Student Projects

My fiber art students (at the homeschool co-op where I teach) have just finished weaving their drawstring tapestry bags. They had a lot of fun with the color combinations of their stripes, and the bags all came out beautifully.

The project is from a wonderful book, Kids Weaving, by Sarah Swett. All you need is a piece of cardboard cut to the size that you want your bag. The best thing about the project is that the bag is woven all in one piece around the cardboard, and the drawstring slits are woven in--so there's no sewing or finishing needed besides tucking in loose tails of yarn. The book has a lot of other great beginner weaving projects too.

This bag is almost done, she's just beginning to make the slits for the drawstring to pass through. The students much preferred using a tapestry needle to weave, rather than just their fingers. Several girls have already started making another bag at home, they enjoyed it so much.

During the work time in class, students also took turns weaving on a rigid heddle loom. Everyone had a chance to practice using it, and the result was a pretty blue and white scarf that will go to the winner of the drawing.

World Crafts Village

Every year for Christmas, my mother-in-law asks me what I'd like from World Crafts Village, a nonprofit organization that supports artisans around the world by selling their handcrafted products. Most of the artisans are combating poverty, and World Crafts allows them to recieve fair trade prices for their work. I really enjoy reading the short descriptions of each group that makes a certain item. They have all kinds of stuff from all over the world.

This year I asked for some embroidered Christmas ornaments from Yunnan, China. I love the blue on white. We don't have very many ornaments for our tree yet, and these are really nice ones.

I'd been wanting this Turkish bowl set for a few years and was so surprised to receive it. I have a thing for handmade bowls, not mugs or plates or anything else--just bowls. I love the colors and detailed designs on these handpainted ones. (They're so nice, I'm almost afraid to use them!) The information that came with the bowls said that they're the type people have used for thousands of years to serve finger foods to guests, such as olives, nuts, and dates.

This tote's design is called the "Doors of Aceh", which represent the opening of Indonesia to the rest of the world. I'm planning on using it as my "mom purse" after the baby is born, since it's a lot bigger than the one I use now. I think the common theme in what I like about ethnic designs is the complexity and attention to detail. Most of the textiles and pottery of modern America is so plain and unadorned--it makes me appreciate the intricacy found in other culture's traditional style.

So, if you're into handmade stuff from other countries, or need ideas for presents--this is the place to go. They have items for any price range, I think the most expensive thing is the $200 Turkish area rug with a Mount Ararat design on it--amazing. (Maybe I'll save up all my Christmas money for that one next year.)

last-minute presents

I made three pairs of these slippers for friends that have cold wooden floors in their houses. I looked at a few different slipper patterns and ideas, but ended up making my own pattern and figuring out solutions to various problems that came up.

They are surprisingly easy to make and, since I did 3 sets of them and am now an expert, I'm hoping to put together a tutorial to post in a few weeks.

This is a close-up shot of an upside-down slipper. I wanted to show the sole, which is covered in a thin layer of silicone. I read online that it's a great way to make the slippers have traction, so they won't slip on smooth floors. I was a little unsure about spreading silicone on a nicely finished slipper, but it works wonderfully!

While we drove to St. Louis to see my husband's family for Christmas, I decided it was a good time to knit these fingerless mitts for a friend of mine. She has four children and mentioned once that she can't wear gloves because she's always dealing with carseat buckles and zippers and things she needs tactile ability for. So I thought she could at least keep her wrists and palms warm with some fingerless mitts, even if her fingers are still exposed. I used the Lovisa pattern from ravelry, but changed a lot of it. I made them shorter, used only one color, added ribbing at the two ends, and actually had to start over with 10 less stitches than the pattern because they were huge. (I must have had the wrong gauge or something.) But they came out nicely.

We had a white Christmas here in Kansas City, it's been snowing for two days now. I wish I could get a good picture of it. There's just nothing more contenting in the winter time than to knit or weave by the fire and watch the snowflakes coming down in thick flakes outside.

Christmas Projects

Here's a few things I've been working on for Christmas presents. First, a wrist pincushion using an offset square that I found a sewing tutorial for on Planet June's blog. (She gave excellent instructions!) This is for one of my co-workers who does a lot of sewing for Missouri Town. It was an extremely easy and quick project, and I really like the unique shape.

Next, a pillow for our annual Weavers Guild gift exchange. This year the theme was rectangles. I'd seen a pillow in a department store last year that was decorated with strips of different ribbons, and of course I thought, I could do that! The gift exchange can be anything sewn, woven, felted, etc., and I chose the easy route this year. If you're going to weave something, it's much better to have extra from an earlier project, since last-minute weaving doesn't really work.

Also, these baby oxen are a present for my other friend from Missouri Town (the ox-driver). I'm using the lamb pattern I made last summer and will eventually give them needle-felted horns and spots. I'll be sure to post a finished picture.

Of course, I have at least 4 other projects going that need to be finished in the next two weeks, so hopefully they will get done in time!

Do you have any great handmade Christmas presents that you've either given or recieved?

Christmas Cards

Wow, it's been too long! Sorry about the lack of posts lately. The only thing I've been working on is printing Christmas cards. I usually carve a lino-block and use it to print my cards every year. It's so easy and rewarding, and fun to come up with a new design. I also like the not-so-perfect look of the prints, it gives it an old fashioned effect.

As far as lino-blocks go, I definitely recommend the sturdier, thin gray material over the "easy-cut" thicker, usually tan material. The easy cut is thicker and definitely cuts easier, but is extremely easy to break in half when you're handling it during printing.

For some reason I usually go with blue for Christmas, but this year I picked green because that's what I had the most paint of. I like the way they turned out. The only thing I would change is that I forgot to reverse the bird! I meant it to be printed facing left, but forgot about the reverse effect. Oh well.

Books

It's time for some awesome book recommendations. I've been finding several amazing books lately that are just too inspiring not to share.


Weekend Sewing: More than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching, by Heather Ross
I usually get my craft books from the library first, to make sure I want to splurge on buying them. This one is definitely worth paying for. There are so many great ideas for projects in here and they range from beginner to advanced. The amazing thing is, even the beginner projects caught my interest. There are just too many cool ideas to pass this one up. I even liked her suggestions for setting up a sewing space, which I finally have room for now!


Woven Treasures: One of a Kind Bags with Folk Weaving Techniques, by Sara Lamb
If you are interested in weaving, this is the book for you! She has some amazing projects to try all different types of weaving. There are two reasons the projects in this book are so great: 1) They are all bags, so they're useful, giftable, and straightforward to make. 2) Every project is done on the same loom: a rigid heddle loom. This is the perfect starter loom, very inexpensive and easy to use but with a wide variety of potential projects. I can't wait to try some of these bags!

Carefree Clothes for Girls, by Junko Okawa
Okay, so I haven't actually seen the inside of this one (or the next one) yet. But they just came out in English, and what I have seen of this one looks so fun to make! I'm expecting my first girl and I just can't wait to make her some dresses.

Felting for Baby, by Saori Yamazaki
How cool is this? I just love felting, and what better way to satisfy the urge to felt than a nice small project for baby! I'm sure the gifting possibilities are endless with these projects too.

Happy reading!

Gallery Show

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I've been moving into a new house and getting ready for this:


I am so excited to have a gallery show! The silk paintings I made are very large and it just doesn't seem right for them to only hang in my house. If you are in the KC area, come check out the gallery for First Fridays in November!
Here is another of my panels and the write up for the show.


Suspended Narrative
Stories in Silk and Oil

Delicate silk paintings flowing with soft lines contrast with hard edged oil paintings and prints with intense color combinations. On the surface, the artwork created by Christy L. Berry and Steph Toth Kates seems curiously dissimilar at first glance. But dig a little deeper and the connection becomes clear. Both artists collect visual imagery from familiar stories and guide the viewer into a reflection of their personal connection with these tales.

Kates draws her imagery from fairytale and myth. Like myth, her paintings seek answers from a confusing universe, but on a more intimate level. They are interior landscapes – delving into remote inner corners where body and conciousness combine, exploring ideas of the body as a universe and a home. Inhabiting this inner expanse are animals familiar from children's storybooks along with cells, veins and neurons lifted from medical diagrams.

Berry’s silk paintings also reinterpret familiar stories. She draws her inspiration from Biblical passages – capturing fleeting moments in dream-like condensed images on voluminous silk panels. The women in her silks are both a self-portrait and a universal figure forming metaphors concerning the soul. Colors and lines flow and evoke the sense of an unexpected memory.

Stories twine throughout this exhibit – sometimes recognizable, sometimes just touching on a familiar cord but always inviting viewers to explore and impart their own memory, dream or experience into the narrative.