LAFTA

Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists

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What is LAFTA?

Founded in 1995, Louisville Area Fiber and Textile Artists (LAFTA) is an organization of visual artists whose work encompasses a variety of surface design and construction techniques, focusing on fibers, textiles and beads.

Our mission is to provide support to our members and to increase community awareness of fiber and textile art.  Click HERE to see how our mission unfolded over this past year.

LAFTA CALENDAR


January

Thurs, Jan 16: Monthly meeting * ZOOM ONLY/ NOT in-person* Guest Presenter: artist and quilter, Sherri Lynn Wood will be joining us over Zoom. Meeting begins at 6:30pm. We will also have a short presentation about the U of L fiber arts program. Guests are welcome.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81858992463?pwd=HKxwuHyPVTcS2mpkwEZQtXsH7uryNL.1

February

 
Sun, Feb 9: Sunday Stitching group, St. Mark's Church, 3pm

Sat, Feb 22, 10 am - 4pm Winter Wonder Workshops, St. Marks Church.  Learn something new and hang out with your artsy friends!  There will be 4 workshops to choose from.   Workshops are 2 hours long with time for instruction and guided practice. 

LAFTA January Meeting

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Artist and quilter, Sherri Lynn Wood will be joining us over Zoom to discuss her work, studio practice, and her residency, “Practice of Making Do”. 

Sherri Lynn teaches improvisational quilting as a creative life practice, and is considered an expert innovator and leader in the modern improv quilting movement. 

 

Her best-selling book, The Improv Handbook for Modern Quilters: A Guide to Creating, Quilting & Living Courageously (Abrams, 2015), provides scores, or frameworks, for flexible patterns and creative exploration, along with practical instruction in stitching techniques and intuitive color.

Ever since Sherri Lynn unwittingly defied the sexist dress code at Wiley Junior High School with a modest sundress of her creation, she experienced sewing as a source of creative expression, subversive resistance, and personal empowerment. 

Exposure to the liberated abstract quilts of black makers such as Rosie Lee Tompkins and Arbie Williams in the early 1990’s, ignited her passion for improvisational quilting and initiated her trajectory as a community based artist focused on restorative social practice.

Sherri Lynn is the recipient of a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, two MacDowel Fellowships, and numerous artist residencies, including Recology San Francisco, where she undertook the task of presenting a body of work made entirely from materials scavenged from the city dump. She holds a Master's in Fine Arts in sculpture from Bard College and a degree in Theological Studies from Emory University.  

Sherri has an Improv Focused Block of the Month Practice (Club) some of you may be interested in called, The Improv That Block Squad, a 6-month block of the month practice designed to get you flow-sewing with authenticity, from your head, heart and hands- along with supportive community! 

Discover new techniques, enhance your abstract piecing skills, and deepen your connection to your creative practice. Let go of perfection, stop overthinking and experience flow in this mindful, heart centered approach to improv quilting.

From January 1 – June 30, 2025

2nd Saturdays, 12-3 PM ET Quilt-Alongs
3rd Tuesdays, 3-4:30 PM ET Q&A 
Live on Zoom w/video replay + Interactive Community with supplementary pre-recorded content

Learn more about Improv That Block Club here, and learn more about Sherri Lynn Wood here. 
U of L Fiber Studio Update
Sarah Jane Castellon and Annabela Cockrell, current MFA students and fiber art instructors will be briefly speaking at the beginning of our January meeting to discuss with our LAFTA community that the fiber studio space at University of Louisville is under threat from the expansion of other departments. They will have use of the fiber studio at least until Fall Semester 2025, but there seems to be no long term solution. The enrollment numbers are way up in students interested in fiber classes, and students who entered the program wanting fiber/advanced fiber classes that will be left without a studio space and instructors.
 As we all know, the space is vital to the fiber program. From the stoves, sinks, counters, to the space for equipment like paper presses and looms, it is unclear how they would run their classes without this space. Sarah Jane and Annabela will be at our January meeting to discuss this and answer any questions you may have. 

WINTER WONDER WORKSHOPS

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Surface Design: Embellishment!
The application of adding embellishments to enhance the surface of a textile
 

(Please note that this replaces our regular February evening meeting.)

Saturday, Feb 22, 2025 10 AM - 4PM ST. MARK’S CHURCH

Learn something new and hang out with your artsy friends! Come for a single workshop or stay the whole day. You can practice your new skill or sit and stitch on something you are already working on. There will be 4 workshops to choose from throughout the day. You will register for only ONE. Workshops are 2 hours long with time for instruction and guided practice. Trying something new and not expecting to have a finished product is the idea!

There is NO FEE for the workshop and all materials will be supplied by LAFTA.

You will need to PRE REGISTER with Debbie Hoblitzell at d.c.hoblitzell@gmail.com  She will need your name and phone number.  List your first and second choice for a workshop.  Based on space availability, you may have the chance to attend a second workshop. The workshops will fill up fast and the deadline to register is February 15!

Missed the deadline? Come anyway, bring something to work on and enjoy the conviviality!

CANCELLATION POLICY. If you need to cancel, let Debbie Hoblitzell know ASAP and/or text Sue Sobel. 502-552-3766 so we can fill your place with someone on the waitlist.

WORKSHOP CANCELLATION DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER Check the Digest in your email. Questions? Call/text Leah Tenney at 970-266-8270

MORNING 10:00 - 12:00

“EMBROIDERED FLOWERS WITH RIBBON” WITH MARI MUJICA

We will use embroidery thread and narrow ribbons to create lively flowers.

Simple embroidery stitches will be demonstrated and then we will learn how to add ribbons to the flowers so they stand out on the textile surface, making a unique and beautiful statement.  Participants should bring: scissors, embroidery floss, needles and a needle threader. Class size: 10 

“PRINT BLOCKS FOR TEXTURE & REPEAT DESIGN” WITH PAT STURTZEL

We will be creating inexpensive print blocks using craft foam and plexiglass backing. Instruction will include transferring the design, cutting foam, adding additional relief to the design and the print process. Participants will create several print blocks and test them out on fabric. Perhaps, your newly printed fabrics will be a beautiful background for additional embellishing!

Participants should bring: scissors to cut craft foam and/or an x-acto knife, protective cutting mat, fabric scraps to print on, suggested size 7” - 12” squares or similar sizes (to get an idea of how a repeat design would look).  Class size: 10

 

LUNCH BREAK 12:00 - 1:00  BRING A BROWN BAG LUNCH AND A DRINK

 

AFTERNOON 1:00 - 3:00

“BACKSTITCH BEAD EMBROIDERY” WITH ANTJE BISHOP

We will be embellishing fabric with bead embroidery. The backstitch technique is the most flexible and secure technique for projects large and small. We will be using seed beads. Anyone who can thread a needle and stitch can learn to do bead embroidery!

All materials will be supplied which includes: an assortment of beads and fabrics to stitch on, beading needles and beading thread.

Participants should bring: scissors, bee’s wax, a thimble and needle threader. An Ottlight or something similar is helpful but optional. Bring any of your own beads that may be calling your name! Class size: 10

 

“KNITTED BOBBLES” WITH CANDYCE LOESCHER & MARTI TABER

Looking to add three dimensional interest (and fun) to your knitting? A bobble is a cluster of knitted stitches that create a raised “bubble”/bobble. Using your yarn and swatch, we will continue knitting and adding the bobbles in as we go along.

Pre-requisite - participants will need to be comfortable knitting and purling.  Class size: 10

LAFTA Member Challenge:
Japanese Paper 
Transitioning from Winter into Spring

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Following a wonderful presentation by Wendy Dunleavy last year, all members were invited to participate in a new materials challenge. Wendy generously gifted sheets of handmade Japanese paper to members - if you still have the paper and would like a way to use it please consider participating! Open to all mediums, but must incorporate the Japanese paper.

Theme: Transitioning from Winter into Spring. We encourage you to think broadly on this theme as you enter the new year- what transitions are happening in your life right now?  What are you hopeful for?  How might a new season reveal itself.

Work (or works in progress!) will be shared at the March 2025 meeting- and you never  know- this may be a great opportunity to begin a new piece to submit to one of LAFTA's 2025 member shows.

LAFTA Special Interest Groups

Lafta has two special interest groups for members who are interested in specific types of fiber art.

 
The Sunday Stitching Group typically meets the second Sunday of the month at 3pm at St Mark's church.   All members are welcome to join in.  Feel free to bring along any stitching, knitting, crochet or other hand work you’d like! Contact Leah Tenney for additional information leahjoy.stitching@gmail.com
 
The Weaving Group is a collaboration between LAFTA and the Little Loomhouse. This welcoming group is inclusive of all types of looms and all levels of experience.  We meet to share ideas, problem solve and provide friendly feedback (if desired), meeting alternatively during the day and at night at various locations.  To find out more about the group and/or to be put on the email distribution list, please contact Amy Sloboda @amy.sloboda2018@gmail.com.