Everything Is Small!

Small Expressions 2017 is being held at Houston Center for 

Contemporary Crafts

There are some interesting pieces in this exhibit--remember

all these pieces must be less than 15" any measurement!

Al Canner, “Mid-Century Modern Pictograph,” 2017. Cotton and hemp cords. 13 x 8 x 8 inches. 

Elizabeth Michel, "Inscription 2017" cotton warp, wool weft

Michael Rohde, “Radiant,” 2016. Silk, natural dyes. 11 x 14 x 2 inches.

 Lillian Whipple, “Weaver’s Knot,” 2016. Silk. 15 x 12 x 1 inches.

Erin Miller, “Wool Packing Peanuts,” 2016. Undyed merino wool. 10 x 3 x 10 inches. 

Linda Barlow, "Cholla" Habu Yarn, thread

Jennifer Angelo, "Jack in the Pulpit in the Age of Global Warming,

Corriedale and Merino wool

 Andrea Cook, “Garden of Roses #87 Natural,” 2017. Raw natural canvas. 10 x 10 x 3 inches. 

Sandra Delozier, "Shore", cotton thread, metallic 

embroidery thread, muslin, textile paint

Rebecca McEntee, "Hosta Leaves", silk, cotton embroidery floss

Kathie Roig, "L.O.V.E. #2, Tencel yarn, cotton yarn,

linen, fabric paint

Ellen Schiffman, "Crack" Q-tips

Emily Dvorin, “Eye Tunes,” 2014. Lampshade, music paper, silk thread, paper rush, cable ties. 12 x 13 x 12 inches.

Jane Marie, “A Song of Swift Syncopated Syllables,” 2016. Gourds, devil’s claw pins, hematite square beads, copper wire, metal spring. 12 x 11 x 4 inches. 

Julie Marks Blackstone, “Knotty Girl VIII: The Krasner Fan,” 2016. Cotton embroidery floss. 9 x 9 x 1 inche

Amy Sloboda, "Floral Fantasy #1", cording, pearl cotton,

beads, cotton batik fabric

Jean Koon, “Steam Punk Pine 2,” 2016. Pine needles, waxed linen, copper foil, stainless-steel pins. 4 x 4 x 4 inches

Joh Ricci, “Chameleon,” 2016. Nylon cord. 4 x 5 x 5 inches. Photo by the artist.

Peggy Wiedemann, “Secrets,” 2015. Pakistani grass, India rag cordage, Irish waxed linen, escutcheon, keys. 7 x 11 x 2 inches

Nicole Bunting, “Who, When, Where,” 2016. Cotton fabric and yarn. 8 x 13 inches.

 Ruth Tabancay, “Micro-organism Lab Series,” 2016. Fabric, embroidery floss, petri dish. 14 x 1 x 14 inches. 

 Kate Barber, “Bind,” 2016. Polyester, linen, cotton. 9 x 11 inches. 

Beth Blankenship, “Oiled Elder,” 2016. Glass beads, thread. 6 x 10 x 13 inches.

The Swag Bag..............

Every conference you attend will have a 'swag' bag to give you as a participant--At a weavers' conference it's the same--you can't wait to dig through your bag and find out what 'goodies' are there!
This conference did not disappoint!  The weaves of the state are so generous with their creations--if you are assembling a 'swag' bag for your conference, you just might want to adopt some of these wonderful items for your goodie bag.

Each participant received their choice of a fabric covered notebook

Inside was pen and paper for your note taking during classes

Each name tag was looped with a Kumihimo braid

Here are all the goodies from my bag laid out for one photo

A nice fiber sample--this will be fun to spin!

There were two woolen hot pads--one woven and fulled,

the other fulled wool bat--perfect for the kitchen

A woven sample with the draft

A nice note card that contains as swatch of woven fabric

on the cover

And this handy gadget, which is a warp spreader for the times

you need to add a thread--

Such great gifts from weavers far and near! 

Exhibition Hopping!

This week is the Contemporary Handweavers of Texas bi-annual conference being held

in Houston.  Always, an exciting time to shop, attend seminars, workshops, 

meet and greet new friends, hugs from 'old' friends/

Before I jump into the festivities of the conference, I

attend the special fiber exhibits being held in the city to

coordinate with conference.

First, stop is this excellent display of Ikat fashion pieces at Museum of Fine Arts--

entitled

"Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats showcases nearly 50 ikat robes and panels from the renowned Murad Megalli Collection of the Textile Museum in Washington D.C."

is a perfect connection the theme of CHT conference,

Crossing Threads:  Connecting Cultures.

Next stop is Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts, where the Handweavers of America is

sponsoring their Small Expressions--art at its smallest!

24 Artists will highlight the show, using their medium of different fiber techniques.

The pieces can be no  larger than 15" in any direction!  A major feat for any

artist.

SugarLand Art Center is hosting a special exhibit with items on

loam from Contemporary Handweavers of Houston members.

Busy day of exhibit hopping and then finishing up with my assignment

at the  conference check-in desk at Marriott to greet attendees!

Look What I Have........................

The text read, "your quilts are finished and ready for pick-up"!  Oh, so excited!  When I hand off my quilt tops to the quilter, Judy M, they are out of my mind and off my plate into the hands of someone who will make those tops shine!

Huray!  My fall stitchery pattern!  I didn't expect them to be returned

so quickly-- I'm happy!

The quilting is so fun!! pumpkins around the border--

And yes, Happy Halloween!  These blocks have been

resting for some months--so glad to have them 

assembled into quilt top

Love these faces by Amy Bradley

Mr and Mrs. Monster!

gather together with spiderwebs--so fitting!

Ready to be bound for the fall!

And One Christmas hanging--another panel that

aged well before I thought of a setting for it

Perfect quilting pattern for this joyous quilt!

Thanks Judy--once again, creative work!

Embroidery Threads?

I'm sitting in my favorite chair, stitching away on my Christmas snowmen; pulling embroidery through my cloth, I'm in a calm zone!   All is right with the world--stitch, pull, stitch again.......and my mind wanders--just how is the embroidery threads made ?

Oh, I know the basic principals of spinning the cotton or silk as it may be, but how did DMC come up with their idea of making such massive threads of color?  Lo and behold, there is a video about just the thing!
so, I present to you this interesting video on how DMC threads come to be in my stitching!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day in my mind was the last hurrah of school season and the beginning

of summer--ahh, holiday for three months!

Fun story:  when we were growing up, you could go to the store and purchase

these lovely 'plastic' wreaths to take to the grave of your loved one.

These wreaths were in the stores before Mother's Day--one year, my youngest

brother who was about 6 at the time, wanted to buy one of these wreaths to

give to mother on mother's day!  My father let him and so there was a

small chuckle from my mother when she received it with honor!

The custom of honoring ancestors by cleaning cemeteries and decorating graves is an ancient and worldwide tradition, but the specific origin of Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was first known, are unclear.

In early rural America, this duty was usually performed in late summer and was an occasion for family reunions and picnics. After the Civil War, America’s need for a secular, patriotic ceremony to honor its military dead became prominent, as monuments to fallen soldiers were erected and dedicated, and ceremonies centering on the decoration of soldiers’ graves were held in towns and cities throughout the nation.

After World War I, the day expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars.

And the poppies!  Vets would sell these little paper poppies on the street corners

and we would wear them as a sign of our dedication to the veterans.  Do we see

that today?  

The wearing of poppies in honor of America’s war dead is traditionally done on Memorial Day (not Veterans Day). The origin of the red poppy as a modern-day symbol of this day was actually the idea of an American woman, Miss Moina Michael. Read more about the inspiration for the poppy.

In war-torn battlefields, the red field poppy (papaver rhoeas) was one of the first plants to grow. Its seeds scattered in the wind and sat dormant in the ground, only germinating when the ground is disturbed—as it was by the very brutal fighting during World War 1.

The practice of wearing of poppies was further inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by Canadian soldier John McCrae. He saw the poppies in burials around his artillery position in Belgium.

Today, poppies are both the symbol of loss of life as a symbol of recovery and new life, especially in support of those servicemen who were damaged physically or emotionally. 

More Black and White.........................

This is one block that I had to remake--the first batch of fabrics didn't read

medium and dark--to me, that's the hardest thing to see in black and white

fabric or any monochromatic--but this combination worked!  

This is a large block--soon we'll be finished and ready for assembling!

Just as I finish, another Wednesday rolls around and another 

block appears--another one bites the dust though!