Textile Art Exhibitions and Christmas Sales

Last week I said I was not ready for Christmas. This week I don't think I ever will be - not this year anyway. While I have been distracted this week from Christmas preparations, it has been worth it. A very talented textile artist friend Wendy Scott had the opening of her solo exhibition, Rainbow Journey, at Timeless Textiles Gallery on Thursday night. I really recommend that you take the time out to see this one - a magical visual journey of colour, excitement and pure joy. The exhibition is open until 7 December at Timeless Textiles Gallery, 7 Beaumont Street, Islington (Newcastle NSW) - just a 2 minute walk from Hamilton (NSW) Railway Station. Congratulations, Wendy - it is an absolutely beautiful exhibition and a wonderful testimony to your artistic talent.

Wendy Scott and self portrait

We are very fortunate to have opportunities to exhibit and see great textile art here in Newcastle. The next textile art exhibition opens this Thursday night at Wallsend Library and it will be the annual exhibition of NCEATA - Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists. The exhibition is entitled "Archi-Textiles" inspired by architecture - there will be some really innovative textile art on display I am sure. I am delivering my contribution " East-West" this afternoon. It is the first time I have used paint, digital prints and hand made foam printing blocks as well as stitching in a piece of work - not sure about it, but my husband likes it...

East-West : exhibition piece

What an exciting week ... this Saturday is also the annual Handmade Treasures Christmas Sale for charity. This year, the recipient of the profits will be a local and global charity " Give Love to Children" which supports orphanages in the Philippines and provides free health services to disadvantaged children here in the Hunter. Already beautiful work from my lovely sewing friends has arrived - here is a preview of the great gifts you can buy at Saturday's sale supporting local artists and artisans and a very good cause.

table napkins and appliqued place mats

hand sewn quilts

embroidered cushions, patchwork pouches, Christmas cakes

colourful aprons - for children, men and women

appliqued and embroidered sewing bags and babies'wear

I am looking forward to a great day. If you live nearby, I hope you will come to see these hand made treasures and lots more... I have heard this week that the Hunter East Timor Sisters will also be bringing their hand woven tais, many of which have been made by village women in East Timor to raise much needed funds for teacher scholarships to East Timorese young women.... At least I will have my Christmas shopping done after Saturday...

#the100dayproject : Inspiring Women Days 1 - 4

#The100DayProject is a *free* global art project that takes place online 🎨 E very year, thousands of people all around the world commit to 100 days of creating. Anyone can participate . The idea is simple: choose a creative project, do it every single day for 100 days, and document and share the process online. 2026 is my 8th year of participating. I have stitched daily observations, painted my egg cup collection, collaged postcards and envelopes, written poems, explored colour palettes .... this year I am researching, sketching and stitching 100 inspiring women. Fortunately I purchased a piece of beautiful linen, with preprinted outlines of 100 women ... just one issue - the figures are tiny (height 6cm /2.5 ins) My first week started tentatively ... I thought I would start with Empress Wu, after whom I named my creative activity. This is when I discovered how difficult it is to applique and stitch on these very small figures - I used tweezers to put pieces of fabric down, tried t...

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

Background Information: Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap. 2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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