The embroidery club is planning for an exhibition, and we were encouraged to make name signs as part of preparing for it.

Sweden (and maybe some of the other Nordic countries) has a concept of studieförbund which are a kind of national umbrella organizations for study circles and educational groups. There are eight of them according to Wikipedia. Many were established over a century ago as a means to educate those who didn’t have access to higher education. These days they organize classes and workshops mostly in the domains of arts, crafts, humanities and social sciences.

In addition to “top-down” courses they also provide support for self-organizing study groups such as our embroidery club. We get access to rooms, including a kitchen and toilets, for no charge. We are also invited to participate in the parent organization’s events, and the exhibition is one of them. Within the framework of Stockholm Culture Night, Sensus Studieförbund will hold workshops, exhibitions and other activities. We and two other similar embroidery clubs were invited to arrange a small one-room exhibition and a workshop on the theme of “free embroidery” – to inspire more people to start embroidering.

The name signs aren’t going to be the focus of the exhibition (that will just be whatever past works everyone decides to bring) but just a fun way to make it more personal for the visitors.