In a Minute Ago

WeaveZine is a new ezine online that focuses on contemporary weaving. The first issue has some excellent articles in it. Since I am an avid recycler I pounced on Recycled Plastic Bag Weaving by Jana Trent. This piece is clearly illustrated and the project is explained in a straightforward manner.

An excellent article on Photographing Your Work is also published in this issue. Since taking good photographs of your work is crucial to everyone I am sure all readers here will find this article of interest. Daryl Lancaster touches on the basics of cameras, image resolution, file formats, speed and aperture, image editing, light levels, lighting and polishes off the article with resources.

These are just two of a good dozen articles worth reading so pop over and explore WeaveZine over a cuppa. Thanks for the link goes to Art Cloth Text

An article on the history of crazy quilting lead me to be reminded of Carol Leather’s site Needlework tips and techniques. While there I was poking about and discovered that the ever tricky bullion stitch has been featured in a tutorial on Bullion Roses. Clear tips and advice on how to do this stitch is presented. I have directions on how to do this stitch here but I think this article clearly explains how the needle is angled if you do not use a hoop. Personally I always recommend a hoop but many people do not like them.

This lead me to poke about a bit and I discovered these detached chain stitch strawberries that I think crazy quilters will love. Do pay a visit to Needlework tips and techniques and Carols blog I think you will enjoy them both.

I have wasted far too much time playing with another online colour schemer. Regular readers will be aware that every now and then I turn up another of these designers toys online. Actually they are not toys as web designers find them very useful and so do quilters and textile artists!

The Colorspire colour schemer has a very flexible colour picker which allows you to easily shift tint, tone and shade enabling some very unusual colour schemes to be developed. As another designers tool it looks very useful as you can preview your colour combinations in real time and easily see what works well and what is a total mistake!

If you need a reminder on the difference between tints tones and shades or simply to brush up a bit on your colour theory Basic colour schemes is an article which is concise, is illustrated and covers the main points.

The Latest issue of Fibre and Stitch is out. As usual its great treat and it was with pleasure I made a cuppa, printed out the 84 page PDF file and settled back for a good read and visual feast.

This is the fourth issue so still relatively young but Sue Bleiweiss and her team have put together yet again a richly interesting ezine for anyone who is interested in contemporary textiles. If you have ever wondered how to apply foil, use alcohol inks or add metallic effects to your fabrics this issues explores some ideas for you to try.

Also if you have ever wondered what Abaca paper is and how to use it or how mud cloth is made this issue tells you

Guest author Mary Sleigh writes about Africa as her inspirational source of textile works

Jackie Cardy shows us how to create a folded panel opens to reveal a hidden surprise in her piece 18 Hidden Treasures and Margaret Roberts has produced an article that really appealed to me on how to make Pyramid Journals

This is just a few of the topics and articles that are covered in Fibre and Stitch’s fourth issue. If you have not subscribed yet this ezine and you are interested in contemporary fiber techniques in textiles it is well worth it.

Hi all I am back and with a work in progress report! Well there is a bit more than just a work in progress report so read on …

While I was out of action my hands were not, so I finished this lap rug I started not long ago. When I started project last month I mentioned how I was winding yarn together in order to make yarns of the same ply as I had quite a bit of scrap yarn I am attempting to use up.

As people know I am on a self imposed fiber diet so with stash busting in mind, the ball winder has been busy again and I have started the next lap rug. This time instead of crocheting back and forth I am living dangerously and crocheting around a square. Wise cracks aside this simple straight forward approach to making a rug that will go camping is a quick and easy way to use scrap yarn.

You may notice the crochet hook looks like one of those bamboo ones. That is because it is! I found them in what is called “Japanese Style” shops here. I mean that is the name of the chain. They sell products from Japan and are usually well stocked with numerous plastic containers of all shapes and sizes. In fact, if you only just glanced inside these shops you may not realise they sell other things apart from storage containers. I am sure Aussies in the major cities will know the chain I mean. Anyway I found some bamboo or mock bamboo (I am not sure) crochet hooks and knitting needles up the back of the store the other week. Since they were priced at $2.50 I just had to try them. I have to say they are great and I will be heading back to buy more in different sizes because they are so light in the hand

On another note entirely Stitching fingers is going from strength to strength. Interest groups are growing and the community is taking on a life of its own. At the time of writing we have 394 members! Most importantly people seem be enjoying it and there is a real nice atmosphere about the site. If you have not checked it out yet do so as for all its chaos it feels very welcoming and warm thanks to some of the lovely people there.

The site is actually hard to keep away from! Or, I am finding it so. This is a disaster because I am trying to finish the final drafts of Using a Studio Journal which will begin on June 27. I know it sounds like an age away but it is not.

On another note a few weeks ago I mentioned that we were interviewed by the Caroline Holmes of the BBC about our garden which we lost in the Canberra fires. The radio show is about gardening in drought in a time of climate change. You can now hear the podcast for a week on this page. Look in the right hand side for the podcast icon and “listen to the latest edition”. Our bush fire and garden story is told about half way through the show.

Mobility and most of what I do has come to a screaming halt as I have put my back out. I am standing at the key board to write this! Expect me to be out of action for about a week.

I am still approving sign ups on the Stitchin Fingers forum and we now have a community of 240 people! It has a very nice feel about it and I think its going ot be one of favourite places.

Over on the Stitchin Fingers forum Dijanne Cevaal pointed to an article in the ABC site titled Sewing 2.0. It’s a very good article about the rise in the interest in crafts and the possible drivers for this cultural shift - or what is percieved as a cultural shift.

Personally I think the web has much to do with it as people see what others make and that encourages them to have a go too. This statement rang true for me “new technologies like web 2.0, which have helped to spread the enthusiasm by creating linked up communities who can share information”. It felt particularly relevant since I had just set up a community site Stitchin Fingers within the last 24 hours (do check it out) . I think the web is a big reason for the rise in people making their own clothing and domestic furnishings. What do you think?

On another note Jean Campbell has written a tutorial on Making the Perfect Bead Dangle for Beading Daily

I thought I had found absolutely every colour theory site online but no I had missed out the Colors on the Web site which Linn of the Embroideress pointed to. Don’t miss it as although the site is aimed at web designers the site houses lots of useful tools for textile designers.

Two areas that you will find useful are the color wizard, and the colour wheel. The color wheel spins three colors which are selected from 16 million colors so the combinations are endless.

I can see the Color Wizard being very useful to textile designers. You submit a base color, and the wizard produces matching colors. Variations are monocromatic, analogeous, triadic, tetradic, complimentary and split complimentary. When on the site if you look at the diagram of the colour wheel it illustrates what these terms mean.

Colors on the Web also houses articles on colour theory and the Color Contrast Analyzer is aimed at web designers as it helps them choose colour combinations that are readable and accessible.

Waving to everyone in very excited manner this morning! For l those with very sharp eyes. Last night a little bit of text appeared in my side bar which reads “Visit stitchin fingers a new community site for stitchers.” Well for anyone who noticed great work!

I have finally got around to doing something I have meant to do for ages and that is create a stitchin/textile community site over on Ning.

For a long time I felt that the community needs a hub that can act a depot to spread news of events etc. Ning is a social software site that helps people build communities. I think may provide the service the textile folks need. Ning looks to be good place to make announcements, share news and photos hang out online etc.

I have called the network Stitchin Fingers So far I have put a forum on there, and since Ning has an RSS feed so you can subscribe and new activity will appear in your reader. It is an ideal place to act as a hub for all sorts of news and activities that the whole community can make use of. So all are welcome to use it and be as active as you choose on the site.

It is free and looks like members can have up to 100 photos. Members can load their own photos, create albums, share them etc. This feature alone would have made it ideal for any of the challenges I have run. It means people who don’t have to have a blog can join in on activities and for those that do have blogs they tell us about them there! But its more than simply that. As I say its a community site - or I see it as that and I will keeping pure self promotion at bay . People can use it to spread the word about textile related events but I don’t see it as an avenue for business to peddle their wares.

Last night I spent far too long trying to decide on a theme and I will organise some sort of image in the banner. I don’t want to spend an age designing something only to find not one is interested. Basically I will polish it the more people join and use it.

Since its free you have nothing to lose head over to Stitchin Fingers, sign up, join and leave a hello message and we can see what develops from there. Bloggers and those on lists please help spread the word because it will not work if people don’t know about it. This is a community site so lets hope it builds!

I have described it as “The group is open to all who are interested in textiles both contemporary and historical. Since many textile practices cross or inform each other all areas are welcome “
Actually I will reshape the description when figure out how to describe the group as I am sure it will shape itself!

If you are not sure what a Ning site is take a look at the fiberarts mixed media group as you can see it is for anyone who is interested in contemporary fiber arts and its a good example of what a group site can look like

This is what prompted me to finally get this network site going as Tricia of Lets Create contacted me as she is establishing a group for people who are interested in challenges. Go and check out her blog here This is the sort of news that is ideal to spread on the Stitchin Fingers site.

On another note I thought I would bring this link to Designer Bookbinders to the top as kimsarahtillyer left a comment point me to it. Designer Bookbinders was founded over fifty years ago and is a society devoted to the craft of fine bookbinding. There is some delicious eye candy in their gallery so do go and gobble some up (after you have checked out Stitchin Fingers that is)

A PDF containing sample colour palettes, and bead suggestions, is on the  Margie Deeb site in order to promote her book The Beader’s Color Palette. Also if you like looking at colour palettes or are a beader check out her blog  Color for Bead artists

On Sew and Sox Jen has listed a good number of sewing tutorials online. Check them out as there are many projects that are either great gift ideas or good stash busters.

I am behind the news again this morning because CQMag Online has been out a week or so. So make a cuppa and settle back to browse and read. What is in the latest issue? I am picking the eyes out here but to give a brief and quick overview of what this issue contains first there is a continuation of Barbara Blankenship’s Ideas and Inspiration Challenge. Don’t miss it as Barbara assembled interesting seam treatments and motifs for inspiration in your crazy quilting. An article My Favorite Crazy Quilt Embellishments by Dean Deerfield ties in with this.

Allison Aller writes about a method for finishing blocks in Mounting Crazy Quilt Blocks Onto Foam Core.

Leslie Ehrlich has started a new Yahoo group to promote Crazy Quilting with CQ Promoters.

Stephanie Novatski gives us the fourth installment Creating a Memory Quilt from Ties. Stephanie Novatski has also written a step-by-step tutorial for the tissue paper transfer method in Transferring a Design onto a Dark Fabric Using Tissue Paper and in Using a Die Cut Machine for Appliqué Shapes Stephanie uses a die cut machine for quilting.

Barbara Blankenship introduces a technique for edge-dyeing ribbon and Julie Yonge shares an idea for spooling ribbon in Wind ‘Em Up

Gail Odegaard has translated an idea from the world of paper crafts into Crazy Quilting with Quilted Tags.

Marie Alton has produced a pattern for making CQ pincushions.

These are just a few articles in this issue. There is heaps more. As I said make a cuppa and pop over and see for yourself what is on offer in the latest issue of CQMag Online.