Tag Archives: threads of blessing

First Friday and Friday Freebie

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Yep, it’s all about Fridays! Please mark your calendars for the upcoming First Friday, December 6th,  at La Vida Gallery in Southtown. I’ve been invited back again (December tradition!) to show with the amazing Oaxacan folk artists, Jacobo and Maria Angeles. I’ll be showing some new folk-art-like constructions based on the Guardian series. Here’s the info – hope to see you thpromesasflatere:
And in the spirit of the season, here’s a Friday Freebie for one subscriber to SHARDS, this very blog. It’s another beautiful tapestry from my collection of Threads of Blessings embroideries. I love sharing the work of these women from Uganda. This hand-embroidered scene of daily life is by Magret Biwaga, and it depicts a small house with two figures. I think the smaller one may be going off to school. There’s a giant bird flying overhead who looks as if he might get stuck in the tree! It’s really charming. Be a subscriber before Sunday night and I’ll put your name in the drawing. Thanks, and have a wonderful weekend!
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Friday Freebie! Threads of Blessing tapestry

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Last Sunday I visited with the Threads of Blessing people at Cathedral House and am sharing one of the wonderful embroidered tapestries with a SHARDS subscriber (thanks to all of you guys). Subscribe by this Sunday evening to be in the drawing. If you don’t know about Threads of Blessing, it was founded a group of Episcopalian women from the West Texas Diocese who organize workshops in Honduras, Mexico, and Uganda that encourage the local women to share their creative skills. Pretty cool. Here’s a photo of a workshop on the grass in Uganda.Workshop on the grass

Today’s Friday Freebie is a fanciful embroidered tapestry by Ugandan artisan Esther Byaruhanga depicting a group of people planting a garden. The little seeds are tiny white stitches – maybe corn? The colors are vibrant and the people are happily working – it’s a labor of love, for sure.

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After receiving her gift of payment, one of the Ugandan women on the Threads of Blessing site wrote, “With the second gift I was able to get the school results for my second child and buy land for them. How to build a house was a problem. With this third gift I can now continue with building our house.” So the Friday Freebie will be a gift to you! Thanks for supporting artists everywhere, including me :). I’ll announce the winner of Esther’s tapestry on Monday morning.

Friday Freebie – Threads of Blessing

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When the Sathreads1cred Ground exhibit opened at Cathedral House Gallery in late May, I met a woman named Helen Schnelzer who sponsors a wonderful program called Threads of Blessing, an annual needlework workshop for the women of Uganda. These workshops are designed to encourage women to gather as a community, learn organizational skills, and help develop personal esteem. I purchased five of the embroidered tapestries and wanted to share one with a SHARDS subscriber as a Friday Freebie. This one was embroidered by Abby Thorciba, who writes in her statement, “I have orphans I care for . . .the Lord has given me this to feed, clothe and care for them and myself.” Look at the great expression on this face!

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Here is the full tapestry – it’s about 18×18″ on unbleached muslin and could be stretched to frame or sewn into a hanging or a pillow. It’s signed by Abby Thorciba. I’ll wait until Sunday to do the Friday Freebie drawing but will let you know who the winner is Sunday night. All subscribers will have a chance to win, and I thank you so much for reading my blog.

And here’s the brochure – click on it to read it, and if you’d like to donate, you can write to The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, Attn: Threads of Blessing, PO Box 6885, San Antonio, TX 78209 (or just email me and I can give you more information – I’m not affiliated with the program, but I definitely support its philosophy and will continue to threads3purchase these unique works).