Sewing with Children

Judy Martin taught sewing to children on Friday August 28, 2026.  The free workshop was one of three two-hour events put on the the Little Current United Church as a kind of Art Camp.  The other two were painting and beading.   Cotton printed fabric, embroidery floss in many colours, and needles were donated by the local community for the children to use.  Six children attended, the youngest was 7 1/2 years but the others were around 10 years.  Four adults were also present and acted as assistants.       

We began by choosinig two fabrics and one skein of floss.  We cut a background shape out of one of the fabrics, and a smaller shape to layer on top of it from the second colour.  Most of the participants cut out circular shapes for the top cloth (applique).  In the example above, the yellow is the background shape andd the red is the shape that was appliqued.

Skills: 

1  Cut a piece of embroidery floss the correct length for hand sewing, and then separate two strands out of the six strands as we only use two strands at a time.  Thread the needle and make a knot on the tail end.  Don't double this thread. 

2  Sew the two shapes together with the knot on reverse side.  Use the running stitch.

3. When complete, make a loop knot on the reverse side and cut the thread.

The next thing to do is to choose a third fabric to sew with a seam to the first fabric. Judy cut a green triangle for her 3rd fabric in the pictured example.  

Skills: 

1.  Place right sides together so that the edges line up.  Use pins to hold them together.

2.  Draw a seam line to make a guide to stitch into about 1/4 inch in from the edge.  Washable marker is a good tool for this.  

3.  Thread your needle with two strands of floss, and tie a knot at the end. 

4.  Use the running stitch and sew the two pieces together with a seam.

The final skill was the back stitch.  The back stitch makes a strong solid line on both sides of the cloth.  

The two hours spent with the children was very rewarding.

Hand sewing is much more complex than we realize.  Especially the knots!  

Judy wishes to thank Whitney Bruno, minister of Little Current United Church for inviting her to take part in this event.  

Myths and Mirrors celebrates 30 years

 

Northern Dreams for Sudbury,
hand dyed cotton, narrative surface design,
Northern Ontario community, Judith e Martin lead artist.   

Art for All(ways):  30 years of Myths and Mirrors, a retrospective exhibition is installed at the Art Gallery of Sudbury this summer.   (174 Elgin street, Sudbury Ontario).  The show runs from July 16 -to September 12 and highlights pieces from the more than twenty projects that Myths and Mirrors organized for the community of Sudbury and also further afield.  

One of the community projects was Northern Dreams, a project that ran through the year 2000 and involved several northern communities including Elliot Lake, Timmins, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Manitoulin Island and Sudbury.  Laurie McGauley, artistic director of Myths and Mirrors during that time and Judith e Martin (lead artist) traveled to the northern communities and presented workshops.  Laurie led the participants in discussions about life in the north, what people were grateful for and also what they wished for.  Judy taught surface design (photo transfers, painting) and provided each participant with hand dyed cotton fabric.  Each participant created a quilt block.  Five quilts were completed,a celebration with a meal occurred in 2001.  The quilts were installed in health-care facilities of those same communities.  

To close the exhibition, a two day celebration Myths Mania is being planned.  September 11, 2026 is the formal closing of the exhibition from 5 - 7 pm.  Several more events are planned for September 12.  Contact the art gallery of Sudbury for more information.  

World of Threads coming soon

Sunflower Sky

Judy Martin has been selected to be in the World of Threads Festival 2026-27 in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. She is proud to be among the 192 artists from 22 countries who will be showing their work.

Judy will have a solo show of four large textiles in one of the corridor galleries. 

World of Threads Festival Website  

Free Admission!  Opening Reception: Sat. Sept. 26, 2026,   Open 7 days a week. (Closed for holidays) 

Festival Opens: Wed. Sept. 23, 2026  Festival Closes: Sun. Jan. 17 2027  

Festival Venue:  Queen Elizabeth Park Community & Cultural Centre, 2302 Bridge Road, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, L6L 2G6.  

World of Threads Festival:  The festival is a leading international showcase of local, national and international contemporary fibre and textile art. It’s organized, co-curated and promoted by Dawne Rudman and Gareth Bate. A group of dedicated volunteers install and run the festival. It’s a not-for-profit initiative with charitable status. Some of the most exciting and compelling artwork being made today is happening in the field of fibre and textile arts. Since 1994, the festival has exhibited some remarkable artists and brought them to the attention of Canadian and international audiences. Festival 2023-24 attracted over 80,000 visitors. 

2026-27 Exhibitions: This will be the biggest festival to date with artworks displayed throughout the building. The major festival group exhibition is Water Stories. It will be in the main gallery and adjoining Corridor Galleries. There will be 44 Solo Shows and 19 Installations in the public spaces of the building. The large installation space features the group show Across Time: Heritage and Tradition.

There will also be four smaller group shows in the Corridor Galleries including War and Displacement, In the Round, Nature Reclaimed, and Cat Walk IV. 48 artists will be showing Individual Pieces.   

Multi-day visits are recommended to take it all in. www.worldofthreadsfestival.com

Inner World is part of the group exhibition: In the Spirit of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven

Inner World:  dyed and painted linen, with silk and wool backing and hand dimensional applique and embroidery quilting, 55 x 48 inches, 2022.  

Part of In the Spirit of Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven at the Perivale Gallery July 18-August 3 2026.   

Manitoulin Fibre Festival begins July 10

 

The First Annual Manitoulin Fibre Festival opens at Studio 6 in the Harbourfront Centre on July 10, 2026.

The main event is an exhibition of textile art from artists who live on Manitoulin Island.  There will be a meet the artist on Saturday July 11 from 11 am until 1pm and Judy Martin will be in attendance at this event.  Judy is showing her two War Diaries (pictured above) in the exhibiiton as well as a hand stitched wall piece she made in 2024 entitled Sacred Ground.  The exhibition continues until July 19, 2026, which coincides with the famous Manitoulin Art Tour.  Included in the festival is an special exhibition of locally made Amish quilts.  

There are many workshops and artist talks happening between the period of July 10 - July 19.  For a full schedule of these, please visit the facebook page at this link.    Participating artists in the exhibitions are listed below.   

Earlier and Later exhibition continues at 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada until July 25, 2026

Earlier and Later: New Quilts by April Martin and Judy Martin opened to the public on June 17, 2026.

The show was installed by Craft Ontario curator and CEO, Robyn Wilcox in the new gallery space for Craft Ontario, suite 108, 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto.  The 401 building is a cultural hub in Toronto, and there are many galleries and artist studios within it.  

Left:  The Beauty of the Green Eearth by Judy Martin.
Centre:  Mothering bundles by Judy Martin
Right:  Neptune in Pisces by April Martin.  
All are hand stitched textile artworks.

Judy and April are artists who also happen to be mother and daughter.  While both artists also practice in other media, for this show, they showed their newest hand stitched quilts.  

Judy Martin at the opening reception of Earlier and Later on June 18.
In background:  more of her mothering bundles and the quilt, Sunflower Sky.

Judy and April also presented an artist talk on Saturday June 20, 2026 at the gallery.
It was well attended.  

Judy Martin will present an artist talk at the Contemporary Textile Studio Workshop in Toronto

 

Touch is the Mother:  A Quilt Trunk Show with Judy Martin

Saturday July 25m 2026.  Attendance is limited.

2 - 4 pm at the Contemporary TExtile Studio Workshop suite 109 401 Richmond St West. Toronto

The talk will begin with a digital introduction to Judy's practice, follower by an opportunity to view and touch several of Judy's hand stitched quilts and books.    

4-5 pm - a casual walk through of the exhibition at Craft Ontario gallery in suite 108, 401 Richmond.  Both April and Judy Martin will be the guides.  Earlier and Later:  New Quilts by April Martin and  Judy Martin  

July 25 is the final day for this mother-daughter exhibition.