Thursday, September 29, 2011

Seeking Quilts for "My Favorite Things" Exhibition!

Flint Handmade is now accepting submissions for the 2012 Flint Festival of Quilts!

(Yes, we realize it is VERY early to be posting this call for submissions, but quilts ALWAYS come in at the last minute and we're trying to avoid that chaos next year!)

We are seeking small scale quilted pieces to display at The Lunch Studio! Quilts can be newly made or well-worn and well-loved!

We will feature an eclectic mix of quilts centered on the theme of My Favorite Things. 

ALL crafters are encouraged to submit small scale quilted pieces showcasing their favorite animals, activities, colors, pattern, ideas and more! 

(With SO MUCH advance notice, you have time to make a SPECIAL quilt just for the 2012 Festival of Quilts!)

A variety of traditional and non-traditional materials in a wide array of textures and patchwork styles will be showcased in quilted form.


If you would like to display a quilt, please email a photo and brief description of the piece(s) to flinthandmade@hotmail.com by 5pm on Friday, August 17, 2012.  <---THE EARLIER THE BETTER!!!

Even if you just have an idea for a quilt you would like to make, please email us so that we know you are interested!

This is a FREE FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE showcase. At least one piece per person will be automatically accepted, provided it fits with theme of My Favorite Things.

Greater Flint Arts Council
Flint Festival of Quilts
Various Locations in Downtown Flint
September 13-15, 2012 from 9am-5pm

For more information and photos, check out our blog posts from our previous Flint Festival of Quilts exhibitions at The Lunch Studio:

2009 - Contemporary Fiber Art
2010 - Progressive Patchwork: Eclectic and Eco-Aware Quilts
2011 - The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts

We are also looking for a volunteer to make and donate a quilted zipper pouch for our free raffle at the 2012 Festival of Quilts.  Email us if you are interested!

The quilt pictured above was made by Lish Dorset of Handmade Detroit and featured in the 2011 Festival of Quilts.  Read more about Lish's quilt on her blog, My Vintage Kitschen.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

SkillShare: Spinning Yarn, Knitting & Crocheting

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

Our first SkillShare Workshop, funded by a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, was a success!

Cathy from Ewe to You Yarn Shop in Grand Blanc and her assistant, Robin, taught us the basics of spinning yarn, knitting and crocheting in the back room of The Lunch Studio.

Future workshops will be in the main room of The Lunch Studio, but due to the popularity of Bikes on the Bricks downtown on the same day, we had to use the back room.

Fortunately, we all fit...and, several bikers all decked out in full riding gear poked their head into the room to see what we were all doing! A lot of them thought it was pretty cool!

We all received a Community Education Tool-Kit in a Flint Handmade grocery tote with a book on knitting, a book on crocheting, knitting needles, a crochet hook, a small skein of cotton yarn and a drop spindle made from a CD!

Our first lesson was in casting on for knitting. Robin (standing) teaches Danielle and Robin C. (sitting, l-r) how to cast on.

We used two different color yarns to practice our stitches.

Cathy and Robin (standing, l-r) help Danielle and Robin C. (sitting, l-r) learn the basics of knitting.

Danielle makes good progress on her yellow dishcloth.

I actually learned how to knit, too! Here's the beginnings of my turquoise dishcloth. I had to make up a little song to remember the steps: "Knit. Wrap-a-dee. Pull it through. Push it off."

Maureen was a more advanced knitter, so she got to practice special stitches. Good work, Maureen!

The two Robin's work on Robin C.'s (left) bright green dishcloth.

Lunch is provided at all SkillShare Workshops! See how excited Maureen is about her delicious sandwich?!?!

After lunch, Cathy taught us how to spin yarn using a drop spindle made from a dowel rod, a cd and a small hook. Robin C. looks on with a layer on roving over her shoulder to prepare to spin.

Danielle and her drop spindle!

Finally, the part of the workshops I was most excited about...spinning on a spinning wheel! Cathy shows me how to draft (thin out) the roving and spin it onto the bobbin. It took time and patience, but I finally got the hang of it!

Spinning turns roving (top skein) into yarn (bottom skein).

Maureen was a natural at spinning! 

While Cathy taught us spinning on the wheel, Robin gave a quick lession in crocheting. The workshop lasted 5 hours, but the time flew by!

Happy, crafty ladies showing off their handiwork at the end of a very productive SkillShare Workshop!

We still have four more workshops scheduled!

View the complete list at our original SkillShare Blog Post and email us at flinthandmade@hotmail.com if you would like to register.

We wish to express our gratitude to the Ruth Mott Foundation for funding our SkillShare Workshops.

Our participants get to take home all of the supplies used to share their new skills with friends and family and continue the tradition of the domestic arts and crafts of our American cultural heritage.

THANK YOU, RUTH MOTT FOUNDATION!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Second Saturday Giveaway: September Winner!

We want to thank everyone who commented on our Second Saturday Second Saturday Giveaway featuring Lish Dorset of Handmade Detroit!

The awesome commenters for August were Carrie B, Vickie, Emily Elizabeth, i might be Amy, Christine's Beadworks, Aisle 3, Susanna Tippett, Michelle Glick, Jenn B, Nicole Stevens, Mary P, Jan, April, Missy Healey.

Just for commenting, all of you will receive a FREE Flint Handmade button in your choice of red, blue or yellow! Ask at the Flint Handmade table at any of our events and we'll make sure you get your button.

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for! The randomly selected winner of the Fiskars Tools is...


...Emily Elizabeth!!! Congratulations!

Emily Elizabeth, send us an email at flinthandmade@hotmail.com and we will make arrangements for you to receive your Fiskars Tools! You have 30 days to claim your prize. :)

We want to encourage everyone to participate in the next Second Saturday Giveaway to be posted on October 8, 2011!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Flint Handmade SkillShare: A Series of Workshops to Reintroduce the Domestic Arts and Crafts of Our American Cultural Hertitage

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

Thanks to a generous grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation, Flint Handmade will be offering a series of workshops on Saturday afternoons to reintroduce the domestic arts and crafts of our American cultural hertitage.


September 24: Spinning Yarn, Knitting & Crocheting
with Cathy Mashburn from Ewe to You Yarns

October 1: Quilting & Sewing
with Rute Serrels from Friends for Quilting

October 15: Gardening, Canning & Pickling
with Joanna Lehrman and Roxanne Adair from Flint River Farm

October 22: Stained Glass & Mosaics
with Jami Anderson from Woolly Thinking

October 29: Natural Beauty & Cleaning Products
with Holly Slawter from Fiddlebump's Apothecary

All workshops are from 10am-3pm at The Lunch Studio in Downtown Flint.

These workshops will provide an opportunity for participants to connect with each other and engage in a meaningful and productive creative experience.

Upon completion of a workshop, each participant will receive a Flint Handmade SkillShare Community Education Toolkit with supplies and materials to continue the dialogue and share their new skills with friends, family and colleagues.

Workshops are $10 each.  All supplies and lunch are provided.  Space is limited to 10 participants per workshop.

Registration is REQUIRED.  Email flinthandmade@hotmail.com to register.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Moveable Type: Cross-Country Letterpress Truck Recap!

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

In the summer of 2010, I learned about Kickstarter.com

Kickstarter is a website that allows individuals to post electronic fundraising pitches for their creative projects.  Visitors to the site can then become financial "backers" of those projects in exchange for special rewards.

As a micro-philanthropist particularly interested in art and craft, I felt an immediate connection with this website.  What an awesome way to find out about and support creative folks all over the country!

Then, in November of 2010, I found Kyle Durrie's Kickstarter Project...and fell in love with the idea of a young woman striking it out on her own for a cross-country tour of the United States in a truck outfitted with letterpress equipment!  I immediately became a backer of Kyle's project in exchange for 5 letterpress postcards mailed to me from her travels.

Now, here we are almost a year later and I am so excited that Flint Handmade was able to bring Kyle and her Moveable Type Truck to the Flint Farmer's Market on Tuesday, September 13, 2011! 

Kyle Durrie shows off the awesomeness that is her Moveable Type Truck!

The truck in all of its glory at the Flint Famers' Market!
  
Becky hops on the truck!  

Kyle made a very special "Flint: The Vehicle City" print just for us!

Kyle introduces us to the art of letterpress printing.
  
Tyler smiles at her "I GOT YER e-BOOK RIGHT HERE" bookmark!

Maria from d'Vine Wines in the Farmer's Market took a break to make her very own print.

Hayley with her print in front of the Moveable Type Truck!

Kyle shows Rachel and Harrison how to ink the letters.

Jim from the Flint Farmer's Market records Kyle talking about her presses.

Jessica, Mary and Penelope (l-r): Moms, Grandmas and Babies LOVE Moveable Type!

Crissy (l) and Bethany smile with their prints.  And, at just 3 months old, we're pretty sure Roy was the youngest person in attendance!

Yaz shows off all of her great prints!
  
Kyle shows Connor how to ink the letters.

Kyle watches as Sam from Buckham Gallery lines up the letters.

Harrison (l) and Jaden: Cute kids with a letterpress print in the truck...'nuff said!

Of course, we had to give Kyle a Flint Handmade Knuckles shirt....and I had to have my picture taken with her wearing it!

Kyle's map in the truck shows all of the places she has been...see the red pin marking Flint?!? 

One last photo of the truck near the Flint Farmer's Market sign!

For more photos, visit our Moveable Type Flickr Set.

SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OF OUR
GENEROUS MOVEABLE TYPE SPONORS:

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts

Flint Handmade participated in the Flint Festival of Quilts on September 8, 9, and 10, 2011!

Our exhibition was called "The Multi-Generational Appeal of Quilts" and featured a wide range of quilts made in the 20th and 21st centuries by members of the same family. The styles and patterns of the quilts varied greatly, but they shared the common thread of having been loved across generations. 

Check out the pics and descriptions from our exhibition guide!


1. Moda Fabric Honey Bun Quilt by Lish Dorset (2011, NFS)

“My great-grandmother saved my grandmother's dresses once she was done with them in the 1920s and 1930s. Coming off of the Depression, she saved them all and turned them into quilting fabric. This line of fabric reminds me of her with the fun patterns and colors.”

Lish Dorset likes to craft. A lot. She writes for Craft Magazine (blog.craftzine.com), helps out at Maker Faire (makerfaire.com), and is 1/5 of Handmade Detroit (handmadedetroit.com).


2. My Quilt from Memaw by Michelle Marie Glick (c. 1976, NFS)
“This quilt was made for me before I was born by my Memaw, my dad’s grandmother. She was a migrant worker from Mexico, who never learned to speak English, but worked the fields well into her 60s. She very often made her quilts from people’s discarded clothes or traded work for material to make everything from quilts to clothes.”

Michelle Marie Glick is a local crafter, massage therapist and mother. She attends almost all Flint Handmade craftLABs and loves telling funny stories about her 2-year-old son, Malakai.

3 & 4. Family Quilts by Stevie Naeyaert
Stevie Naeyaert is an interpreter training faculty member at Mott Community College and mother to Tyler Naeyaert of Flint Zombie Walk Thriller Fame. She quilted for years and is now enamored with photography and photo manipulation.  Contact her through www.stevienae.moonfruit.com for info and pricing on custom digitizing of your child’s drawings for quilting.


3. Child's Drawings/Embroidered Quilt (2006, NFS)
“The Child's Drawings/Embroidered Quilt was made Summer 2006 during a Deaf Quilters Retreat in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  My son, Tyler, made the drawings the year before. I scanned and digitized it and put it together.  It was so much fun.


I've been quilting since graduating from college in 1991. Moving back home from DC to Flint was a bit of a shock.  The deaf community in DC is huge and vibrant…and pretty much non-existent here in Flint. So, I took up quilting to help stave off boredom!  When my son was born in 2000, I started looking for ways to incorporate stuff for or by him in my work.” 


4. Button Up Play Quilt (c. 2001, NFS)
“The button up play quilt was made around 2001, when my son was a baby.  I thought it would be a fun/educational play quilt with family names embroidered on the back, but never got it done. My son is almost 11 now. He did play with the buttons as a baby, though.”


5. The Conlen Flower Quilt by Victoria Ross Conlen, Crystal Pepperdine and Russ Bedford (2011, NFS)
“When I first met Russ’ grandparents, Robert and Audrey Conlen, we talked about the Flint Festival of Quilts. His grandfather recalled an unfinished quilt that his own mother, Victoria Ross Conlen (1887-1971), had started in the 1950s. Sure enough, there were 12 completed blocks each measuring 15" x 15" and lovingly handstitched with pink and green flowers. I couldn't let this gorgeous quilt remain undone, so I asked if I could finish it and they gave their blessing.

I was practically a stranger to them, but they trusted me to take a family heirloom and I felt very special. I think they must have known that Russ and I would be together. ..just three months after I received the quilt blocks, Russ and I became engaged! We have been working on the quilt together since March and finished it just in time to display in the Flint Festival of Quilts.” –CP

Crystal Pepperdine is the Executive Director of Flint Handmade. She and her fiancé, Russ Bedford, have recently launched a line of fine handcrafted goods called Pepperdine & Bedford (www.pepperdineandbedford.etsy.com).

Russ Bedford currently works at a hardware store and is an aspiring rural and urban homesteader. Shortly after meeting Crystal, he started hand-piecing a quilt with blocks cut from thrifted bed linens. They are planning to get married within a year.


6. Great-Grandma Bedford’s Quilt by Lillian Lenore “Leona” Smith Bedford (c. 1950s, NFS)

This quilt was passed down to Russ Bedford and Crystal Pepperdine by Audrey Conlen, Russ’ paternal grandmother. Audrey’s first husband, Harry Bedford (1928-1963), was Russ Bedford’s biological paternal grandfather.

Harry’s mother went by the nickname “Leona” and made many, many quilts for their family cottage. Leona made a quilt for each of her daughters, including Audrey, who has now passed down her quilt to her grandson and his soon-to-be wife.

7, 8 & 9. Three Collaborative Quilts by Valerie Clarke, Mary Whaley and Jessica Kroeger
Mary Whaley makes and collects quilts. She and her daughter, Jessica Kroeger, are currently collaborating on hats and headwear (www.hatsallcaps.etsy.com).

Valerie Clarke of NYC is a long-time friend of Mary Whaley. Valerie is curator of a quilt collection honoring the Red Berets, a group of women activists in the Flint Sit-Down Strike.  This year marks the 75th anniversary of the event and the quilts will be exhibited at the Flint Public Library during the month of December.

 
7. Doll Quilt by Valerie Clarke and Jessica Kroeger (1992, NFS)
“Valerie brought her sewing machine on vacation at St. George's Island, Florida, where we rented a house on the beach.  We hand-pieced and hand-quilted this quilt as a handmade souvenir from our trip.” –MW


8. Indian Wedding Ring by Mary Whaley and Valerie Clarke (Date Unknown, NFS)
“I machine-pieced the one center block and gave it to Valerie.  She hand-quilted it on a frame and returned the completed quilt.” –MW


9. Green Medallion by Valerie Clarke, Mary Whaley and Jessica Kroeger (2000, NFS)
“Years after we all pieced the center block on St. George's Island in 1992, I added leftover blocks from later quilts for the corners.  I think of this as my waiting room quilt.  I lap-quilted it as my father was being treated for cancer.” –MW




10, 11 & 12. Well-Loved Quilts from My Grandmother by Christina Phillips-Wasberg (1930s/1940s/1981, NFS)
“My grandmother, Lottie May Phillips-Eatmon, was born in 1931 and made all three of these quilts. Her family was very poor and, back then, you didn’t go out and buy blankets. You made the quilts with fabric scraps you had on hand with help from other family members.

With the help of her grandmother, Charlotte Perry, my grandmother made the blue-backed quilt (#10) in the early 1930s and the yellow-backed quilt (#11) in the late 1940s. She made the third quilt (#12) for her as-yet-unborn first grandchild while she was in the hospital in 1981 right before she died. I was born in 1984 and just happened to be the first grandchild.”

Chris Phillips-Wasberg handcrafts knitted garments for all ages under her business name of Teapot Knitting. You can contact her at teapot.knitting@gmail.com.


13. Mom’s Legacy by Regina (O’Flynn) (Peterson) Meurer (2006, NFS)
“My mom, Martha O’Flynn, was a lifelong crafter. Having grown up in Mississippi, she learned to use what she had and wasted very little. When could no longer crochet or knit, she started quilting.

Mom taught my sisters and me to sew when we were young. So in the early 1990s, when she started to quilt, I thought I’d try something simple. Well, it wasn’t so simple, but I finished the block and mailed it down to her from Marquette to her home in Lennon.

Over the next few years we continued to send blocks back and forth. I was new school using the rotary cutter, and she was old school, using templates and spring loaded scissors.

In April of 1997, Mom passed away and I RESCUED 16 finished quilt tops and several cut tops still in shoe boxes. I finished this quilt for my queen size bed, using my Grace Frame, cotton batting and fabric I purchased at a thrift store. Mom taught me well! If you look closely, you will find her initials and mine sewn in some of the dark solid pieces.

After I put it on my bed, my Labrador Tyson and his son Monty, were not behaving, so I locked them up in my room. As you can see, that wasn’t such a bright idea! Even though the dogs are no longer with me, I’ll always remember them when I look at the quilt and always be wrapped in my mother’s love when I’m under it.

I love and miss you, Mom.”

Regina Meurer was born in Durand, coming to Flint just last year.  When she is not quilting and crocheting she is either cooking or reading.  She is multi-talented, but cannot knit to save her life.

14, 15 & 16. Quilts for Beds and Cribs by Rute Serrels
Rute Serrels is originally from Portugal. She moved to the United States with her American husband in 2004. She makes a variety of quilted goods under the name Friends for Quilting with her friends, Michelle White and Sue Ebbs. Find them at http://www.friendsforquilting.etsy.com/.


14. MOSAIC Bed Spread (2006, NFS)
“I used blue and white blocks for this quilt for traditional ‘Portuguese tile’ colors. I have always found Portuguese traditional to be absolutely beautiful and wanted to bring a little bit of ‘home’ to my home.”


15. A DAY IN TOWN Twin Size Quilt (2009, NFS)
“My son, Diego, was upgrading his bedroom from a toddler to a little boys’ room and we needed a new quilt for his new big boy bed. He loves cars and trains and these are the fabrics he selected. I think he did a beautiful job!”


16. SAIL AWAY Crib Quilt (2007, NFS)
“My son’s first theme for his bedroom was a maritime theme. When I found the pattern for the block used on this quilt, I absolutely loved it, and then chose the pastel colors of blue and yellow.

The appliqué pieces (fish, lighthouse, etc.) were a must to give it a punch of color. They were sewn by hand using a blanket stitch.”


17. Grandma’s Quilt by Teresa Weaver (2009, NFS)
“My grandmother, Mary Perdomo, made the top for this baby quilt many years ago.  I found it two years ago when I was sorting through her things and finished it as a birthday gift to another family member.

Grandma was very resourceful, so I'm sure she used whatever materials she could find.  Some of the fabrics in the top feel like polyester and some feel like cotton.  I used cotton fabric for the back, cotton thread for the quilting, and a light polyester batting.

My grandmother is the one who inspired me to start quilting many years ago.  We lived many miles apart for most of my life, so we never got to work on a project together.  She is still alive and lives nearby now, but she is slowly failing.  Finding her quilt top and finishing the quilt to pass on in the family was a way for us to share in the making of a quilt.  We were also able to be together to present it to one of her great-granddaughters as a birthday gift.  To me, it was like a legacy that had come full circle.”

Mary Perdomo enjoys sewing and created quilts many years ago for each of her seven grandchildren. 

Teresa Weaver, one of her granddaughters, continues the quilting tradition and has been making quilts for family and friends for over a decade.