ARTS AND CRAFTS IN ATHENS GREECE

Hello to all my friends , excuse me for bieng away from blogland for sometime now ,but I wasn't in a very good mood lately ,it might have been the social unrest ,the economy,the summer heat and another reason could be that my sewing machine had a problem all summer and that didn't put me in a very good mood since I couldn't sew ,but that didn't  stop me I did some hand stiching and I since started on a quilt that I have been commisioned to make for a friend which I will be sharing with you very soon .

I would like to share with you the first Arts and Crafts show that took place  just last weekend and obove is the ad.  It was held downtown Athens in a beautiful pink classical building .

There were booths set up with all sorts of hand crafted items for sale ,I visited some and I would like to share with you.

This booth belongs to a young lady by the name of Dimitra and she has a site called http://www.petra-psalidi-xarti.gr/  which means rock, scissors, paper ,she makes all sorts of beautiful items that are so interesting, as you can see.

She makes beautiful bags and garments ,she also offers classes in her studio on costume jewelry,sewing classes with all sorts of materials.

Then I met another lady by the same name ,Dimitra and she makes some cool stuff ,to me she had the best little corner which I hung out for a while and we chatted about sewing projects. She has a blog it's http://www.tobaloma.wordpress.com/ and the word baloma in Greek means patch and she does alot of it in her work.

This is the only quilt I saw at Dimitras corner,and it was the only one in the  whole show LOL,that gives you an idea of how popular quilting is here.

She also had some awsome potholders made from vintage sticheries ,I bought the second one's from the first row.

Dimitra also had plenty of real pretty aprons ,she said that they are popular and that she makes them easily and quick since she has had plenty of practice.  She uses plenty of applique  on her aprons and  uses the fusible paper.

                      

She also had plenty of bags many shapes and sizes.

I sure had fun looking over her items and I hope to see her again ,but unfortunaly she lives on the Island of Crete .

This is the Kangaroo craft booth and Mrs. Sofia which is in red has a shop downtown Athens and she has all the clover products and is the distributor for all of Greece ,she carries all sorts of yarns and tools , when  I spoke with her and she mentioned that they are getting ready to start quilting classes again this year, one day I will visit and make a post on her shop and  classes.

Some  costume  jewelry that I saw ,there was plenty of it and I just snapped some photos  to see.

The lady at this booth  had painted items like trays , boxes ,candles and  clothing ,she also sells the paints and teaches classes on the  technique that she learned in the united states.  ,she had a nice booth and enjoyed looking at her items. 

This is another booth with jewelry that I included for last.  I hope you liked this little tour ,I hope they keep having these type of events ,and maybe next year I might have a little booth that is if I can finish something .  I wish you all well and thank you for stopping by.

DEER PAINTING

A big HELLO to all my friends ,first of all I must say I haven't been feeling so well ,could be the weather change along with the allergies that continue to bother me,but I really wanted to make a post today.

I was reading Cyndis blog one day http://bluebirdswing.blogspot.com/and she has deer in her back yard now that is so cool ,my mind went to a painting that I had found one day actually sticking out of a trash bin it is large so that is why I could see it . I of course took it and I cleaned it and put a frame on it ,it is so beautifully done it even has the signature of the artist I even looked it up in the Greek Artists Ecyclodedia and he was noted in it. I plan of taking it to our country home and hang it over the fireplace I noted in my comment to Cyndi that I would make a post about it so Cyndi here it is.

This lower right section could be a painting itself.

He is  starring right at us!

A friend of mine gave me an old curtain that she would like for me to make a little quilt for her so I decided to make it using a triangle template that I had made a while back.

I had a piece of hard plastic and measured and cut lines into it ,It makes 12 blocks each one 9.5 c.m. so I just cut the fabric along with a solid pink that I thought matched it fine and put them together and just drew with the pencil through the lines.

And then I sew 1/4 inch on both sides of the lines and cut on the lines I have plenty cut up now and will sew it up for her I will give it to her to quilt by hand it will be a throw size for her sofa ,now I have the triangle cut , really haven't decided how to put them together I shall play first before deciding.

And then of course I have made a batch of potholders and played a bit with a couple by adding a little triangle in the corner for a better grasp. That is what I have been up to and since I moved last month ,I am still putting up curtains and organizing I just do a little at a time I really don't want to tire my hands , I wish all of you a nice Sunday and make something pretty and creative. xoxo Theodora

NICE FIND

Good morning my friends , on my way to my shop this morning I came upon this little piece of furniture ,I checked it out and found that it is all solid wood and in good shape so I took it !! wouldn't you if you were me ,I plan on stripping it and staining it the same color to go with the rocking chair.

When you open the cabinet it also has a little drawer ,I found some interesting items inside.

Look at what I found some buttons a spool of thread and a needle book with an Indian on it .

I opened it and this is what is inside ,various size needles a girl can't ever have enough needles ,but I will just keep it as is , it is vintage I don't see these in the stores .  I have a collection of vintage sewing items and I will add this to my collection.  This is a short post since I haven't been able to do to much sewing I am still getting the house organized ,but soon I will have something ,I have a project that I should complete so that will be posted soon.  I wish all of you a nice Sunday and have fun sewing.  xoxo Theodora

HELLO HELLO !!!

                                              

                            That is right Hello ! to all I have been away for a while ,I had plenty to do first of all I went to a Bonham's Greek Sale Exhibition to view the paintings on an upcoming sale which takes place in England ,but they start here in Athens ,I have been a regular at these events since we have been dealers and collectors for years.

This is the Catalog.

And this my dear friend Haroula and I sipping away Cheers !! to all ,we had a nice time, we also meet up with other artists and art collectors that we have known since we began collecting art.

And this is my art pieces that I have been doing ,how do you like them ?? I thought it would be fun to photograph them like they are pieces of art.

I felt guilty about a quilt project that I started years ago ,and so I picked it up while in the store ,but since I have started having symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome cts I put it away for a while ,the cts that I suffer from is not only from stitching by hand it's also from the frame work that I have been doing now for the last 17 years, I have had it for about a year and I am going to have some tests done to see what is causing it other than the use of my hands.

And the most difficult task was that we moved to the upper floor in the building, it was done all in one day luckily I had some strong male relatives stop by and we moved everything up in one day . I was so tired by the end of the day my knees ached. I even went down and cleaned the apartment around midnight, in the middle of the moving I managed to sneak in a photo of my sewing area .

And oh!! that rocking chair it is almost done I just have the bottom part to do , I have it in the middle of the store now and customers ask about it and I of course tell them the whole story of stripping and what color I will use ,it will most likely be a light creamy peach color I haven't really decided yet ,but I am open to suggestions.

I wish all of you a nice Sunday ,and to have the energy ,patience and inspiration to make something pretty. xoxo Theodora

SOME PLAYING TIME

Hello and I hope everybody is well ,I have been suffering from alergies lately since all is in bloom ,since we moved to Greece I have these conditions every spring ,so I take some medication and it really helps me. 

As far as quilting I completed a bunch of pot holders and I have put them in my shop for sale ,I have placed them in a cute little basket and put two in each little bag, I have ofcourse given out as Easter gifts to all of my friends that come in for a visit ,my shop is sort of a meeting place and coffee shop ,I love it when all friends stop by for a quick hello when out on the town.

As I was making the pot holders I happen to misjudge on how thick to make them on order for them to be used as potholders ,I used some fleece and I should of used two layers in order for them to be thick enough for it purpose, so I was playing around and I folded in the center and then the sides and thought wow this could be a little case for a camera or cell phone .  I sewed and button to hold it together and the little loop works perfect as a closure with the button and walla I have a new case for my camera ,how do you like it ??

On a slow day in the store I got some colored paper and started playing....

I cut them in three strips and sort of switched them around, what do you think of this ,I haven't actually put it to fabric yet ,but I think it is interesting .

Then I got going and cut long strips and cut them at an angle and then cut them in six squares do to the width if I made the strips wider then there would be more pieces  .......

With eny four pieces you choose you get this.

And adding more pieces you get this....

And adding more eny way you want you get something real funky looking.

Can you imagine using print fabrics and mixing them up ??

Then I took two rectagular pieces and cut in strips.

And put it together like so .

Then I did this.

And taking a square with an angle using two colors to signify the two colors of fabric I cut the corners and ....

I made this by switching the corners around I think it will make an interesting quilt when you make more and put them together.

Well that is what I have been doing very little since I have started packing ,we are moving to the apartment obove us to the 2nd floor ,I really dread the move ,but it will be warmer for us since there is no apartment underneath ,the apartment here are sort of on colums and they use them for parking and there is no insulation underneath us since it is open all around I know it's difficult to understand ,one day I will take a photo so you get the idea. 

I wish all of you a happy Easter our Greek Orthodox Easter is next Sunday  I remember that in the states they celebrate one week difference either before of after ,  I wish all of you well, and make something creative and pretty. xoxo Theodora