Bikes Around Blenheim

Publicity for the National Exhibition and promotion for the upcoming Festival was in the form of decorated bicycles of various sizes. These appeared around town, outside shops or in some cases in shop windows.

And Feltima welcomed people to the exhibition.

More felt, this time in the form of flowers made by this group of schoolgirls who were pretty pleased with their achievements.

The display in the background is a collection of 25 scarves, all dyed and heat-treated by Christine Keller.

And this is an innovation by the team to keep those slippery name tags under control. It is made from wooden venetian blind slats and held together by twining fabric strips. After this use it did double duty to display photographs with the aid of spring clothes pegs. Recommended as a quick and easy lightweight display board.

A few more photos from Festival

Have you ever had a chance to get a close-up look at the Festival Banner?  It is a work of art from its handwoven fabric to its exquisite embroidery.  Each Festival is recorded on it before it is passed on to the next location.

 

More photos from the Russell Terrace building show the many great raffles available on the day. They include a pile floor rug woven from pre-loved handspun, dyed and woven curtains from our "Bobbin Cottage" meeting place, a felted jacket, a handspun/dyed/woven/sewn backpack made by many different hands, a woven tapestry, an ikat wrap, knitted items and more. Here Pat Holland is ready to sell tickets.

In preparation for Festival many of the CF members around our large Area were busy making flowers - knitted, crocheted, felted - you name it, they made lots. Most were used to make garlands which decorated the pillars outside the Convention Centre and these have since been dispersed around the countryside where they will pop up to support various fibre events and be reminders of a happy festival in Blenheim. Some people made a special effort to make red flowers for a wreath in memory of the late Nola Yealands, a Life Member of the Marlborough Guild who had died during the year. Jan Hannay attended the local ANZAC service the day before Festival opened and presented the wreath on behalf of the Guild. Thank you Jan.

Russell Terrace

As you will know if you were there, Festival spilled over from the Convention Centre into the next-door building known to locals as 'The Old Marlborough Club' where there were more displays and activities than could be absorbed in the time available.  Here are some of them beginning with the Tapestry Exchange display.  The theme was 'Circles and Squares' and the work came from all over New Zealand and Australia.

Not far away was Mary Sheddan, Storyteller.  Mary has gathered a collection of textile-related stories gleaned from myths, legends and fairytales (although it seems she also sneaked in one about her little sister.)  Those who had time to sit and listen at lunchtime were delighted.

And there was a display from Cross Country Weavers.  This is not a large group at the moment but it is growing and this display gave an indication of the value of belonging to it with an impressive collection of drafts and samples. One panel showed samples collected over a few years from Trish Cuttriss who deservedly won the overall Creative Fibre Award at the National Exhibition.  Congratulations Trish.

Festival Trades

Dianne welcomes us to the Trades Hall and reminds us to vote with the Traders' Raffle Tickets that we found in our registration packs. So many people must have gone home happy with their winnings. On second thoughts perhaps this photo should be in the fashion section.

Inside the jam-packed hall, this is only of the many tempting stalls. These big smiles were at the beginning of trading and they would be just has big at the end I'm sure.

 And then came the 'Bag Ladies.'  These photos were taken after only one hour of trading. I wonder where all this fibre is now and what is being made from it.

While we are re-living the fun and the fibre-related activities from Festival 2012 the Wellington team is already hard at work preparing for Festival 2013.  Keep a watch on their blog: fibrefestival2013.blogspot.com and take note of the Focus on Fashion.

Karen Selk Workshop Part 3

Concentration must have been the watchword . . .

Karen Selk's Workshop Part 2

These people were so focused on their work they were not even aware of the camera.

Karen Selk's Workshop

Karen Selk, the 'silk guru' from Canda who was eagerly awaited by many CF members, not only gave a keynote address at Festival but also tutored the second post-festival two-day workshop.  Here she is at work with some of her devoted fans attending to her every word.

Keep watching. More happy silk weavers soon.

Kim Thittichai Part 2

More from Kim's workshop

and more samples

Thank you for coming Kim; we loved getting to know you.  On or off duty, you were great fun and we learned such a lot from you.

Kim's blog site is: www.hot-textiles.blogspot.com

Kim Thittichai

Kim's Keynote Address was first on the programme and her friendly and witty presentation set the tone for a very happy Festival. She was also there at the very end as she ran one of the two-day workshops that followed the Festival.  In between she chatted, demonstrated and made many friends. Here are some shots of her workshop in progress. These pictures are from Christine.

And some samples

Keep watching - more to come.