Friday, 17 January 2020
Craft Arena Blog Moves
Our blog has been transferred to our new website. You can find the latest news from Craft Arena here.
Thursday, 13 June 2019
Tantalising Textiles 2020
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'Beast’ The winning entry of our 2019 competition by Sarah Bell |
Theme
The theme for Tantalising Textiles in 202 is Mystery. The definition of mystery from the Cambridge English Dictionary is:
- Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown, e.g. the mysteries of nature.
- Any affair, thing or
person that presents features or qualities so obscure as to arouse curiosity or
speculation, e.g. the masked guest is an absolute mystery to everyone.
- A novel, short story,
play or film whose plot involves a crime or other event that remains puzzlingly
unsettled until the very end e.g. a mystery by Agatha Christy.
- Obscure, puzzling or
mysterious quality or character, e.g. the mystery of Mona Lisa’s smile.
- Any truth that is
unknowable except by divine revelation.
- A sacramental rite.
- Ancient religious that
admitted candidates by secret rites and rituals, the meaning of which was known
only to initiated worshipers.
- Any rites or secrets
known only to those involved.
- Mystery play.
- Puzzle, problem, secret, riddle
Open Competition
If you prefer, you can enter the open section of the competition and submit work on a theme of your choice.Competition Details
The exhibition will be held in the Alchemy Gallery at Craft Arena from Friday 3rd April until Sunday 26th April 2020. The entry fee for each entry is £5 and you can submit as many entries as you wish.The competition is divided into two sections; one with the theme of Mystery and another open section in which you can submit work on a theme of your choice.
As in previous years, customers of Craft Arena will be asked to vote for their favourite piece, and the winner (or winners, depending on the number of entries) will receive a Craft Arena Gift Voucher, with another voucher going to the winner of our voter draw.
We will again be supporting St Luke's Hospice who will receive a proportion of the money raised by the fees.
Please contact us if you have any queries. any queries.
Tuesday, 2 April 2019
Tantalising Textiles 2019 Entries
Our Tantalising Textiles Competition for 2019 is now on at the Alchemy Gallery at Craft Arena. Vote for your favourite and you could win a Craft Arena gift voucher. The winner will also receive a voucher, and we will be donating a percentage of the money raised from the entry fee to St. Luke's Hospice in Basildon.
The theme for this year's competition is 'Symmetry', and entrants could choose to work to the theme or submit work on a topic of their choice.
These are just a taste of the work on show and you can see the complete works in the gallery. The exhibition continues until Sunday 28th April, and you can visit and vote during our usual opening hours. We hope to see you there.
Denise
The theme for this year's competition is 'Symmetry', and entrants could choose to work to the theme or submit work on a topic of their choice.
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Tantalising Textiles 2019 |
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Re3flection: Angela Woodget |
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Butterfly Basket: Catherine Gisby |
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Tree of Life: Restorative Exercise Group |
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Fern Ray Gannon |
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Beast: Sarah Ball |
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Working with 'Y': Stella Crockard |
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Striking Gold II: Sue Shaper |
Denise
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Aurifil Weekend
Craft Arena are planning a special Aurifil Event on Saturday and Sunday 24th and 25th November from 10.30 am to 4 pm each day. You will be able to try out lots of different Aurfil threads for both hand and machine sewing.
These will include:
There will be a free raffle, free samples and special offers and discounts.
Aurifil is versatile, strong, has a lustrous colour and produces virtually no lint and has a worldwide reputation. It is used by quilters, textile artists, hand and machine embroiderers.
Aurifil was originally conceived for the Italian high fashion and luxury bed linen market and is made from long staple 100% Egyptian cotton, grown in the Mako region of Egypt on the river Nile and manufactured in Milano, Italy.
Aurifil’s Wool 12weight thread is a lovely, soft blend of 50% Acrylic and 50% Wool. It is available in 192 unique colours on a red spool. Use this thread when you want to create texture or visually pleasing details. It can also be used for Single or Double Strand Cross Stitch, Hand Embroidery, Machine Applique, Machine Quilting, and Lower Looper Serging.
Aurifil’s 100% Cotton 12weight thread comes in all 270 of our Cotton colours and is wound on a red spool. It is the heaviest weight thread that we offer and is perfect for hand applique, hand embroidery, hand quilting, cross stitch, embellishment, handmade lace, machine applique, blanket stitch, machine embroidery (especially for designs that use a longer stitch length), machine art quilting, Sashiko, redwork, lower looper serging, and longarm quilting.
Aurifil’s 100% Cotton 28weight thread comes in all 270 of our Cotton colours and is wound on a grey spool. It is the second heaviest weight thread that we offer and is perfect for double strand cross stitch, blanket stitch, hand applique, hand piecing, hand quilting, bobbin and machine lace, machine quilting, longarm quilting, machine embroidery and lower looper serging.
Aurifil’s 50 weight thread is our most versatile and most popular Cotton thread. It is available in all 270 of our Cotton colours, and is wound on our iconic orange spool. The 50wt is strong and thin, and results in remarkably flat and crisp seams. While it is wonderful for piecing, subtle quilting & topstitching, and English Paper Piecing it also works incredibly well for Needle Turn Applique, Bobbin and Machine Lace, Machine Applique (Straight Stitch, Zig Zag, Blind Hem and Blanket Stitch) Machine Embroidery, Dense Machine Quilting, Subtle Machine and Longarm Quilting, Basting, Whole Cloth and Micro Quilting, and Dense Background Designs.
Aurifil Floss
Aurifil’s 6-strand 100% Cotton floss is wound on a gorgeous wooden spool, perfect for easy travel and the prevention of pesky tangles! It is available in all 270 of our Cotton colours and boasts 18 yards per spool. Aurifloss is excellent for Cross Stitch, Huck Embroidery, Miniature Punch-Needle Embroidery, Tatting, Needle Point, Crochet, Applique, Big Stitch Quilting, Accent stitching on garments and other items, and hand embroidery.
Free patterns
Contact us for more information about Aurifil.
These will include:
- 50 weight
- 28 weight
- 12 weight
- Lana
- Aurifloss
- Brillo
There will be a free raffle, free samples and special offers and discounts.
About Aurifil:
Aurifil was originally conceived for the Italian high fashion and luxury bed linen market and is made from long staple 100% Egyptian cotton, grown in the Mako region of Egypt on the river Nile and manufactured in Milano, Italy.
Lana
12 weight cotton
Aurifil’s 100% Cotton 12weight thread comes in all 270 of our Cotton colours and is wound on a red spool. It is the heaviest weight thread that we offer and is perfect for hand applique, hand embroidery, hand quilting, cross stitch, embellishment, handmade lace, machine applique, blanket stitch, machine embroidery (especially for designs that use a longer stitch length), machine art quilting, Sashiko, redwork, lower looper serging, and longarm quilting.
28 weight cotton
50 Weight cotton
Aurifil’s 50 weight thread is our most versatile and most popular Cotton thread. It is available in all 270 of our Cotton colours, and is wound on our iconic orange spool. The 50wt is strong and thin, and results in remarkably flat and crisp seams. While it is wonderful for piecing, subtle quilting & topstitching, and English Paper Piecing it also works incredibly well for Needle Turn Applique, Bobbin and Machine Lace, Machine Applique (Straight Stitch, Zig Zag, Blind Hem and Blanket Stitch) Machine Embroidery, Dense Machine Quilting, Subtle Machine and Longarm Quilting, Basting, Whole Cloth and Micro Quilting, and Dense Background Designs.
Aurifil Floss
Aurifil’s 6-strand 100% Cotton floss is wound on a gorgeous wooden spool, perfect for easy travel and the prevention of pesky tangles! It is available in all 270 of our Cotton colours and boasts 18 yards per spool. Aurifloss is excellent for Cross Stitch, Huck Embroidery, Miniature Punch-Needle Embroidery, Tatting, Needle Point, Crochet, Applique, Big Stitch Quilting, Accent stitching on garments and other items, and hand embroidery.Brillo
This beautiful polyester thread has a sparkle that gives an instant boost to your stitching. It can be used as a blending filament for embroidery and cross stitch, and is perfect for machine embroidery as it is resistant to shredding.
Free patterns
Contact us for more information about Aurifil.
Thursday, 13 September 2018
Inspired by the BAT Collection
We are holding a competition to run alongside the BAT exhibition and would like you to use the pictures as inspiration for your own work. Choose your favourite from the works which were displayed at the Alchemy Gallery at Craft Arena in July 2018, then produce a piece of work based on your choice using any technique and medium you wish. The work will be displayed in the Alchemy Gallery in November 2019 and there will be a prize of a Craft Arena Gift Voucher for the winner, to be chosen by the Trustees of TFEA. The deadline for entries has been extended until Tuesday 30th October.
The work on display was:
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Charlotte Halliday
Charlecote Crescent
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Ronald Maddox
Basildon Town Square
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Graham Clarke
Spudding
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Joe Tilson RA
Prorosia
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Edward Bawden RA
The Palace of Westminster
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Barbara Hepworth
Autumn Shadow
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Anthony Flemming
The White Mill
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David Gentleman
Limestone walls above Dovedale
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Colin Self
Isle of Arran
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Deanne Petherbridge
Islamic Series 76
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Jeremy King
Strand - downstream
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Rowland Emett
Pussiewillow III
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Basil Spence
Proposed Plan for Basildon Town Centre
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Norman Stevens
The Darkling Thrush
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Dylan Thomas Waldron
Farm House Corner
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Gerd Winner
New York Wall
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Tom Phillips RA
After Raphael
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You can find larger images of these pieces on the BAT Gallery page of the TFEA website and an entry form for the competition on the Craft Arena website here.
If you need any more information, please get in touch.
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