Fiber Art Almanac artist stories
In-depth stories and pictures from the Almanac.
Nancy Miller makes ‘suitable accessories’
“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: an American craft
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...
Kim Kaelin: getting hooked rugs up off the floor!
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...
Nancy Mambi’s love of all things fiber
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...
Anne Christenson’s journey with batik
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...
2014 Fiber Art Almanac back in stock!
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 I'd like...
Knitting and designing family memories
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...
Mono-printing on fabric: Tina Hughes’ quilt style
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...
Expressing identity through making ‘art to wear’
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’...
Are You Knot Aware?
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...
Portrait of a Weaver: Lila Nelson
Her story is entwined with the University of Minnesota, Vesterheim Museum, the Weavers Guild of Minnesota (WGM), and countless people Lila Nelson taught and mentored over the 60 plus years she was a weaver. I met Lila through the Weavers Guild. Linda Hansen introduced...
Knit hand bags
Today I was reading the Knitting Daily blog where Kathleen is talking about knitted handbags. Knitting Daily Blog--HandbagsAfter my felting craze where I made over a dozen felted bags and gave most of them away, I knit a couple of bags that didn't require felting. My...
Knitted lace or lace knitting?
Personally, as a knitter, I’m a little late jumping on the lace knitting bandwagon. I’ve always admired the technique and skill from a distance but I wondered if I’d be able to maneuver my favorite style of knitting (thick woolly sweaters) into something that’s so...
The 2014 Fiber Art Almanac is here!
About Wildwood Press and the Fiber Art Almanac! Wildwood Press began as a way to share my enthusiasm for textile art and craft and to promote the artists who make them. I moved to Minnesota from Iowa a millennium ago (thirty years) and stayed. Both sides of my family...
Nancy Wick’s excellent fabric baskets
Sewing a fabric bowl It’s amazingly simple and satisfying to use a length of cord and some yardage of fabric; wrap and sew them together and have a 3 dimensional object when you’re finished! Fabric bowls are useful (maybe not for oatmeal in the morning) but offer up a...