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Atlantic Canadian fibre arts blogs
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Features
on New Brunswick fibre artists
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Tips
on discovering and eliminating bedbugs
With
bedbugs high in the news, here are tips from Pest Control Canada on how to handle the small insects.
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Fibre
arts have gone Hollywood!
Knitting
has become so hot, even Hollywood's top actresses are picking up the sticks! Material Girl Madonna has been seen making her
own knitted goodies, and leading lady Julia Roberts is producing and starring in a movie about the hobby. The Friday Night Knitting Club is due for release June 6, 2008.
Did
you know Canadian silver screen legend Mary Pickford was among the first celebrities to pick up knitting needles? In 1925,
she knit between scenes of her latest movie to support Red Cross war relief efforts.
Some
of today's leading ladies who enjoy fibre arts include actress Reese Witherspoon who collects embroidery and antique lace,
Catherine Zeta-Jones, who knits and embroiders, and Wheel of Fortune favourite Vanna White, who crochets afghans for friends
and family while awaiting her time on stage. Years ago, Mary Tyler Moore embroidered during waits for her turn on stage. She
gradually completed the cushions for a divan and matching love seat during her years on the Dick Van Dyke show. And hang on
to your hats, real mean really do fibre arts. Actor Bruce Willis was a sheep farmer in his pre-movie days.
Other
famous Hollywood stars to enjoy a few leisurely hours with their knitting include Madonna, Iman, Hilary Swank, Cameron Diaz,
Daryl Hannah, Goldie Hawn, Eartha Kitt, Winona Ryder, Julianne Moore, Rose McGowan, Kate Moss,
Madeline Albright, Megan
Mullaly, Sarah Jessica Parker, Joanne Woodward, Bob Mackie, Stu Bloomberg, Rosie Grier, Russell Crowe, Tyne Daly (Judging
Amy)
and Janet Wright (Corner Gas).
Still
more creative people who knit while carrying out their more famous roles include Betsy Ross, authors Jane Austen, Edgar
Allan Poe and Gertrude Stein, and inventor Thomas Edison.
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Looking
for a new challenge?
If
you're a fibre artist who enjoys knitting, felting or similar crafts, then Devine West Ranch would be pleased to hear from you.
In
their goal to be the best fibre farm from which to get exotic fibre and finished goods, they are planning to open a farm
store within the next several months. They are looking for knitters, weavers, etc. to make items for the store.
The farm owners would provide the yarn or felt and sell items on commission for the craftpeople. The ability to design your
own patterns would be a bonus.
If
interested, please contact Jamie and Margot Roode, Devine West Ranch, 66 Devine West Rd., Erb
Settlement, NB E5P 3E8. Phone: 506-433-3301 or
506-434-3302; Email: info@dwranch.ca; Website: www.dwranch.ca
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Calling
all professional artists!
The New Brunswick Arts Board is still collecting the names of all professional
artists residing and creating in New Brunswick. Although the Arts Board has been dealing with professional artists for some
time, it is felt that there are no clear statistics concerning where they live, what they do, and what needs they have since
they do not all apply for grants.
For an artist to be in the board's inventory, they need a copy of his/her resume
and how to reach them (if not on resume). You can send resumes by email at imorissette@artsnb.ca, fax or regular mail. Their fax number is 444-5543 and their address is 634 Queen St,
suite 300, Fredericton, E3B 1C2.
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Loose threads
Funky fibre folks are up to all sorts of fun projects. Take a look at some of the wildest fibre art projects
happening out there:
Makeshift
A Vancouver resident strives to wear only clothing and equipment she has made herself for one year. Follow
her blog here.
Have your say
fibreQUARTERLY is an on line magazine covering Textile and Fibre Arts in Canada. They are planning an East
Coast issue and are looking for a co editor who can help coordinate this issue and looking for story ideas. This has been
a free publication and as such has no source of income and doesn't pay. Contact Joe Lewis, editor: fibre Quarterly E-Zine
for Canadian Fibre Artist http://www.velvethighway.com
Stitch and Pitch
Knitters are combining their love of balls of yarn and baseball in the growing Stitch and Pitch trend. Fans are stitching while the players are pitching, cheering all the way!
Wine, wool and sommoliers
Young sheep are being used to help with the vital and often time consuming job of wine production in the
Niagara region. An Aug. 15 article in the Globe and Mail newspaper outlines how sheep feast on the lower leaves of the grape
vines, exposing the valuable green fruit to the sun to assist with the ripening. Vineyard owners like the animals as they
are thorough, only eat up to their 30 inch height, leaving the upper leaves, and avoid the sour unripened grapes. Traditionally,
the job of stripping the vines is done by imported farm labour, while this method is cost effective, well done and much easier
on human backs.
A Tank Cosy (Maureen Power, a fashion student studying in London, England, covers this symbol of war with the hundreds
of knitted squares as part of her thesis)
Some
sweaters you wish you could live in. A Vancouver firm has taken that idea and run with it. Take a look at this giant project!
Turning knitting needles into magic wands -- As the world relishes the seventh and
final book in the magical Harry Potter series, knitting fans have a way to feel a little closer to the boy wizard. The book
Charmed Knits features patterns for clothing articles seen in the books and movies. Join other knitters in making items at this companion blog as you discuss what will happen next in the hottest children's series in years!
This is a great way to use up cotton fabric scraps, no? There are companies turning recycled
denim into insulation batts for buildings! This is one of them.
Hollywood's The Knitting Factory is one of Tinseltown's hottest venues for live plays and productions.
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Word of New Brunswick fibre arts is appearing in many different media. Some of the
recent articles are:
Saltscapes January/February 2005 (spinning, dying, etc)
East Coast Living Fall and Winter 2005/06 (decorative quilting)
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Take a look at some of these great New Brunswick fibre arts shows!
Elm City Quilt Guild 2006 quilt show , Fredericton
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