This past month I stumbled across a wonderful artist from the Chicago area. His work in textile design spoke to me in such a profound way that I wanted to share him with you here. Perhaps you know him already - if not, I think you will enjoy his sense of reckless abandon, quality of workmanship and high level of creativity.
Danny was written up most recently in Fiber Arts There were photos of his studio (inspiring!) and some of his soft sculptures and large scale works. His website SCRAP is full of pictures and statements about his work. It was hard to choose just two photos as his work is so vast. Check out his photographs pages and Etsy shop for some smashing work and inspiring use of junkmail, coffee filters and alternative materials of all sorts. He was voted best textile artist in Chicago this past August and has collaborated with other artists with very interesting results. For those of you in the USA - New England area - in Portland Maine, Edith & Edna carry his work and in March and April, we at artstream will be exhibiting some of his art in a textile show in March and April.
I think that having an eye for the unusual doesn’t always transfer into beautiful works, but in the case of Danny Mansmith, from sculpture to 2-D work to wearables to reconstruction and mixed media pieces, this artist just knows his way around a stitch and it is all stunning.

Shelly sent in a link for the pattern for a plushy captain underpants. My son is a big fan - love it! (see the captain underpants series here - perfect for boys aged 4-12 approx)

And Wendy at sunshine creations sent in a link to an antique doily pattern

Melissa from Canada sent in this great letter with a link to her fabric dyeing blog.

Hello Whipup!
I’m a one of your regular and crafty readers. I am writing to mention to you a new blog I have started: Fabric Dyeing 101: step by step instructions for creating your own hand-dyed cotton fabrics using procion mx dyes.

For several years I had an online hand-dyed fabric business and taught fabric dyeing to customers who wanted to create their own fabrics as well. I wrote an instruction manual to support the fabric dyeing workshops and I’ve now put the entire manual online for anyone who
wants to give fabric dyeing a try. These instructions are specifically designed for someone who wants to do a small volume of dyeing (perhaps a dozen fat quarters) and not waste dyes or have leftovers they don’t wish to use. It’s a great way to audition a potential hobby and get some beautiful fabrics in the process.

Most recently I’m writing a several-part series on what it was like to own and operate a hand-dyed fabric business. Why I started it, how it
worked, and what I learned along the way. Part One starts here

And this from Michelle of Green Kitchen

Hi Kathreen,
First, thanks for Whip Up and all that it encompasses. I went back to Red Current the other day to get the pea fritter recipe to include in our preschool newsletter. Funny, I miss hearing about your daily life. Isn’t blogging a strange new medium? You are the reason I have a blog. Thanks for that, too.
Jane from Jane and the Ducks made a cute paper doll set using Liberty fabric for the clothes link here and here.

Thanks Michelle,
I have been thinking about Redcurrent recently and miss it too. I have almost decided to do a weekend craft report here at whipup - first installment coming soon…