Association of Latvian Textile Artists

This site gives access to the work of 28 Latvian textile artists.

From the site: “The main characteristic features of Latvian textile art are the high artistic quality of the work, pictorial coloring, plastic forms, rhythm of drawing, masterly workmanship, perfect use of materials and technique employed to develop the theme of the work.”
http://www.gallery.lv/textileart/EN/titulsEn.htm

I'm Going to be Filmed, Recorded or Televised - What do I do Now?

It's finally happened - your work is being recognized and you're going to be filmed, recorded, televised, or have been asked to make a presentation. What on earth do you do now? How can you be prepared so you won't look and/or sound like an idiot?

Rose Rushbrooke has shared a number of wonderful tips on her website to help us successfully cope with these scenarios as well as links to other resources:

How to get ready for filming an interview at your home or studio - 9 Tips to Prepare for a Film Crew in Your Home - Rose Rushbrooke
http://roserushbrooke.com/article-film-crew.html

Checklist for Speaking in Public - or How to Give the Butterflies the Heave Ho - Rose Rushbrooke
http://roserushbrooke.com/article-speaking-checklist.html

Public Speaking: Tips for Television, Videotape and Videoconferencing - Tom Antion
http://roserushbrooke.com/article-tv-tips.html

Make the Most of Your Public Appearances - Alan Bamberger
http://roserushbrooke.com/article-public-appearances.html

To learn about Rose Rushbrooke and her work, please visit her website:

http://roserushbrooke.com/index.html

All About: Machine Needlefelting

The introduction of stand alone needlefelting machines or needlefelting attachments for sewing machines has opened up a whole new area for exploration. Following are sites that provide helpful information and supply resources for those otherwise expensive replacement needles:

Comparison of Needlefelting Machines
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/Felting_machines.htm

Should I Buy a Generic Felting Attachment?http://www.tryourdesigns.com/GenericFeltingAttachment.htm

Babylock Embellisher Tips
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/babylock_embellisher_tips.htm

I Took the Machine Out of the Box – Now What?
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/FirstTips.htm

Needle Size Recommendations for Needle Felting/Punching Machines
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/needle_size_recommendations_for_.htm

Felting Needles and the Babylock Embellisher, Fab Felter, Pfaff Smart 350, Huskystar ER-10, and Bernina Needle Punch Attachment:
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/Felting_needle_info.htm

Machine Needlefelting Needle Supply Source - Packages of 5, 25 and 50 - these are hand felting needles that have been cut to size to work with all of the needlefelting machines - they are a lot less expensive & they work very well
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/CutFeltingNeedles1.htm

Avoiding Needle Breakage on Needle Felting Machines
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/AvoidingNeedleBreakage.htm

How to Make Felt Using a Needle Felting Machine
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/DownloadableFiles/FlatFelt.doc

3 minute vidcast using an embellishing machine.
http://beates-fabric-art.blogspot.com/2007/07/if-i-punch.html

Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.tryourdesigns.com/frequently_asked_questions.htm

Frequently Asked Questions – Fiberella
http://www.fiberella.com/html/faq_s.html

Tips for Using Vilene with Needle Felted Fibers http://www.tryourdesigns.com/VileneTips.htm

Embellisher Mini Lesson – Linda Schmidt
http://www.quiltingbee.com/special-events/_SalesArchive/Ads-2005/Spring-2005/LindaSchmidt_embellisher.html#Lesson

Pattern Making with the Embellisher - Linda Monk
http://www.purplemissus.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/postcard.pdf

Embellishing Scrim onto Velvet - Linda Monk
http://www.purplemissus.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/scrim.pdf

Autumn Leaves: Playful Techniques for the Embellisher - Paula Scaffidi - Step-by-step Instructions
http://fiberella.com/AUTUMN_LEAVES.pdf

Paula also shares several video demos for this - note file sizes are large; no sound is included:

Create a leaf demo
http://fiberella.com/Create_a_Leaf_output.wmv

Tacking the roving lightly at first
http://fiberella.com/Tack_the_roving_lightly_at_first_output.wmv

Blending Colors
http://fiberella.com/Blending_colors_output.wmv

Adding soft vein lines
http://fiberella.com/Adding_soft_vein_lines_output.wmv

Adding crisper lines
http://fiberella.com/Adding_crisper_lines_output.wmv

Paula's Website
http://fiberella.com/index.html

Embellish and Stitch – Valerie Campbell-Harding & Maggie Grey – this is a 60-page book covering a variety of techniques using an embellishing machine. http://embellishandstitch.com/
Sample pages can be viewed:
Superior Surfaces - http://embellishandstitch.com/but1.htm
Heat Treatments - http://embellishandstitch.com/but2.htm
Using Hand Tools - http://embellishandstitch.com/but3.htm
Combine with Stitch - http://embellishandstitch.com/but4.htm
Pleats, Tucks and Folds - http://embellishandstitch.com/but5.htm
Experimenting with removing needles - http://embellishandstitch.com/but6.htm

BLOGS dedicated to machine needlefelting:

Fembellish Journal - N. Rene West has posted a series of mini tutorials on machine needlefelting - she shares lots of information about her techniques - its well worth the time to browse through her postings (Note: postings are in reverse order - the earliest ones are found on Page 3):
Page 1: http://fembellish.wordpress.com/category/felting/
Page 2: http://fembellish.wordpress.com/category/felting/page/2/
Page 3: http://fembellish.wordpress.com/category/felting/page/3/

Her Majesty Margo Blog (Margo Duke)
http://www.hermajestymargo.blogspot.com/

Needlefelt Challenge
http://needlefeltchallenge.blogspot.com/

Embellish with Barbs - This blogring is open to anyone that needlefelts, either by machine or by hand
http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?ring=embellish1;action=addform

Embellishment Machine – This blogring is for anyone who is working with an embellisher or needlefelting
http://www.ringsurf.com/netring?action=addform&ring=daro

Textile Designer: Helen Amy Murray

Designer Helen Amy Murray uses inspiration from wood and marble carvings to develop a "patent applied for" technique to create unique 3-dimensional effects in luxury textiles (such as leather, suede, and silk, among others) for use in upholstery and as wallhangings. She states, "I'm excited about fabric manipulation and using innovative techniques, beautiful materials and design to create couture for the interior."

Helen Amy Murray: Reworking Fabrics
http://designersblock.blogspot.com/2008/01/helen-amy-murray-re-working-fabrics.html

100% Design September 2005: Helen Amy Murray

http://www.designbeans.com/specials/london05/london05_murray.htm

Arums Galerie: Helen Amy Murray
http://www.galeriearums.com/artistes.php?ID=11&langue=en

100% Design London 2006: Helen Amy Murray
http://mocoloco.com/archives/003188.php

Helen Amy Murray: Fishscales
http://www.thisnext.com/item/A4F5AFB3/Helen-Amy-Murray-Fishscales

To learn more about Helen Amy Murray, visit her website
http://www.helenamymurray.com/flash_content.html

The Making of a Tapestry - Ulrika Leander

In this slide show, Ulrika Leander guides us through the fascinating and labor-intensive process she used to create The Bryant Tapestry, a 6' 6" x 13' 12" piece commissioned by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC as a memorial for Chief Justice William B. Bryant.
http://www.ctw-tapestry.com/making-of-a-tapestry.html

Ulrika's Liturgical Tapestries
http://www.ctw-tapestry.com/liturgical-tapestries.html

Other Tapestries by Ulrika (corporate, public building, health care, residencies)
http://www.ctw-tapestry.com/corporate-tapestries.html

To learn more about Ulrika Leander:
http://www.ctw-tapestry.com/

All About: TEXTURIZING FABRICS

Following are some websites sites with tutorials for creating a variety of interesting textures for fabrics

Creating Interesting Textures – Ario
http://www.ario.co.uk/samples.php

Texturizing Fabric in a Pressure Cooker – by Pauline Richards
http://www.getcreativeshow.com/seminars/pressurecooker_texturizing.htm

Do it Yourself Crushed Velvet – Taunton Press (also has a 5 min online video)http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/tvt045.asp

Fabric Printing with a Brayer - Lois Ericson and Dawn McIntyre
http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00242.asp

Add Dimension with Expandable Paint
http://quiltingarts.com/qallc/newsletter-archive/qa24.html#article1

Blueprints on Fabric – “Flowers, ferns, feathers, photographs - just about anything can be reproduced on blueprinting fabric. The creative possibilities are endless...” – by Valerie Campbell-Harding
http://www.embroiderersguild.com/stitch/projects/blueprint/blueprint.html

Embossed Velvet – Design your own unique fabrics with rubber stamps and an iron
http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00072.asp

Embossing Velvet – this is yet another site that has excellent step-by-step instructions with pictures.
http://www.northernlights.pothole.com/Velvet_Emboss.pdf

Experiment with Aquabond using Threads, Scrims and Yarns
http://quiltingarts.com/qallc/newsletter-archive/qa19.html#article1

Faux Chenille Tutorial – Arlee Barr
http://arleebarr.squarespace.com/tutorialstechniquesprojects/2006/11/1/faux-chenille-interpretation-tutorial-spontaneous-combustion.html

Faux Suede Background – Lea Cioci
http://www.artellawordsandart.com/support-files/fauzsuede.pdf

Instant Texture Technique – Margaret Talbot
http://quiltingarts.com/qallc/newsletter-archive/qa34.html

Painted Fusible: Create a Unique and Interesting Surface Using Painted Fusible Web – Sue Bleiweiss
http://www.fibreandstitch.com/pdf/paintedfusible.pdf

Quilt with Web and Paint - Marcy Tilton - painted Steam-A-Seam
http://www.americaquiltscreatively.com/upload/704.pdf

Popcorn Fabric – by Purrfection Artistic Wearables
http://www.purrfection.com/projects/popcornfabric.htm

Make Your Own Dimensional Rubbing Plates – Terri Stegmiller
http://www.fibreandstitch.com/rub_plate.pdf

Rubbing Plate Technique – Laura Murray – Remember using paper and crayons to do rubbings? The same concept quickly produces wonderful effects on fabrics using iridescent Shiva® Oil Paintstiks® instead of crayons.
http://www.lauramurraydesigns.com/rubplate.htm

Rusting Fabrics – L Kemball (info is in the first long paragraph)
http://www.lindakemshall.com/linda_kemshall_newsletterarchiveJan2004.htm

Rust Dyeing 101 - Margaret Roberts
http://www.fibreandstitch.com/pdf/rustdyeproject.pdf