Diana, the leading light of the Broiderers group of Guelph, is leaving us in the middle of December.  She has been our leader for longer than five years during which time we have not only retained our members but acquired a fair number of new ones.  Our meetings have always been well attended because we all enjoyed the social atmosphere fostered by Diana, as well as getting some stitching done.  Diana’s husband endured a long illness and died nearly two years ago.  She has been busy with all the business and legal work that has to be done plus sorting and emptying their house.  She is returning to live in England where all the rest of her family live.  The group got together and made her a mini quilt in remembrance of all the good years we have spent together.  We each embroidered a small design on three square inches of fabric and Josie, who is also a quilter, assembled it into a personalized panel that will remind Diana of us all.

We are also blessed with a professional photographer living in our village.  With a population of well over 1000 residents, we have many who have useful skills.  His wife, Joan, also happens to be a member of the group.  Here are some close-ups and introductions to our members

The square on the top left was stitched by another Diana who is a textile artist.  She uses hand and machine stitching plus embellishment techniques to express herself.  To the right, Pat used ribbons to bring the flowers to life.  Maureen used her favorite Turkey stitch.  She created a squirrel with a large, bushy tail using Turkey stitch so she is a Turkey expert.  The last one is mine using some of the spring flowers I developed.  Daffodils, crocus, forget me knots, tulips plus a few snowdrops.

Joan says it all with a Heart and Peace on Earth as does Christina with Thanks for being a Friend.  Mary created a cameo with flowers. Mary is our resident expert on Bullion Knots I am sure that there are some in her bouquet.  It was Pat who made the knitted doll Patsy in the last blog.  She writes, Best wishes for a wonderful life in England. Love and Friendship

Marguerite loves stitching crewel designs and her piece is reminiscent of crewelwork.  Lilian’s bluebirds are pouring tea for Diana with something delicious on the side.  Frances contributed a large and perfect tulip. I am/you are, unable to read the words inside the tulip petals but they are memories of the multiple years she and Diana have been friends.   Edna also celebrated English tea time with lovely gold and blue cup and saucer

The lower right foursome features a Canadian Maple Leaf with Bon Voyage from Ruth.  Bev hosted the farewell event with everyone having some together time with Diana while maintaining Covid distancing.  Her embroidery is a butterfly angel. Josie also thought of teatime which is a feature of our weekly meetings as is doing a lot of talking.  Last, but, not least, please meet Betty.  She is our oldest member and is our Tea Granny.  She has made the tea for us for years but Christina has taken it over recently.  Thank you Betty.  We have all appreciated every cup you have made for us.

It was Marguerite who organized this and us.  Thank you, Marg!  We are happy with what you achieved.

We wish Diana a safe flight and a smooth landing in England.  She will be there just in time for Christmas.  We hope that Covid avoids her and that the spring in England will be particularly beautiful this year.  We also hope that she will continue to circulate the jokes and memorabilia that we all enjoy and will keep in touch with us.

Wishing you a Happy Travelling and a Blissful New Year.  You will be missed.

If you have a creative suggestion for this blog, please tell me about it.  Ann

That is Pat on the right, Patsy in the middle. Joan on the left.

The photo was taken on a sunny August afternoon when the Broiderers group of Guelph met in a garden for tea.  Pat took her mask down just for the photograph.

It has been a tough year for everyone and I hope the readers of this blog are well and have remained infection-free.

Motivation went missing big time during the long Covid19 shut down earlier in the year.  How about you?  It was all a shock; it was a time of adjustment.

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  I would like to thank Mother Nature for creating everything and everyone who lives on planet earth.  I would like to thank the farmers, the fishermen, all the animals and plants that sustain us and the air that we breathe.  I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, medical personnel, the drivers and truckers, and everyone involved in every service industry.  You are all vital to our survival.  Thank you, to everyone, who helps the rest of us survive, even, thrive

Pat has sent me a photo of the instructions for creating Patsy but it will not download having too many pixels.  However, if you reply to me with a comment, or a question, I will pass them on to Pat.  The pattern is an old one that she has been wanting to make for years.  She started with legs and body and said that it was easier to knit it in sections and assemble them as she went.  The arms were next and then the head.

I love her frilly panties!

Stitching Patsy’s face was a challenge.  Pat drew the features on plastic wrap and pinned it in place.  This gave her an idea of where to place the eyes and mouth and how big to make them.  That is a good tip for you.  Pat wanted Patsy to have a relaxed expression.  She even put eyelids above the eyes though they are hard to see.  I love her blond curly hair and it was knitted too,

I have been doing some, but not a lot, of stitching during Covid19.  We live in a Seniors Residence and we have suddenly been shut down again as one of the staff has tested positive.  None of the residents have had the virus and we are living very carefully.  It is going to be a long winter in which to be productive, or, unproductive!

Wishing all readers a safe and virus free future.  All good wishes,  Ann, Pat and Patsy.

I copied and pasted this information for you.  If you wish to follow up on this, you will have to go to the source.  Multiple images, patterns to follow are included.  Below are just a very few of multiple examples.

All good wishes, Ann

Tomorrow is the 76th Anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy.  It is commemorated in the Overlord Embroidery.  As traveling is not possible at the moment, we can all visit the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, England via video footage.  But first, some facts and background.

The Overlord was commissioned by Lord Dulverton in 1968, designed by Sandra Lawrence, a 22-year-old artist and stitched by 20 professional embroiderers at The Royal School of Needlework.  This took 5 years.  It was presented to the nation and was first shown in Londons Guild Hall.  As stated by the commentator, the Embroidery was looking for a permanent home at the time.  The following video takes us on a tour of its first showing.

A permanent home was found in the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth.  This city is full of naval interest from the Mary Rose from the 1600s up to HMS Nelson and HMS Warrior.  Portsmouth was one of the main staging locations for the fleet that sailed overnight to Normandy.  Ships, equipment, and supplies were sequestered all over southern England and Wales.  It was a huge operation and every possible harbour was used.  The tides, moonlight and the weather determined the date of the invasion.  Diversionary information that the invasion would be in the area of Calais was leaked.

The following video gives a walking tour around the Overlord Embroidery.  It is now housed in a facility that is temperature and humidity-controlled.   The lighting is subdued to protect the fabrics so it is hard to see detail but this tour will give you an idea of its size.  There are 34 panels that measure 272 feet in length.  The full size painted design panels created by Sandra Lawrence are on display in a mail entry hall in The Pentagon.

The final video is a talk from Tracy Teasdale who knows the embroidery well and gives a detailed account of the making of the Overlord Embroidery.  This is the most interesting and informative of the videos.  There are lots of still photos online for you to find and view.  To see photos of individual panels, go to

Images of Overlord Embroidery

There are many historical embroideries around Britain and the world.  They were all created with dedication.  If you are planning to make one, first, I beg you, find and secure a location where it will be permanently displayed.  The design should be totally special and a professional designer is advisable.  Displaying it costs money and funding this should be considered during the planning stage.

We must all be aware of the Hastings Embroideries which lack a display location and have been in storage for decades.  Initially, they were displayed on the pier with the ocean waves just below.  Now, a few panels only displayed in Hastings Town Hall.  After your labour of love and tribute, please avoid this happening to your historical embroidery.