Iryna Varabei, an inspirational needlework designer is no stranger to Creativ Festival. She’s been a regular contributor to A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine (ANPTmag) and often accompanies ANTPmag’s display area at Creativ Festival to inspire others to be more creative with their needlework.
Iryna came to Canada in 1999, when she was 40, bringing her old dream along. She had dreamed just to stitch (as back home she had no opportunities to). In 2005, she joined the Toronto Guild of Stitchery.
Now, she is happy to offer to Canadian stitchers her own designs. All of them are based on Belarusan traditional ornamental motifs or on Belarusan images. Iryna tries to transform the traditional patterns into modern designs enriched with diversity of stitching techniques. “I work in different techniques, with different colours, but I still think Belarusan”, she says.
In a country rich from the stitching traditions of many nations, needleworkers can now try their needles at stitching a piece inspired by the traditions of Belarusan needlework and to include it in the mosaic of Canadian stitching styles.
Below is an interview with Iryna and Carla A. Canonico, Editor-in-Chief, of ANPTmag. Find Irnya at Creativ Festival this fall in booth# 1011. She will have needlework designs, kits and patterns on hand.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IlBkMK-lUs[/youtube]