GMNA, Guild of Miniature Needle Arts Index

Miniature Needlework taken to extremes of excellence by

You are visitor number since September 2006.

AN UPDATE

In 1994 the first World in Miniature Needlepoint Competition was featured at MINIATURA in the NEC. Organised by Daphne Turner and Rosemary Conway-Jones and sponsored by Muriel and Bob Hopwood and David Kilpatrick, it ran for three years and attracted stunning contributions from all over the country. The prizewinners vied with each other to produce ever more challenging examples of miniature needlework, spurred on by friendly rivalry and the encouragement of the organisers. Their work was subsequently exhibited at David Kilpatrick's World in Miniature museum in Oban, Scotland where it attracted the attention of Her Majesty the Queen during her tour of the museum in 1996.

Firm friendships were formed as a result of the competition and so the friends decided to combine their efforts in the GUILD OF MINIATURE NEEDLE ARTS to exhibit their work to the public. The Guild held its inaugural exhibition at MINIATURA in September 2000, when there was an opportunity to see old favourite pieces from the World in Miniature Needlepoint Competition as well as new work produced specially for the Guild show.

Our aim was to get as near to true scale, usually ¹/₁₂th or ¹/₂₄th, as is humanly possible and to take miniature needlework to the highest level of achievement in a variety of techniques. Further guidance notes can be viewed/downloaded here.

Prizewinners from the original competition were eligible for membership, otherwise it was at the discretion of the Guild. Any work exhibited was selected for its outstanding excellence. Inspired by the efforts of fellow members and free from the constraints of commercialism which makes the use of the really fine gauzes impractical, we hoped to explore and extend the limits of miniature needlework so that we were able put on unique and truly outstanding displays in a variety of museums and stately homes.. A list of past dates and venues can be found in our events section.

David Kilpatrick was generous enough to sponsor and support the Guild, though his "World in Miniature" collection passed to Bob Gault of Klondyke and Strike's Garden Centres and is now on permanent exhibition at Houghton Hall garden centre, Carlisle.

As finding and organising suitable venues for our exhibitions became increasingly problematical for our small and scattered group and time was catching up with our more elderly members, we reluctantly decided to bring the guild to a close but to keep this website going for the interest of the public. The subsequent loss of four of those members has regrettably validated the wisdom of our decision, the recording of their work is their fitting memorial.

If you are already working on gauges of 40, 50 or 60 count, enjoy a challenge and would like to test your skills further, you may find our help sheet, useful with tips and advice.

If you are new to miniature embroidery and would like to learn more, our sister organisation the Miniature Needlework Society, which also grew from the original Needlepoint Competitions, publishes a newsletter and runs meetings and workshops in various locations in several countries. They welcome new members.