Last weekend for World of Threads

World of Threads, another success!! Congratulations to the festival curators, Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate.

Waiting #1, Remembrance Women's Loss, detail
Glenys Mann
Australia

It is always a pleasure seeing the works. There is a wide spectrum of styles, techniques and materials used. I got to see things other countries are working on and it is inspiring to me as a maker myself.

Interactions #28: Head to Head, detail
Gerri Spilka
USA

This year's show included 315 works from 23 countries!

Pages from Life's Journey, Series 1
Sung Ja Kim Chisholm
Canada

There were 134 artists and lucky me, I got to see a piece from my favourite Judith Martin!

 detail of Judy Martin's work

The program booklet was also really well done, as always. Nicely formatted and all artists' works photographed were acknowledged! That doesn't always happen in Verona at their festival and I am forever reminding them to write the artist's name. It is important!!

Judy Maryin's work left
Tammy Radcliff's work, right
Canada

Thanks to these kinds of very professional exhibits, the textile art form is gaining legitimacy and importance in the art world. This festival has been running for over 20 years!

Fragment
Neha Puri Dhir
India

Make an effort to see it if you can get out to Oakville.

Antique Quilts

Over the years I have bought a few antique quilts. They are lovely to hold and definitely nice on a bed. The cotton has soften after so many washes.

a log cabin from my collection

The fabric choices are always interesting since no one went out and brought the "right" colours. They repurposed fabrics they had from a  dress or apron and used fabric sample booklets.

I love the hand embroidery added to the
 blue and white gingham. Clever addition!

While I was in Verona last week, I found out Jen Jones will be exhibiting her antique Welsh quilts during Verona Tessile. She will also be giving a lecture.

I like this one but ended up not buying it in the end.

You can watch a video of Jen Jones talking about her collection by clicking here.

This quilt is so soft from all the washings. I like the white tufts from the ties.
I also like the circles that come into view as your eyes scan the quilt.

If you want to join me in Verona for 10 days/9 nights and see her quilts and enjoy the city and the entire textile event (exhibits, classes, tours and great food!) click here for information.

Austrian Quilt Gruppe

I spent a lovely day with Austrian quilters Lilo and Dani last week while I was in Vienna.

Daniele Samec's work, detail.
Hand dyed fabric and free-motion quilting with her long arm machine

 They took me out for lunch. They gave me some presents!

A present from Lilo, taken from her collection of antique,
hand-made lace and doilies.

Pins from their guild and the Austrian Association,
which I promptly pinned to my sewing bag.

They took me back to Lilo's apartment for coffee and a little 'show and share'...

Lilo and Dani's favorite block is
the log cabin and all its variations.

Lilo's piece was selected
for an exhibit in Houston in the mid-2000's

Work by Lilo Wesely and Daniele Samec.
Their version of a Dear Jane.
It is made using a combination of
quilter's cotton
and other very interesting fabrics.

...and a glimpse of her stash!

I felt at home in this room! She was very brave to show me.
Yes, well, we all have a stash don't we!

Later in the afternoon, I met many of the quilters from their guild.

What impressed me the most about the group was the way they all create works together!

"Blick über Wien" created by the group in 1998.
You can see the Vienna Woods on the left, the agricultural fields,
the Heurigers (Austrian vineyards),
the Prater Wheel, The Stephansdom steeple,
and a tiny bit of the Danube that flows through the city.

This week's project was a scrap quilt. Every member made one very large block. Those were cut in half and the job at the get-together was to decide on a pleasing design for the quilt top.

Everyone helped and made suggestions and in the end one of the ladies took the blocks home to sew them together.

A work in progress. Blocks pinned on their
 vertical design wall.

It will most likely get quilted by Dani who has a long-arm machine. She told me she is a beginner but I can tell you she does amazing work, all free hand and all without marking the quilt. She uses the seams as an indicator when drawing with thread.

The back of the group's raffle quilt quilted by Dani.
I love the way she used dark thread!
It makes the back of the quilt very interesting.

It really was a lovely day! Thank you to all the Patchwork Gruppe Wien members for welcoming me so warmly. Vielen Dank!!

Lunch with a Friend

Barbara is a textile restorer.

Barbara's hand made example

After our lunch together at her house just outside Verona...

...she showed me a few of the samples she made during her textile studies.

This is the pattern for the above piece.
You'll notice it is upside down.

The work was incredible!

If you could see this up close
you would see the tiny stitching!
 It is really beautiful.

All hand done!

This is a piece of embroidery made by her grandmother.
It was never finished.

You can see that this corner is done...

...but this corner piece is not. You can see the pencil circle marks.
That is the pattern she would have followed.
Also not finished is the centre of the 4-sided shape.

Barbara is Austrian and gave me a few suggestions of what I should do in Vienna while I am here. Yesterday, I went to the Wunderkammer at the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

The Kunst Historisches Museum in Vienna

Preparation

Sunday in Verona means church,

Floor at San Giorgio church in Verona

Detail of the floor in San Giorgio 

a big family lunch and free time to prepare for the upcoming Verona Tessile exhibits.

We cut threads for hanging Amanda McCavour's work. 

We prepared threads for hanging 50 circles.

Only several hundred to go!

Inspirational Photos from Today's Adventures

Buttons.

Floors.

 Windows.

Garden.

Pavement.

Fabric.

Paris.

Last Day of 2012

Time to look at last year's promises and make some new ones for the coming year!

I wish you all a guardian angel for 2013.

(picture taken last summer in Avignon, France.)

Circles and Shadows

Morning Coffee in Rome

view from the bathroom window,
Sulmona, Italy

China Patchwork

Close to Bay Street and Bloor Street in Toronto, there is a wonderful china shop called William Ashley's.

Displayed in their front window is their "Great Wall of China".

I find tranquility in symmetry.....

Almost symmetric- I love the piece that is missing in the corner.

HOT

 Today in Toronto it's 35 degrees (with the humidex).

photo by friend and quilter J. Freeman

It's tough to do anything when it's that hot.

Affirmation from an Expert

I loved hanging out with teacher/ textile artist Pat Pauly. I liked her energy, her way of teaching, her course material.

Pat Pauly speaking about her work

I loved her style of art work which is why I took her class.

Pat Pauly's work piled high on a table

Some of the steps we took in the class for our art experience are things I already do so that was an affirmation for me.

Things that I agree with...

Machine stitching can NOT save a piece...actually I knew that from experience (ugh) but it was good to hear it again!

Pat Pauly pointing out some machine quilting designs

Just because it was sewn in a messy way does not make it art!! (I have heard that excuse for textile art work before and it was upsetting! Glad Pat agrees.)

more of Pat Pauly's work

Only have one thing on your design wall at a time otherwise it can be distracting...need to do more of that! Since I work on several things at a time there is always too much stuff hanging up.

Pat's latest work (can't remember any titles! Sorry Pat!!)