About The Bermuda Guild of Stitchery

Bermuda could almost be described as William Shakespeare referred to another island, "This fortress built by Nature for herself against infection and the hand of war. This happy breed of men, this little world, this precious stone set in a silver sea..." This tiny island, because of
its distance from other land masses, has made its inhabitants resourceful and dependent on each other. For some 60,000 people, we don't do too badly under either of those headings. Our inhabitants come from Canada, America, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Azores, Portugal and other European countries.

Members of the Bermuda Guild of Stitchery

Surprisingly, there was no guild of stitchery until 1994, when a Canadian immigrant, one Nancy Brown, a long-time member of the Toronto Guild of Stitchery, gathered together a group of friends and set the ball rolling. A church hall was found and a meeting advertised in the Royal Gazette, which everyone reads if they want to know what is happening on the Island. Soon after, we were off to the races!

Because of our location near the North American continent, we looked for an umbrella association to join, The Embroiderers' Association of Canada was the most welcoming and we soon joined as a chapter earning the rather impressive title of International Chapter! We have found our EAC connection has provided us with exposure to other stitcher's ideas and
many new projects have evolved as a result of our Guild President's attendance at the regional meetings. These meetings have resulted in making many new friends and providing stimulating ideas.

Bermuda is hot and humid in summer so we operate from October through June. The last meeting consists of an Annual General Meeting, lunch and a display of members' work. This provides an opportunity for our day members and those of the evening group to meet and see each other's work. We try to balance our meetings with workshops and lecturers from abroad. The former have included items as diverse as Christmas decorations, Tamari Balls, shadow embroidery, learn-a-stitch samplers and origami. Amongst the latter, we have welcomed Beverly McInnes, Maggie Glossop, and Anna Marie Winter from Canada, Beth Russell from England and Anthony Minieri is booked for May 2002. We are planning to continue with this type of exposure and stimulation. Fortunately, Bermudians travel almost more than any other people in the world and our members travel to courses on both sides of the Atlantic, so we co-opt them into passing on their knowledge. We have discovered a wealth of talent amongst our own membership.

We hold tightly to our Bermuda heritage. Our newsletter is named the Bermuda Longtail, a beautiful migratory bird who arrives in the spring heralding the warm days to come. Our logo is the little bright blue flower called the "Bermudiana" which adorns our letterhead and our membership pins.

Bermudiana

We hold one-day marathon stitch-ins at a local hotel twice a year. We have stitched gifts for a local charity to sell at their Christmas craft sale. Several members have or are currently taking EAC Correspondence courses in Blackwork, Crewel and Deerfield embroidery. Our members have run courses for senior citizens and younger members of the community. Wherever possible we try to live up to our aim, "To encourage and promote the practice and knowledge of the Art of Embroidery in all its forms and to develop a fellowship of persons interested in needle art in Bermuda."

It is hoped the above will give you a taste of Bermuda. If you want more, please come and visit us! You can be assured of a warm traditional welcome from the Bermuda Guild of Stitchery.

Note: This profile of the Bermuda Guild was written by member, Brenda Younie, and provided to us by Kathy Faries, past President for the last two years. Sue Simmons took over that position as of June 30, 2001. Kathy has been the editor of the Guild's newsletter for the past five into the present.

For further information about the Bermuda Guild of Stitchery contact them at:
P.O. Box HM1988
Hamilton, HMHX, Bermuda
e mail : efaries@ibl.bm