My huge sampler takes centre stage YAY!

My huge sampler takes centre stage YAY!

Guild exhibition openingLast night, at the Albert Hall in Canberra, the Embroiderers’ Guild ACT annual exhibition was opened by Dr Brendan Nelson Director of the Australian War Memorial and former Defence Minister.

Guild exhibition samplerThis year I was excited as I was invited to exhibit my band sampler. At nearly 100 feet long it ran down the centre of the hall. We used a serpentine fold that ran the length of a series of tables to display it. For readers who have not encountered my band sampler before you can read about it here.

Guild exhibition silkWhat are the poppies doing all over the place? Well they tie into the exhibition theme . The Creative Challenge this year was: Stitching Love and Hope. Inspired by silk postcards from World War One, the exhibit ties in with the WW1 commemoration. The challenge was to re-interpret a Silk postcard. Embroidered silk postcards, known among collectors as simply Silks were popular from 1900 to 1920. The peak of production was during WW1 when it’s estimated that around 10 million were produced. Servicemen serving on the Western Front purchased these cards in Paris on their way through to the trenches. Many were posted home to Australia. You can read more about them on the Embroiderers’ Guild ACT website here.

The 2014 Annual Exhibition will be held from 19 to 21 September at the Albert Hall, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australia Capital Territory open from 10am to 4pm.

45 Comments

  1. Congratulations Sharon on having the Fabulous sampler displayed for many to see. I hope it has many more showings in the future.
    Who knows, maybe one day I’ll see it up close myself.

    I am sure the sampler will inspire many needle-persons to experiment with stitches.

  2. Oh thanks everyone for your your congratulatory messages – I am sort of amazed at how everyone responds to it as it is a quirky thing so I am sitting here with a big silly grin on my face

    sharonb
  3. I bet it was the last thing you were thinking when you started that band sampler all that time ago – that you and it would be featured centre stage – so to speak… Congratulations Sharon that is a wonderful accomplishment. I was fortunate enough to see it that time ago when you and Jerry were down here in Melbourne and it was a wee thing then – I still to this day talk about how wonderful it was to be able to see it “in the flesh” so to speak. I wish I could snap my fingers and be there to see it again…

  4. Good Morning Sharon. Lovely to see you on Thursday evening and share your joy at your band sampler being on exhibition. Along with Gail I was working yesterday (and today and tomorrow) and I also spent some time looking and ahhhhing at your work. It created so much interested and lots of very positive comments. Everyone loved it. Congratulations.

    Evelyn
  5. Sharon, congratulations! Your sampler was so awe-inspiring to me that I decided to set a goal to make one myself. Thanks to your generosity in sharing your wealth of embrodery skill and knowledge, I am slowly working on it. Thank you for sharing with us ” wannabe’s”!

    Kathy Hoback
  6. Wow, this is fabulous. You surely deserved center stage for that sampler. I would have loved to see it, but I’m on the other side of the world. Like Queenie and Juno, I wish I had wings, too.

    Linda Taylor
  7. Seeing your work on such a grand scale is certainly impressive. You not only have created a document of excellent skill, but every it as important, you have shared your knowledge through teaching. Many can do the fine work, but few can teach and share the love of stitch like you. Thank you

    Carol Burrows
  8. Wow! What an honour, but a well deserved one. Although I’ve been doing needlework of all kinds for well over 60 years, I have learned so much from you. Stitches I never dreamed existed have now become amongst my favourites. Thank you so much. Blessings

    Lesley Walker
  9. What an accomplishment!!!…even if you did make it one small step at a time. I know! I tried to start one and didn’t get past the first sample. I’m glad it’s being displayed and you are being recognized. Ricky in Winnipeg

    Ricky
  10. How wonderful to see a version of this spread out on the tables! I wish I could be there to see it “live”. Love that we’ve gotten to see the details over the years, though! Thanks for sharing photos of the exhibition.

    Laura
  11. Sharon, I can’t resist another comment. I did a couple of hours duty at the exhibition today, so got another chance to have a really close look (my favourite bit keeps changing!) But the best thing was the number of people who spent ages circling the table, admiring your wonderful work. I’ve told quite a few about your web site, and they were so keen, they wrote it down! So expect some more ‘hits’ 🙂

    Gail Haidon
  12. And here’s another one wishing for wings (or the cash 😉 ) to see your amazing sampler. I’m delighted for you, that your work was being exhibited: you deserve the recognition.

    Allyson Merryweather
  13. Oh, Sharon, like Queenie I wish I had wings! What a wonderful sight it must be to see the whole sampler in all its glory. And one of your recent posts was about the piece that you did for ANZAC day 🙂

    Juno
  14. Congratulations, Sharon!
    Oh, I wish I had wings and could fly to Canberra to see your impressive sampler ‘in the flesh’. I have enjoyed the various snippets you show here on your blog, but to see it in its full length and glory would be a treat.

  15. Thanks, Sharon, great post. I had a bit of a look at your sampler last night, it was great to see the real thing, and I will be back again over the 3 days having several closer looks!

    Just a small thing – the caption on the first photo says that Brendan Nelson is the Chairman, he’s actually the Director of the AWM.

    Gail Haidon
  16. Congratulations Sharon. What a beautiful piece!! I also enjoyed reading about the embroidered silk postcards. Very interesting and the poppies are so pretty.
    Terry

    Terry

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