Introduction: Fiber Art Almanac: Essays from the American Midwest The Quilt Maker’s Story It’s time to get back to writing and picture taking and sharing what I love best about textiles and fiber art in the American Midwest. I’ve heard so many stories from you; how...
Sheryl Thies is an accomplished pattern writer. With seven books to her credit, she understands the work schedule behind yarn type and color selection. For all of us who would like to sally forth into the pattern writing realm, it requires a great deal of commitment. ...
If you know Elizabeth, you know she can knit in the dark. Her knitting is always with her; at movies or even meetings at work. Her shawls are well worn, well loved and have been repaired numerous times because the knitting is so fine. Here’s a little bit about...
Instead of a ‘year in review’, I thought I’d show you some of my favorite images.There’s no particular order, commentary, artist selection process or any other rational methodology of picking and choosing. I just like them, I hope you do, too. ...
When I first saw Susan Simonton knitting these stockings, I visualized them worn on a wedding day. Their color, fiber and loveliness bespoke of netting and lace. Susan always has a very complicated project on her needles—a project that showcases the fiber...
Jeneen, whose schedule allows her to have creative time in the morning, likes to say that she starts her day with craft and ends her day with craft. Three years ago, Jeneen took a break from making fabric baskets with a sewing machine and began to crochet vessles with...
The most important question is, “would I wear this?” St. Paul native Kjersti Campbell, an emerging knitting pattern designer with an eye for complex compositions, worked her way through high school at the local bead store where she was especially intrigued by bead...
Color and fiber work is a process of exploration and discovery for Susan Antell. She has spent a good deal of time studying the dye process for both cotton and wool fabrics. When I met Susan almost three years ago, she had recently finished a booklet containing...
by Jenny Wilder with Marie Westerman I’ll say this at the outset; Marie lives in a sacred place. When I travel to Minnesota’s North Shore and the road comes down the sweeping curve leading into Grand Marais and the big ancient shoulders of the Sawtooth Mountains...
They have so much personality that when I opened the box, they looked like they were ready to jump out! An illustrator by training and a corporate graphic designer by day, Julie Pietras enjoys making many types of fiber art. From these charming needle felted critters...
The process of self discovery is a little like packing a suitcase for a long trip. So many variables to consider that what you ‘think you might need’ is in reality no more than a mere guess. The assumptions and first thoughts are only the beginning. And I’ve read (and...
“Peace be with you (And also with you).” Since ancient times, the symbol of the dove has been associated with peace, goodwill and harmony of spirit. It is a common belief among religions and philosophies to associate the accord of spirit and enlightenment...
George Sundstrom says he’s living the American Dream and believe it, he is. George and Jeanette’s family run Sun Valley Fiber business has the hallmark of an American success story. Nestled in the rolling hills of southern Wisconsin, their farm includes the usual...
Helena Wentzlaff’s quilts are to quilting what Mt. Rushmore, apple pie and country living represent in American folklore. Heritage, home and roots. There’s no question one of her quilts could be shown around the world and people would identify it as one of the more...
Carolfaye Meadows has a way with words—she’s gifted in her interesting dialogue and style of delivery. I’ve always enjoyed our conversations because she’s funny and sincere and to the point. Her felted art handbags reflect those same fresh qualities. Carolfaye does...
“A shoebox of materials interests me more than an entire store.” –Nancy Miler Nancy Miller tinkers with all types of fiber arts. And she’s a button collector, too. Over her thirty year enjoyment of quilting, weaving, knitting, spinning and crochet (just to name the...
Rug hooking, as its known today, is thought to have been first developed in the early Colonies and Canadian Maritime Provinces. History has many examples of woven floor mats across cultures from the Vikings to the Egyptians. The North American rug hooking style has...
A long way from her Southern roots now, Kim Kaelin first learned about rug hooking from a DIY cable television show in 1993. Commenting about that era being pre-Google, she combed the Louisville phone book in search of rug hooking information, classes or a shop. Not...
When I first met Nancy Mambi, who is the Textile Center Librarian, I had just signed up to volunteer. I didn’t know anyone in the library or in the extended fiber arts community which cradles the Textile Center like a hand knit blanket, so I simply called and spoke...
Hello All, There are probably more than a few of us who were exposed to the happiness of blissful creativity by a teacher, parent or friend and because of all the necessary decisions for the work-a-day life, set it aside with a whispered, “someday!” A box of paints...
The 2014 Fiber Art Almanac–a weekly calendar for people who like fiber art all year long! 25 Midwestern fiber artists who will inspire you with their creativity and passion for their work. Just a few books arrived from one of my consignment museum shops and...
By all accounts, Don Waalen-Radzevicius is having a great year. MinnesotaSticks, his knitting pattern and design business has really taken off giving him the opportunity for travel, teaching in shops across the United States and the opportunity to create pattern...
After I’d seen the techniques Tina Hughes uses and style she expresses making her quilts it was quite humorous to read the definition of quilt in the Oxford dictionary. “A warm bed covering made of padding enclosed between layers of fabric and kept in place by lines...
Last spring, when I met Wendi Seminari to photograph some of her work for the 2014 Almanac, I was most impressed with her superb garment construction. Recalling the axiom her home ec teacher drummed in ‘it should look as good on the inside as it does on the outside’...
When, in casual conversation, I bring up the subject of macramé, those who are ‘of an age’ will smile, chuckle and recall candle wax dripping down the sides of a green wine bottle wrapped in hemp macramé or visualize an air fern hanging in a south facing window. So...