Christmas Market at City University, 12 Dec

I will be selling my Opera Shawls at this market  = please come and buy my stuff!!! 

Craft, Gift and Pamper Day

I will be exhibiting my textiles at this event - please come and buy them!!

Maple Village Christmas Fayre, 24 November

Will be selling my Opera Shawls here!! Look forward to seeing you......

Opera Shawl FREIA

My latest design is an Opera Shawl for FREIA.

Apple Green for Freia's apples!! (OK, GOLDEN apples if you're being strictly literal, but this is such a beautiful shade of green!) It is hand-knitted in Kidsilk, and hand-beaded.

Here she is as portrayed by Arthur Rackham  in his illustrations of Wagner's RING.

Shetland Textiles: 800 BC to the Present

Just bought this beautiful book : SHETLAND TEXTILES, 800 BC to the present. Edited by Sarah Laurenson.

I love this because I make Shetland Lace shawls, and it's wonderful to have such a  comprehensive  history of Shetland textiles.

It 'does what it says on the tin' - a comprehensive history of textiles in Shetland from the earliest times to the present day. There are chapters dealing with Shetland Sheep and Wool, with Fair Isle Knitting  and Shetland Lace. I am reproducing here some images from the book - (I don't THINK I am breaching any copyright laws here, since they are mainly images in the public domain that I have seen before).

This is a well-known image of Shetland knitters - I don't have a date for this, but it must  be early in the 20th century, perhaps before the First World War. I have made shawls similar to the one being knitted by the woman in the foreground.

Shetland Lace Shawls drying.

Finally, some Shetland sheep.

Parallax Art Fair, Chelsea Town Hall, 18-19 October

I will be exhibiting my textiles at this Art Fair - I hope people will come to buy my Opera Shawls!!

Here are some examples of what I make.......

Rosina

Pamina

Queen of the Night

Wrap in Icelandic Yarn

I have just finished this wrap - this is for myself! It is made in undyed Icelandic yarn.

Spitalfields City Farm, Sunday 23 June

Come to Spitalfields City Farm this Sunday and buy my Opera Shawls!!!

New Opera Shawl ROSINA

Here you can see my new opera shawl - ROSINA

Hand-knitted in rose-pink Kidsilk, with rosebuds on the side-panels

World Eco-Fibre and Textile Art (WEFT)

Brunei Gallery, SOAS University of London

18 January -13 March 2013

 

 

World Eco Fibre & Textile (WEFT) Art

 

Indigo dyed Mulberry Paper Installation by Kim Ji Hee of Korea

Liang Zuefang with her double-faced Zhusho embroidery

 

Date: 18 January 2013Time: 10:30 AM
Finishes: 23 March 2013Time: 5:00 PM

Venue: Brunei GalleryRoom: Brunei Gallery Exhibition Rooms

Type of Event: Exhibition

WEFT explores the three dimensionality of textile art through installations and sculptural constructions, where contemporary textile artists are currently taking fibre sculpture into new areas. This extraordinary exhibition gives an insight into these current trends, showing how textile art can be considered as another genre of fine art. Exhibits include the work of contributing artists from over 35 countries the world over.
This rich exhibition highlights the manner in which traditional resist techniques such as ikat, tritik, shibori, yuzen and batik, together with the art of embellishment such as embroidery and quilting, are applied to contemporary textile art. The emphasis is on hand-woven and hand-made textiles, as opposed to the machine-made. Hand-made textiles display the skills of the designer and the producer and reflect a long history of artistic and cultural tradition.

The textiles themselves illustrate and display the use of natural yarns and dyes as a means of artistic expression. Natural fibres such as cotton, silk, ramie, abaca, pina, hemp and bark are employed. Colours which derive from natural dye materials such as plant roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, insects and molluscs are also part of this process. The use of natural mordents in the interaction of fixing colour to the cloth is also emphasised in this vibrant exhibition.
During this exhibition there will be demonstrations of textile production from different countries, starting with Malaysia in January, India in February and China in March.
WEFT is curated by Edric Ong and presented in association with Society Atelier Sarawak, Malaysia.

The Artists

• HIROYUKI SHINDO (JAPAN)- large installation pieces using natural ‘indigo’ dyes
• NARDA CAPUYAN (PHILIPPINES)- large natural fiber tapestries; ‘Songkat’ incorporating ikat and ‘songkit’weaving; woven leather textile
• OLIVIA BATCHELDER (U.S.A.) - Hand-painted silks
• LIZ WILLIAMSON (AUSTRALIA) - Hand-woven , textural art including jacquards
• CHABATIK (THAILAND)- computer aided design double ikat in silk
• GONGADI (INDIA): Woolen blankets of shepherds in Hydearabad, Andhra Pradesh
• WEAVERS STUDIO (INDIA) - new Indian weaves
• MEECHAI TAESUJARIYA (THAILAND)- Natural dye hand woven silks from Isan and Surin, North East Thailand.
• MARIA DAVILA AND EDUARDO PORTILLO (VENEZUELA)-silk and other fiber textiles from the mountains in Merida, Venezuela.
• NOORJEHAN BILGRAMI (PAKISTAN) - natural dye hand woven textiles
• BINA RAO (INDIA)- Creative hand loom textiles
• KARAMA AK DAMPA (MALAYSIA)- Cotton Iban ‘Pua-Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• BANGIE AK EMBOL (MALAYSIA)- Silk “Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• NANCY AK NGALI (MALAYSIA)- Silk ‘Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• MULA AK JAMA (MALAYSIA) –Silk ‘Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• MILIN AK MAT (MALAYSIA)- Silk ‘Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• ARANYA (BANGLADESH)- Specially designed ‘Jamdhani’ style textiles in natural dyes.
• KOTPAD WEAVERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETY OF ORRISSA (INDIA)- Bastar natural dye cotton textiles
• PHAENG-MAI (LAOS)- Silk weavings.
• BHUTANESE WEAVERS: Textiles from the UNDP Project
• KIKUO MORIMOTO (CAMBODIA) - Handwoven natural dye and hand-painted silks
• TANOTI SONGKIT (MALAYSIA) – ‘Kain Songket’ textiles
• MAE TEETA (THAILAND) - Natural Indigo dye ‘mudmee’ ikat textiles
• TAJ-KHAZANAH (INDIA) - ‘Benares’ silk textiles
• MYANMAR- Kalaga embroidery panels; ‘sazigyo’ ribbons tablet weaving
• IRAN- Hand-block printed cotton and Semiron felt
• NEPAL- Hand-woven ceremonial brocade and cotton textile
• VIETNAM- Hand-woven borders of skirts
• BRUNEI- ‘Kain Songkit’ textile
• CRAFTS COUNCIL OF INDIA- Nettle weaving, tussar patta painting, Harijan Mithila painting, Gold/cotton jamdhani, block printed cottons
• PHILIPPINES- Tapestry weaves Muslim Textiles from Zamboanga
• PHILIPPINES- ‘Tinalag’ abaca textiles of Mindanao.
• CHILE- Natural colour woven wool
• CHINA- Ceremonial cloth, Old silk robes
• RASUL (UZBEKISTAN)- Silk ikat textiles
• KESHAV RAO (INDIA)- Natural dye paintings, wood-block printed natural dye panels and ‘Kalamkat’ wood block prints on ikat textiles.
• ACHMAD SOPANDI (INDONESIA)- Hand-painted textiles using ‘stone-age’ technique of ‘hematite’ soil
• MICHAEL LIM (MALAYSIA)- ‘Batikat’ paintings ie batik painting on ikat textiles
• CHINTHAKA RATNAYAKE(SRI LANKA)- Fully waxed Batik on silk
• EVA WANGANEEN (AUSTRALIA) – Aboriginal motif painted silks
• WIRO KUTO (INDONESIA)- Natural dye batiks
• ASMORO DAMAIS (INDONESIA) –Old Indonesian batik designs reinterpreted
• NARONG DAUN (MALAYSIA)- Hand painted silk textiles.
• WINNIE WONG (MALAYSIA)- Hand-painted silk batik
• SUTRA (INDIA)- Natural dye textile paintings on cotton
• KHATRI M.S.(INDIA)- ‘Ajarakh’ hand block printed cotton
• MATTHEW NGAU JAU (MALAYSIA) – Orang Ulu bark cloth paintings
• RAMSAY ONG (MALAYSIA)- Bark cloth and hand-made paper collage
• LUCY ABEY (MALAYSIA)- Embroidery on bark cloth
• EDRIC ONG (MALAYSIA)- Natural dye art pieces specially designed for the exhibition
• DOBAG KILIMS (TURKEY): Natural dye hand woven kilims from the renown villagers under the Marmara University project.
• MEHMET GIRGIC (TURKEY) –natural dye wool felt tapestry
• Al SADU WEAVING CO OPERATIVE, KUWAIT - Runner in cotton and wool by Abab Farhan Al Azmy (Um Nasser) 1994
• DINARA CHOCHUNBAEVA (KYRGYZSTAN)- Felt tapestries
• BANI HAMIDA (JORDAN)- Woollen rug
• MONGOLIA- Woollen felt rugs
• KUMUDINI (BANGLADESH)- Embroidered ‘kantha’silk textiles from women’s cooperatives.
• DASTKAR (INDIA)- Large hand-embroidered tapestries done by communities of women from the earthquake-struck regions of Bhuj, Gujarat
• BASHIR JAIN/FIRDOSE JAIN-Hand-embroidered Pashmina, silk and wool from Kashmir.
• YUNNAN (CHINA)- indigo textiles and embroideries from Miao people
• CACSA- Embroideries and felt textiles from Central Asia
• AFRICA- Applique hemp patchwork textile
• MAHILA HARIT KALA (INDIA)- Natural dye silk patchwork
• UZBEKISTAN- Suzani using Bokhara couching embroidery
• THAILAND- Hmong patchwork on indigo batik cotton.
• KIM JI-HEE (KOREA)- large installation pieces using traditional Korean natural textiles with natural dyes.
• MIYOKO KAWAHITO (JAPAN)- Natural ‘Awa’indigo dye textiles
• TATA TEA PLANTATION CHILDREN (MUNNAR, INDIA)- A group of handicapped children’s textile artwork with‘waste-tea leaves’ dye using batik/shibori .
• CHINA ARTS AND CRAFTS ASSOCIATION- ‘Hsiang yun sha’ mud silks
• MURA COLLECTIVE (INDIA)- Natural dye silk ‘shibori’
• INDONESIA- ‘tritik’ tie-dye silks
• ASIF SHAIKH (INDIA): Embroideries of Gujarat
• CHEN CHING LIN (TAIWAN): Natural dye silks
• TANG WEN CHUN (TAIWAN): Indigo Batik
• CHEN WAN LEE (TAIWAN): Recycled textile costumes
• RURUNGAN SA TUBOD (PHILIPPINES)- "pina" pineapple fiber weavings
• SUSAN FELL- MCLEAN (AUSTRALIA): Eucalyptus leaf-dyed textiles
• SUZHOU ART INSTITUTE (CHINA): Double faced embroidery art
• AIZHAN BEKKULOVA (KAZAKHSTAN): Felt art
• HISAKO SUMI (JAPAN): Japanese purple dyed textiles
• MALAY (TAIWAN): Crochet jewelry
• TUN JUGAH FOUNDATION: Iban ‘Pua-sungkit’ Textiles of Sarawa

Flyers - 139 x 107 mm by Vistaprint

New Opera Shawls

This is ARABELLA

Here is a detail of CARMEN

(A closer view of the lace patterning)

Here is a detail of Queen of the Night

And, to complement the Queen of the Night, 
here is her daughter, Pamina

New berets

I recently made some more berets, using Shetland Wool.

BLUE FAIR ISLE

GREY FAIR ISLE

RAINBOW BERET

LEAF PATTERN BERET

SATISFIED CUSTOMER WEARING THE LEAF PATTERN BERET!

New Opera Shawl

I have added to the OPERA SHAWL COLLECTION.

This is FRICKA, which I made specially for Sarah Connolly, who sang the role in the Royal Opera House RING last year.

And here is Sarah's cat, Angel, wearing it!!

Here is Fricka as depicted by Arthur Rackham in his illustrations of the RING.

EMBELLISHED TEXTILES CONFERENCE

CHORD Workshop and Call for Papers Embellished Textiles: Interpretation and Care of Fine Needlework in Museums and Historic Houses  Wednesday 12 June 2013 University of Wolverhampton Embellished textiles such as embroidery, lace, netting, fringing and tassels have long been used to add beauty and value to clothing and household furnishings. Great skill and time were required, and the work often included expensive materials such as pearls, sequins, silver and gold. Textile items are particularly prone to the effects of time and embellished items rarely survive in a pristine state that verifies their original status and value. This workshop seeks to explore the interpretation, care and conservation of such artefacts in museums and historic houses. Possible topics might include: ·        The material culture and history of embellished textiles in museums and historic houses ·        Delicate textiles on open display ·        Interpreting needlework skills ·        Gendered production and use ·        The relationship between embellished textiles and the heritage setting ·        Presentation of degraded and fragmentary artefacts ·        Preventative conservation To submit a proposal, please send title and abstract of c.300/400 words to Laura Ugolini at l.ugolini@wlv.ac.uk and Margaret Ponsonby at m.ponsonby@wlv.ac.uk by 1 March 2013. A small fund is available to help cover speakers’ travel and fees. To find out more, please contact Laura Ugolini atl.ugolini@wlv.ac.uk The workshop will be held in Millennium City Building, located on the University of Wolverhampton’s City campus, just 10 minutes’ walk from Wolverhampton’s bus and train stations. For further information, please e-mail: Dr Laura Ugolini at l.ugolini@wlv.ac.uk or Dr Margaret Ponsonby at  m.ponsonby@wlv.ac.uk

Valentine's Day Craft Fair, 9 February

Hope people will come to this Valentine's Day Craft Fair 

and buy lots of my crochet roses!!