12/31/2015

Sensational seams by Jo Newsham (NZ)

Years ago when I joined Crazy Quilt International Jo Newsham of New Zealand was one of the moderators. Her seamwork was an inspiration and she had one special twist that was hers alone.  If it is possible for something to be both simple and complex, it was her seamwork... Elegant is what the word I think of as well.. 
She always used perle thread and her seams were filled with variation and contrast.









And when most stitchers stop at 3-4 passes on a seam, Jo often had as many as 6 or 7.








But the things that was so unique about Jo's seams were the playful variations she often included within a seam.  Look closely at the leaves in this seam treatment.   They all have a different movement and add a whimsical quality to the seam.  Jo did this a lot and I know of no one else who does.

Here are a few other examples.  Note that there is not  only  variations in the patterns, there is variation in height and width as well.


But here are some of my very favorites of her  seams... especially the bottom one where there is a definite  order to the variation and the seam grows in complexity as it moves ahead.  She used this technique often.
The bottom example here has   this type of orderly progression and the top seam is a perfect example of multiple layers to the max....
Then about 5-6 years ago Jo got interested in Zentangle and one day announced she was quitting CQ all together to devote all her creative energies to this new passion.

I often have this fantasy where I turn in to CQI and she will be back!! But in the meantime I treasure all the seam examples of hers that I have saved...

10 comments:

Cathy said...

Jo is truly amazing, and having her come back to crazy quilting would be a dream come true for me, too.

Rose Anne B said...

Here Here Gerry. In October I got to meet and visit Jo and kidlets as she calls them a few days on my trip. Her Zentangle images are just as WOW as her CQING.

Marilyn said...

Thanks Gerry. I'll be getting out my seam book and stitching some of the seams out. They are wonderful.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I miss her crazy quilting talent too - I was lucky enough to receive one of her postcards and it's one of my greatest treasures. Definitely a lot to learn from her!

Sharon said...

I have missed her as well and I love her work too - her seam treatments look effortless and elegantly simple and simply elegant. An art form in its own right... I like Brian Haggard's work for much the same reason - his use of colours and designs are just fabulous. I am a novice CQ er, more of a stalker really ;) and I periodically seek out CQ's around the net... I was even toying with the idea to have another go at it this year - 2016...

Cheers

SH - Australia

Momma Bear said...

I too miss Jo. She was always very encouraging, helpful and funny.

margaret said...

what a creative lady wish I had been following her. Gives me an idea re my blocks for this year as I would like to just stitch on them with threads, no lace, ribbon etc but maybe a bit of tatting and the occasional beads, must give it some thought

Marie-Odile Bernez said...

You have introduced me to zentangle, it looks fascinating as well, and seeing her seams, no wonder she went for that new art form! how inspiring your photos are, so much detail! thanks, Marie-Odile, Burgundy

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

As a person that is relatively new to CQ, I have come across Jo's work several times. I keep checking her blog and its still all zentangle. Of course she has a talent for tangling too. I am sorry that she has lost interest in stitching, but I can see with all the interest in adult coloring, she's probably bound to zentangle for a loooong time.

Connie Eyberg Originals said...

Such beautiful stitching.

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