Sunday 31 August 2014

Ighali 2014 round-up

So the Ighali Embroidery Festival 2014 has come and gone. And what a great experience. 


I had a group of six ladies in my embroidered appliqué workshop and we spent a day and a half stitching and nattering about nothing but embroidery and quilting 99% of the time – what a treat to be able to discuss the minutia of stitches and fabric and embroidery paraphernalia with others who are just as passionate about needlework.

 

Lorette and Kim are standing at the back. Lorette, on the left, is from Port Elizabeth and does a lot of quilting (and Pinning). Kim is from Johannesburg and has been embroidering for about 25 years, but was looking for something modern and fresh to stitch.

Seated, from left to right, are Aneeba, Beryl, Sue and Kathy. Aneeba is originally from Pakistan, but lives just outside Johannesburg now and belongs to the Witwatersrand Embroidery Guild. Beryl lives in Port Elizabeth and is part of the PE Embroidery Guild. Sue came through from Grahamstown for the festival and is a quilter who’s done lots of appliqué. Kathy came down from Joburg with Kim and is a quilter who’s been doing embroidery for about four years, and was likewise looking for something fresh to stitch.



What a pleasure to spend time in the company of these ladies. And they taught me as much as I taught them, so thank you.


Outside of the workshop, it was so nice to meet other embroiderers and some of the other teachers giving classes at the event. I didn’t get to meet all of them sadly, but was thrilled that I got to chat to the likes of Trish Burr, Hazel Blomkamp, Penny Cornell and Odette Wright for a bit.

The PE Embroidery Guild also put together a great exhibition of embroidery that has inspired me to try out some new techniques and styles, once my workload lightens... I took loads of pics, but will have to break those down into a few different posts, there was so much on show.

Elsa le Roux and her committee from the PE guild outdid themselves. It was my first time at a big embroidery event like this and I’m rather looking forward to Ighali 2016 now, which the Knysna guild is hosting and organising.

Elsa is also the driving force behind Embroidery Network South Africa, an umbrella organisation for all the local SA guilds. The website is full of photos and information, as well as a forum – called Ask and Share – where anyone from around the world can get involved in or start a conversation with other stitchers, so go and take a look at the site when you have a free moment.

3 comments:

Trix said...

Thank you for the lovely class, Kelly! Would definitely like to attend another of your workshops. And yes, now I'm pinning even more! ;)

Kelly Fletcher said...

Pleasure, glad you enjoyed it. I'll have to make a plan for another one sometime...

Ciof Pyrsos said...

Hi greeat reading your post