Gatehouse SWI resident Margaret welcomed everyone to the October meeting and was delighted to introduce Lorraine Jackson.
She explained she was going to demonstrate how to make Harris tweed brooches. Lorraine is a teacher at Kirkcudbright Academy by day but members were able to take advantage of half term, which luckily meant she was available for the afternoon meeting.
Gatehouse members were joined by Federation chair Lesley and Federation treasurer Anita alongside guests who are interested in the joining the SWI.
Everyone really enjoy the practical session and settled down to tackle the skilled craft. There was a real buzz in the hall as chatting and stitching went hand-in-hand. Lorraine provided detailed instructions and materials and within 90 minutes all 18 people had made a Harris tweed brooch.
Lorraine had done much of the preparation therefore it was fair to say an end product was achieved much quicker than otherwise might have been. Even so everyone rose to the occasion when the sewing machine was needed to flute the tweed circles. A proud group wore their brooches home.
Competition results:
Three traybakes: 1 Agnes, 2 Yvonne, 3 Kathleen. Small flower arrangement: 1 Yvonne, 2 Ann. Flower of the month: 1 Margaret, Catherine, 3 Kathleen.
Berta thanked Lorraine for the fun afternoon and appreciated the effort that had gone into the preparation. She also thanked Agnes and Catherine for the refreshments.