Jessica de Haas loves the snow, but not being cold. Growing up in the mountains of Canada necessitated keeping warm, but the lumberjack styles weren’t for her. After more than a decade of international travel, studies in fibre arts, and experimentation in personal expression, she decided to settle down and plant the seeds of Funk Shui, creating warm felted clothing and accessories. Her art reflects her personality – warm, adventurous, earthy, and multifaceted. To view her work, visit www.propagatelove.com.

Student Supply List

Sketchbook with writing and drawing implements (pens, pencils, coloured pencils, etc.)
1 plastic grocery or produce bag
1 recycled newspaper
For inspiration: bring 3 samples of pattern motifs or imagery in any form (magazine, photo, textile ...)
Any lightweight fabric scraps or fibres from your home stash (chiffon, gauze, organza - anything is possible)
Please bring a bag lunch. All other materials provided.


The full course calendar is on the web. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

OCELOT FASHION SHOW
with lunch, wine and music
WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 2010

Sandbar Restaurant Granville Island,
Vancouver, Canada
11:30 am - 1 pm



See our previous post for more details.

Sally Melville loves all aspects of life as a "professional" knitter: teaching, writing, designing, and explaining what this all means! And what does it mean? It means an extensive teaching schedule that takes her around the world, speaking to wonderful folk who can appreciate the perfect buttonhole, who love the textures and colours and techniques of knitting, who want to be more intuitive about their craft, and who know that life is about learning.

Sally first wrote a successful book about how to make beautiful garments from a yarn stash (Sally Melville: Styles | A Unique and Elegant Approach to your Yarn Collection (1998)) and then began a five-book series: The Knitting Experience. The first volume in the series is dedicated to The Knit Stitch (2002); the second, The Purl Stitch (2003); the third, Color (2005). To date, sales of all four books are above 250,000.

Besides designing for her own books, Sally has contributed work to most major knitting publications plus books by other authors.

In addition, Sally served as the Study Skills Advisor at the University of Waterloo (1993-1999). This meant taking concepts of how the brain works most effectively and turning them over to students to help them work more productively.

These two fields (brain function plus fiber arts design) come together to produce some interesting material. And this material appears as a favorite and unique feature of Sally’s classes - stimulating discussion, challenging basic assumptions, teaching us the value of being creative and of using our hands and of paying attention to life.




The full course calendar is on the web. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

Featured in the top photo is a Dhokra sculpture made by the lost wax technique.

The sculptor begins the process by producing a clay original. This figure is then tightly wrapped with thin cords of either beeswax of tree sap. To bring the figure to life additional details may be added to the wax at this point. Once the wax layer is complete it is covered by a clay paste. The clay is heated, the wax melts and runs out and the mold is ready. Molten metalis poured into the mold. When the metal cools the clay mold is broken and the sculpture is released. Each mold produces only one casting. Price range 49.95 - 189.95.



The second item is a solid brass door knocker. This is a substantial piece that would add an exotic splendour to any front door or entry. You'll want to visit your own home just to use it. Price 79.95.



The third item is a wooden chest with a selection of brass singing bowls on top. The wooden chest features a hardwood top and a subtle distressed finish. Chest 299.95.

Perhaps best known as Tibetian singing bowls, our selection are made in India from hammered solid brass. When the bowl is rimmed with the wooden mallet the bowl sings like a bell. The tones are haunting and mysterious. Price range 49.95 - 98.95.



This is one of our more exuberant small cabinets - finished in rich, saturated colours. This one has a door made from an old carved wooden shutter and it still retains some of the metal chainwork that would have hung on the original. Price 199.00.

For an artisan, the blending of both motif and material gathered is a natural way to record a journey through multiple cultures. Shannon Wardroper of Geernaerts Textile Arts, originally from the west coast of Canada, has a background in textile design and art history from Alberta College of Art, Calgary, and Emily Carr College of Art, Vancouver. She has both studied and taught the last 10 years in Japan and Thailand with sojourns throughout Southeast Asia for study and research.

Living and working for seven years in Kyoto, Japan, where she studied traditional kimono surface design techniques and kimono dressing, she was immersed in a completely different aesthetic. She continued her study in Asia, moving to Thailand and focusing on ikat, supplementary weaving, and natural dyeing with Patricia Cheesman Naenna at Studio Naenna and Chiang Mai University.

Shannon’s work is shown internationally, with an annual highlight being botanically themed work for the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in London.


Student Supply List

Journal and drawing pens, pencils, and other drawing supplies you may want to bring
10 medium-sized plastic containers with lids (yogurt or cottage cheese ok – not the small ones)
Embellishing bits and pieces, buttons, or fancy threads etc….
Please bring a bag lunch. All other materials provided.


The full course calendar is on the web. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

Venessa Bentley grew up knitting and stitching and now works as an instructor, designer, and consultant in the needle, fibre, and textile arts. Venessa graduated from the Textile Arts Diploma Program at Capilano College. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree, a Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Fine Arts Education, and a Professional Teaching Certificate from Simon Fraser University. She is currently working on her Master Spinner certificate through Olds College, Alberta. Venessa serves on the board of directors for Circle Craft and is a member of the Langley Weavers and Spinners Guild, the Canadian Guild of Knitters, the Westcoast Knitters, the Knitting Guild of America, and the Surface Design Association. www.venessabentley.ca


Student Supply List

Spinning wheel (scotch-tensioned, flyer-driven, well oiled, and in good working order)

At least 3 bobbins for the spinning wheel
A one yard niddy noddy (and a small sampler niddy noddy if available).
Mini wool combs (if available)
Cotton carders
A flick carder
Two lap cloths: one light colour, one dark colour
Spinning wheel oil and accessories
The Maiwa studio is stocked with knitting needles for student's use in the classroom. If you have your own needles, it is advisable to bring them so you can take unfinished work home on the needles to complete. The needles used in this class are 3mm Addi Lace circular needles, 3.25mm (US 3) Addi Lace circular needles, 4mm (US 6)) Addi Lace circular needles.

All other materials supplied.



The full course calendar is on the web. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

Laura and Linda have arrived from England to join Catherine for the launch of volume 5 of Thr3fold. Copies of the new issue will be on hand and the three authors will be pleased to sign them.

The trio will present a feast of imagery as they talk about the creative process and the inspiration behind the Thr3fold project. They will also be bringing a selection of quilts never before exhibited in Canada. To support the Maiwa Foundation they will be auctioning a number of small items that each has been working on specifically for this event.

Wine, food and refreshments will be served.

THURSDAY JUNE 24, 2010
7:30 pm
in the Net Loft on Ganville Island
Admission is free but space is limited
Please RVSP to attend.

You can also RSVP by calling MAIWA HANDPRINTS at 604 669 3939

Laura Kemshall is an artist, author, quiltmaker and teacher of design, textile arts and sketchbook techniques. She has a BA (Hons) Textiles specialising in Embroidery. Since graduating from university, Laura has exhibited her innovative quilts to great acclaim, winning numerous prestigious awards.


Linda Kemshall, artist, author, quiltmaker and teacher of design and textile arts. She is a qualified Vocational Assessor, an External Verifier and City & Guilds’ Scheme Advisor for Patchwork and Quilting. Linda has taught extensively in the UK, Europe and North America and now offers City & Guilds qualifications entirely Online through her registered centre, DesignMatters.

Catherine Nicholls is an artist, quiltmaker and teacher of design, quiltmaking and creative sketchbook techniques. She has a background in interior design, having run her own successful company for many years. Catherine’s quilts are often inspired by the stories and legends she heard as a child growing up on the Pacific Northwest coast of Canada.

Gunnel Hag is an enthusiastic, innovative, and creative teacher. She studied Textiles at Stockholm University, Sweden, and the Royal College of Art, London, England. For over thirty years she has owned and operated Trees Textile Designers and Printers in Toronto, currently producing printed and dyed fabrics for film and theatre companies in Canada and the United States.

Her clothing and interior fabrics have been represented at international design exhibitions. She has received many grants and awards for her work, including OAC grants and a Ministry of Industry and Trade Award. Gunnel was a professor in the Textile Studio at Sheridan College School of Craft and Design in Oakville, Ontario, for twelve years. In 2002 she was a visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India. Gunnel has published two books: Creating Texture and Creating Texture: Soft Textures. Her concern with health and safety, both in her studio and in the classroom, has led Gunnel to actively promote the water-based Colour Vie Pigment System for the past twenty years. pages.istar.ca/~colorvie See her feature in Fibre Quarterly.

Student Supply List

While Maiwa supplies the fabric for this class, you may want to bring extra fabric for printing on. T-shirts, pillowcases, yardage of various natural fibres – cotton, linen, rayon, silk (white or light colours).

Sketch book and notebook
Favourite drawing materials
10 small plastic containers with lids (small yogurt size)
Samples or pictures of your work (if available)
Colour and design inspirations (pictures, sketches, fabric swatches)
Samples for viewing and discussion: one example of a printed fabric that you find unusual and intriguing.
Please bring a bag lunch. All other materials provided.



The full course calendar is on the web. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

$40 gets you in, includes your lunch, wine and a 20% discount on after show sales. Ocelot clothing is almost never discounted so your ticket could pay for itself with the purchase of one garment.

Eight Models

Live Music

Incredible Food

Exquisite Garments

Bonnie is inspired by the dialogue between traditional and contemporary embroidery techniques. She is also captivated by the potential dynamics of thread textures and backgrounds. Bonnie has completed the Master Craftsman program in crewel embroidery from the Embroiderers Guild of America and the City and Guilds of London Creative Embroidery and Design with Julia Caprara and the Opus School of Textiles.

Her work has been exhibited in various galleries in British Columbia, England, and the United States. She is involved with the North Shore Needle Arts Guild and the Vancouver Guild of Fibre Arts and assisted in forming Arrowsmith Needle Arts. Bonnie was also a member and treasurer of fibreEssence.


Student Supply List

All materials provided.


The full course calendar is on the web. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

Natalie Grambow has an extensive background in design, teaching, and textile arts. An accredited Interior Designer, she spent many years in Ottawa working within the architectural design field and teaching Design Theory. Natalie’s first deep exploration of textiles began during her Visual Arts/Photography studies at the University of Ottawa when she experimented with non-silver techniques of transferring photographic imagery onto cloth. She subsequently studied at the École d’Impression Textile à Montréal and later travelled to Asia and Latin America where she spent six months learning to weave with local Mayan weavers in Guatemala. Shortly after completing the Textile Arts program at Capilano College in 2001, she was awarded the BC Craft Association’s Award of Excellence. Natalie has developed a line of naturally dyed and printed fabrics and has been commissioned by such clients as the city of North Vancouver (to present an artist’s vision of North Vancouver on fabric).

Student Supply List

Please bring a bag lunch. All other materials provided.


The full course calendar is up. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

Jane Stafford joins us from Salt Spring Island. She has had a loom named in her honour (and designed with her recommendations and input). See the “Jane” loom produced by Louet.

Jane started weaving in 1978 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Her studies took her to Banff, Alberta, where she studied and taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts. She moved to Salt Spring Island in 1988 and opened her business. Jane Stafford Textiles produces a line of mohair blankets, silk scarves, and chenille stoles. Jane also teaches a variety of weaving workshops at beginner and advanced levels.

Student Supply List

Personal table loom or portable floor loom. Jane will send you a warp and instructions for dressing the loom one month prior to the class. A list of what students should bring with them to class will be sent to you at that time. All other materials provided.


Look for the full course calendar on the web in Mid May. A print version will be available in June. Registration opens June 21, 2010.

2) The second item is set of teak drawers with brass handles. Based on an old document cabinet this piece is perfect for storing clothing or textiles. It also makes a wonderful feature piece for the kitchen pantry or hallway. Price: $699.00.

3) The third item is a large teak cabinet with double mullion window-doors. It is a classic look to showcase books, folded textiles or curiosities. This piece is so beautiful you may be tempted not to fill it so that the warm tones of polished hardwood show through. This cabinet is just over five feet tall. Price: $899.00.

4) A old hammered brass pot with intricate detail pattern work. This piece has considerable character. It functions well as a base for dried arrangements or as a featured item on a shelf or nook. Prices range from $59.00 - 89.00.


5) A bench with carved side panels. This piece is a wonderful combination of polished wood, distressed patina and delicate carving. For all its beauty it is also a sturdy piece that can enjoy a lifetime of regular use. It may function either as a bench (a perfect height to put on your boots) or as a coffee table. Price: $599.00.

We receive containers on a regular basis holding old furniture, carved doors & thresholds, teak cabinets, coffee tables, book cases, engraved water urns, ironwork chairs and tables, furniture handpainted by the renowned Abhi Shakar and Jetu Singh, and many other items both large and small.

All hardwoods are old or reclaimed.

Maiwa East
More than you imagine

Open Thursday, Friday, Saturday 10 - 5

Sunday 11 - 5