Welcome to week 427 of Free Motion Mavericks. This week I'm busy getting ready for the annual Out of the Box (OOTB) Fibre Artists Group show. It's been virtual for the last two years so it's wonderful and a lot more work, now that it's live again.
Fibre Fling 2023
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| Fibre Fling 2023 is this week in Ottawa |
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| See you at Fibre Fling 2023! |
I have two pieced in the show this year, one of them you've seen a few times on the blog.
This first piece is still my favourite - Let Them Flourish. This was created through a workshop with Kate Tune for TextileArtists.org It has been exhibited but never at Fibre Fling.
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| Let Them Flourish |
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| Let Them Flourish details of the owl and French knots! |
I finished this second piece with minutes to spare 😊. I must love living dangerously! This is the third embroidery that I made based on TextileArtist.org's workshop with Bethany Duffy. The other two embroideries were seascape. I loved the technique so much that I used a half-nut instead of a seashell. I just LOVE that adorable squirrel - he looks so mischievous (or stunned - either works for me!).
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| Squirrel - finally finished 😊 |
I brought the unfinished piece to my last Fibre 15 group meeting and asked for advice on how to finish it. This is what it looked like at the time. I knew that something else was needed, or at least that there needed to be something in the top part. Everyone recommended that I extend the tree to cover most of the top. I really like it now.
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| The embroidery piece before fixing it |
I finished it up this afternoon. There wasn't much work to do. I removed the "leaves", added a branch and more fabric on the tree bark for texture. I then added another section to the top of the tree. A few blades of grass helped to ground the tree. The squirrel and tree trunk hadn't been stitched, so I took out my lovely Kimono silk thread and finished it off 😊
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| Finished backing |
The Light Beyond is in the Silent Auction, to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Ottawa Food Bank. Hopefully it will do well.
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| The Light Beyond - to be auctioned |
Update on Fibre Fling 2023
I spent most of the day at the exhibition. It was so good to see all of the art, the participants and talking with the attendees. 😊 Here are a few pictures to share.
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| So much beautiful textile art! |
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| Doing a mindful stitching demo |
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| Here's my Squirrel! |
What I learned
- Retirement has really messed with my perception of time.
- I need to fill in my quilted calendar regularly because I was totally unprepared for Fibre Fling. I was sure that it was next week!
- Even if I have blogged about a finished piece, it doesn't mean that it's ready for an exhibition. Labels, hanging sleeves or hooks and wire probably still need to be added.
- For instance, The Light Beyond, completed over a year ago, not only needed a label, hooks and a wire, it also needed to be permanently stapled to the frame. I had just used tacks!
- I have to admit that I'm supposed to have three pieces in the exhibition. This morning I sewed a hanging sleeve on my Courage piece (from Project Quilting 14-6). It was all ready....but I can't find it! Truly, I've looked everywhere in my studio and it's not here. I have no idea where it is, so it won't be in the show. Maybe I need to work on my mindfulness more.😒
- Update - the missing courage has been found....hanging on the front of my studio door, over my winter quilt....I now have 3 pieces in the show!
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| Lost but now found! |
Related links
- Let Them Flourish is finished!, May 28, 2022
- Embroideries in hoops, September 16, 2022
- Learning from old quilt books, March 01, 2022
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. Why not check them out? Sew & Tell, Needle & Thread Thursday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop?, Put your foot down, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Peacock Party, Beauty Pageant, TGIFF, Patchwork & Quilts, Oh Scrap!, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2023, Slow Sunday Stitching, Design Wall Monday,
Free Motion Mavericks
Check out these two very different quilts from our last party.
Gail made her crazy quilt as a quilt-as-you-go and used her many, many lovely machine stitches. She had so much fun that the quilt is called A Kid in a Candy Shop!
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| Quilting Gail's Crazy Quilt for Aurifil |
Melva is still working on her client's quilts. Her diagonal quilting is perfect for the quilt and I'm sure that the family will be very happy with all of them.
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| Melva's quilting enhances the quilt! |
It's now your turn!
I really like how your second piece finished. Well done! Best of luck in the show. Thanks for sharing in the Sew & Tell party.
ReplyDeleteThanks Melva, it was a wonderful show. I'm really happy with my Squirrel! It make me smile each time I see it :-)
DeleteBravo pour ces belles pièces pour l'expo ! Heureusement que tu as retrouvé celle qui manquait, à temps. Je viendrais lier un post en milieu de semaine ;)
ReplyDeleteMerci pour le partage !
Merci Frédérique, j'aime bien ton quilting! et je viens de voir tes maisons. Superbe!
DeleteAll three of your pieces turned out beautifully! Hope you get to enjoy the show now that all the hard work is done. I agree that retirement messes with your perception of time. I almost missed a meeting because I didn't realize what day it was.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kate - that sounds too familiar :-) I really enjoyed the show. It was so great to see everyone and to share our love of fibre art!
DeleteI would love to know more about mindful stiching. I'm doing now what I am calling mindless crafts. The ones that don't require me to keep track of stitches or anything else while sitting with my daughter in hospice.
ReplyDelete