Archive for February, 2009

Three Tapestry Crochet Classes!

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

I just found out that three of my tapestry crochet class proposals have been accepted for the Crochet Guild of America Summer Conference in Buffalo, NY! On Thursday morning (August 6th), I’ll teach how to make the Bead & Felted Tapestry Crochet Cell Phone Ribbon Bag shown below.

Bead Felted Tapestry Crochet Ribbon Bag
Bead & Felted Tapestry Crochet Cell Phone Ribbon Bag before and after felting.

As some of you already know, felting and bead tapestry crochet were made for each other! A large hook and loose single crochet stitches are used to make the bag, then it’s felted in a washing machine. The finished felted tapestry crochet fabric is thick and patterned on both sides. Participants will crochet a bag and also learn how to design a motif on tapestry crochet graph paper. Students only need to know the single crochet stitch. Felting instructions are included, but due to time constraints, the bag will have to be felted in a washing machine at home.

You asked for it! So I’ll also be teaching an in-depth class about Tapestry Crochet Project and Motif Design on Thursday afternoon. Several different tapestry crochet papers will be used for drawing and tracing images. I’ll show how to transfer designs from other sources, then everyone will try it out. Students may also bring their own designs to transfer onto tapestry crochet graph papers during class.

My Bead Tapestry Crochet Cuff Bracelet is scheduled for all day Friday – enough time to finish the bracelet.

Bead Tapestry Crochet Cuff Bracelet
Bead Tapestry Crochet Cuff Bracelet project.

Tapestry crocheting with beads is revolutionary! Since more than one color thread is used with tapestry crochet, each one only needs to be loaded with a single bead color. The pattern is formed on one side of the cloth by adding a bead to each stitch and on the other side the colored threads create a design. This method offers fantastic design potential, since the motif doesn’t have to be pre-planned. Students will bead tapestry crochet a bracelet and also learn how to design with tapestry crochet graph paper. Students only need to know the single crochet stitch.

I hope to see you there! If you’ve never been to a CGOA conference, then you’re in for a real treat!

Posted in Classes and Workshops, Conferences | 2 Comments »

Heidi

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Heidi Zingg Knöpfli and her husband, Dr. of Theology h.c. Hans Knöpfli, flew to Tennessee last Fall to lecture at our University about the crafts and culture of Cameroon. Both originally from Switzerland, Hans worked as a pastor and a craftsman in Cameroon for more than thirty years and Heidi joined him for seven years there. She assisted Hans with quality control of the craft products intended for sale, designed new products for the Handicraft Centre, and worked with the Christian Women Fellowship of the Presbyterian Church before they returned to Switzerland. She is now co-president of the Swiss Protestant Women and advises NGO’s about how to raise funds for their projects.

Knopfli lecture
Heidi advanced the projected images while Hans lectured.

My husband, Andrzej, and I are very interested in the art and culture of Cameroon and it was while researching their crafts that we found Hans. His five books (seen in the above photo) are the best we’ve ever read about crafts because they not only describe their appearance and construction, but Hans places them into cultural context by discussing their daily and ceremonial use.

Heidi is also an author and her manuscript, Schuhe für meine Kinder (Shoes for my Children), that features 18 short biographies of women at the grassroot level in Cameroon, is currently being edited.

We really enjoyed getting to know them the week they stayed with us and learned so much! We were full of questions and they were full of answers. We taught them a few things too, though, including tapestry crochet!

Heidi Crocheting
Heidi tapestry crocheting a cell phone bag in Swiss and US colors.

Heidi knew how to crochet, but had never done tapestry crochet, so I gave her some beaded thread and a hook and after showing how to carry and change colors, she began a cell phone bag. Heidi was a quick study and had no trouble placing the beads on the front of the fabric! She began the bag the day before she left and almost finished it on it on the flight home.

Detail of Heidi tapestry crocheting
Heidi’s randomly placed beads really enhance the stripes, don’t you think?

Heidi’s cell phone bag
Heidi’s cell phone bag, tapestry crocheted with size 3 crochet cotton and size 8 beads.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what she will do next!

Posted in Artist Profiles | Comments Closed