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Bus loads of embroiderers will arrive in Warkworth on July 26 and 27, for the highly anticipated exhibition by the Warkworth Embroiderers Guild, entitled Eye of the Needle.
Organiser Jennifer Kirker says the last time the exhibition was held two years ago, about 700 visitors from Taipa to Coromandel came to see the fine fibre work.
The exhibition features the work of 32 members covering a range of styles from traditional Elizabethan to more modern textile artistry.
This year’s guest exhibitor is Shirley Pygott, of Stanmore Bay, who will be showing her best work from the last 20 years.
Shirley says some of her work would be considered by the international embroidery community as experimental.
“It won’t be what your first impression of embroidery might be – it’s not tea cloths,” Shirley says.
“For one piece, I have pulled a clock apart and needle-laced the parts together using wire. It can be viewed from either side and hangs from a stand, moving in the breeze as people walk by.”
For other works, she has embroidered with gold metal thread similar to what might be found on coronation or church robes, or even a bull fighter.
Shirley is a renowned embroidery artist and travels the world on Royal Caribbean cruise ships, holding workshops in destinations such as Singapore, Sydney and Seattle.
The exhibition takes place at the new Masonic Lodge on Baxter Street, Warkworth. It is open from 10am to 4pm, entry by gold coin donation.
