Gary Parr

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Deb Rucker

Deb Rucker’s Woodlawn award-winning design.

Our focus for this first Sunday of Black History Month is Afrocentric needlework and our guest is Deb Rucker of Stitches of Heritage. Sassy Jacks Stitchery is our sponsor and to help recognize Black History Month, Sassy Jacks is offering a free pdf download of the Sassafras Samplers Rosa Parks portrait sampler. To obtain your free copy, go to sassyjacksstitchery.com and scroll down on the home page until you see the image of Rosa Parks. Deb Rucker has extensively studied African American history with a focus on the role needlework has played since slaves were brought to the U.S. She also is an active designer/stitcher of representation artwork that raises awareness of racism in today’s culture. Our conversation and her experiences are educational and extremely enlightening. It was a true pleasure to talk about this important subject with Deb. Toward the end of the conversation, we talk about the websites diversityinstitching.com and lordlibidan.com. They are two websites you should bookmark and diversityirstitching.com is one you should visit frequently. Lots of talent at that site. Huge thanks to Deb for making the time to share her knowledge and experiences with us.–Gary

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This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

This week’s sponsor is Sassy Jacks Stitchery at sassyjacksstitchery.com.

Rosa Parks sampler from Sassafras Samplers.

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We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Deb Rucker. We’re always looking for guests, so let us know if there is someone you’d like us to have on the show.

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Gary Parr — 1 Comment

Fiber Talk Midweek Chat, 1-31-24

Cindy’s Fibonacci Swirls floss toss. It’s going to look great.

It’s time for another Midweek Chat. This week Cindy and Gary discuss counted-canvas work and how it fits in the stitching world, ANG and CyberPointers, beginning and ending threads, and keeping a project notebook. Overrated/underrated topics include corner measuring squares, adjustable stretcher bars, and stitching chairs/ergonomics. Be sure to check out the Jan. 28 podcast with Nicola Jarvis in which we talk about her new book “Life in Seasons.” Sunday’s guest is Deb Rucker from Stitches of Heritage. Our topic is the role of African Americans in needlework history.–Cindy and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

Here are some links:

We hope you enjoy the show. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.

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Posted on January 27, 2024 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Nicola Jarvis II

Fairhurst Fox, one of the projects in Life in Seasons.

Nicola Jarvis returns this week to talk about her new book, “Life in Seasons: The Embroidered World of Nicola Jarvis.” The show is sponsored by Avlea Folk Embroidery and CyberPointers. Nicola’s book is published by the folks at “Inspirations” magazine. While it’s filled with beautiful projects, presented in the familiar “Inspirations” format, it’s much more than a project book. “Life in Seasons” is the story of what Nicola experienced during her daily walks down the lane and in the woods with her dog Quince. Through words, photos, needle art, poetry, and artisans who helped her along the way, Nicola takes us with her on those walks so we can see what inspired the projects in the book. This book is the first of two. It covers the Winter and Spring seasons. The second book will be published in Sept. 2025 and will share her Summer and Autumn experiences. The book is available now at Sassy Jacks Stitchery or wherever you purchase needlework books. Projects kits can be purchased from the “Inspirations” website to ship from Australia or from Nicola’s website to ship from the UK. Enjoy the conversation and stitching the art Nicola has created.–Beth and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

Please support our sponsor, Avlea Folk Embroidery at avleaembroidery.com.

Join CyberPointers at cyberpointers.org.

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We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Nicola Jarvis. We’re always looking for guests, so let us know if there is someone you’d like us to have on the show.

Posted on January 20, 2024 by Gary Parr — Leave a comment

Fiber Talk with Dr. Susan Kay-Williams V

Dr. Susan Kay-Williams, Executive Director of the Royal School of Needlework, returns this week in a show sponsored by Sassy Jacks Stitchery. We cover a long list of topics including what’s new with the RSN Stitch Bank (rsnstitchbank.org), one of the best, no-cost resources for needleworkers; revamping the RSN Tutor Training program; and the RSN International Summer School. The school is July 13 to 18 in Lexington, KY. Road trip? We also talk about Queen Mary’s doll house and why the RSN uses slate frames and trestles. We end the show with Susan sharing several stories about the role the RSN played in the coronation preparation. Visit the RSN website and put your name on their list so you’ll be informed about what they have to offer.–Beth and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

Elizabethan Lark’s Head Ladder is one of more than 400 stitches in the RSN Stitch Bank.

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We hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Susan Kay-Williams. We’re always looking for guests, so let us know if there is someone you’d like us to have on the show.

Posted on January 17, 2024 by Gary Parr — 4 Comments

Fiber Talk Midweek Chat, 1-17-24

It’s our first Midweek Chat of 2024. Among our topics are Gary’s finish of the Sarah Parr 1825 sampler, the re-start of the Sassy Jacks Cosmo thread club, changing colors in projects, dealing with dry hands, perforated wood shapes from Michaels, slate frames and trestles, stitching Beloved, having enough thread for a project, and Beth changing Dusk to Dawn colors. Sunday’s guest is Dr. Susan Kay-Williams, Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework.–Beth and Gary

Listen to the podcast:

This show is also available on FlossTube. Click here to view it.

Beth is flying through the Susan Schlichter sampler from Queenstown Sampler Designs.

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We hope you enjoy the show. We’re always looking for guests, so let me know if there is someone you’d like me to have on the show.

To add yourself to our mailing list and be notified whenever we post a new podcast, provide your name and email address below. You won’t get spam and we won’t share your address.