Age-old craft gets a new look

A hammer, some soldering irons and a tin of paint tools that come in handy for a spot of DIY.

But they are also very useful for members of the Midlands Region of the Embroiderers' Guild.

The Wolverhampton branch is hosting an exhibition featuring around 40 creations, some of which are for sale.

Grandmother Janet Woodhead, from Codsall, has been a member for the past 25 years and said gone are the days when members would simply be using an embroidery hoop, two circles with a layer of fabric pulled taut between them.

Among the exhibits on show are a fabric tribute to Michael Jackson.

Another depicts a fishmonger, complete with the shop cat.

Janet, a retired nursery school teacher, said: "We are not sitting in a corner doing an embroidery hoop making a crinoline lady we have moved on in light years since then. It's much more exciting than that and really what we are doing is textiles.

"The name of the group no longer applies, it might have done more than 20 years ago when all you learned about was stitching.

"But we have moved out of the era when everybody just made chairbacks and tablecloths."

The group was started almost 30 years and founder members Pam Baker and Una Smith are still involved. Originally there were about a dozen members but today there are 43.

And, although Janet and her fellow members are reluctant to divulge their ages, they admit the age range for the group is from 18 to 80. Many have City & Guilds qualifications.

The exhibition, called Memories, is at Bilston Craft Gallery in Mount Pleasant. It runs until December 11