![]() |
The staff at Out of Hand |
|
Deirdre Deirdre (pronounced "DEAR-druh" -- she loves it when you get it right!) is the creative and administrative force behind Out of Hand. Born in Victoria, she has lived in Calgary since the 70s and has made needle arts her life for the last 25 years. Her commitment to excellence in technique, tools and fabric has made Out of Hand a mecca for serious stitchers local and world-wide. The breadth and depth of her knowledge and experience uniquely qualify her to be our principal instructor. |
|
Royale
![]() |
Born and raised in Calgary, Royale has been designing bears since
1985, first in clay, then in mohair. While her creations reflect her
passion for miniatures, she has crafted bears of all sizes. Royale's
creativity and execution have received wide recognition, including
TOBY and Golden Teddy awards. Royale is our resident clay genius and, in addition to her clay bears, has created many props and parts both for her original creations and for Out of Hand's offerings. Some of her bear designs can be seen on her website. |
|
Patti
| Patti loves gardening and has been honoured for her work in her back garden. |
|
Bernice Bernice was born in Loverna, Saskatchewan and, after a stopover in Edmonton has lived in Victoria since 1952. She is an accomplished knitter and on her frequent trips to Calgary she remedies all the paperwork filing problems and replenishes our stocks of epoxied bear joints as well as astounding us all with her culinary skills, her vitality and her joie de vivre. |
|
|
Kirk
|
Kirk was born in Timmins, Ontario, moved to the Hamilton area
in the 50s. Although it took a while, his driver's license
now says Alberta, where he
plies his skills as woodman, webmeister and cheerleader. His passions are cartography, motorsport and exploring new worlds. |
|
Jo-Ann Born in Edmonton, Jo-Ann has lived in Calgary since 1987 (and loves it!). When she's not performing chauffeur duties or playing computer, she can be found making bears, quilts and embroidering, knitting, crocheting, etc, etc. |
|
|
Raj
|
Our senior apprentice; long on enthusiasm, his
organizational skills need a little honing (he forgets to put things away). PS, it's pronounced "rawzh" -- he loves it when you get it right! |
|
Ruby
Raj's understudy; very short attention span, but she's
working on it. She loves bright colours and ice cream.
|
|
|
Maija
Left us for that great sewing room in the sky in May of 2000,
but an ongoing inspiration to us all.
Who knows what she'd have accomplished had she an
opposable thumb? |
|
| |