This is it!

This is the latest Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt called En Province.
It is approximately 80x80 now and has two more borders which I think I will leave off as it will be too large for what I have in mind. I had some fabric already and threw this together it is a mix of blues. Purple, tone on tone beige , and I kicked in the lime green. Being a mystery quilt I was unsure of my colour combination as I went rogue when a colour wheel was suggested. Combined with a small work space I was curtailed in getting the true picture until the top was done.

Once complete and a picture snapped I see the boldness of the pattern not to be outdone by my imperfection and sewing skills. I hope to use a high loft poly batting and longarm a baptist fan to offset the squareness of the pattern. I plan to do this edge to edge then put on an edgeless border that wraps around the back

This means I now have approximately 200 + 4x4 squares already pieced a good start for the next adventure - send suggestions Lol

Blanket Statement:
No Shame in Patches

by: Gloria S. Daly

March 14, 2017 - May 20, 2017

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Vernissage:  

Saturday, March 18, 2017 from 2 - 4 pm.

 

This year the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is not only celebrating Canada’s sesquicentennial, but is also marking the 150^th anniversary of Almonte’s Rosamond No. 1 Woolen Mill. It’s a celebration of more than 150 years of industrial textile production in the Mississippi Valley. It is only fitting that many of this year’s exhibitions feature historic textiles or historic themes. Opening on March 14 and running until May 20, the exhibition “Blanket Statement: No Shame in Patches” fits both categories.

In this colourful, creative and fascinating exhibit, textile artist Gloria Daly from Duncan BC gives discarded blankets a new public image, challenging the viewer to look for the inner beauty in the old and used. The works that she creates are labour intensive and thought provoking, exploring the relationship between yesterday’s discarded cloth and today’s philosophy of “recycling.” The works are a contemporary take on mending, patching and darning. Layered cloth allows worn and weathered fibres to recapture dignity as they record changes in temperature, the ravages of rust, and the tints and tones of tarnish and stain.  

Artist: Gloria S. Daly

An outstanding artist, Gloria has received awards from the BC arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. She studied Design and Embroidery with the City & Guilds Institute of London, England, was elected to the Embroiderers Association of Canada, and was chosen as an example of excellence in Design by the Embroiderer’s Guild of America. Her works are in private and corporate collections in Australia, Japan, Canada, and the USA. 

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Come and celebrate Almonte’s textile history at the vernissage for this exhibition on Saturday March 18 from 2 to 4 pm. For more information call the Museum at 613-256-3754.

 

Soup Up Those Winter Blahs! Mark the date Saturday, March 4 on your calendar now. You won’t want to miss this year’s “Soup for Thought” Luncheon Fundraiser. There’s nothing like a nice hot bowl of soup to warm you up on these chilly days – and what soups they are! Food and museum lovers attending this popular event will enjoy gourmet soup from the best restaurants in Almonte and the Valley and will take home the beautiful handmade stoneware bowl it was served in, courtesy of the Almonte Potter’s Guild. Again this year there are two Seatings : Seating One: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm Seating Two: 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Sarah Robertson of Prior Engagements will be donating additional dishes and utensils. Patrice’s Independent Grocer will be providing coffee and rolls. Rental Village will be donating beverage containers. And the Friends of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum will be providing tasty desserts. Tickets are $25.00 each. Children under 12 are free (soup, no bowl to take home). Tickets will be available at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Baker Bob’s, and Pêches et Poivre. Be sure to get your tickets in advance as only 150 tickets will be sold for each seating.

Living Positively
Kenyan Artists Paint Their Truths

Dec 10- Feb 10th
Featuring art work from the 1st Imani Artists Collective of Eldoret, Kenya.
Mississippi Valley Textile Museum


Saturday Dec. 17
1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Experience an afternoon celebrating the resilience of the people of Kenya and the transformative power of creativity.

Join visual artist, comedian and teacher Rachelle Elie as she recounts her experience guiding twelve HIV-positive artisans into the land of visual art and painting. Discover how these artists became accomplished painters in just under two years, and how their art led to a successful commission in the only maternity hospital in Kenya. The afternoon includes an introduction by local obstetrician/ gynecologist Dr. Dave Caloia, who will recount his own experiences in medicine and the challenges of working in developing countries. Special appearance by Almonte composer, poet and musician Ian Douglas.
 

Colour To Be Unboxed at the MVTM

Colours to dazzle and challenge will be on display at the Mississippi valley Textile Museum from December 20 to February 25, 2017.
The art group Out of the Box will present “Colour Unboxed” a show that celebrates exactly that. The exhibition features approximately 200 pieces from over 60 fibre artists, including 112 pieces showing interpretations of six colours of the colour wheel and black/white.
Out of the Box is group of Ottawa and area artists who are passionate about creating innovative and thought-provoking works of art with fibre, their preferred medium. They include machine and/or hand embroiderers, art quilters, weavers, felters, doll makers, embellishers, silk painters, dyers, as well as other needle workers and mixed media and fine artists. They come from all walks of life but are drawn together by their love of texture, colour, and creation.
Come and revel in the shades, hues, and tints, and let the vivid washes of colour brighten and invigorate the dreary months of winter. There will be a vernissage for the exhibit on January 14 from 2 to 4 p.m. For more information call the Museum at 613 256-3754. The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is located at 3 Rosamond St. E. in Almonte.

You are invited to visit our latest exhibit-

                                                 

 

Reviving a Tradition: Penny Rugs at the MVTM
What’s a penny rug?
 
Penny rugs emerged in the mid-nineteenth century when thrifty homemakers used wool scraps from old clothing to create decorative table toppers, seat covers and rugs. The wool was boiled in water and, when dry, the felted wool was cut using coins as templates—hence the name. These were then stitched onto a cloth backing and embellished with embroidery. A penny would often be sewn in for luck.

Come and discover these wonderful pieces of Folk art in Danielle Potvin’s exhibition “A Penny Rug,” which runs from October 4 to December 10 at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. Meet the artist at the vernissage on October 8 from to 2 pm to 4 pm.

 Eco-Artisan
Gatineau artist Danielle Potvin began to revive this traditional folk art in 2004 using time-honoured techniques. She refers to herself as an “eco-artisan” because she uses only recycled wool in her creations (e.g., coats, sweaters, blankets, vests, and scarves). She can often be found at thrift stores and flea markets searching for that perfect piece of wool! Inspired by the natural beauty of the Gatineau Hills, she creates naïve designs and shares her passion at events in Canada and abroad. Her work can be found in public and private collections, such as the Canadiana Fund, created to enhance Canada’s official residences, such as those of the Prime Minister and Governor General.

Make your own penny rug
Danielle Potvin will offer two one-day workshops at the Museum: on Saturday October 22 and on November 12. No previous experience is required. Students will use simple techniques to create wool appliqués from felted, recycled wool that are then blanket-stitched with embroidery pearl cotton thread. As tradition demands, students will hide Canadian coins in their artwork.

Workshops will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a maximum of six participants per workshop. Students will receive full kits for their creation. Cost is $75, including the kit. More details can be found on the Museum’s website at mvtm.ca. For more information or to register call the Museum at 613 256-3754. The Mississippi Valley Textile Museum is located at 3 Rosamond St. E. in Almonte.

Ottawa Guild of Lacemakers

September 19-22 2016 Workshop
Mississippi Valley Textile Museum

   “Invisible Starts and Finishes
      in Bobbin Lace Making”

The Ottawa Guild of  Lacemakers with the assistance of a grant from the Ontario Arts Council is sponsoring a workshop for National Capital Region lacemakers to learn and master specialized techniques useful to bobbin lacemaking.

To paraphrase Elizabeth Kurella, author of Guide to Lace and Linens ‘bobbin lace making is a form of weaving with no fixed warp or weft.  Because the threads are all free to travel in any direction at any time there are infinite possibilities for decorative stitches.  All the stitches in bobbin lace are based on weaving, braiding and twisting the threads.’  When working, two pairs or four bobbins are usually being used so the process is systematic yet infinitely variable in how it is executed to create the lace.  It is made on a stabilizing platform, using pins to hold the threads in position.  These ‘cushions, bolsters or pillows’ as they are called vary in shape from flat rounded or oval discs to cylinders or flattened cylinders mounted like a roller or held in baskets or held on the knee or lain on a table or holder.  The shapes are  ‘stuffed’ or made with traditional materials such as wool felt, straw or sawdust or in more modern times are made from foams such as ethafoam.

The origins of bobbin lace date back to very early times, however it started its ascendance to prominence as an art/ industry in the 16^th century.  It progressed and expanded globally onward and outward into the 18^th century when its ‘multinational economic status’ declined by supplanting the cottage workers with the introduction of lace making machinery.  The machines never replicated the array or quality of laces nor did they capture the multitude of regional variations and styles. Bobbin lacemaking has since evolved into an artistic art form or leisure activity.  This is why the participants in this workshop are gathered here at the Museum: to learn more techniques of the art, to preserve it as a real and integral art form and as pleasant pastime for those who like to do it.

The workshop leader is Martina Wolter-Kampmann an internationally renowned German lace artist and teacher.  She is the author of book and CD “Invisible Starts and Finishes in Bobbin Lace ”  (2011 – ISBN/EAN 978-3-9802279-6-4).  She is fluent in the techniques of traditional and modern laces in Europe and is an expert in designing and mending lace.  She teaches internationally her innovative and invisible methods of joining finishes to starts so that the joining threads disappear completely.  This is quite technically challenging to do.  She has a Diploma in Pedagogics and Textile Arts from the University of Dortmund, Germany and a doctorate from the Kantcentrum in Brugge, Belgium that is a renowned centre for the teaching of lacemaking,