Embracing Autumn in the Brecks
Our quick guide for enjoying autumn to the fullest in the Norfolk and Suffolk Brecks. More
The Guildhall Craft Group in Thetford have finished the third and final panel in their BFER-funded Textile River project. This panel celebrates the wildlife that can be found in and around Brecks rivers and is on display in Thetford Library until the 12th of November.
The group started the first panel in 2022, using crochet and knitting skills to create a colourful river scene jampacked with the creature characters you might see there. This panel was such a success that the group went straight into the next!
The second panel was completed in March 2023. This amazingly detailed artwork captures the rich heritage of the Thetford riverside in embroidery. Look out for the beautiful embroidered Charles Burrell Museum engine, Captain Mainwaring, Duleep Singh, and the Coffee Mill.
The final of the three panels has tested the group’s stitching skills even further and, based on a series of drawings, they have created an array of quilted portraits of river wildlife. Each member of the group picked a bird or animal and created it as their own miniature project within a project, but the quality of sewing and the attention to detail in each one is beautiful.
We were thrilled that Thetford Library wanted to display this panel over the October half-term and, in fact, all three have been on tour since completion so you may well see them popping up all over the place.
The Textile River panels may be over, but the group is unstoppable. Not only has the group grown since this project started, the last time we visited their sewing table, they were deep in the planning phase of their next project!
The Guildhall Craft Group is hosted by Thetford Town Council and meets weekly at 11am on Wednesdays at the The Carnegie & Guildhall Complex. They welcome members of all skill levels, and combine skills, ideas and experience to create collaborative pieces, often inspired by the town and its history or surrounding area. If you are interested in joining the group, you can get in touch at mail@thetfordtowncouncil.gov.uk.
