Upcoming Textile Online Auction

Upcoming Textile Online Auction

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The Gail Harker Center for Creative Arts is having an online textile auction beginning Friday, November 15 and ending Sunday, November 17, 2024. Previously, I showed you the artworks I created for the auction but I thought you might like to take a look at some of the wonderful auction items created by Gail’s students. The theme for the textile pieces is The Enticing World of Plants. There are more than 50 textile artworks that are 5″ x 7″ with beautiful plant designs. If you are in the USA or Canada, you will be able to register and bid on items. Sorry to all of you across the pond, but the bidding is limited to the US and Canada due to shipping costs/concerns. I still thought that you would want to see all the lovely artwork.

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These wonderful floral pieces are by classmate Christina Fairley Erickson. She has used a variety of techniques to create these small pieces of art. You can read the descriptions of all the items on the online auction site by clicking on the photos there.

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These pieces above are by Penny Peters. She was one of Gail’s original City and Guilds students when Gail first came to the US and is now an instructor at Gail’s center.

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Here are three of the pieces that I created and I have three more in this series in the auction.

I hope you will go and take a look at the auction and if you’re in the US or Canada, that you register to bid. There are some beautiful pieces that would make great holiday gifts for your friends and family!

This center is where I take classes and it’s one of my favorite places. Thanks Gail for everything you have taught me. I have really appreciated and benefitted from your expertise and knowledge of all things textile and embroidery.

Fun with Sauna Hats

Fun with Sauna Hats

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About 18 months ago (my, doesn’t time fly?) my friend Duncan, who had recently built a sauna in his garden, asked if I could advise him on making felt sauna hats for him and his wife.  This was the first time I’d heard of such a thing (I’m not a big sauna fan) so I asked him to tell me about them and I did a bit of research to understand what was required.

Duncan and Claire’s self-build sauna

Duncan had already bought some Jacob wool prefelt for the hats. He was going to try following some online wet felting videos but he couldn’t find precisely what he needed and was starting to realise it might be a bit tricky so he asked me to help.

The prefelt was the first challenge.  I don’t make garments, partly because I can’t wear wool at all, and partly because I suppose I’m just more interested in other things like pictures, sculptures and homewares. So, I’d never made a hat, but if I did, I would use wool tops/rovings or batts, not prefelt.  One of the challenges of creating a 3-dimensional item using a resist is getting a good smooth and even finish. If you don’t wrap the wool tightly around the resist edges, and spend a long time working those edges, coaxing the wool to fit snugly around the resist and firming the edges thoroughly in the early stages, you end up with a visible ridge of thicker felt where the resist edges were. Basically, some wool gets pushed off the edges of the resist and the two sides of your piece felt together along that line, creating a ridge.  With prefelt you are adding joining together pieces of ‘fabric’ into the mix, which makes getting a smooth and even finish even more of a challenge.

In my studio I made a small sample – to see how I’d go about joining the prefelt.  I didn’t have any of Duncan’s prefelt so I used some white commercially produced prefelt that was to hand.  I think it was 80% merino wool and 20% silk.

I drew a rather random bell-shape for the resist. Then I cut one half of the prefelt larger than the resist and the second half smaller. I thought this would give me the best join without it being too thick.

I cut slits into the larger half to help it fit over the resist’s curved lines

bell-shaped resist
cutting side one slightly bigger than resist
cutting slits to wrap prefelt over resist
wrapping first side of prefelt over resist
adding second half of prefelt

 

I then worked it in the normal way, paying special attention to those tricky edges. Here’s the finished item, and a shot each of the ‘hat’ with my hand and with the resist for scale.

 

finished sample
sample with hand, for scale
comparing the ‘hat’ with the resist

I was pretty pleased: even felt, nice smooth finish with no ridges.  A sauna hat any smallish mammal might be proud to wear.

And then, well, life sort of got in the way and we never quite got round to making the hats.  Recently, Duncan and I got talking sauna hat making again and I was appalled that 18 months had gone by. Happily we found a mutually convenient day last week and set about our delayed hat project.

The 18 months delay turned out to have added a couple of additional issues.  Firstly, moths had got to Duncan’s Jacob prefelt and there were quite a few holes in it.  Secondly, I’d forgotten a couple of the things I’d decided/done when making the practice piece.

 As I hadn’t used the Jacob prefelt before, I suggested we make a 20cm square sample to give Duncan a very quick first lesson in wet felting and to check the shrinkage.

 

a felted square to check shrinkage

We measured Duncan’s head, made some decisions about how he broadly wanted the hat to fit and I made some calculations. We’d got 35% shrinkage in the sample but I could see it would have been possible to get more and I wanted a good firm felt. It was also clear that this hat is supposed to fit quite loosely so I rounded the measurements up a bit.

Quick calculations

I drew the resist and rechecked my calculations.  It really did look huge.

Duncan demonstrating the resist

Undeterred we set about cutting out the prefelt with one half larger and the other half smaller than the resist. We also partially felted a scrap of the prefelt to make a hanging hoop – leaving the ends unworked so they would attach to the hat

Cutting the prefelt
Partially felted tab to make a hanging loop
first go at the layout
second go at the layout

We wetted the ends of the larger half and folded them over the resist but then I decided it was probably better to wrap the tabbed ends over the other half of the prefelt rather than the resist.

I’m not sure it made a lot of difference which side was laid out first but I did miss out one important step that I taken with the sample.  With the sample I had torn and fluffed out the edges of the prefelt where they joined to give a smoother join.  I forgot about that and although the final hat was fine, it did have a thicker section at the join that I could have minimized with tearing rather than cutting the edges of the prefelt. If I made another, I’d rethink that bit.

 Duncan chose minimal surface decoration so added a spray of assorted autumn-coloured locks to one side. And here are both sides as the work gets underway.  You can see the loop has been added to the top (a bit off-centre!) and yes, that white spot on the plain side is a moth hole that we missed when first patching bits in. 

When we got to the rolling stage, it still looked huge.

the giant hat ready for rolling

We laughed. A LOT. I was a little worried I’d got the measurements / calculations wrong. But only a little.  This was mainly experimentation.  If I’d been teaching I’d have made at least one full scale hat and with the right prefelt beforehand. Honest!

Here’s Duncan happily rolling away. I usually use a pool noodle to roll the work around but I’d forgotten to take one and just bubble wrap seemed to work OK.

Duncan kept trying it on and we kept laughing.  Happily though, it was getting smaller.

 

You can see the progress we were making against the resist.

When it was time for me to go home this was as far as we’d got.  The sauna hat needed a little more work to finish it off: some final fulling and shaping but I think it was looking pretty good. And Duncan was delighted with it, which is the main thing.  We’d worked about 6 hours in total minus a brief (but delicious) lunch break but that included making the shrinkage sample and some faffing around making decisions and dealing with moth holes.  I made sure Duncan knew how to finish it off and left him to it.

I was amazed the next morning to see that the previous evening he’d actually set about the second hat and had made excellent progress.

Two hats in progress

 Duncan worked a couple more hours on the hats and here’s the happy couple modelling their sauna hats.  They’ve already been used and apparently work really well keeping your head cool so you can stay a little longer in the sauna.

I asked Duncan how he’d found it.  Firstly, he said it was a really fun day. Knowing nothing about it previously, he’d found it an interesting and mindful activity. He was also surprised at how very long it takes. I think that’s true of everyone who first tries wet-felting.

I really enjoyed it too.  I realised that I’d never previously jointly felted anything with another person. If I’m teaching it’s more demonstration, coaching and checking on my part, with the students doing the work. As this was quite a big undertaking, I demonstrated on the hat, Duncan did most of the grafting but I did join in sometimes either to give him a break, to see how things were going or just to share the load. It was certainly big enough in the rubbing phase for us both to work on it at the same time.

It was also a reminder, though, not to let 18 months to lapse between making a sample and making the final piece and not to make something for the first time with too little preparation, unless it’s with a friend and for fun.

 I don’t think my future lies in hat-making but I did enjoy trying it out. Have you tried something new recently? We’d love to hear about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking Inspiration

Taking Inspiration

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Where do the ideas for your felt projects come from? I find inspiration in a whole range of sources, sometimes it’s photos of flora or fauna I’ve taken on holiday or just stumbled across on the web, sometimes it is scrappy little samples from playing in the studio that spark an idea for a bigger project and sometimes it’s other artists’ work.

Potters are a favourite source for this last group, as a part-time potter myself I am probably exposed to other potters work more than most and I love the technical challenge of thinking how my favourite shapes and forms made in clay can be translated into a completely different medium like wet felt.

My interest was piqued by a post in the Sculptural Wet Felting group on Facebook (if you aren’t a member I recommend joining, there are some very clever people doing amazing things with felt in there!). The post introduced Ursula Morley Price’s incredible ceramic artworks, her name is definitely worth Googling and her incredible work appears to be for sale in galleries all over the world.

The post on FB set us a challenge, to interpret Ursula’s work in wet felt…. Challenge accepted!

Labour weekend was the second of our annual Auckland Fun Felter’s retreats, my (probably overly-ambitious) plans to make a 2 storey cat cave and a felted origami footstool were pushed aside so I could play with felted “fins” instead.

I confess, I had made similar pieces in felt before, these I called my “flappy vessels”. Most have been sold or gifted but I still have these two, my “helter-skelter vessel”:

and a hanging light:

But seeing Ursula’s work inspired me to go all-out adding fins to my “vessels”.

The first attempt was a hat, using my current favourite “Dragon’s Breath” merino and silk blend:

It reminds me of an erupting volcano, it doesn’t have a name yet but my thoughts are headed in that direction. Any ideas for a name?

I was pleased with how the hat turned out so set myself an extra challenge of making a vessel that could stand aloft on its fins, I think this one will be called “levitate”:

I am tempted to trim some more of the base fins so it is left standing on just a handful and make it appear more like it is floating.

Are you feeling inspired? I’d love to see what you create!

Mississippi Valley textile museum sign on stone mill office building
2024, 75th Anniversary exhibition at the Almonte Textile Museum Part2

2024, 75th Anniversary exhibition at the Almonte Textile Museum Part2

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Welcome back to the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild 75th anniversary show. We are still at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in the upstairs gallery space. At the end of the last post, i left you watching the slide show and sipping your glass of wine.

18.1)  Felted sheep workshop 2004 one of the slides from the slide show

Now if I can pull you away from the slide show, we can check out the little landscape on the window ledge.

felted landscape with spinner in front of stone wall and window19.1) Small landscape Felt

felted landscape with spinner 19.2) Jan Scott,  Maureen’s  Vacation (Spinning at the Arches, in Arches Provencal Park), Needle Felting, Wool on a felt backing (recycled pool table felt)

You have seen this little landscape in a blog before. Maureen Shared her vacation,  Part 2 Maureen shared her vacation

Just past the slide show and landscape, and before the next window are the Elephant weaving and the small blanket

Handwoven blanket and elfifant blanket 20.1) Elephant and blanket

20.21) Elizabeth Watt, Here Be Elephants, 2015, Summer and Winter pick up on rigid heddle, Cotton

 20.22-20.23) close ups

The Elephants were really woven on a rigid Heddle loom, but from the details you would expect that Elizabeth used a very multi-harness loom!

20.3) OVWSG Members (Amanda Carrigan Ower) Ex and Sale Raffle Prize (Shawl), Hand Spinning, Weaving, Wool.

Now we have reached the far wall, which holds 3 pieces, the information for the show and the list of pieces.

 21.1) Panel 8 End wall – Rug, Wovern shirt,  Icelandic tapestry

21.21-21.22) Nancy Ingram, Memories of the 1950’s, 1980s, Plain weave woven bound rug, Warp-Seine Twine, Weft-2ply wool

21.31) Jean Sharp,  Loom Designed Sweater, 1983, Handwoven, Reinforced front opening, tabby weave, wool (2-ply Briggs and Little Natural Colours, White, Grey, Dark Grey)

21.32-21.33)close ups of Jean’s Sweater. I like the subtlety of colours and how well it works in plane weave.

21.41) Sami Lemperger, Woven Dreamscape, 2022, Woven in tabby and twill with tapestry, embroidery and felting embellishments, Tencel, various wools, yak, cashmere, mohair and silk.

This is quite a spectacular woven piece. We got to see it at guild meeting show and tell. Sami wove it while she was in Iceland. Lets take a closer look.

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21.42-21.46) close up of the long tapestry weaving

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Now we are at the last section of the show, the center. it is made up of the Coverlet stand, the Plinth and then finally we can look up and see who is swimming around up there.

22.1) Center,  Coverlet stand, Plinth, Mer’s

Lets start with the Coverlet stand.

22.111-22.1111) Coverlet stand.

22.2) Ann Sunahara, Bewrtha Gray Hayes Coverlet, 2017, Overshot weave, cotton warp wool weft.

22.21-22.22) close ups  Gamp of Birtha Grey Haze’s Miniture overshot coverlet patterns

we had a wonderful workshop exploring the work of Birtha Grey Haze who created many miniature overshot patterns long before the development of computer programs that do drafting for you. this is one of the coverlets woven on the old guild 100″ loom.  it takes 2 people to wave on this loom. there were quite a few coverlets woven from this warp but each in different colours.

22.3) Judith Rygiel, Fundy Trees Afghan, mid 1990’s, 50 shaft drawloom, Wool (Damask)

22.31-22.32 Close up of Judiths afghan.

22.4) Judith Rygiel, Grey and White Coverlet, Mid 1960’s 8 shaft Summer and winter, wool, cotton

22.41-22.42) close up of Judith’s other Coverlet

Summer and winter is a weave that is darker on one side and lighter on the other side. One side is the reverse of the other.

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Next lets look at the pieces on the Plinth.

22.501 (Plinth) 22.502 (Plinth) 2

22.50) Diane Dillon (In Memoriam) Saori tunic/ Poncho, 2023, Handwoven Wool, Silk, and mixed unknown fibers.

22.51-22.52) Details of Diane’s poncho

Diane wove this fabric on her Saori loom. Most Saori looms have only 2 harnesses and weave plane weave. it is a meditative way of weaving and can be very relaxing. She was enjoying designing as she wove then used her yardage to crate the poncho.

22.60) OVWSG Members, (Amanda Carrigan, Owner), Indiski Shawl, 2011/12 (Spinning) 2018/19 (Knitting), Hand spinning, knitting, Cria (Baby alpaca)

22.61-22.63 Close up of baby alpaca, hand spun and hand knit

when i first saw this i thought it was qiviut (muskox), it was so soft and looked so cozy.

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We have now almost reached the end of the show, so look up and see the Mer’s having fun.

 23.10-23.11) Hanging (above the plinth)

 23.13) Jan Scott,  Mer Family and pets (Mr. Mer, Mrs. Mer, Shark Boy, Sharkette, and Miss Manta) 2020-2024, Needle Felting with full armature, Various Wool, core wool, silk, Armature; Aluminum and steel floral wire

(Miss Mer is missing and is likely hiding in the living room looking for a boyfriend!) Lets start by checking out what Mr. Mer is up to.

23.21-23.23) Mr. Mer, Norther Pike Merperson, with his tennis racket and felted tennis ball.

Mr. Mer has decided his hunting Quadra-dent (like a Tri-dent, but has 4 dents instead of the usual 3 dents) is not quite appropriate for this venue and has grabbed his tennis racket and ball in hopes of playing Tennis with someone, possibly his lovely wife. A quick game of tennis will allow him to show off his lovely new silk-fiber pike-spots to Mrs. Mer!! unfortunately i have not yet made her a tennis racket.

23.31-23.32) Mrs. Mer, Butterfly Koi Merperson

Mrs. Mer, while appreciative of her husband’s lovely new spots dose not yet have a tennis racket. She is admiring her lovely new hair that Monika from the olive sparrow made for her. I am sure she will spend time admiring Mr. Mer’s Muscles later.

23.41-23.43) Shark Boy, hamerhead shark Merperson

Shark boy and Sharkette have been having fun swimming in circles over the people walking through. He is giving the girls a most flirtatious smile. I wonder where he got that from…. Mr. Mer.  I wonder if he is looking for a girl friend?

23.51-23.52) Sharkette, adolecent femail grate white shark

Sharkette is having a wonderful time, you can tell by her smile (23.51)!

23.61-23.62) Miss Manta, adolescent female Deep water manta.

I don’t think Miss Manta has had this much fun since her photo shoot in the front garden, she has been doing loops and is grinning maniacally! There must be some invisible krill in the air as well as historical mill dust!!

24.1-24.2 One final look at the show before people join us!

Oh I can hear them coming up the stairs, hold on to your wine glass the Vernissage is starting!

25.1 One of our guild members checking out the show

There is a mix of people, ones I recognize and some I don’t.  there are quite a few guild members, both past and present,  stop and have a chat, many can tell you more about the pieces on display. I’ve spotted our Guild President Jean and Liane who took over organizing the show from Carl who is here too.  If you have a chance, have a chat with Michael, who is the Executive Director and Curator of the museum, who is spotted here too.

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Assorted shots of the vernissage

The show seems to be a big hit! I will let you mingle, go back and look at your favorite pieces again and maybe a bit more wine. (I sound like a lush, but this has been 3 weeks that we have been virtually touring this show, so your last glass is likely empty by now!)

I hope you have enjoyed the show! There may be a bit more wine left downstairs, if you hurry! The other show that opened in the main exhibition hall is fabulous too and you may want to take a quick look before you drive home.

Have a wonderful drive home and dont forget to have some fun felting!!

 

A Hat Workshop

A Hat Workshop

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A couple of weeks ago I did a hat class in a small town near me, Spencerville. It is a great little gallery with some workshop space. https://www.spencerstreetmuse.ca/

I had 4 students including the owner. These are the samples I brought to show some possibilities. Sorry for the bad picture, I had to cut it out of one of the other pictures.  The 3 ladies all picked the same style of hat, the black and blue one in the middle.

And the gentleman wanted a wizard’s hat for part of a costume. Nothing too tall so we were good for space and time.

You know the drill first you lay out all the wool.

Then you wet it and rub it with Tupperware juice jug lids on top of the bubble wrap. Two of them are getting great patterns in their bubbles. You can see the shape of the wizard hat bottom right.

Then there is the rolling.

Next is the scariest part for most new people…..the cutting.

Then we moved on to more rolling and then some scrunching and a little tossing to get them down to the right size. I do have some basic hat blocks but I make people try them on to see if they fit like they want them to. Then we can fine-tune them before the final shaping. At this point, the gentleman had to leave to make it to work on time so I gave him some information and told him to contact me if he needed help. So no more pictures of his hat.

 

And the finished hats, they all turned out really well. And one of the ladies bout the black and blue sample hat so I will have to make another.

Sorry for the sort of quick post with not much info but our Guild Sale and Exhibition is this weekend and I am in charge( silly people letting that happen). We will be on our second and last day when you read this.

Giant pigeon feet.
Public Art in New York, New York

Public Art in New York, New York

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I have had a busy past couple of months including going to my class in La Conner, WA, getting Covid (again) and traveling to New York City (NYC). I haven’t had much time for any fiber art. So today, I thought I would show you some of the public art in NYC. We go to NYC once a year since my parents had a time share there and they gave it to us. So I get a bit of big city experience and culture annually. Since we have been there many times, we have done most of the popular tourist activities and now we look for things that are free or less expensive to see. There are actually many free things to do in NYC, you just have to look for them and be prepared to do some walking. Google informed me after I got home, that I walked 19 miles the week we were in NYC. We actually walked a little less than usual as my sister caught a cold and wasn’t feeling well. Now on to the photos!

The view out of an airplane window with a moon and moon's reflection.

We had a red eye flight to NYC and I saw this double moon image out my window as we were about to arrive at 6:20 am. It’s a reflection of the moon in the window but it looks like two moons.

Dennis sitting in an indoor POPS in NYC.

Since we got to NYC so early, we weren’t able to check in to our time share. I was concerned in October that the weather might be cold or rainy and so I looked up public places to hang out. It turns out that NYC has a bunch of these called Privately Owned Public Spaces. This is a program where businesses get a tax break if they build a space inside or outside their building that can be open to the public. There are more than 550 of these throughout the city and you can look up where they are here. So Dennis and I spent a couple of hours hanging out in this lovely public space. We would have liked there to be couches, as we were quite tired, but we survived.

Statue covered with pigeons on Columbus Circle by Central Park.

On to the art, this is a statue/memorial at Columbus Circle by Central Park. I took the photo because of the pigeons. They are everywhere in NYC. Keep that idea in mind for a future piece of art.

Mural on the side wall of 'ritas restaurant in NYC.

Our first dinner was at ‘ritas and they have this fabulous mural on the side of their building. They also have great food and we ended up there during happy hour and got a great deal on tacos and nachos, yum.

The next day we went down to 14th Street at Union Square. We went to a farmer’s market (I have loads of photos from this but decided I had enough to post about with just looking at public art) and then on down 14 Street. These are three buildings along the way.

The reason we were on 14th Street was to see Art in Odd Places. This is an annual event and combines visual art, activism and performance art. These are a couple of the ones that we saw but apparently we missed many more. Most of the art moves around on 14th Street and interacts with people walking on the sidewalk.

One wonderful thing that happened was we ran into these elephants from The Great Elephant Migration. They are created from the size and shapes of real individual elephants and made from lantana camara which is a noxious weed. You can read more about the project on their website. While I was looking at the website, I realized that these elephants are coming to the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in June of 2025. That is only about 2 hours from me so I hope to see them again.

Another great place to see public art is on the Highline. It’s an elevated walkway on the west side of Manhattan from Hudson Yards down to Chelsea Market. If you click on the link you can read more about it. The newest addition to the art is ‘Dinosaur’ by by Ivan Argote. It’s a 16 foot tall pigeon and is really cool. In ode to all the pigeons (see the first photo) in NYC.

Times Square is also home to revolving public art. Here’s two that I saw this time.

There is all kinds of mosaic art in the subways. You can see it at many stations and it’s fun to watch it pass by as you leave the station or as you walk up to the NYC streets. I have many photos of all the different stations from year’s past. After looking at the link above, I have many more to see!

Macrame art at a coffee shop in NYC.

You can even see art in a coffee shop!

Mosaic art in St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC depicting a tree.

This mosaic is in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I needed a photo since it is a tree.

There are museums for everything in NYC. We have been to many of the art museums but decided to try the AKC Museum of the Dog this time. It is not a very big museum and was a bit tricky to find, but it was fun. The last photo is of a dog on the subway that I had to include.

We had never been to the NY Public Library either. We had walked by numerous times but hadn’t gone inside. I was enticed this time by the Line + Thread exhibition. It was about print, textiles, and stitch. The little psalms book with the embroidered cover was my favorite with raised work and metal threads, it’s gorgeous.

Copper, bronze and nickel screen by Harry Bertoia located on the upper floor of The NorthFace store in NYC.

We happened upon this piece in the NorthFace store. It’s by Harry Bertoia who was commissioned to make it in the 1950’s. It was taken down when the building was renovated but it was brought back to the same building recently.

Grafitti on a building in NYC.

And here’s the other type of art that you see in NYC, street art/graffitti. I hope you enjoyed all the art. If you ever get to NYC, keep your eyes open as you will see many works of public art worth taking the time to find or perhaps just happen upon.

John C. Campbell Folk Art School – Part 1

John C. Campbell Folk Art School – Part 1

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Service Dog-Porter and I on the handicapped ramp to the Dining Hall

Several years ago, I was knitting on a Walt Disney World bus, from our resort to the park of the day. A younger man was intrigued with what I was doing and we struck up a conversation about this folk art school in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. I had never heard of this school, but this young man and everyone I spoke to thereafter, made it sound like it was a crafters paradise. I looked the school up a few times, over the years, but the timing wasn’t right for one reason or another. But, later in 2023 something made me search for the school again. I had no idea what kind of class I wanted to look for, but felt this tug inside me to do something new and exciting. This month, I’m going to introduce you to the school, by way of photos and information we gathered. Next month, on my post scheduled 11/27, I will tell you about my spinning class and the wonderful experiences husband Brian, dog Porter, and I had while there.

If you’re looking for that “unknown something” that feeds your mind, body, and soul, and teaches you more than you ever thought possible…I encourage you to look up the John C. Campbell Folk Art School at https://folkschool.org. The website will give you all sorts of information about the school itself, the history of how it came to be, and basics information about the weekend, and weekly courses they offer. But, the magical nature of this special place, can only be experienced in person.

The class I chose was a 5 day spinning class, taught by Lesley Darling called “Get Spinning with Wool and Whatnots”. My class itself was $660 with a $75 guest fee and our Room (5 nights, Double Occupancy Queen w/in room bath) was $729 each. They have a lot of options that are less than that price, including an option to camp. This price includes 3 full meals/day. Now, when I say meals, we are talking about home cooked meals, with bountiful fresh fruit and vegetables, always a full salad bar, and options for vegan, gluten free, and nondairy. You will not go hungry – I can assure you that. There is a set schedule for mealtimes, and every meal offers eco carry out containers…especially for those who didn’t do mornings! For early risers coffee is ready at 6:30am in the common room. A couple mornings a week they offer Morning Song for anyone to partake in. It was a way to greet the day, with songs and friendship, not a religious ceremony. In the evenings there were musical performances, and folk dance demonstrations – we attended a fiddle performance, by a young couple, that was excellent. Most of the studio rooms were open in the evening for anyone wanting to get additional practice, make additional items, or complete projects.

Here are some photos of the vast campus area:

Our arrival
Keith House – Main Building
Meeting areas
Dining Hall in the Distance
History Center
Louise Pitman Fiber Arts Building
The Open House
Inside the Open House
Woodcarving Studio
Clay and Enameling Studios
Log House

John C. Campbell Folk Art School (JCCFS) operates like a well oiled machine. They have everything scheduled, and you are given your entire week’s schedule at check in: which is at 3:00pm! I mention this to you, because I was so excited to arrive at the school, we got there at 11:30am. I bounced into the check in office and no one was there. 😱 I totally understand it now, as there were weekend classes on that weekend. Those students were still finishing up their weekend’s final events. The person I finally was able to speak with, kindly said check in isn’t until 3:00pm. He offered a couple suggestions of what we could do in the meantime, but we had Porter (my service dog) to consider. It was a beautiful spring day, so I said we would wait outside, and enjoy the sunshine. I mention this because JCCFS is in fairly remote area of the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. The nearest small town was Murphy, NC – where we just stayed the night, and saw everything they had to offer in the spin through town. If you decide to go, plan on sleeping in, and enjoy a very leisurely lunch.

Sitting outside in the sunshine was very enjoyable, because Porter is a Bernese Mountain Dog, and he draws people over to talk, all the time. We were actually sitting at the area shown in the photo above titled “Meeting areas.” Porter attracted several weekend students, moving past our table carrying projects they made, that were jaw dropping. For example, there was a 4 day basket making class offered as a “long weekend” course. Her basket, was a structured 2 pc backpack; complete with hand sewn leather hinges, closures, and back straps. Another classmate had a New England style “fisherman’s basket”. These are baskets I’ve seen, for more than $500 in catalogs…and these were much nicer; with thinner reeds. My mother took some basketry classes, and made some nice ones, but her reeds were not thin like theirs. We gushed over their craftsmanship, and each student beamed with pride. I started getting excited to begin my class.

At check in we were given our packet. Inside, with my class schedule was our house assignment and room number. We were given an hour to drop off our bags, and be back for a mandatory orientation at 5:15pm, prior to 6pm dinner and our first class session from 7-9pm.

Hill House – Community Room
Our room can be seen right off the Community Room

The orientation told us the history of how John C Campbell, and his wife, Olive Dame Campbell did extensive research on the educational needs of adults in the deeply rural areas of Appalachia. Little was known about the people of this region and while John was asking questions (males) and reporting his findings, Olive was meeting with (women) recording oral stories, ballads and observing educational needs would serve the people of this area. John and Olive became aware a 19th century style of teaching in Denmark. This educational approach is the same today as it was then. You can read more of their history at

http://The Folk School’s Founding

Everyone that comes to JCCFS is expected to agree to a Code of Conduct that in essence, assures the following Acceptance Policy

The Folk School is an equal-opportunity institution and does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religious affiliation, nationality, or ethnic origin. We strive to create an environment in which everyone feels welcome, respected, and free to learn and create. We ask that all who come here do so with tolerance and community-building in mind.

Part 2 – Next Month (11/27), I will tell you about my Spinning Class.

75th Anniversary Events

75th Anniversary Events

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As some of you know this year has been the 75th Anniversary of the OVWSG.  One of the events has been a monthly destash for guild members.  This is beneficial for members on so many levels.  Those with too much can clear out, while those who want to experiment can have the opportunity to try new products.  I’m in the later group.  One of our most talented weavers was clearing out a huge quantity of singles from a very reputable firm, in colours that I loved.  I pounced on them.

The intention is make a rouana or serape.  I’m starting with a piece that is 45″ wide by 90″ long and will work on finishing edges after it is woven and fulled.  The piece will get thicker and narrower, I hope.

The pattern is a basic twill in one inch stripes, very simple and hopefully showing the great colours.

The loom I’m using is not my own.  We are very fortunate to have access to rental equipment at our Guild and for a very reasonable cost we can use the equipment there.  So I opted to rent one of the Guild’s looms for three months.  This will force me to leave the house to finish this project.  Setting some goals and discipline is a good thing in the winter, right?

Warping the loom is slow going because I lost the cross on one section.  This is very disappointing and will be problematic as the threads are wound onto the back of the loom.  It’s not insurmountable, just annoying.

I am going to have to be very careful here, but I think I fixed the problem on the next few sections with some small innovations.

The bamboo skewers are wrapped on either side of the cross and I can pick the threads from alternate sides to stop them from getting tangled.  This was a real time and sanity saver.  Dressing a loom is a series of steps.  Each one needs to be done with an element of care and thought. From the initial calculations and colour selection, to fiber choices and use of end product, then threading the pattern, tie-up, treadling, and finally weaving. It all takes a bit of thought some more than others.  So for now I have left the colour selection and fiber choice to a very talented member of the Guild,  the pattern is mine, the end product will be a rouana or serape in a twill.  It has been measured and threaded through the reed, next it must be threaded through all the heddles, tied onto the back beam, wound on, tied onto the front beam and I’ll be ready to go.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, next step, will be threading through heddles, all 450 or so.  Heddles are those silver wires on the right.  Wish me luck. I have three months to finish this, so I’m good.

Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, Ontario Canada
2024, 75th Anniversary exhibition at the Almonte Textile Museum Part1

2024, 75th Anniversary exhibition at the Almonte Textile Museum Part1

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Welcome back to the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum in Almonte, (Ontario, Canada),  today is the big day of the vernissage!

You have seen glimpses of the show as we were setting up, (2024, Set up for 75th Anaversery exhibition at the ALmonteTextile Museum October 16, 2024), but let’s have a quick look around before anyone arrives, a private tour for you! Don’t forget to bring your glass of wine and nibblies, so you can join the Vernissage after our tour!!

the door at the top of the stairs, with the exhibition in the background6.1) at the top of the stairs, our exhibit is to the left

6.2) Part of the permanent exhibit

As you come up the stairs to the second floor, the permanent Museum exhibit is to the Right but if you turn Left you will be in the temporarily exhibit space and our local guilds show.

As I said before there are examples of weaving, spinning, basketry and felting. I will try to show you the big picture of the exhibit, as well as close ups of some of the pieces so you can appreciate the work.

two swaged yardage, and panel 1 6.3) Two swags and panel #1

As you come through the door at the top of the stairs you will see the two long woven pieces and panel #1 which has a large weaving of the ocean and a lap blanket.

Close ups:

Diane Dillon, Saori Runner, Handwoven Mixed fibres6.4) Diane Dillon, Saori Runner, Handwoven Mixed fibres

We Lost Diane, unexpectedly, this summer. She had recently, in the past year, purchased a beautiful Saori loom and was having a blast weaving on it. You will see her hand woven top later in the exhibit.

Bernadette Quade, Banquet Table Runner, 2024  Recycled rag rug weaving cotton Warp and Cotton Rag Weft6.5) Bernadette Quade, Banquet Table Runner, 2024  Recycled rag rug weaving cotton Warp and Cotton Rag Weft

Panel 1; Jaws and blanket6.6) Panel 1; Jaws and blanket

Marianne Heggttveit,  Jaws, 1980 8-shaft satin weave Linen6.7) (Mandy) Marianne Heggttveit,  Jaws, 1980 8-shaft satin weave Linen.

Mandy used multiple strands of different colours to create this woven fabric. There are many sublet changes in colour giving the ocean it incoming waves.

OVWSG Members, Handwoven Plaid Blanket, Handweaving Wool.6.8) OVWSG Members, Handwoven Plaid Blanket, Handweaving Wool.

This lap blanket has been fulled to a lovely fuzzy nap.

7.1) Panel 2;  Colour gamp, novelty Yarn, tapestry, Felt tulips7.1) Panel 2;  Colour gamp, novelty Yarn, tapestry, Felt tulips

Panel 2 has the first of the felted items in the exhibition, as well as the only examples of spinning that were submitted.

Close ups:

Ann Sunahara Diamonds, 2019 Twill Gamp Cotton warp and weft7.2) Ann Sunahara Diamonds, 2019 Twill Gamp Cotton warp and weft

A Gamp is a way to sample various threading, treadling and colour options.  There is a coverlet, that is actually a gamp, later in the exhibit too.

Molly Underhill, Vase of Tulips 2019 Wet felt, Needle Felt, Embroidery,  Merino, silk and embroidery floss7.3) Molly Underhill, Vase of Tulips 2019 Wet felt, Needle Felt, Embroidery,  Merino, silk and embroidery floss

This is the first felt item you have seen in the exhibition! Molly has done a rather 3D picture, look at those fluffy tulips. She used a shadow box to frame her still life.

Laine Thiry-Smith Fruit of the Loom: not your Underwear!, 20177.4) Laine Thiry-Smith Fruit of the Loom: not your Underwear!, 2017

This is one of the 12×12 squares from the guilds exhibition celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary.

Merilyn Mulligan Hand Spun Novelty yarn 2024 wool (Pollworth Fleece) Plied with silk7.5) Merilyn Mulligan Hand Spun Novelty yarn 2024 wool (Pollworth Fleece) Plied with silk

Merilyn Mulligan Hand Spun Novelty yarn 2024 wool (Rideau Arcott Fleece) spun with scraps of yarn7.6) Merilyn Mulligan Hand Spun Novelty yarn 2024 wool (Rideau Arcott Fleece) spun with scraps of yarn

Black display case8.1) Black display case

Closw ups:

Ann McElroy, Shepherds’ Spring Farm Ceremonial Helmet, 2014 Wet Felting Sheep’s Wool (Coriedale and Wensleydale) close up of horn 8.21-8.22) Ann McElroy, Shepherds’ Spring Farm Ceremonial Helmet, 2014 Wet Felting Sheep’s Wool (Coriedale and Wensleydale)

This is the second felting we have seen.  We had a little trouble with Ann’s foam support head, the hole in the neck had enlarged over time, and now enjoyed leaping off her stump and plummeting to the table. This could have been very disconcerting for visitors. Ann suggested “add a nail”. We added two to the perch and she now sits happily again.

Janet Whittam Swept Away. 2023 Rib Basketry Rattan, Mylar Fragment, Skate egg Cases, Wool roving, and verginia Creeper Janet Whittam Swept Away. 2023 Rib Basketry Rattan, Mylar Fragment, Skate egg Cases, Wool roving, and verginia Creeper8.31-8.32) Janet Whittam Swept Away. 2023 Rib Basketry Rattan, Mylar Fragment, Skate egg Cases, Wool roving, and verginia Creeper

Janet is a long time weaving, if you look back through some of the shopping posts I’ve done, you will see her booth filled with Handwoven tops and Ponchos, rag rugs and fabulous baskets. She gives a workshop on how to make the baskets which involves a walk to collect some of the materials. I have fond memories of dragging wild grape vine out of trees along the country road.

Nancy Ingram Polka Dot Bird, 2000’s bent wire and needle felting Mized media-wire, wool and wood base with stone accents8.41-8.42 ) Nancy Ingram Polka Dot Bird, 2000’s bent wire and needle felting Mized media-wire, wool and wood base with stone accents

Nancy is a Weaver and Felter. I love her use of exposed wire-work, it is so delicate but suggestive of the feature it is representing. You will see one of her Theo Mormon technique transparency tapestries a bit later in the show. Some of her other tapestries were much bigger. If you are curious, I can try to find a picture of some of them.

Janet Whittan Untitled, 2024 Rib Basketry Grapevine, cordage, rattan and antler Janet Whittan Untitled, 2024 Rib Basketry Grapevine, cordage, rattan and antler8.51-8.52) Janet Whittan Untitled, 2024 Rib Basketry Grapevine, cordage, rattan and antler

This is Another example of Janet’s Found Object baskets, this time including antler! I should have taken the picture before it went into the display case, the glass is obscuring the details. You may also have seen this in the shopping at Spencerville earlier this summer. (https://i0.wp.com/feltingandfiberstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/3.2-1.jpg?fit=450%2C600&ssl=1)

While I berate myself for my bad photo choices let’s move on to the next panel.

9.1) Panel 4 Scarves9.1) Panel 4 Scarves

Close ups:

Carmen Deschenes Fall Burnt Orange, 2018 Shibori weaving, hand Dyed  Raw silk. 9.2) Carmen Deschenes Fall Burnt Orange, 2018 Shibori weaving, hand Dyed  Raw silk.

Carmen has used woven shabori to create this crinkled textural scarf. Extra threads are used as the fabric is woven, then tied to create the wrinkles. The fabric is then steamed to set the texture. The crimp can be increased by using fibers with differential shrinkage as are used in Nuno felt.

Linda Perrier, Scarf X’s and O’s (Original Pattern by Elizabeth Hill), 2022, Defected Double Weave, Hand dyed silk by Natalie Shumovski  9.3 Linda Perrier, Scarf X’s and O’s (Original Pattern by Elizabeth Hill), 2022, Defected Double Weave, Hand dyed silk by Natalie Shumovski  

9.4 I think this may be Mandy’s but cant find it in the list.

9.5  this one may also be Mandy’s when I find out more I will add the info.

There will be an exhibit of diamonds at the Guild sale Nov. 2-3rd. these may have been sent to the wrong exhibition, Liane is checking about that and i will update if the display gets changed.

Elizabeth Watt, Christening Shawl, 1995 2-Ply Hand Spun Knitting, Shetland Wool 10.1) White shawl

Elizabeth Watt, Christening Shawl, 1995 2-Ply Hand Spun Knitting, Shetland Wool Elizabeth Watt, Christening Shawl, 1995 2-Ply Hand Spun Knitting, Shetland Wool10.2-10.3) Elizabeth Watt, Christening Shawl, 1995 2-Ply Hand Spun Knitting, Shetland Wool

11.1) Panel 4  - Nuno Felt11.1) Panel 4  – Nuno Felt

 11.2-11.3)   Diane Dillon (In Memoriam) Nuno Wrap, 2018-2020, Nuno Felting, Wool, Cotton, and silk  11.2-11.3)   Diane Dillon (In Memoriam) Nuno Wrap, 2018-2020, Nuno Felting, Wool, Cotton, and silk 11.2-11.3)   Diane Dillon (In Memoriam) Nuno Wrap, 2018-2020, Nuno Felting, Wool, Cotton, and silk

another example of Felting, this is a large shawl created with Nuno felt. even as we were setting up it was getting a lot of interest.

12.1)  Panel 5 Hanging, felt, felt and scarf12.1)  Panel 5 Hanging, felt, felt and scarf

Carole Leroux, Falling in Love/ Tomber eh Amour, 2023, Plain Weave with Inlay of overshot, 8/2 Cotton.12-2) Carole Leroux, Falling in Love/ Tomber eh Amour, 2023, Plain Weave with Inlay of overshot, 8/2 Cotton.

Liane Thiry-Smith, Walleye/Dore: Sander vitreous, 2017, Dyeing, Weaving, Needle Felting, Wool and Lichen.12.3)  Liane Thiry-Smith, Walleye/Dore: Sander vitreous, 2017, Dyeing, Weaving, Needle Felting, Wool and Lichen.

Here we have 2 more felted items in the show, the background of the fish is woven. the Sylph is very delicate and has nice use of different fibers to give different effects.

Liane Thiry-Smith, Sylph/ La Sylphide, 2017, Wet Felting, Nuno Felting, Needle Felting, Stitching, Wool, Silk, Mohair, Cotton, Cheesecloth, and threads.12.4) Liane Thiry-Smith, Sylph/ La Sylphide, 2017, Wet Felting, Nuno Felting, Needle Felting, Stitching, Wool, Silk, Mohair, Cotton, Cheesecloth, and threads.

Judith Rygiel, Shawlette. 2020 8 shaft Twill, Silk12.5  Judith Rygiel, Shawlette. 2020 8 shaft Twill, Silk

13.1) Blue Shawl13.1) Blue Shawl

Judy Kavanagh, Blue Shawl, 2020, Handspun yarn Hand knitted, wool.Judy Kavanagh, Blue Shawl, 2020, Handspun yarn Hand knitted, wool.13.2-13.3)  Judy Kavanagh, Blue Shawl, 2020, Handspun yarn Hand knitted, wool.

14.1) Panel 6  Rug hanging sun flower computer inspiers wire weacing14.1) Panel 6  Rug hanging sun flower computer inspiers wire weacing

Catgerube MacFabe  Rag Rug, 2024, Woven on a 4-shaft loom (after Tom Knisely’s weaving rag rugs) Brassard Cotton (warp) and Repurposed cotton cloth (weft) Catgerube MacFabe  Rag Rug, 2024, Woven on a 4-shaft loom (after Tom Knisely’s weaving rag rugs) Brassard Cotton (warp) and Repurposed cotton cloth (weft) 14.21-14.22)  Catgerube MacFabe  Rag Rug, 2024, Woven on a 4-shaft loom (after Tom Knisely’s weaving rag rugs) Brassard Cotton (warp) and Repurposed cotton cloth (weft)

Nancy Ingram, Three Sunflowers, 1990’s, Transparent Tapestry Inlay, Warp-line Linen, Weft-Tow Linen, Glass and frame.14.3) Nancy Ingram, Three Sunflowers, 1990’s, Transparent Tapestry Inlay, Warp-line Linen, Weft-Tow Linen, Glass and frame.

Many years ago in a former life i showed Nancy how to frame between 2 sheets of glass to show off both sides of her transparency tapestrys. if i remember correctly i used trunbucles to secure the glass to the frame. i would like to take a quick peek at the end of the exhibit to refresh my memory! it realy was a very long time ago.

Nancy Ingram, Three Sunflowers, 1990’s, Transparent Tapestry Inlay, Warp-line Linen, Weft-Tow Linen, Glass and frame. Nancy Ingram, Three Sunflowers, 1990’s, Transparent Tapestry Inlay, Warp-line Linen, Weft-Tow Linen, Glass and frame. Nancy Ingram, Three Sunflowers, 1990’s, Transparent Tapestry Inlay, Warp-line Linen, Weft-Tow Linen, Glass and frame.14.4-14.6) Sylvie Faucher, Computext Board, 2022, Rep Weave, Linen, Cotton, Copper Wire, and Metallic Thread

Wooden display cabinet  DNA, Ice dragon and friend, Shepherdess and sheep, Woven mini blanket15.1) Wooden display cabinet  DNA, Ice dragon and friend, Sheperdess and sheep, Woven mini blanket

Sylvie Faucher, Double-Twisted Strands, 2022, Deflected Double-weave, Cotton15.2) (DNA weaving), Sylvie Faucher, Double-Twisted Strands, 2022, Deflected Double-weave, Cotton

Jan Scott, Ice Dragon, 2021, Needle Felting 3-D sculpture with full armature, Wool (Shetland, Mixed wool with Silk) armature in steel floral wire, and seed beads for eyes. (Visiting Sheep by Ann McElroy, Wool) Jan Scott, Ice Dragon, 2021, Needle Felting 3-D sculpture with full armature, Wool (Shetland, Mixed wool with Silk) armature in steel floral wire, and seed beads for eyes. (Visiting Sheep by Ann McElroy, Wool)15.31-15.32) Jan Scott, Ice Dragon, 2021, Needle Felting 3-D sculpture with full armature, Wool (Shetland, Mixed wool with Silk) armature in steel floral wire, and seed beads for eyes. (Visiting Sheep by Ann McElroy, Wool)

you may recognize this little felted guy and his purple friend.  the Ice dragon and his frosty breath are from the collection of Glenn Martin. i will tell Dragon he cant take his little sheepy friend home at the end of the show!

Ann McElroy, Dyed in the Wool, 2024,  wet and needle felt, Sheep’s wool (Various Breeds) Ann McElroy, Dyed in the Wool, 2024,  wet and needle felt, Sheep’s wool (Various Breeds) Ann McElroy, Dyed in the Wool, 2024,  wet and needle felt, Sheep’s wool (Various Breeds)15.41-15.43 Ann McElroy, Dyed in the Wool, 2024,  wet and needle felt, Sheep’s wool (Various Breeds)

This may look amazingly familiar….. as if you saw it maybe yesterday…. those sheep you cant get them out of your head…. don’t try to count them, its never good to face plant your keyboard! (ok its getting late in my working on this blog, this one took a long time trying to match names to pieces some being very trickily not on the list after i went through it multiple times. i hope i don’t get too strange as the hours gets later, and there are more photos to add!) OH! I had not noticed but if you look at 15.41 you may notice an odd ethereal presents behind the sheep, no wonder they are staying close to the shepherdess!

Jean Sharp, Hudson’s Bay Mini , 2017, Frame Loom Weaving, Wool15.5)  Jean Sharp, Hudson’s Bay Mini , 2017, Frame Loom Weaving, Wool

this is another of the pieces from the 150th show, it was so amazingly Canadian!

Guild Tapestry project Guild Tapestry project signs Guild Tapestry project16.1-16.3) Guild Tapestry project

Guild members project, you have seen this a few times in the blog posts, we have representations of quite a few of the fiber arts in the squares, Felting is well represented!

17.1) Panel / wall #7  Wier weaving17.1) Panel / wall #7  Wire weaving

Sayword Johnson, Presomnial No. 12, 2021 Handweaving, Copper wire, Green Patina, and Embroidery on linen canvas.17.2) Sayword Johnson, Presomnial No. 12, 2021 Handweaving, Copper wire, Green Patina, and Embroidery on linen canvas.

Sayword weaves with Copper wire in Warp and Weft.  she then adds patinas to react with the copper and finally adds embroidery to finish the piece. some of her pieces are quite large, others are free standing and some are small and delicate. the Guild was very lucky to have her teach copper weaving, hopefully she will do another workshop in the future.

Slide show and guest book, and small landscape in the background18) Slide show and guest book, and small landscape in the background

 This is the slide show I updated for the guild anniversary party.  There are over 900 slides so if you want to take a brake and watch them, we can wait, but i wont inflict them all upon you, if you only want to paws a moment. There are still a few more things to check out in the exhibit before the Vernissage officially gets started. Why don’t you take a seat in my walker (it is quite comfy) while you check out the slide that is showing, and then you can sneak downstairs and top up your glass of wine.

We have still to see one more woven piece on this wall then 3 items on the end wall, the Quilt stand and plinth, and then we have to look up and see the Mer’s.  I am sure you caught brief glimpses of them having fun in the background of a few of the exhibition shots. Since we are on page 21 of this blog post, there may be validity in the rumors I am verbose, let’s give you a rest,  you can enjoy the slide that’s up, (i can add more if you want, no, that’s not a threat!) and we will finish the exhibit and crash the Vernissage next week? (it will let you do that sneaking downstairs from more wine!)

Have fun and keep felting (but after the wine wares off!! those needle are sharp and the wet felters you don’t want to drop your bar of Olive oil soap, then slip on it!! the floor is always lying and is probably also wet.)

 

Finishing and Displaying the Shepherdess and Sheep.

Finishing and Displaying the Shepherdess and Sheep.

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It is time to finish and get it all together.

You may remember I had to redo the Shepherdess’ cloak. I didn’t like the way the hood on the one peice cloak fit, so I made another one making the body and hood separately.

I sewed the hood to the cloak and it looked much better but, naturally, I did not take a picture of that. I immediately moved on the decorating the cloak. I thought if she had multicoloured sheep she would want to show that off on her cloak and so I decided to add some nice fuzz to her cloak to help her show it off and keep warm.

 

Next, the shepherdess needed some hair, up to now she has been bald. It’s a look that works for some but I thought she would be cold or might get sunburn so she needed some hair.

Very quickly she became a lovely brunette with some naturally coloured Teeswater.

trying on her new cloak (ignore the messy background, there is no time for housework when cloaks must be made.)

Time to be put together. Off to the guild studio for a photoshoot.

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And lastly, they got installed at the gallery for the guild show. Jan will have more pictures on Saturday. I stole these from a guild post she made because I haven’t made it to the show yet. Thanks to Lianne for giving them some grass to stand on.

You may think this is the end but there is more. Someone’s Dragon raided my flock

She says he is just lonely but he looks a little hungry to me.