MEND, DARN, MAKE - THURSDAY AFTERNOONS

   

    FREE FABRIC WORKSHOP

AT CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTER

  CHINDI NATION MENDING,

      DARNING & MAKING 

          AFTERNOONS

JOIN US AND USE THE FREE MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES TO START A PROJECT

OR BRING WHAT YOU ARE WORKING ON

                everybody welcome

every thursday

2:30 to 5:30 pm-ish :)

3rd floor atrium gallery

carnegie community centre

401 main street

vancouver

for more information email karenza@chindi-nation.net

phone: 604 708 6304

thank you to carnegie community centre for providing us with the space and for 

allowing us to use their sewing supplies

SEWING CIRCLE - 9 APRIL 2015

l to r - amy, shelley,
anne k.

the first of the new form of chindi sewing circles.

it was kind of harrowing for me, being the first completely self-motivated session.  and so happy to have input of the women about the structuring of the circle, and how to communicate this.

wen zhu

my friend wen zhu, the master seamstress of our group,  did not want to receive an honorarium for the first thursdays "we will all just help each other" she said. 

and, my dear friend anne, suggested having the guidelines written out; sterling idea.   and i thought to get it translated into mandarin/cantonese script.

anne & laura

new member amy

anne brought some fabric to make a cushion cover, laura made the wonderful bag you can see, and amy made a tablecloth.  ruth worked on a nightie; and i continued embellishing my african print tunic.

next session, thursday, 16 april 2015, at carnegie center.  2:30 to 5:30.  bring your ideas, we have the materials and supplies.

IMAGE THAT I LOVE VERY MUCH

earth wind fire water

an image from at least 10 years ago.  she went through many incarnations, starting from a doodle.
now she lives in the listening post.
i donated her to the anti-poverty committee fund raiser.  delayne bid for her and donated her to the listening post.
serendipity.

MARCH MENDING, DARNING & MAKING SESSIONS

free sewing drop in 

 picture from a 2014 session

open to all - mend, darn, make...

bring a project of your own, continue with something you started at a previous session, or start something new.............

thursdays - 12, 19, 25 march 2015

2:30 to 5:30 pm-ish

3rd floor atrium gallery

carnegie center, 401 main street

all materials and supplies free

for more information:

karenza@chindi-nation.net

604 708 6304

- this is a chindi nation drop in        hosted by carnegie

- materials and supplies donated     by carnegie, chindi nation and         women of east vancouver

WEN ZHU TEACHES AWESOME BAG MAKING

this is the amazing wen zhu who taught two people to make her awesome ipad case.

and shown below is the bag, outside.......

 and inner pockets - 3 pockets with a divided pocket in the middle.  lined.

made with such artistry..and love and attention to detail.............

this is 'anonymous' starting on her bag....

and lai fong who is making the outer structure of the ipad case.


in the fall of this year wen zhu will give a workshop to teach a larger group to make this bag, which can be used for things other than an ipad case.  i'm definitely going to attend this one.

and, here is the talented deirdre with her yoga mat bag made from sample drape material; with a zipper yet.  and she made it look so simple. the topic for another workshop in the fall.

what say you?  good idea?

the materials for this workshop were donated by women of the eastside and all cloths are reclaimed or remnant materials.  

thank you to carnegie center for providing us with the space and for providing us with notions and small tools.
ktw

february workshop photos

some photos from our february workshops.

12 february people worked on their own projects, some photos from that session

L - R - lisa, teresa, ruth, deirdre, nobby

same crowd, add karenza

lisa's ipad case

nobby's 2 small pouches & a valentine card in fabric

wen zhu's girl bag

on 19 february lisa, wen zhu, louise, wendy and karenza met and only one photograph was taken..............

ta da!

web zhu made a beautiful pair of blue silk trousers, with a back patch pocket yet.

next session, thursday 26 february
people work on their own projects.

hope to see you,
karenza

bizzeee bizzeee

trying to keep all the little irons burning in the correct directions and sequence, to mix metaphors.

update on workshops ----

thursday 6th november 2014, part of the heart of the city festival, at carnegie center, 401 main street, 3rd floor atrium gallery, from 2:30 to 5:30 pm - making winter festival decorations.  

templates if you want to use them, all supplies, materials, tools free.

a chindi-nation workshop funded by carnegie community center, i hope:)

vintage wool and vintage silks

making gifts for wimmins' dinner 2014

here we are, making bracelets to give as gifts for donations to the wimmins dinner.  denise in the blue top, our wonderful new friend who is visiting from prince george, doreen,  in black, karenza in white top, and ruth in sacral chakra orange. 

wimmins dinner on 28th november, and we are soliciting donations.  this year we want to pay everybody who works on this event, and are aiming for $1125.  get your wallets out people.

luv ya,
:)

the kindness of the women who donate to chindi workshops

the kindness of the women who have recently donated to chindi nation workshops and clinics shall go down in the history of the downtown eastside.

lookit, this is a sample of the beautiful, gorgeous, amazing astounding cloth donated by a woman whom i know only through the stall she has at the powell street festival.  

how these fabrics got to us is a story in itself. 

muriel, the woman who has donated these cloths had a conversation with her friend, kathy, and said she wanted to unload some of her collection.  kathy mentioned this to kazuho.  kazuho asked me if i wanted fabrics and gleefully i said, yes, yes, yes, please.  of course, the sequence of events is guessing by me, but the conduit of muriel-kathy-kazuho-chindi nation-sewing group stands.

arrangements were made and on two occasions in the summer, kathy arrived with boxes and bags of lovely cloth, and these are only a small portion of the gift we received.

after discussion with some members of the sewing group that meet at carnegie centre (anne, denise, louise, ruth) we decided to make ourselves (yes, i am including myself in this largesse) smashing outfits.  do they still use that expression?  

the fabric that is left over will be then used by the carnegie girl band to make themselves some glittery wear (vests perhaps, and headbands) and the balance will then find it’s way to the thursday sewing group, open to all, for use.

this is only one woman, or chain of women, who have donated fabric and quality clothing for up and re cycling.

the others are, alphabetically:

anne d,

jane k,

maggie rose m via ruth mcg

wen zhu

whom we gratefully thank, and will feature when we decide what we are going to do with their largesse

what do you think?  is this a good allocation of this wealth?

cheers

karenza

small arts grant opening

after a long, long, break.......i have awoken, again, to the possibilities of a blog.  but, fortunately, it will never be a 'professional' work.

right, the reason for this post.....

please do come to the opening night of smart grant exhibition show.

it is on wednesday, 6th august 2014 at 7 pm.  at the inter urban gallery, corner of hastings and carrall, opposite pigeon park.  a whole slew (oxford dictionary, no 3)  of dtes artisans/artists have their work on display.  me too, but not the one shown.

there will be delicious eats, music and lots of fun.  don't know about bar.

hope you can make it,

xoxoxo

beginners sewing at carnegie center, 6 sessions, all in all a success

well, the beginners sewing sessions have ended.  i feel kind of sad, but at the same time am experiencing a modicum of totally relief.  i know, a contradiction in terms.  

i think it was a success.  there were 6 people who started from absolute scratch.  had to learn sewing machine parts and how to use them.  i enjoyed watching their skills grow to the point where they each made a simple garment.

check it out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6xiYOrnuNc

the buntings are here, the buntings are here

the buntings are here.

here are buntings.  and the dictionary says...........................
buntings are triangular shaped paper or fabric, attached to a line, and hung as decorations.

 i remember buntings from the days of yester year, when i was just a wee babbie, sucking at my

little fist, waving my arms and legs in the air at the colourful moving little flagsies.

well, it could have happened that way.

for my own nefarious purposes i have stretched the meaning of buntings - which are basically decorative streamers to be hung all over - to include bunched up fabric on a 'line' and scrunched up paper on a line.

yes, here they are - all made from fabric scraps and candy wrappers that were destined for land fill.  

yes, here they are..............................i forgot to take photos of them being made, but really, it isn't rocket science..........is it?


anon dear ones, anon
xoxoxoxoxo
karenza

allergic to labels show was smashing success, so many friends, old and new, and i forgot to take my camera………………..

not much else i can say. 
it has been a hectic 2 weeks, i have done nothing other than eat, sleep, read this weekend.
will take and post photos of the work.  the only photo i have is this, thank you rosemary.

chindi nation - allergic to labels - an exhibit of new work by myself - with wearable eco fashion in there somewhere

sketch for kali

at some point i did say that there would be a revelation of work in progress for this show.  which is part of the heart of the city festival.  and will be held on friday, 2nd november, 2012, at the w2 media cafe, 111 west hastings street, beginning at 9 pm.  at 10 pm there is a divali-eid celebration, which is just fortuitous coincidence.  but then aren't all coincidences fortuitous?  well, maybe not.

two week long summer events one in the downtown eastside, the other off downtown eastside

so, tune in to inner city blues reggae with augustos pablo. found him while trolling you tube.  something that is very, very downtown eastside, as experienced by many sisters and brothers, including myself.


while you listen to this, you can read about the langara summer school on sustainable communities, and the indian summer festival on the blog i write for cacv.


and, just to stir it up, here is assassin - something's gotta give.  as my young nephew shaun, has informed me,  yolo.  leave me a message and it will be revealed 

needlework workshops by chindi

without ado, (doesn’t it sound frightfully jane austen?) these are the workshops being given by chindi nation during the summer months.  except for one, they are all in the downtown eastside (rah, rah), and also, except for one, they are free.


but first, what would you like to see chindi nation doing in the way workshops to promote the sustainable use of textiles to make beauty around us.  with tremendous emphasis on enjoyment while making.  please leave a comment in the section at the end of this post.  it will be of tremendous help in designing workshops.  thank you.

EXHIBITION OPENING AT GALLERY GACHET

it is 4:47 am, friday 25 may 2012, and tonight is the opening of the big exhibit show for the small arts grant recipients.


so, this is my invitation to you, late as it is.  you will be able to see some of the clothing that was in the eco-fashion show in november of last year.  you can check out some of these outfits here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biGpNCX-e1c
for some reason i cannot download this directly to the blog, and right now i'm really punchy from lack of sleep.


there will be mountains of good food, cash bar, entertainment and the company of some of the most exciting people in the downtown eastside.  


have to sleep,
propping my eyelids open with toothpicks.
xo
karenza


oh right, the video is a preview.

make a medicine bag–an eco friendly fabric and embroidery workshop–26 april 2012

the workshop will be at carnegie community center, 401 main street, in the basement studio from 1 to 4 pm
it is part of the aboriginal artisan program funded by the city of vancouver’s great beginnings program.  haisla collins, coordinator of this program, asked me to facilitate an environmentally friendly, eco-workshop, making fabric medicine pouches.

the black water dragon's tail

LUNAR NEW YEAR 2012

MAKING THE DRAGON’S TAIL

FREE WORKSHOPS



SAT 21 JAN 2012                                                      MON 23 JAN 2012
10 AM TO 12 NOON                                                  2:30 TO 4:30 PM
OPPENHEIMER PARK                                               EWMA STUDIO
CORDOVA & JACKSON                                            52/54 E. CORDOVA ST.

CHILDREN MORE THAN WELCOME

THIS IS A COMMUNITY ARTS COUNCIL OF VANCOUVER PROJECT,

IN COLLABORATION WITH CHINDI NATION, OPPENHEIMER PARK& EWMA

WORKSHOP FACILITATOR: KARENZA T. WALL OF CHINDI NATION, CHINDI REVOLUTION

winter workshop - handmade gifts

saved - on the brink of being chucked to become landfill, these sample books were donated to the ewma studio.
  
(thunder, lightening, eerie noises).....
read on to find out what happens next