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.

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

THE NEXT THING ON THE LIST IS

a tunic made from brown cotton pique; a medium weight, sturdy fabric that will stand up to a lot of wear.

the brown is kind of in between these two images

and i am going to use this pattern

easy, simple, no darts and tucks and pesky curves.  

if there is enough cloth left over it will be used to make trousers; or if not then a vest maybe, or perhaps i'll just throw it into the chindi nation clothing workshops box.

rather uninspiring color, brown.....but i intend to just pop it up by block printing and embroidering on appliqued pieces that match the prints.  

thinking of purple and gold, or purple and copper.  nice deep, rich purple.  hmmm.  yummy.


ta ta
karenza:)

diy topsheet & pillowcase

free fabric workshop

make a topsheet and pillow case or

curtains for a small window, or cushion covers, or.......

thursday, 5 february 2015

2:30 to 5:30 pm

3rd floor atrium gallery

carnegie center, 401 main street

all materials and supplies free

limited supplies as shown, registration suggested, space held until 2:45 

register at

karenza@chindi-nation.net 

or phone 604 708 6304

a chindi nation workshop sponsored by carnegie community centre

time to start making again

these beautiful lengths of fabric were 
donated by my dear friend vicki.  who has 


been my strong supporter, if not the strongest, in my work.  





so, this is the idea; there are six lengths - each should be sufficient to make a top sheet and a pillow case or two...............

or curtains, or cushion covers.....................  

scrumptious colours, i salivate:)

first sewing session on thursday 5 february at carnegie center............details will follow....................

karenza

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

basic machine skills workshops - free - sponsored by carnegie community center & face the world foundation

wow, i am so excited to be able to give you this news.  it seems that when one has a vision, and a dream, and starts working at it in the 'real' world, things do fall into place serendipitously.  

lisa & karenza

so yes, this is the buzz about these workshops.

using folk patterns, common around the world, in the present and the past, we will make a pattern for each person.  these are very, very simple and easy patterns.  each person will make a top and a pair of pants or skirt.  neat eh?

chindi nation at heart of the city festival, among other wonderful events

so, here we are, another year rolled on by and it is heart of the city festival time again.  this is where the downtown eastside of Vancouver shines with the deep, warm, rich glow of community spirit, a festival of sharing, of celebration, and, not to sound too hokey about it, love.  

okay karenza, stop being mooshy.

so, chindi nation is joining in the opening day festivities by giving a bunting workshop, tucked there, in between the afternoon opening ceremonies, and the evenings extravaganza of entertainment.  

mending & darning workshop - last session of pilot series.

my scarf

i am giving a workshop on darning and mending.  bring your clothing or linen and help save our environment while saving your money.

the workshop will be at the carnegie community center, 401 main street, vancouver, in the basement art studio. 

it is on thursday 26th july 2012 from 1 to 4 pm.  coffee pot ready.

this is an article on darning as an art form, a quick and easy read.

http://www.treehugger.com/style/darning-clothes-as-an-art-form.html 

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.

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.

collage workshop at baron gallery

saturday was a fun day for me.  i went for a collage workshop at baron gallery in gastown.  

me working away

the exhibit on the main floor - paintings by automatist pierre gauvreau i fell in love with.
didn't see the work of painter/photographer janine carreau up the stairs; will return soon.

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

hand made gifts for winter festivals

winter festivals coming up, a lot of people give gifts.  i am having a special workshop.  join us and make a small pouch (medicine bag, cell phone pouch) or a simple hat, or...........


the workshop is on thursday, 5th december 2011, at the ewma studio, located at 52-54 east cordova street, starting at 1:30 and ending at 4:30.  


as always, the fabrics are remnants or reclaimed. the skill level required is from beginners to ultra experienced.

pouches & headband at aboriginal day fair

21st june is aboriginal day in canada.  and as always, well for many years, the downtown eastside of vancouver had a fair in oppenheimer park.

it was a great day to be out in the sunshine, many friends to greet, and a lot of "new" people to meet.  the workshop tables were set up under little tent things.  we call them shamiyanas in hindi.  they have a roof, and no sides.

and the chindi (rags/scraps) always draw people who want to know what is happening.  

forgot to take photographs of everybody, but did get some.  and my friend elsa was there to help, which was a great help.

help in choosing an identifying design for chindi nation, chindi revolution project

Hi,


So, these are two images from textile work done by me in the past.  And why are you receiving these?

Well, slight problem.  Cannot make up my mind which to use as an identifying visual for my chindi nation, chindi revolution work.  


So, wonder if you could help me please.  

salish sun days - 28 may 2011

my dear friend, sandra pronteau, bead jeweller, story teller, community activist, mother, among other things asked me to be part of the salish sun festival 2011.


there was a call out for volunteers, and so i thought to workshop a "making something quick and easy using textile scraps" and came up with small pouches.  

you will not see the faces of people in any workshop by me; this is as a courtesy so they retain their privacy.

the pouches were small, no larger than 3 or 4 inches, and as is usual with chindi design projects, the fabrics were scraps.