Tangled Thread - Tips, Trick and Tutorials in Sewing & Stitching

Do you need a little treat for keeping your New Year’s resolutions?

Twisted Silver wants to congratulate you on keeping your New Year’s resolutions - and to celebrate, they’re giving away a pair of these lovely “Duo” earrings to one lucky reader:

I’m holding a contest on my jewelry blog, Gleaming Things, to win these earrings.  All you need to do is click on the earring photo and read the instructions :-)

Good luck!

image: Twisted Silver

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Fiber art news round-up

There are just too many wonderful things happening out there - I just had to share them all!

image: Fiberarts

Fiberarts magazine is holding a Valentine’s Day postcard challenge.  You’ve got until January 15th to complete an original Valentine’s Day-themed art postcard and send it to their office.   There are three challenges and the winner could win some great goodies!

Check out this amazing online art exhibition: “Kimono as Art: The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota“.  It features 40 intricately adorned kimonos, with information about the different processes used to create them. The exhibition is only making two stops in North America, so it’s definitely worthwhile checking out online!

The New York Times has a fascinating peak behind the curtain at the New York City Ballet’s costume department.  The ballet employs 17 full-time stitchers, not to mention the dye-master, shopper and shoe-makers!

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Are you making New Year’s resolutions for your studio?

Well, we’re five days into the New Year.  Is there a new technique you want to learn this year?  Enter a competition?  Or just finish that project that’s been hanging around waaaay too long?  How about making New Year’s resolutions for your studio?

Here are a few ideas to get you started… feel free to add more ideas as comments!

This year I resolve to:

• Maintain my sewing machine (ei change needles regularly, clean it, oil and it take it into the dealership for tune-ups)
• Learn a new stitch - once a week, once a month - whatever works for you.
• Take photos of everything I finish.  Documenting your work is important!
• Deal with my heap of UFOs - if I haven’t finished a project in five years, is it really important to keep it?  After all, it’s taking up valuable space in your studio.
• Take a class, watch a DVD, read a book - they’re great tools to help you learn a new technique.  On a tight budget?  Check out what your local library has to offer.
• Organize your stash!  Is there stuff in there that you’re never going to use?  Hold a stash swap with friends, donate it to a good cause or find a way to send it to a new home.
• Expand your artistic world.  Check out a gallery, visit a fine craft shop or even view a gallery online.  You never know - it may just trigger inspiration!
• Beautify your studio.  Is your studio dark and un-inspiring?  Take some time and improve it - after all, it’s easier to be creative if you’re happy where you’re working.

Got more suggestions - I’d love to hear them!

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Artsy bloggers link round-up

• Favorite 2008 posts from Tangled Thread
  Chloe has gone through the archives and has selected her favorite posts from 2008 to share with you.
• Favorite Junk Creation Posts of 2008
  Peggy takes a look back at junk artists and junk creations featured in 2008.
• Goodbye 2008
  Saying farewell to 2008.
• Inkle loom dimensions
  Years ago, Noreen’s husband built Noreen a really wonderful inkle loom using reclaimed wood from old pallets. One of Noreen’s readers asked for the dimensions, as her husband is building her an inkle loom. So, Noreen took pics and measured the loom. Anything to help another weaver!
• Layers Upon Layers
  Cyndi is wondering what the best advice you every received is…
• Looking for Scrapbooking Supplies?
  Wherever you live, if you’re looking for scrapbooking or paper crafting supplies, Eileen can help you find what you need.

image: Stock.xchg

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The final Christmas projects round-up

I’ve finally got my last couple of photos done from the great Christmas craft-a-thon :-)

While Tangled Thread isn’t a quilting blog (go to Quilting & Patchwork for that one!) making art quilts is one of my great passions.  I seem to create at least one art quilt as a Christmas gift for someone in my family every year.

Last year it was my brother & sister-in-law’s turn - this year it was my parents:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay

My brother took the photos of my parent’s pets and I Photoshopped them.  The photots were then printed directly onto specially treated silk sheets (the silk sheets are fused to paper and are treated so that you can run them through your printer).  I appliqued the photos onto fabric, stitched them onto the background (which was created by appliquing more strips of fabric onto a “sandwich” of fabric and quilt batting).  I then mounted it onto a stretcher frame and covered the back with more fabric.

I also enjoy giving home-made candy at Christmas.  I bought some yummy black organza that had been printed with silver snowflakes - which I thought would make a great way to wrap the candy:

image: C Findlay-Harder

I cut rectangles of the fabric, wrapped the cellophane-bagged candy in it and then topped it all off with a matching silver ribbon.  The organza tended to fray a little so I trimmed off the ends with my pinking sheers.

Voila!  Quick, easy and festive wrapping - just the way I like it :-)

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Happy New Year!

I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year!  May all your wishes come true… and have a safe and joyful one :-)

image: Stock.xchg

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Tangled Thread - Favorite posts of 2008

It’s the time of year again when I browse through my archives from the past year and pick out my favorite posts - as well as your favorite posts!

The all-time reader favorite post from this year has to be the free pattern to sew your own snuggie. This post has got to be one of the most popular ones I’ve ever written!

My ribbon roses tutorial is another top reader favorite - month after month, people still enjoy it… even though I wrote it in 2007!

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite posts from 2008:

• I’ve gotten a few requests for a basic, round yo-yo tutorial, and no - you don’t need any fancy gadgets to make them!
• I rescued this tutorial from a previous computer - it’s an older one, but I love to make fiber fusion and definitely wanted to share the technique with you all :-)
• Make your own hand-fringed scarf with this tutorial - it’s really quite easy!
• Launching two new blogs this year was definitely exciting, here’s my announcement for The Doggy Blog.
• Figuring out how to make my cutting table work better for me was very useful discovery - I only wish it hadn’t taken me so long…
• Here are a few tips to make mending blue jeans a little easier.
• This is one of my favorite ways to make marking button holes an easier task.

Do you have a favorite Tangled Thread post from 2008?  Share it in the comments!

image: C Findlay-Harder

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