With just needles and threads, members of the Queenstown Embroiderers’ Guild (QEG) have stitched themselves into the fabric of New Zealand history.
The 12-strong guild of local needleworkers spent 17 months looping back stitches, chain stitches and perfect French knots to create a vista titled Adventure Tourism — No 90.
Guild secretary Gay Downing says while the panel took a significant amount of time and effort, the finished product, which includes a meticulously-stitched TSS Earnslaw, Arrowtown’s Chinese Village, and miniature mountain bikers, is striking in its depiction of Queenstown’s
adventure background.
‘‘Things like the little lamb and the peaks of the mountains, they’ve got beautiful textures and you’ve really got to study them,’’ she says.
‘‘Even now, I see things that sort of jump out.’’
The tapestry is part of an ambitious project by The Tapestry Trust of NZ which aims to create a series of 100 embroidered panels each depicting key elements of Aoteraoa’s history.
From the arrival of the first waka, to women’s suffrage and The Lord of the Rings film shoots — and everything in between — panel concepts were sent as ‘‘one-liner’’ briefs to guilds around NZ, who could then select a subject to stitch.
Downing says once a guild settled on a subject, the trust consulted Otago University’s history and art departments to sketch designs.
For QEG, choosing the adventure tourism concept was a no-brainer.
‘‘We’ve stitched our own [history], which is nice,’’ she says.
Because the panel measures a metre by 60 centimetres, guild members would stitch communally, getting creative with technique, colour and detail.
‘‘And the beautiful base fabric was specially milled and woven at a wee mill in Lower Hutt, recommended by conservation experts.’’
The panel’s now complete and on display at the Queenstown Country Club, alongside three other panels made by guilds in Southland, Otago and South Auckland — they’ll all move to Te Atamira next week to be part of an exhibition which will also feature a selection of QEG’s smaller works.
Downing says members are now on the hunt for their next project, and some new people to stitch with.
‘‘We would love some new members … it’s as much about friendship as it is about stitching.’’
Guild president Barbara Eckford says she hopes the exhibition will inspire people to try their hand at embroidery.
‘‘The thing is when you start, you look at pieces at an exhibition and you think to yourself, ‘I could never do that’.
‘‘But actually, embroidery is — if you can thread a needle — all about putting the needle in the fabric and bringing it out and very simple stitches.’’
New Zealand: A History in Stitch goes on display from Monday till September 28 at Te Atamira’s Manaaki Nui.
