Contemporary Handweavers of Houston Annual Sale

It's just perfect!!  The CHH (Contemporary Handweavers of Houston) held their annual sale in late October.......and I'm here to attend!  The first time in years I've been able to see what our members are creating. The sale this year was held in our Guild House--a smaller venue than in years past.  When I arrived on the first morning of the sale, it was already bustling with activity--shoppers galore!  That's a good thing! 

As I roamed through the crowd, I ran into many of my weaver friends--here is Olga and Rosemary looking over the jewelry table.  Olga is a world class felt maker and had several of her jewelry pieces in the market.

Lovely hand-woven pillows

and the tea towels!  Oh my--what a variety!

Feast your eyes on these goodies!

There were even Handspun yarns

And batts of spinning fibers!

Here are a few of the different hand-woven items--loved the luggage tags!

Small trinkets for stocking stuffers

And the silk hand dyed scarves........................

Rag rugs for any room of your house

Tree ornaments.............and cards

Silk paper orbs

And let's not forget the wearable garments

and you say, what did I buy?

One of those gorgeous spinning batts--perfect for a project--more later on that...

This lovely crackle weave towel by Marian Carlson

And shadow weave towel by Barb-e-designs

A felted pouch for my business cards, clever creation by Rosemary. 

I was excited to attend this event and see so many of my weaver friends and their creations!

Whoooooooo! Happy Halloween!!!!

Whooooo!  Trick or Treat!  It's always a treat to visit with expatchers quilting group!  And Judy's house as usual is decorated for the occasion............

Primitive Gatherings magazine and their patterns--here Judy used one of the calendar series to create this whimsical wall hanging--and don't you like the way she used the cheese basket as the background.  

Table toppers are always a hit on any table

There are no witches here.........

Draped over Judy's long arm quilter are these two hangings ready for the finishing touches.   She makes them ahead of time, ready to be given as gifts when the opportunity presents itself.

And she is cutting flannel for her daughter's snuggly blanket 

The color combinations are super duper

Here is a stack of flannel blankets waiting for the blanket stitching around the corners

Baby blankets to be given away as need arises--

More wonderful fall hangings in the background with Judy M(standing) and Camilla (our 'mother' who is moving away soon--ahh, we are going to miss her!)

Linda and Sandy are conferring on a pattern app for their I-pads

Now, isn't this just smashing!!?

That's Brenda sewing away

and one of missing has come to visit--Judy C has been supervising work on her retirement home and that keeps her busy busy!

I have a passion for this magazine and so does Judy M.  Primitive Gatherings is such an interesting publication--some quilting, some wool work, little stitchery--Judy made this wool work from one of the PG magazines.

Here Linda is stitching down the binding on her Christmas quilt. 

No Tricks here, just plain good Treats!

Let Us Zig, Let us Zag!

This is just something about Frankie's Knitted Stuff .  Not only are there great knitting patterns, but also unusual patterns.  And too boot--the patterns are all FREE! for a donation to Children's Liver Disease Foundation. 

I liked this pattern, but I'm not making a blanket!  Nope, but a scarf! 

What can you do with only 10 stitches?  Well, this is easy Zig Zag for sure!

One strip is finished--but, this is going to take forever.....if I knit only one strip soooooo why not do several at one time?!  Genius, huh?

Sure, it's genius, except for all those loose threads hanging everywhere, but it is quicker to knit all at the same time

 

We are making progress--there could be just one small problem--maybe, the ZZ's are too uniform!  Stay tuned for the finished scarf results...............

LOST.............................!

Lost--one motivation.  Can I find it again?  And Soon?!!  Okay, let's dig through our STASH bin and see what's been aging for awhile==maybe, we'll find motivation there. 

Of Course, here is that darling purse pattern/kit I bought way back in ____ (?) who knows when. 

We even took time to mark the pattern on the wool panel.......And it's just been sitting around--aging!

Now, do you have any idea how long it took for me to do this little bit of stitching?  Answer--not long......once I found

 the box of perle cottons floss--recipe calls for just plain embroidery floss, but I think perle cotton would look nicer.

Oh my gosh!  Here is a pattern that I had stuffed down in the bottom of my knitting bag.....

And there is the knitting that was begun--or how long ago??  And it's handspun wool too boot.

 

Oh Gee Whiz--I bought this scarf kit from a rep-- I remember-- I thought it was absolutely smashing when I saw it--but, haven't done a darn thing with it yet.  Okay, we'll let it age awhile longer.

Motivation is out there and I'm hoping I can find it soon. 

'INTERWOVEN V'

“INTERWOVEN V” is a juried exhibition that  runs from October 19, 2013 through October 27, 2013.  Fiber will be the primary medium – cloth, yarn, paper, basketry, felt or leather.  This exhibit is featured at 18 Hands Gallery and the opening reception is October 19th.

Tapestry piece by Gerry Woodhouse
This hand dyed woven purse is by Kyla Crawford.
You have seen this piece before on the blog, but look how Scharine exhibits this lovely silk shibori scarf
There are many wonderful fiber pieces in this special gallery offering--take a look at the website or better still visit the gallery--only one week though!

TEXAS CONTEMPORARY ART FAIR

 

What a treat to visit Texas Contemporary Art Fair recently!  The displays and exhibits from nation wide galleries and artists was set up nicely, with interesting grid path to accompany visitors.  Take a look at the website and browse through the photos and special exhibits.  I took a few photos....................

 

 

This piece was impressive from a walk by and then upon a closer inspection.........

Why not do this same thing with paint chips?

Tara Tucker

Bigfoot Loves Minicorn, 2013
Presented by Rena Bransten Gallery

I love this Big Foot!

He certainly can take up a large portion of your room........

And a true "Living Room"

Pablo Siquier

1308, 2013
Presented by Sicardi Gallery

 

And why not make pieces from sugar casts?

The whole space gave off the sense of contemporary!

Clayton Brothers

Wishy Washy, 2006
Presented by Mark Moore Gallery

 

Ewerdt Hilgemann

Imploded Column (2:1), 2008
Presented by Kopeikin Gallery