Temari Balls

Here's a couple more Temari Balls made by my friend, Verna. I'm showing two views.
The blue one was made by another friend.
I love all the bead work in these.

Have a look at the Temari Ball Exhibition.
Videos of Temari Balls
Free Temari Ball Patterns

QuiltCon 2015 - photos from other bloggers

A couple weeks ago, QuiltCon 2015, was held in Austin, Texas. It was organized and presented by The Modern Quilt Guild.
Grab a cup of something and enjoy the show!  Here's a few sites with photos of quilts from this exhibition:

• Wonky World
• QuiltCon Photos 2015
• She Can Quilt
• Blotch and Thrum
• More Stars in Comanche
• Winning Modern Quilts on Display
• Kristin Shields Quiltmaker
• Skyline Quilts
• Color Me Quilty
• Jenna Brand
• Modern Quilt Guild and HERE  
• Quilts of a Feather
• Christa Quilts
• Sew Mama Sew
• Freshly Pieced
• East Dakota Quilter
• Flourishing Palms
• Sewn by Leila
• Craft Happy

Our Prairie In Fibre

Grab a cup of something and spend a delightful 16 minutes watching an interview with Monika Kinner Whalen, curator of Our Prairie In Fibre Keepsake. She talks about the show and her love for the prairies. Throughout the interview you will see the wonderful art that was on exhibit.
Enjoy!

Our Prairie in Fibre

Our Prairie in Fibre is an collection of fibre art created by women from across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This wonderful collection was curated by Monika Kinner-Whalen. Please take a few minutes to tour this exhibit. Also have a look at Monika's wonderful art pieces.

I've been following Monika's blog for several years and knew this exhibit was coming. I'm glad she let us know the link. Just wish I could see it in person. Thanks Monika.

Now check out some links to quilters and fibre artists from Western Canada (not complete by any stretch of the imagination):

• Manitoba Prairie Quilters (lots of quilts and art quilts)
• Quilt Guilds across the country
• SAQA Western Canada
• Martha Cole
• Anna Hergert
• Fibre Art Network, Western Canada
• Mrs Pickles Garden
• Scraps and Strings (Winnipeg)
• Will Cook for Shoes (Winnipeg)
• Work in Progress (Calgary)
• Jenny Penny Poppy (Saskatchewan)

Susan Lee Studios

Time to highlight another Newfoundland artist, Susan Lee Stephen, jewellery designer. Susan works with silver, semi-precious stones, copper, bronze, brass and sometimes textiles to create very unique sculptural jewellery pieces. To read more about Susan's work, click on the link above.

I visited Devon House this afternoon to see the latest gallery show, Elemental Nexus. Susan is one of the featured artists. Her work is incredible! Such attention to detail . . .  You can also view some of the show pieces on her web site.

To see some other art pieces, check out Susan's profile in the Metal Arts Guild of Canada and her Etsy Shop.

Knit Fast Dye Yarn

I really enjoyed my visit to the Knit Fast Dye Yarn Textiles Craft and Apparel Design Exhibition at the Anna Templeton Centre yesterday.

The graduating students had a great display of work. I was impressed with the design / creativity and the amount of work they produced. Have a look!



Wooly Whale Project
 

This piece was gigantic!

Woven scarves! These are fantastic.



This dress and side curtains were made from woven panels.
The center lace panel (can't see the detail) was made from
scrim. It is hand embroidered using the drawn threads method.
It is a fantastic piece of work.



 

I was given permission to take photos of some of the work. There were ten students but I didn't get photos of everyone's work. The exhibit was packed with people so it was difficult to get photos.

On Thursday, June 5, from 7 - 9, the Anna Templeton Centre is hosting a Fashion Boutique and Cocktail Party. You can try on all the amazing handmade garments shown on the runway and purchase one or two to add to your wardrobe.

On Saturday, June 14, from 1 - 4, drop down to experience the Secret Garden Secret Kitchen. Experience a special food celebration on closing day with tapas style plates and refreshing summer beverages while you take a last chance to wander through the exhibition. $12

So if you are in the city on those days, drop by.

A Library of Teacups

On Saturday, I attended the opening reception at Devon House of A Library of Teacups by pottery artist, Maaike Charron. There are over 400 different teacups in the collection. Maaike wanted to do something a little different and decided to make a teacup for every book she owned. This included text books, fiction, children's books, non-fiction . . . the list goes on. The cups are arranged on shelves the same way as if they were books. It is a very eye catching exhibit and if you live in the area it is well worth a visit.

Maaike is a self-taught potter from St. John's, NL. Here is what she wrote about this show:

Books and tea are two of my great loves in life, and they go together swimmingly. I have made one cup inspired by every book I own. Each is one of a kind, varying in size, shape, colour and clay body. Some are very simple, and others much more ornate.

Why teacups? Because (much like books) they lend themselves to individuality, to standing as one in a herd of many. There is a cultural expectation of uniformity for household food vessels - everything matches. But mugs and teacups have largely escaped this rule. What kitchen does not have a cupboard or two of chipped, mismatched and utterly loved mugs?

The deeply personal and individual act of cradling a cup of tea is best carried out, it appears, with the assistance of a personal and individual teacup. And the enjoyment of a good book is best enhanced by a cup of tea.

Here are some quilt related sites you might enjoy!
Quilting Gallery Mug Rug Inspiration
Pink Penguin Teapot Pattern 
Connecting Threads Sidecar Coasters
Piece by Number Tea and Coffee Cups

Stained Glass

Here are some photos I took of an Art Nouveau Exhibit of stained glass at Navy Pier, Chicago. The stained glass was quite impressive.If you are in the area, it's worth a visit.

Hand Embroidery

I found this neat site called the Hand Embroidery Network or HEN. "The website's aim is to encourage and pomote the practice and knowledge of the art of embroidery in all its forms and to bring together like minded people who enjoy needlework and wish to learn and share their knowledge."
You will find the following:

• An illustrated hand embroidery stitch A to Z
• Focus on embroidery basics such as threads, tools and fabrics
• Free projects such as design templates and creative backgrounds
• Take part in online exhibitions
• Embroidery events
• Embroidery techniques
• Members gallery
• Embroidery forum
• Video tutorials

The network also has a blog. Check out the listings for October's Stitch A Day. The stitch samples are quite well done.