Hello and welcome to the East Surrey Textile Group
We are a group of friendly and enthusiastic stitchers (from beginners to very experienced) with a great programme of speakers and workshops for all things textile related. These talks cover all types of textile art and embroidery – traditional, modern and experimental, felt-making, patchwork and quilting, historical textiles, work from around the world and many other fascinating topics. For details of our programme of speakers and workshops, please see the 2026 Meetings and 2026 Workshops pages.
The new programme for 2026 is now out. Visit the Meetings and Workshop pages for details.
We meet on the second Tuesday of every month (except August) at: Reigate Park Church – Park Room Park Lane East Reigate RH2 8BD.
Our annual membership fee (£52.00) includes all meeting charges and visitors are welcome to come along for a fee of £5.00 per meeting.
Please contact our Treasurer, Jennifer, if you are interested in joining our group – TreasurerESTG@gmail.com
If you are interested in coming along to a meeting, please contact Rosie, our Membership Secretary (and pay in cash on the evening) – Membership.ESTG@gmail.com
We also have a thriving East Surrey Young Quilters and Textile Group (ESYQTG) for children aged eight to eighteen who meet approximately six times a year on a Saturday for a range of exciting workshops. We also take the opportunity to hold various ‘pop-up’ events for young people. For more information, please email Alison Palmer and also please see their dedicated page and gallery on this website for more details of their upcoming workshops, meeting venue and for examples of their amazing work. Also, several members of the ESYQTG entered quilts into the junior section of the Festival of Quilts – please see the gallery page.
Images from ‘Seasons’ Exhibition, a celebration of the year in stitch and textiles
In May this year we had an exhibition of our work at St Lawrence Ancient Church, Caterham on the Hill. Please see our gallery page for pictures.
Please see our Events page for more details. Great news about the work of some of our members winning awards and being highly commended. Janine Pound’s work, ‘Star Attraction’ has been commended for machine embroidery in the Embroiderers’ Guild Members Challenge 2023/2024, Opposites Attract. Picture of Janine’s work right. Janine and her daughter, Ciara also took part in Surrey Artists Open Studios.
Janine’s also entered two quilts to the Festival of Quilts and was awarded a Judges Choice accolade for her quilt “Surrey Hills Hedgerows” in the Art Quilts section. Surrey Hills Hedgerows was made in response to a challenge Close to Home, a popular theme during and after the pandemic. The leaves and seed heads used for printing were gathered during walks in the Surrey Hills where I live. Ecoprinting, monoprinting with acrylic paint, fabric collage, free machine quilting. Recycled cotton. Picture below right.
Yvonne Phennah’s quilt, The Sands of Time came second in the Lullingstone Quilt Challenge. It is 16”x 40” and was created for the Lullingstone Quilt Challenge 2024. The theme was Walk like an Egyptian. It is made of commercial quilting cotton, batik and linen. It depicts a scene of Egypt by the Nile at sunset. The figures are silhouetted against the setting sun but are they from the present or past? Transfer foil adds highlights. The figures and pyramids are applied by raw edge appliqué and the quilt is free motion quilted to represent sand and the water of the Nile – picture right. Rosemary Hufton also entered two quilts to the Festival of Quilts and her quilt “Plastic Habitat” came second in the Sustainable Quilts category – please see picture below. Rosemary used plastic bags were laminated together with a heat press, then machine embroidered, appliqued, painted and quilted. Plastic bags, net, laces and beads. Leftover cotton chintz. The world is drowning in plastic. It is in the air and the sea, being absorbed by all living organisms. We are consuming plastic at a huge cost to the natural world. “Plastic Habitat” is a banner with insects and plants which is a reflection on the imagined long term consequences. Except for the thread, this quilt is made entirely from discarded plastic and fabric. By using these materials for artwork, they will no longer be treated as waste and will therefore not be put into landfill. Sustainability means re-using resources like this.
Stitch-Ins – each week some members take the opportunity to meet together and stitch and chat, usually on a Tuesday from 2pm to 4pm (except in the week we have our monthly meeting). Members use these sessions to work on their own projects and sometimes create group projects, which can be seen at our exhibitions. Details available in our monthly members’ newsletter or by clicking on the email button on the right:
Other membership benefits:
Members receive a monthly newsletter with details of meetings, events, reviews and group news.
Member exhibitions – a chance to exhibit (and sell) your work and view the work of fellow members.
The chance to meet, talk, be inspired and to inspire other textile enthusiasts.
Exclusive workshops with experiences tutors in small groups (see details on our events page)
Thank you – to all of our members for letting us use images of their work (some greatly magnified) across this website. We would love to give all of you credit for your work and please can you let a committee member know which work is yours and we will be more than happy to note this on the appropriate image.
