Postcards, Jewelry, Retreats, and Shows...

Here is another lengthy post coming up - a month's worth of activity (or non-activity in some cases) 

We had a very successful Fibre Fling 3 at the beginning of April.  I sold two of my exhibition pieces and most of the items that I brought for the sales section of the show.   And I had lots of interesting feedback about my work which was very encouraging. 

Then I was off to a quilt retreat at a place called Inspired Getaways in Waba Ontario near Arnprior.  It was a quilter's heaven with everything you would need to have a great quilting weekend.   I wish my house was set up like this with cutting board tables, lots of great ironing boards and irons, a cupboard stocked with things you might forget to bring, several measuring tools, tables with ergonomic chairs, and comfortable beds.    Unfortunately for me, I started getting sick again while I was there.   This long winter played havoc with my immune system.   Three weeks later and I am just starting to feel better.   Nevertheless, we had a good four days there.

For the first evening meal, we all brought appetizers - Yum!!

Look at this great cutting table (with a wine fridge underneath:)

Each of us had our own table space

 Some of the quilters asked me to teach them how to make postcards so I gave a little tutorial.  I was pleased that there was so much interest and it was good for me to think about my process.

This is Miyo's with the gorgeous background mountains

Here is Iris with her Postcard

Close up - I really like the movement in the foreground

Alison created waves by adding white bits to the water then machine stitched the grasses on the edge of the beach

We had others but I only got photos of these three.   Aren't they fabulous?

Here is a photo of Maggie's beautiful raven banner in progress.

I haven't done much while I was sick but I have started a couple of embroideries this week because I got some new hand dyed embroidery threads from Colour Complements.   This is enough to get the creative juices flowing.

There are perle cotton, rayon and silk.   How I love variegated threads and these are gorgeous!!   Check out Lorraine Stobie's site Here

 Lorraine was also kind enough to feature some of my work with her threads on her blog on
April 7

So I painted some flowers on fabric using derwent colour sticks after drawing the flower with a fine permanent black pen.   The flowers are from photos I took in my friend's garden in the early fall. 

Then I started to hand embroider the bloom.  This was the result of one evening's stitching.

See how those variegated threads just bring out the paint colours!  I will add thinner floss to each petal to add veins.

I am planning to add some new pieces to my Etsy Shop.  I should have done this in April since it is almost too late for Mother's day but I didn't think it was wise to handle my art when I was sick and I needed to take some photos.   My friends have purchased lots of my jewelry both at the Fibre Fling, at my choir and at the retreat.   Most of the pendants were landscapes which I made from fused fabric and covered in glass but I had made a few rather abstract landscapes that were machine stitched and set in the trays without glass.   While some customers were a bit nervous about having the fabric exposed to the elements,  my fibre art friends liked to see and feel the textures created by the stitching and encouraged me to make more. 

I start by layering fabric on a stabilizer about 6" long and 1.5 inches high.   I vary it as I go along. Then I stitch across the fabrics with narrow zigzag and tiny straight stitching.  It looks pretty neat when it is done - like I should make tiny wall hangings.   Nevertheless I cut them into 1 x 1.5 inch or 1 x 1 inch pieces, back them with felt and glue them into the trays.   These are fun to stitch but a little more difficult to set into the trays.   At least I don't have to worry about gluing the glass which sometimes fails leaving tiny air pockets to glitter on the piece. I plan to add some of these to my Etsy shop.

I am still taking orders for the glass covered landscape pendants and would like to find a shop that would carry them.   My choir members have done a great job in promoting them and I am so happy to have found something that can be sold at a modest price.  I'll add some of these to my Etsy shop as well.  Although I must say that so far I have not made any sales on Etsy.  I'm not sure how to get more traffic to my shop but perhaps it is because I don't have very much up there yet.  On the other hand I have certainly bought a lot of things there.....

I had an order for green ones so I made these up this week

I also made a few more postcards which I will add to my shop as well.

A reminder that the Focus on Fibre Art Association will be having the opening of their show "Prairies" on Sunday May 4 at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Extension Gallery, Enterprise Square in Edmonton.   The show will move to various locations throughout the summer and fall.  More details can be found at   Prairies

I have three pieces in the show and so wish I could be there to see how other fibre artists interpret the prairies.

The length of this post has got to be a new record even for me......I'm linking this marathon post to

Off the Wall Friday     Check it out!

Quilt Canada, FFAA and Fibre Fling 3

I managed to avoid getting sick for most of this long long winter but it caught up with me a few weeks ago and I succumbed to a nasty virus which turned into sinusitis.   Finally I am returning to the land of the living.

Throughout all of that I have been preparing for our third annual Fibre Fling 3 show and sale on April 4 and 5 at Kitchissippi United Church, 630 Island Park Drive in Ottawa (see my Exhibitions page for details).   I will have several pieces in the main exhibition - both embroideries and art quilts.  I have just finished a second mushroom piece (the first was part of last year's colour challenge - tomato red - and was a mixture of applique, machine and hand embroidery).   This one is from a photo of two groups of mushrooms which I photo transferred to fabric and embroidered by hand.   I am also submitting a piece for this year's colour challenge - turquoise.

I call this one 'The Conversation'

This view of Trout River Pond and Elephant Head is called Local Colour in celebration of the colourful place names in Newfoundland

 In the sales area we will have smaller items that people can purchase and take away with them.  I plan to bring some of my fibre jewelry, journals, art cards, bookmarks, postcards and mini embroideries.   Here are a few samples of items I may have for sale there. 

Please note the snowstorm outside the window on March 22!

two postcards in a double frame

another framed postcard

3 piece set of fabric landscape jewelry

I found these 1 x 2"horizontal trays that work so well with tiny landscapes

The array of art to be exhibited is amazing!  We have art quilters, mixed media artists, felters, embroiderers, clothing and costume makers, doll makers and much more.  

I am saving the best news for last!!  This year I submitted items for Quilt Canada and my quilt "Kitchen Party" has been juried into the show.  This piece has special meaning for me. The photo inspiration for this work was taken by Neville Hamilton who passed away last summer.  Last week, his widow and my friend, presented me with a framed copy of that photo which now hangs on my wall.  

Kitchen Party

I also submitted three pieces for jurying for the Focus on Fibre Arts Association show 'Prairie' in January.   I was thrilled to find out that all three pieces made it into the show!!  I was drawn to this theme because it meant lots of embroidery, skies, fields, grasses.......and I channelled the love of prairie that I have seen so often in people who live or hail from the prairie provinces.

Prairie Dawn - machine stitched, painted satin sky - based on W.O. Mitchell's book 'Who has seen the Wind'

A River Runs Through it - hand stitched

'Prairie: Where Earth Meets Sky' - hand stitched with painted satin sky

The show begins on May 4  in Edmonton and runs into the fall  Prairies

Well I wouldn't be Canadian if I didn't talk about the weather.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.  So here are three thousand.....

march 20 - first day of spring

march 22 -third day of spring

march 22 - view from my front window

When will it end?   Today the sun is shining but bitterly cold!

I am linking up with Off the Wall Friday    Click on the link to see what fibre artists are doing this week.

More Fibre Jewelry and Other Stuff

This week (in spite of a wickedly sore back) I managed to finish up a few things and make a few more pieces of jewelry in the evenings while watching the olympics (Go Canada!).  Most of my days have been spent on  publicity work for our upcoming fibre arts show.

Besides my little landscape pendants I tried out a new idea.  I embroidered tiny trees on fabric and made pendants out of them.  The big ones are approximately 1" x 1 1/2", the small are 1" square.

I added some sparkly paint to this one

Then I ordered some earring backings and made a few landscape earrings (very small - about 13 x 18mm).  Here is my first pair drying in a bowl of rice to keep them upright.  They have a little sparkle too.

These are waiting to be glued into the settings

I also embroidered some tiny flowers to make into a pendant.  I like the embroidery but the finishing was a bit messy (that's why I am not showing the finished piece:) so it's back to the drawing board.   It's quite small as well - maybe 2.5 inches wide.

 Since it seems I am into jewelry making I designed myself a new business card just for the jewelry.  I used my basic computer editing program and was surprised (after several hours of work) to find that it uploaded to the printer's with no glitches and two weeks later the cards were in my mailbox.

At last I finished my embroidered tree.  The stitching was finished weeks ago but I needed to back it and zigzag the edges.    It still doesn't have a name and I agonized over how to display it - over a mat, under a mat, on a canvas........

Under a tan coloured mat

On top of a mat

I finally framed it in a reddish brown frame under a 9 x 12" tan mat but the mat covers part of the embroidery so I may need to re think.


And lastly, I put the final hand stitch on my new mushroom piece (Small Wonders II).  It measures about 8" x 8".

 And now the fun of figuring out how to finish it.   Originally I had chosen two fabrics to use as a border then wrap around a canvas but it was not quite right.    Then I had an idea which involves photographing part of the background and printing it out on fabric then using it to cover a stretched 12" x 12" canvas.  I would add a narrow plain band of colour around the piece first.  Might be fine or might be too busy.   My other idea was to extend the background in paint on a canvas again with a narrow border around the fabric part.  I really like the idea of combining fabric pieces with painted edges.  Or I might just add a mat and frame.  Finishing sometimes takes as much time and effort as the stitching, doesn't it?

I have started watching a bit of my linear landscapes course (Gloria Loughman).  I have made a pattern and enlarged it - all ready for use.   I've chosen some fabrics but I want to paint a sky piece for it.   I don't have enough time to really focus on it yet so it is on hold for now.    I have to finish my turquoise piece for the colour challenge - almost done - just need to mount it on a canvas and add hanging wire and a label.  Oh, yes and we need to deliver it in a fabric bag - that's the hard part for me.

I guess I have been busy!

This post is linked up to Off the Wall Fridays    Check in to see what other fibre artists are creating this week.

Sparkles and Shadows on Snow

Mark Your Calendars for Fibre Fling 3

Out of the Box Fibre Artists and Kitchissippi United Church are partnering again for our third annual Fibre Fling Show, Sale and Tea on April 4 and 5 at Kitchissippi United Church in Ottawa.  Please note our trendy orchid poster!

April 4-5, 2014

Fibre Fling 3 – Textile art show and sale

Kitchissippi United Church, 630 Island Park Drive, Ottawa, Ontario

Out-of-the-Box Fibre Artists and the Kitchissippi United Church invite you to a show and sale of fibre and mixed media art on Friday and Saturday in the church hall. This is a fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Hours: Friday 10 am-8 pm and Saturday 10 am-5 p.m. Admission is $5. High Tea will be available on Saturday 12-5pm for an additional $10.  Light refreshments available throughout the show.  For more information visit the News section of our website under Exhibitions at  www.out-of-the-box.org  

We are excited about this unique show after last year's success with 43 artists exhibiting over 200 pieces of fibre art - art quilts, mixed media, beading, embroidery, dolls, and much more.   Our membership has grown and so have our colour challenge pieces which will be part of a special showing.    We have expanded our sales table where you can purchase smaller works of art, art cards, jewelry, felted items, scarves, bags, journals, bookmarks....And of course there is the delicious high tea on Saturday!   We hope to continue to raise awareness about the quality and variety of fibre art in our Region.  And we hope to be able to raise money for a foundation that touches many lives.  We are so proud to partner again with Kitchissippi Church and to be part of a fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation which continues to do grassroots work to turn the tide on AIDS in Africa and better the lives of AIDs orphans and their caregivers.  This organization is based on a strong desire to work with local organizations to fight the spread of  AIDS.  

If you are in the Ottawa area in April please come and join us!

Colour Challenge in Fabric and Work in Progress

Last year I took part in a colour challenge with my fibre arts group.  The colours were midnight blue and orange (tomato red) and I chose orange.   This year's colours were yellow, turquoise, or black and white.   I started a turquoise piece in the summer but wasn't sure where to go with it (some stamping on fabric didn't work out so well) so I put it away.   Time is getting short so I have started working on it again.  It is a scene from Newfoundland (Trout River Pond and Elephant Head) and I got to thinking about all the colourful place names in NL.  

So I decided that I would embroider some of those place names on the solid turquoise section of the piece after embroidering some tone on tone on the same sections.   The finished piece will be 12" x 12" and I have finished the middle section which is the landscape and I have done some embroidery on the top and bottom sections.

middle section is 4" x 11"

It will be surrounded by tone on tone embroidery

    My next step is to embroider place names around the central part - Trout River Pond, Elephant Head, Heart's Desire, Conception Bay, Fogo, Come By Chance, Cupids, Fortune........I will call it "Local Colour".    I hope it works out.  If not I will be picking out a lot of embroidery.......

Last year I submitted an appliqued and embroidered piece called "Small Wonders of the Forest" inspired by photos of a grouping of tiny orange mushrooms.   It is still part of the colour challenge travelling exhibition soon to be joined by this year's colour challenge pieces.

 I recently started a new mushroom piece inspired by another photo of those same group of  mushrooms.  It is mostly embroidery on a photo transfer.   The positioning of this group of mushrooms reminded me of a conversation taking place between two groups (maybe I should call it "The Conversation"?).   It is still a work in progress with lots of hand stitching needed on the background.  I am thinking of adding an orange red border and finishing with a stretched canvas.  I have the perfect piece of fabric that I dyed in a class awhile back.)

I finally got some of my new landscape necklaces up on   ETSY       When I can find some time I would like to work on fabric beaded necklaces as well.   Right now we are busy with publicity for our annual spring show in April.   More on that later.....