Summer Vacay & Recipes

Beginning July 2, 2011 Kreinik will be closing its offices and manufacturing plant for a little summer rest and relaxation. We will re-open on July 11, 2011. Here's a couple of Doug Kreinik's favorite recipes to try during your 4th of July holiday.

Marconi and Cheese

I do not eat milk products anymore, but my kids, and they are grown, love this when they visit. They now even make it in their homes. I begin with a basic white sauce using a double boiler.

You will need the following ingredients:

• Unsalted Butter (3 tbsp)
• Flour (2 tbsp)
• Half and Half (2 cups)
• Sharp Cheddar (8. 0z)
• Paprika
• Macaroni ( 8-10 .ozs)

1. Melt - 3 tbsp unsalted butter
2. Stir in - 2 level tbsp of flour
3. Blend well over low heat
4. Stir in slowly 2 cups of half and half and stir constantly
5. Bring to a slow boil and continue to boil constantly stirring. This creamy white sauce should be thick and smooth.
6. Add 1 chopped up brick of Sharp Cheddar ( My kids like the sharpest possible selection)
7. Add a dash of paprika
8. Cook Marconi noodles & drain
9. Pour cheese sauce over noodles

Eat and totally enjoy.

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Tangerine Meringue Pie

I love to experiment. I had heard that you could take any citrus and make a pie. I use premade pie crusts.

Pie Crust:

Bake a 9", premade pie crust and bake it until it is done

Pie filling (Mix in a double boiler):

• 4 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp clarified butter (I cook out the milk solids)
• 2 tbsp tangerine zest
• ½ cup fresh tangerine juice
• 1 ½ cups boiling water

Meringue

• 3 egg whites
• ¼ tsp cream of tartar
• 6 cup sugar
• ¼ tsp vanilla

1. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until frothy.
2. Beat in sugar, 1 tbsp at a time until stiff and glossy.
3. Beat in vanilla. Do not under beat
4. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
   
   

In Medium sauce pan:

1. Mix sugar and cornstarch and gradually stir in water.
2. Cook over medium heat, stir constantly until it thickens and boils for 1 min.
3. Gradually stir in half of the hot mixture into egg yolks.
4. Blend into hot mixture in pan
5. Boil and stir 1 minute
6. Remove from heat
7. Stir thoroughly: Clarified butter, tangerine zest, tangerine juice and pour into baked pie shell
8. Cover the pie with heaps of meringue making sure to carefully seal the edges.
9. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until a light brown then cool.

Eat and enjoy.

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From stash to schools

With my dad’s passing, my mom has decided to look through her massive stashes of “stuff” and give things away. With a career in textiles, you can imagine the treasure trove she has collected. She used to teach clothing and couturier design at different universities, for example, so over the years she has purchased many different types of fabrics and trims.

Recently, I attended a meeting at the fashion school at West Virginia University. One of the professors mentioned that the students often have difficulty creating their projects due to the cost of fabrics. That comment sparked an idea, so I went home and told my mom about the conversation. We both agreed that mom’s textile treasures could find a new home with the university. Here was a win-win situation where my mom could give her stash of 70 years of wools, velvets, and even the first thermal fabrics developed by the Navy in the 1950s plus her collection of Vogue patterns to a place where they would be loved, treasured and used.

So we set up a meeting for the dean of the school to visit my mom and see her collection. After a lot of oohs and ahs, we filled up the van with bolts and pieces of fabric, a large box of patterns which would go into the school’s pattern library, and original issues of American Fabric Magazine which contain actual fabric swatches.

My mom felt great about this project. It was a big move for her to take, but felt that instead of fabric just being placed in a plastic bag and given away to a charity, this meant that students would be able to benefit from the wealth of information that she could still offer young people. An additional outcome was that the dean asked my mom if she would consider visiting the campus and having a conversation with the students on her history working in the textile industry during the 20th century. She is considering the idea.

If you have a family member who has a fabric, trim, or textile stash, or you have a stash that you are no longer using, think about universities or school programs that could use these items to help build skills for our children and young people, helping them grow into the future.

By Doug Kreinik

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2011 West Virginia Quilt Festival

The 8th annual West Virginia Quilt Festival will be taking place this week June 23-25, in Summersville West Virginia at the Summersville Arena and Conference Center. The festival is chocked full of fun, quilting related stuff like...

• Taking Classes
• Participating in the Little Quilt Auction
• Special Exhibits & Events
• Shopping

Kreinik will be there as one of the vendors you can shop with! Look for Kreinik along with the Sewing Bee in booth #C-4,5 to shop for Kreinik threads. Click here to see our new video using Kreinik Ombre Metallic™ in the Bobbin.

West Virginia Quilters, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote quilting in West Virginia and...

• to encourage learning, understanding, and appreciation of the art of quilting
• to provide education about the art of quilting to its members
• to provide statewide communication and resource sharing through the publication of a newsletter, sponsorship of workshops, seminars and meetings
  

This organization continues the recording of the tradition, culture, and history of quiltmaking in West Virginia that began with the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search, Inc. and will encourage the care and preservation of quilts, both old and new.

For more information about the West Virginia Quilt Festival visit www.wvquilters.org

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Something for everyone

“Something for everyone” is the phrase to describe the two new exhibitions opening Friday, June 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Parkersburg Art Center. The works in both exhibits are by members of the Innovative Arts Alliance, a group of artists from Ohio and West Virginia. It is a “creative convergence,” with sculptures, drawings, paintings, carvings and textile arts in all forms on display.

“We are really thrilled to be welcoming back members of the IA,” says Abby Hayhurst, Art Center director. “Their exhibit in 2009 was one of our most popular shows, because of both the broad variety of works, and also the great skill level of the various artists.” Alliance members include Vern Allen and Ele Rumen-Allen of Amanda, Ohio; June Baker of Ellenboro, WV, Lynda Berman and Lanna Galloway of Athens, Ohio; Susan Nash and Susan Stubbins of Zanesville, Ohio; Thaddeus Brejwo of Whipple, Anna Prince of Marietta, Ohio; and Andi Stern of Chauncey, Ohio.

In the Main Gallery will be an exhibit called “Full Spectrum: a Tribute to Diane Eyerman,” which will feature works by all the Alliance members. “Diane Eyerman, of Chillicothe, Ohio, is an amazing textile artist and a member of the Alliance, who is ill and unable to work,” according to Hayhurst. “Each of the other members is doing a special piece in her honor, and many of them are using her textiles in their own works. We will also have some of her own works on display, so Diane will be very well represented at this showing.”

The exhibit will in the Art Center’s Main, South, and Whitlatch galleries. Opening at the same time, in the Esbenshade Gallery, will be works by Thaddeus Brejwo, a member of the Innovative Arts Alliance. “Thaddeus is a colorful guy, who is at home in many different mediums. He paints, he sculpts, he can do it all, including designing for the stage,” says Hayhurst.

The opening reception is open to the public, with an admission charge of $10 per person. There is no charge for Art Center members. The exhibit is open for viewing Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through July 16. Daily admission to the Art Center is $2 for adults, with no charge for children under age 12.

A Note From Doug Kreinik...

Being in the textile business and the craft business, textile art is one of my all-time favorites. Every few years, the Parkersburg Art Center has a supurb collection of work created by the Innovative Arts Alliance , a group of artists from West Virginia and Ohio. I was able to get a sneak preview of much of the exhibit when the director Abby Hayhurst called me and said, “Doug , you have to get over here right away.” To quote my son: “Awesome.” What a great collection of quilts, embroidery and other forms of textile arts and sculpture. I would really recommend the drive or visit, whether you are coming through Parkersburg or making a day trip.

One of the artisans, Andi Stern of Chauncey, Ohio has three pieces on exhibit: Octopus' Garden, Boogie Shoes and Twelve Step, using Kreinik braids and sewing threads. This is a very exciting set of work. The pieces are stunning and we are so excited to be represented in such a way. For more information on her textile art, her blog is http://andreasternart.blogspot.com.

The exhibit runs from June 10 through July 15. Check out http://www.parkersburgartcenter.org

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Crochet me a story...

As Kreinik prepares for the TNNA needlework trade show next week, we are looking forward to seeing wonderful needlepoint, counted thread, knit and crochet designs at market. Stay tuned for new product updates from Kreinik, as well as Facebook and Twitter feeds from the show.

One of our new product lines consists of crochet bookmark designs. Do you crochet? Whether you have picked up a hook and chained an afghan, scarf, sock, jewelry or accessory of your own, or even if you haven't, try to catch the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef exhibit that is currently traveling the world. I was able to see it earlier this year at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC, and it was simply stunning.

According to the web site http://crochetcoralreef.org, the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef is a "woolly celebration of the intersection of higher geometry and feminine handicraft, and a testimony to the disappearing wonders of the marine world." It began in 2005 as a project by Australian sisters Christine and Margaret Wertheim, who were actually living in Los Angeles at the time. It was an homage to the disappearing Great Barrier Reef, but today it has expanded to become so much more.

The current exhibit includes displays of the Great Barrier Reef plus "sub-reefs" such as a bleached reef, anemone garden, kelp garden, plus dramatic renditions of a toxic reef complete with trash worked into the yarn. The latter is a sad reminder of how our natural wonders are treated. With this unique perspective on coral reefs, you leave the exhibit awed by beauty and determined to pick up trash as you go along in this world.

So many artists have worked on the reef exhibit at this point. Kreinik is excited to have worked with some of them, including Shirley Waxman, Arlene Mintzer, Barbara Van Elsen and Lily Chin. I am pretty sure I saw some sparkling Kreinik threads woven into the reefs. You can use any Kreinik thread as a carry-along fiber in crochet, and some sizes are perfect for crochet on their own.

I have crocheted ever since my grandmother taught me how, as she could get me to sit still as an elementary-school-aged child. The 'hyperbolic' mathematics of the crochet process in this exhibit escaped me. It refers to a technique discovered by a Cornell University mathematician in the 1990s and involves algorithms, space, geometry, and other subjects I never mastered in school. However, if you would like more information, just click here: http://theiff.org/publications/index.html

At the reef exhibit in Washington DC, I loved hearing visitors' remarks (including non-crocheters seeing this age-old "woman's" art form used in such a scientific way). Teenagers loved the crochet, kids loved the colors and shapes, most thought it was a real reef until they walked up to it ("That's crochet?!"). The exhibit arrives at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California later this month. Check it out if you are in the area. Visit http://crochetcoralreef.org for more information.

by Dena Lenham
for more photos from the Coral Reef exhibit at the Smithsonian, visit the Kreinik Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Kreinik.Manufacturing.Company

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A toast to metallics

Guest Blog from Janet Perry

Note from Kreinik: We are so excited to have an article and needlepoint stitch guide from blogger and designer Janet Perry of Napa Needlework and http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com. Often we fall in love with a painted canvas needlepoint design, but don't know where to start when it comes to actually stitching it. Stitch guide writers like Janet tell you which threads and stitches can be used to bring a canvas to life. Thank you, Janet for sharing this project featuring Kreinik's new Easter Grass plus Kreinik Treasure Tape and Iron-on Thread. Like her, you can use a variety of materials on a needlepoint canvas. Don't be afraid to experiment and have fun!

Kreinik makes a wealth of items that can be used to give needlepoint a whole new look. Using this painted canvas of a glass of beer, I used Kreinik threads, embellishments, and some items from my stash to make a distinctive needlepoint design.

Foaming Beer Glass (CT145) Canvas from KS Designs
Stitch Guide by Janet M. Perry

Here’s what you need:
3 skeins Kreinik Silk Mori 5097 (blue)
1 skein brown paper packages Silk & Ivory 93 Red Hot (red)
1 spool Kreinik Silk Serica 7173 (cream)
1 spool each Kreinik 1/8” ribbon: 5555 (cream) and 100 (white)
1 spool Kreinik Easter grass 1/8" size
1 spool Kreinik Tapestry (#12) braid in 5720 (gold), 032 (white), 191 (cream)
1 spool Kreinik Iron-on Ribbon 003 (red)
1 Kreinik Teflon Press Cloth
1 tube Kreinik micro-beads in gold
1 package each Swarovski hot fix crystals crystal, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm
1 package Kreinik Treasure Tape stars
1/2-inch shank button from your stash
home iron or craft iron

Instructions:
1. Borders: Padded Gobelin using Silk & Ivory. Stop the padding stitches one thread before each corner.
2. Glass Base: Basketweave using Easter Grass. This thread is very stiff, so use short lengths and pull each stitch tightly.
3. Beer: Four-way Continental skipping occasional stitches in order to add in hot fix crystals
4. Head: Four-way Continental using Silk Serica
5. Foam: French Knots done in several passes; each pass covering more of the foam. The first and second passes are with the two 1/8” ribbons. These should cover almost all the foam. The last two passes should use the white and cream Tapestry (#12) braids. These fill in the remaining area in the foam and build up the foam by being on top of the existing knots. These knots do not have to be perfect; they can be loose, use different numbers of wraps, and face different ways. If you like, you can add more knots using other white and cream threads. If you want to add highlights use Kreinik Tapestry (#12) braid in white (100) to add a few on top of the other knots.
6. NOTE: Before stitching the background, place the smallest size star from the Treasure Tape sheet over the star on the canvas, you will be stitching around it.
Background: Double Trellis using six strands of Silk Mori. Stitch over the red streamers and over the white round. Leave the very center hole of the white round open and do not stitch the small white dots scattered over the background.
7. Button: Using a shank button about ½” in diameter, attach it to the open area of the white dot.
8. Star: Replace the star if needed, and peel off the protective red tape. Working over a paper towel to catch the excess, sprinkle gold micro-beads onto the star. Tip the canvas up and brush off the excess. Press star gently to be sure everything is secure.
9. Dots in Background: Using the 4mm crystals and the hot fix gun, attach these crystals to the small white dots on the background. Follow manufacturer’s instructions to attach.
10. Bubbles in beer: Use the 3mm and 2mm crystals and attach these to the stitches you skipped on the beer. Follow manufacturer’s instructions to attach. I found the 3mm crystals much easier to attach. If you like use all 3mm crystals.
11. Red Streamers: There is a red streamer on either side of the glass. These are applied after everything else using the Kreinik Iron-on ribbon. Use a dry iron and a Teflon press cloth. I cut the ribbon, then made the twists and ironed them on.

End note: We love how Janet used the metallic gold to make the beer look wet. Also note the opal ribbon Easter Grass used for the glass; it lets the canvas color (white) come through while giving a glassy look. Use metallics like these to recreate things in life that are naturally sparkly. Get more stitching tips, design ideas, and news from Janet's blog http://www.nuts-about-needlepoint.com and http://www.napaneedlepoint.com

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Fashionista School

One of the advisory boards on which I serve is the West Virginia University (WVU) Fashion Design and Merchandising School (FDM) Industrial Advisory Board. Through this position, I get to see the textile industry develop in my state and discover what students perceive as the newest styles and fashions. On a recent trip for an advisory board meeting, I witnessed exciting developments in both areas.

The day before the meeting, the Fashion and Merchandising school held its annual fashion show. At this juried event, students of all different levels entered their creations. There were feathers, fascinators and fedoras. There were mini skirts and very short shorts. It was the first time that I've seen pockets in mini skirts. Many of the outfits had pocket lining of different colored and patterned fabric, which I saw as being quite creative. Along with the feathered fascinators, fascinating head gear included black crocheted hat decorations with butterfly patterns. You could easily see that a lot of work, time, effort and fun went into this fashion show.

The future was also evident. WVU-FDM frequently works with a local middle school, and those students participated in the fashion show. Their mission was to design according to the theme of "recycle, reposition and reuse." Indie designers follow the same path - the "green" one - so perhaps this collaboration is the birth of the next generation of the "Handmade Nation."

At our meeting, we also learned about the WVU Tartan project. The design and creation of a university's official tartan is a high honor, often under the auspices of the apparel and design school. Tartans are submitted to the Scottish Register of Tartans, and the design becomes a part of the school's identity. I can't wait to see how the official tartan of WVU comes together under the students and staff of the Fashion School.

The Fashion School at WVU places emphasis on fashion and retailing, but since it is under the Agriculture School, there are also discussions on recycling, the use of animal fibers, plus the use of textiles in agriculture applications. As with any school, jobs are the goal. The students are learning draping, machine skills and merchandise knowledge. The challenges are out there. Time will tell if the program is a success, but from my perspective it is an exciting time for the textile industry in West Virginia. We are looking forward to growth both in and out of the state.

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