Wednesday 25 March 2015

photos (at last!) of all of the pretty things that were in the latest packages that arrived at the end of last week

Sometimes things conspire to prevent you getting things done as quickly as you had hoped, but I have finally had time to sort out photos for the latest arrivals, and here they all are.  

When I opened up one of the envelopes that I listed in my last blog post, the one from Marianne in Estonia, I discovered that it actually contained the work of another 8 crocheters as well as herself, so there are now even more names on the list of contributors...just fabulous!

First up for today we have the work of Adrienne Robinson from Chermside, Qld, Australia, who sent a great assortment of pieces.  She has created one large scrumble plus 7 smaller bits.  The big floral peace symbol with its Tunisian crochet centre measures 31cm (about 12"), and the smallest of her contributions is the tiny pink flower, which is less than 3cm (1").


Angela Watson Pfaff from Naperville, IL, USA has crocheted the next scrumble. This one is a fabulously tactile creation, with lots of interesting flower motifs on the surface making the piece quite 3D and very touchable.  It is nearly 25cm (10") across at its widest point.

Anastasia Ushakova from Russia has sent the 5 freeform motifs that are next.  All very original and nicely made; so neat, in fact, that I found it difficult to tell the right side from the back for some of them, because Anastasia has woven her ends in so very, very well.  We all need 'finishing' lessons from her!  The largest is about 16cm (6½") and the smallest is 9cm (3½").

Anne Oja-Aru is from Estonia, and she has created 4 very interesting pieces.  They are all fabulously freeform, and are all so very different from each other, with the largest being about 16cm (6½") across.
Anneli Vorms is also from Estonia, and she is the creator of the next scrumble, a circular abstract floral motif with lots of openwork.  This lovely lacy piece measures about 10cm (4") at its widest point.
Deidre Eyles from Brighton, ON, Canada, not only sent a most beautiful and bright scrumble (33cm or 13" across), but in her package she also included a very cute card.  Deidre was born in the '60s, and her 16 year old daughter Lana did a rendition on the front of the card, of her Mum as a Flower Child.  I think I might just have to laminate the drawing and display it too  :-)



Eva Laane from Estonia has crocheted the next piece, a pretty floral inspired freeform 'granny circle' type of motif, with puffy block stitches added for extra interest.  This one measures 14cm across (about 5½").

Another Estonian, Eva Miller, has created this next scrumble.  It is a soft but quite 3D creation (even more 3D than it appears in the photo), and the dainty fine mohair that she has used for the lacy stitches gives a gentle 'halo' effect around the edges.  It measures 15cm (6").

Gerry K. Futoran from Flagstaff, AZ, USA, sent this great three-dimensional scrumble; good bright colours and with some interesting and appropriate additions - a ribbon rose plus some flower, insect and abstract buttons, some made from polymer clay.  This piece measures 18cm (7") across.
The pretty little flower in the next photo is from Irina Djagileva in Russia.   Crocheted in fine thread this piece has quite a delicate appearance, but is very stable and is stronger than it looks.  It measures just 10cm (4") across.

Kaylene Morgan from Bairnsdale in Victoria, Australia, has had help from her granddaughter Taylah Carter to create this next gorgeous floral scrumble.  It is done in both knitting and crochet, with Taylah's French knitting (tubular cord) making up the centre of the pink flower; well done!  It measures 25cm (10").

Leina Neima from Estonia created the next three scrumbles.  She has used beautiful bright colours, and has crocheted some very interesting and lacy freeform shapes, with the largest being about 17cm (6½") in width.
Lynn Johanna Larsen from Kent, WA, USA, had made 2 gorgeous little freeform flowers.  They are only tiny, but they are very 3D, and there is a lot going on texturally in each of them.  The larger of the two measures just 10cm (4").
Mari Tarver from Royse City, TX, USA has created the next piece, and a wonderfully 3D artwork this piece is too.  It looks like a fabulous floral posey, with its standing leaves, and it measures about 23cm (9") across.

Marianne Sieman, from Harju, Estonia, made the next gorgeous scrumble, and it was her package that also contained all of the other pieces from Estonian crocheters - all ladies who had recently taken Marianne's freeform crochet workshops.  This one measures 20cm (8").


Marilyn Morgenlande from, Woodmere, NY, USA, has sent 2 pieces; the larger scrumble has 4 lovely freeform floral-inspired circular sections joined together (it's 28cm or 11" across), plus she also made a smaller individual piece that measures about 11cm (4-and-a-bit inches).

Marja Jokela from Nurmijärvi, Finland has not only created a gorgeous flower, but also the letters E and O for our Flower Power sign.  She has used surface stitches to great effect on both of the letters.  The flower measures 17cm (6½",  the E is about 28cm (11") tall, and the O is 24cm (9½") .

Moonika L, another of the Estonian girls, crocheted this next scrumble.  Again we have a lovely bright and quite lacy creation, and this one measures about 15cm (6") across.
Nata Degtyaryova from Krasnodar in Russia created the next one, which measures 15cm (6").  It is a beautiful piece of modern Irish crochet, done in cotton but with ruffles in fine cream textured wool worked onto the mesh filler stitches.  An unusual techniques that gives a very interesting effect with lots of depth - I'm showing a photo of both sides. 

The two beautifully textured pieces in the next photo are from Orla Scully from Clonakilty in County Cork, Ireland.  Very tactile, quite 3D and in great colours, the larger of the two measures 18cm (7").
Sigrit Lilleste is also from Estonia, and she has created another bright and interesting freeform piece with a floral theme.  With a nice combination of  different textures and stitches, this one measures 15cm (6").
The fabulous piece that is next was made by Sue Duffy, who is from O’Fallon, MO, USA.  Sue has used lovely bright yarns and lots of different stitches and techniques to create a large and extremely interesting scrumble, measuring in at 78cm (just over 30").
 

Susan Hartl from Swansea, IL, USA has crocheted this next piece.  It's a beauty, and she has incorporated some of her handspun yarns.  It measures about 26cm (a bit over 10").

Svetlana Mozgljakova from Russia has created 2 unusual pieces.  Interesting shapes, very nicely made, in great colours, they both measure just over 20cm (about 8").

Toni Alvarez from Seville in Spain, has sent this great pillow-style contribution, with a very puffy padded heart at the centre.  Toni says that she dedicates this crochet artwork to organ donors worldwide.  It measures approximately 30cm (12") across.

This pretty piece is from Ülle Krousoja, the last of the Estonian contributors for today.  Her gorgeous freeform flower has been crocheted in a combination of lovely rich colours, and this one is 15cm (6"). 

...and finally, we have all of these gorgeous pieces from Irina Yakovleva from Kursk, Russia.  What a fabulous variety of different scrumbles.  And thank you so much to Marina for identifying whose work these all are, as I wasn't able to read the writing on the slightly damaged envelope.




There were no more parcels waiting at the post office when we checked again either yesterday or the day before, but we will check again later today, since I know that there are a few people getting a little bit nervous that their pieces haven't arrived yet...although I'm sure that they must all be getting pretty close now, and I expect that I will have them safely here and be able to take more photos to share with you all very soon.

I also collected pieces from 2 more contributors at the craft show I was doing on the weekend, so I will take photos of those later and will add them to the blog with the next batch.

Saturday 21 March 2015

it's a WIP

We have been lucky enough to be able to preview some of the flower power pieces at the Stitches and Craft Show in Brisbane this week.  

It's been a very busy show so far, and it still has two more days to run, but our artwork-in-progress has already been seen and admired by thousands of craft and fibre fanatics.

Here are a couple of quick photos.  I had sorted and stitched together the scrumbles that are in these larger arrangements...they are still a couple of separate areas at the moment (while I wait to see what else comes in), but when we got the chance to exhibit something this early, I thought it was a good opportunity to start to show off everyone's work.

So I apologize that not everyone's contributions are included yet...these pieces probably contain about one third of what has been received so far.

I have many boxes of scrumbles all over the house, sorted already into similar colourways but unfortunately still just sitting here, waiting patiently to be joined.  There are ever quite enough hours in the day!!

...but once this show is over I will get busy with more stitching next week, in preparation for the June exhibition at FibreFest as part of the Craft & Quilt Fair at the Sydney Exhibition Centre at Glebe Island in June.  

I'll change the photos to better quality ones tonight, but in the meantime, enjoy
...and see if you can spot any of your own work included in the stitched up sections so far








Friday 20 March 2015

another 20

This week I have been flat out with a very busy show here in Brisbane.  It runs until Sunday, so no new photos just yet, but here is a list of the names of the latest contributors.  

My apologies if I don't have anyone's full name or location...a couple of the envelopes were difficult to read.  So if you are on the list and the info below isn't right, just message me with any corrections and I will fix it up here on the blog, and also on the list I am preparing so that all your names can be hung along with the finished artwork in June.


Adrienne Robinson, Chermside, Qld, Australia
Angela Watson Pfaff, Naperville, IL, USA
Anastasia Ushakova, Russia
Deidre Eyles, Brighton, ON, Canada
Gerry K. Futoran, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
Irina Djagileva, Russia
Kaylene Morgan and Taylah Carter, Bairnsdale, Vic, Australia
Lynne Johanna Larsen, Kent, WA, USA
Mari Tarver, Royse City, TX, USA
Marianne Sieman, Harju, Estonia
Marilyn Morgenlander, Woodmere, NY, USA
Marja Jokela, Nurmijärvi, Finland
Nata Degtyaryova, Krasnodar, Russia
Orla Scully, Clonakilty, Co. Cork, Ireland
Sue Duffy, O’Fallon, MO, USA
Susan Hartl, Swansea, IL, USA
Svetlana Mozgljakova, Russia
Toni Alvarez, Seville, Spain
plus someone whose initials could be UBD or UBL, from Poccus in Russia(and my apologies, but I can't make out the name on the envelope)