of his modern methods of producing cloth.
The 21st Century coat was made of recycled materials by Pretty Rubbish, but the Stratford WSD guild went to demonstrate some of the different stages of producing cloth. We had four spinners, two weavers and two members with small weaving projects for children to try. There were demonstrations and lessons in spindle spinning by a member of another guild (who had been part of the recreation of the original coat at the Newbury Show several years ago).
There was lots of interest, especially from the children and we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Ann
The 21st Century coat was made of recycled materials by Pretty Rubbish, but the Stratford WSD guild went to demonstrate some of the different stages of producing cloth. We had four spinners, two weavers and two members with small weaving projects for children to try. There were demonstrations and lessons in spindle spinning by a member of another guild (who had been part of the recreation of the original coat at the Newbury Show several years ago).
There was lots of interest, especially from the children and we all thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Ann
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June 2009 - Mary Arden's cottage
Saturday and Sunday 13th and 14th June – we demonstrated at Mary Arden's cottage in Stratford for their “Wool Weekend - the Big Sheep Show!”.
Sunday at Mary Arden's House was a lovely day I enjoyed too. I gave Audrey
a lift and when we arrived at Mary Arden's House, Ros and Evelyn were there
already.
We sat in the barn spinning away at our various spinning wheels
while Cotswold, Wiltshire Horn, Shropshire and Suffolk Sheep baa'd and
chewed the cud in their pens with us. One of the men came and took a
Cotswold Ewe and clipped her by hand outside in some kind of open air
theatre, where she just laid quietly while he wielded his clippers! The sun
shone down on us, and we moved about according to whether we were hot or
not, we were quite busy answering lots of interesting questions about the
kind of wood our wheels were made of and what happens when the yarn breaks
while spinning.
The shearer clipped two sheep in the morning and then the
other two in the afternoon, and then they were taken back to their field,
very soon it was time for us to pack up. I had a lovely day being able to
sit and just spin - what a treat!
Abigail
Sunday at Mary Arden's House was a lovely day I enjoyed too. I gave Audrey
a lift and when we arrived at Mary Arden's House, Ros and Evelyn were there
already.
We sat in the barn spinning away at our various spinning wheels
while Cotswold, Wiltshire Horn, Shropshire and Suffolk Sheep baa'd and
chewed the cud in their pens with us. One of the men came and took a
Cotswold Ewe and clipped her by hand outside in some kind of open air
theatre, where she just laid quietly while he wielded his clippers! The sun
shone down on us, and we moved about according to whether we were hot or
not, we were quite busy answering lots of interesting questions about the
kind of wood our wheels were made of and what happens when the yarn breaks
while spinning.
The shearer clipped two sheep in the morning and then the
other two in the afternoon, and then they were taken back to their field,
very soon it was time for us to pack up. I had a lovely day being able to
sit and just spin - what a treat!
Abigail
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Photos from Hatton 2008 & report from Hatton 2009 - click here
May 2009 - Hatton Country World
In May 2009, (24 & 27 May), we demonstrated at Hatton Country World (http://www.hattonworld.com) again, on the sheep shearing days, as we did in 2008 (2009 report & photos from Hatton 2008 here).
In the past, we visited the National Trust property at Charlecote Park. We demonstrated our crafts in the beautiful surroundings outside the house in good weather, or inside if it was raining. The spinning wheels hold a particular fascination for visitors of all ages and our activities for children, such as card weaving or making “caterpillars” from yarn are also very popular. We take along examples of our weaving and dyeing and show different techniques such as stick weaving and braid making. It is interesting to meet people from all over the world and we frequently exchange ideas and learn new things!
Jane Brace
In the past, we visited the National Trust property at Charlecote Park. We demonstrated our crafts in the beautiful surroundings outside the house in good weather, or inside if it was raining. The spinning wheels hold a particular fascination for visitors of all ages and our activities for children, such as card weaving or making “caterpillars” from yarn are also very popular. We take along examples of our weaving and dyeing and show different techniques such as stick weaving and braid making. It is interesting to meet people from all over the world and we frequently exchange ideas and learn new things!
Jane Brace