Wednesday, January 9, 2008

An Introduction to Threadanimals



THREADANIMALS

creatures from thread an fiber




The art of thread and fiber bear making has been around for many years. In the last 4 years it has really come to the forefront of the bear world. The threadanimal yahoo group has been partially responsible for this upsurge in interest in and enthusiam for thread and fiber animals.




The threadanimal group started with around 50 members who were very engaged in elevating the art form and their own abilities through challenges, swaps, and contests. The picture above was a sample of two artists work (marylou of meribears and deBBie of debbittybears). Since that time the group has grown to over 1000 members who have an interest in these little thread creatures.



The yahoo group can be found at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/threadanimals.



The year 2007 was very exciting. Here is a sample of some of the things we worked on.


This little bear was made by Stephanie for our Santa Swap


The sweet little lamb was done by Antonina for our spring swap
Martin the Martian here was made by Stephanie of TheTinyToyBox for our "Things that go bump in the night" swap.
The requirement for our Summer Challenge was that the design had to incoporate a flower. This lovely needle felted bear with an 'oya' worked flower was done by Berta of ThReAdTeDs

Two of our Moderators Berta of http://www.threadteds.com/ and Bobbie of http://www.beyondbasicbears.com/ also offered a free needlefelting and crochet workshop. The steps for making pumpkins and acorns as well as their crocheted caps and leaves were given step by step.
Donna A. of Brandon Bears did the acorns below from the workshop.

This is just a sampling of the many fun things we did as a group.



Currently we are doing sign ups for a Valentines Day Exchange.



We also have a yahoo group where members list the items they have for sale on ebay or elsewhere. It can be viewed at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/threadartistbears.



If you are a member of threadanimals already and have a suggestion for the blog, please contact deBBie, Donna, Bobbie, Berta, or Beverley through the yahoo group.



If you are interested in making threadanimals or are an artist looking for a fun free group, please join us at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/threadanimals.



Love, deBBie (and the rest of the team)




Rust E. Lion and Slithers, a winner in our Threadanimal of the Year 2007 contest
made by Heather Hamilton of hugables.




10 comments:

Unknown said...

LV this idea - a 'coffee klatch' type of place that our Moms & Grandmothers used to have, to touch base with friends whenever we have a minute and make little announcements, separate-yet-related to our threadanimals yahoo group.

hggzzz - Bobbie

Mafyb said...

Great start. You have photos that I did not had a chance to see on ThreadAnimal Yahoo group. Thank you and kip up the fantastic work on the blog and on the group.

Françoise Y. Beauchamp (Mafyb)
Bois-des-Filion, Québec, Canada

Anonymous said...

Great Work DeBBie! It's great to have another place to discuss the 'happenings' of the group and the history and advancements of threadanimals as an art form! Can't wait for more!
~ Stefanie
TheTinyToyBox

Donna A said...

How Fun is this !A great place to
connect with friends & share the
chocolate
Donna A
BrandonBears

MarjavdN said...

I love blogs! To read, I mean, I don't have the discipline to write one myself. So nice to see our group in another media on the internet.
Hugs,
Marja

Unknown said...

I think this is a neat idea and you have done a wonderful job setting it up DeBBie, well done.

All the best Karen

Debby H said...

Great idea Deb! Can't get enough of these little critters, and can't wait to get back into the swing of things again!
Debby H

Unknown said...

This blog is really coming along. I really enjoyed reading the interview with Patricia. I am really intrigued about her creations now. Keep up the blogging!!
~bear hugs
Jess

Unknown said...

The blog site is coming along nicely. I really enjoyed reading the piece on Patricia Knight. Keep up the blogging.
~bear hugs
Jessica

Kathleen Stuart said...

I really enjoyed your work Marji! It is nice to get to know you. Congrats on being artist of the month!