Need a Break...

AS WINTER DOLDRUMS SET IN - COME PLAY...

FIBRE ARTS RETREAT

 February 21-23, 2014

Join friends at  a three day FIBRE ARTS RETREAT February 21- 23^rd, 2014 for those interested in play time during the Cabin Fever days of late February.  This workshop is sponsored by FIBREWORKS KINGSTON and is open to everyone... come for all three days, or choose one or two of the days that are of most interest to you. The workshop weekend will only be cancelled and re-scheduled with fees carried forward to the new date if a blizzard sets in and travel locally would be dangerous. Car pooling with friends is a great idea... so gather a couple of friends and come play!

 

The Retreat Weekend offers 9:30-5 pm each day instruction and will be held at the Odessa Fairgrounds Hall. Students joining Bethany will have a chance to either “do their own thing” with their own projects and guidance/assistance from Bethany, a seasoned fibre artist and Instructor in the Textile Design Program at St. Lawrence College…. OR take part in the three separate “play day” activities Beth has planned…

 

Friday, Feb. 21^st is “INDIGO: an Introduction, (with opportunity to add to the Indigo vats on Saturday and Sunday but no instruction) spending time with this magical dye solution that will forever endear your love of BLUE! There will be three active vats and lots of time to share in the magic of the indigo adventure. Come prepared with stitched and wrapped fabrics, silk, line, cotton.. your choice.

Saturday, February 22^nd is “FLAT DYEING" - a great way to dye fabric and YES it can be done very safely and with terrific results indoors with some care to manage your work site and carry wet fabrics home in a large container for rinsing at a later date. You can dye 1, 2 or 12 metres of fabric in this one day - just bring your pre-washed fabric, ready for Soda Ash soak and PLAY!

Sunday, February 23^rd   is NOTE CHANGE: HAND STITCHING DAY... MARK MAKING using your favourite threads and a fabric of your choice, you will spend a fun day exploring the art of the handmade stitch. Bethany will share some inspiration, and you can just relax among friends creating small pieces of THREAD ART! A relaxing way to spend a Sunday never hurts and we would love to see you.

Take advantage of all three days Feb. 21-23^rd for $120.00 or choose one or even two days. Each single day is $50.00  if you can only do one.  Dyes will be provided.  Supplies list with paid registration.  Please plan to bring Brown Bag lunch. Coffee, tea and break snacks provided.   

Contact Bethany at fibreworkskingston@gmail.com for a pdf descriptive and registration form or visit see the FIBREWORKS KINGSTON Blog for all of the details.

Bethany Garner, FW Coordinator and Registrar

January 15th - AQS Fundraiser launches - hope you will join in the race to RESEARCH.

Dust off your virtual running shoes for the Fiber 5K to Fight Cancer!

A Fundraiser for the American Cancer SocietyOpens January 15, 2014.
Drawings for fiber-related prizes will be held throughout the event
including when the 1K ($1000), 2K ($2000), etc. marks are reached as well as
a Grand Prize drawing when the Finish Line ($5000) is reached.
Details about the Fiber 5K to Fight Cancer:http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/Fiber5K2014.html

A Message from Bethany:

 

I know may of you have ties to family members and friends in the United States, and many more have benefitted from the research services of the American Cancer Society and the breakthroughs in cancer services that have or will be a part of your lives now or in the future. As someone who has had a recent battle with cancer, albeit a less serious form than many of my friends and family, I do support ACS annually in memory of my parents, quilting award winning Grandmother and my older sister, a Breast Cancer victim.

 

Have a peek at the website for Virginia Speigel's FIBRE 5K... you will recognize many big name quilters and fibre artists who have contributed to the prizes in the annual AQS fundraiser. If you feel that you can participate,  just make a minimum donation of $20, but any size up to $25 will be entered in all eligible drawings one time. 

 

If you are able to donate at least $25, you will be entered in all drawings after your donation twice. Donate at least $50 and be entered three times, $75 = 4 entries, and so on in increments of $25. There are also special challenges to encourage you to donate a bit more if it is possible.

 

I love the new line of fabrics from Jamie Fingal that will be a part of the draw offerings from sponsors, a new line from Hoffman Fabrics. Below are the two pieces that Jamie has donated. Those of you who follow the Quiltart.com online list of friends with lots of fibre related advice for us each day will recognize Jamie and her award winning work. So many more opportunities to share your love for fibre and textile art are here for you as you share a little bit with those in need of the very special care only cancer research can ensure.

 

Thanks so much for considering support for the FIBRE 5K fundraiser....

Bethany

Don't you love the colours...at least eight fat quarters in the bundle.




Jamie is famous for her cute quilts that have travel trailers - and this one, "Road Trip,  is made completely with her new line of fabrics.

Come Join on the fun... it is not too late!

DESIGN FOR TEXTILES begins Tuesday evening, 

January 14th at St. Lawrence College, Room 00060, 6 pm-9pm

The winter winds and the ice rain are still in the mix for the month of January, but as we move into this new year, what could be better than an evening out once a week with like-minded friends who love to create new work in studio and on the run using FIBRE as their medium? 

Teaching at St. Lawrence College since 1996, where I began sharing dyeing and fibre collage courses at the Brockville Campus, and moving through the process of proposing a full credit Textile Design program at the Kingston Campus which was accepted with huge support in 2005, the years with my hundreds of fibre friends have been great. Students who have worked through all of the ten required courses in the diploma program and graduated have moved on to create their own small businesses, become members of prestigious arts organizations and display their work in exhibitions locally, across Canada and internationally. Some have become renowned Studio Artists and teach classes widely. They have received recognition for their work from some of the best shows in the industry.

The fun of meeting with friends to expand your knowledge base and try new techniques, and sure, use up some of the stash of fabrics and threads languishing in your closets is just good fun. It is not to late to join us, so contact Student Services at www.SL.on.ca and register for ARTS 43 - Design for Textiles. We start Tuesday, January 14th and I will catch you up if you are late in registering. 12 weeks of fun and new art are promised... all you have to do is join us!

Happy New Year Everyone...

The new year is well underway as we approach the end of the first week (at least the week that included January 1st!). Best wishes to each of you for a truly wonderful and creative 2014.

Members of a number of local and distance groups will begin their spring meeting schedules this next week. You are invited to sample a number of opportunities for networking with old and new friends.

LIMESTONE QUILTERS GUILD

The Limestone Quilters Guild meets on first Wednesday evenings each month at the Kingston Seniors Association Centre located at 56 Francis Street off Mowat Drive. Meetings are open at 6:30 pm with registration and time to visit the Guild's vast lending Library. 

The Wednesday January 8, 2014 meeting is an invitation to enjoy a presentation by well known local quilters and group facilitators Ann Oastler, Mary Waugh and Brynhild Hansen.

Visitors are always welcome at meetings, and very seldom does a visitor leave the meeting hall without a decision to join in the fun of this large and very talented group of both traditional and contemporary quilters. 

The mid-meeting breaks always offer a lovely array of donated treats and time for meeting new friends. Come enjoy the quilting community.... and help us maintain the links to this well loved stitch tradition.

Details here: Limestone Quilters Guild

INNOVATIVE THREADS GROUP

This is a wonderful group of friends who have almost all attended courses at St. Lawrence College or are involved in one way or another with the fibre arts movement in the Kingston area.  Many members are quilters, others love painting and dyeing fabrics and others love the traditional hand stitch stretched into a modern twist on embroidery. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join the group.

There are two separate arms of this group:

An evening meeting is held on the second Monday each month, 6:30-8:30 pm from September through June (and often through summer). The meetings have recently moved from the college to their new location at the St. John's Church located on Church Street  just off Biden, and north of King Street in the Portsmouth Village area of Kingston. Everyone welcome. Please plan to bring something to shar and always feel free to bring a stitch project to work on... and in January enjoy a short talk about the use of WASP NEST fibre by member Diane Hogan. (imagine!)

A daytime group (often including members who attend the evening group as well) is held at St. John's Church on the fourth Tuesday each month from 10 am - 3 pm... bring your own brown bag lunch and enjoy coffee/tea time with friends. No specific program is planned, but there is often lots of sharing and new work to see and enjoy. The group owns a wonderful resource library that will be kept at the Church in the new year and is available to all member participants.

For information contact:

Donna Hamilton: hamilton[AT]queensu.ca or  Robin Field: robin[AT] kingston.net

SAQA CENTRAL CANADA 

Regional gatherings of the Kingston and area arm of the fibre artist members of  the international STUDIO ART QUILT ASSOCIATES and are open to all SAQA members.

A quarterly meeting is held locally to bring area members of SAQA together for sharing four times a year. The next Central Canada, Ontario Regional Meeting will be held in Kingston at St. John's Church on Monday, February 10th, 2014 from 10:30 - 3 pm. Feel free to join us for a visit and learn more about this wonderful network of fibre artist friends. The Church is located at St. John's Church, Church Street off Baiden Ave in Portsmouth Village.

SAQA members in Kingston and area definitely enjoy time together for catching up on all the news that this great association offers to members and friends. Everyone is welcome, and membership is open. Please visit the SAQA.com main website at Studio Art Quilt Associates where you will enjoy wonderful links to all of the beautiful fibre art and the members across the ART QUILT world. Or visit the Central Canada Regional blog at SAQA Central Canada for all of the updated news from Ontario.

Contact Bethany Garner, Regional Co-Rep for information: garner[AT]kingston.net

Enjoy the season and have some fun exploring all things quilt and stitch related in Kingston this new year.

JOY to you and yours in this special season...

 

 

Happiest wishes for the joy of the season!
And to you and yours we wish time for fun, great food and many hours of shared memories with friends and family at this end of the year...

2013 has certainly been an exciting year of creative adventure for many of us
 and we look forward to seeing each of you in the New Year!

 

We welcome you to join in on the fun as we plan for artful workshops, weekends of good play with friends and some exciting courses at St. Lawrence College in 2014: 

 

(visit www.SL.on.ca  for more information)

 

DESIGN FOR TEXTILES - Tuesday evenings, January 14-April 8th  6-9 pm (credit course)

 

TEXTILE ART to BUSINESS - Thursday evenings, January 16 - April 3rd, 6-9 pm (credit course)

 

INNOVATION STUDIO I - Collage and the Monoprint - Wednesday evenings, Jan. 15- Feb. 5th

( interest only course - four weeks)

 

INNOVATION STUDIO II - Find Your Creative Edge - Sat/Sunday. April 5th and 6th

 

And

 

FIBREWORKS KINGSTON invites you to a fun filled weekend CABIN FEVER RETREAT play date for fibre/paint/dye enthusiasts at the Odessa Fairgrounds on February 21-23rd. Come play with Indigo, Flat Dyeing and Screen Printing with demonstrations and instruction with Bethany Garner... details and registration forms may be found at www.fibreworkskingston.blogspot.ca

 

Hoping to see you in the NEW YEAR!!!

CATARAQUI GUILD OF NEEDLE ARTS meets first and third Mondays at Edith Rankin Church

If you are a stitcher and looking for the opportunity to make some new friends or have time with others who share your passion for the threaded needle, please consider a visit to the CATARAQUI GUILD OF NEEDLE ARTS (Embroidery Guild) meetings at Edith Rankin Church. 

The Guild enjoys a lovely, light filled church hall meeting room, with lost of natural light and a super friendly membership of stitchers from every age group, special interests and individual passions.  Members gain so much from learning the new (and OLD) embroidery stitch traditions we love as Canadians that link us to the Royal School of Embroidery. Each meeting morning is devoted to what we like to call "Learn a Stitch", with members who volunteer to share with the group a special stitch they are fond of, and everyone works on a sampler of practice stitches. Some are very popular and members take off in their own direction to create more complex new work using their particular Favourites.

There are lovely coffee breaks each meeting with treats supplied by volunteers, a bountiful Library and  after lunch, members who can stay for the afternoon take part in a variety of classes that are SO reasonable and lead by members who have developed projects that are intended to yield a finished piece of stitch work, ready for framing or display at future group events and in the homes of the proud and very practiced stitchers by the end if each class. Some recent classes included a study of shading with thread and stitches lead by Theresa Lawrence, a beautiful hand stitched "cat" project that includes many beautiful stitch patterns lead by Linda Burke, a stunning pulled thread "Leaves" project. The group enjoys an occasional workshop on meeting day, with the most recent being a one day Landscape focused wet felting workshop with Andrea Graham... and what amazing results!

Meetings also lead to other adventures with stitch and a recent two day workshop with Ottawa based Embroiderer/Designer MARGARET VANT ERVE yielded many amazing "Picket Fence" pieces made by members that will be finished and readied for display at next year's NEEDLE ARTS FAIR, a wonderful vendors market and display hosted by the Guild each fall.

Our members are also EAC (Embroidery Association of Canada) members which affords us the opportunity to participate with members across Canada and perhaps travel to attend the Annual EAC Seminar... and in 2014 to be in Ottawa.

Next meeting is Monday December 16th, with a great sale of excess books from the Guild Library and donations from members... and a Potluck Luncheon. After lunch, a the group welcomes the local "Group of Five" Fibre Artist who will share the story of their 12" x 12" art pieces created with a "word" theme for inspiration.

Come enjoy the fun! Visit the Guild website at http://quiltskingston.org/cgna/

AS WINTER DOLDRUMS SET IN - COME PLAY... FIBRE ARTS RETREAT, February 21-23, 2014

Bethany Garner presents a three day FIBRE ARTS RETREAT February 21- 23^rd, 2014 for those interested in play time during the Cabin Fever days of late February.  This workshop is sponsored by FIBREWORKS KINGSTON and is open to everyone... come for all three days, or choose one or two of the days that are of most interest to you. The workshop weekend will only be cancelled and re-scheduled with fees carried forward to the new date if a blizzard sets in and travel locally would be dangerous. Car pooling with friends is a great idea... so gather a couple of friends and come play!

 

The Retreat Weekend offers 9:30-5 pm each day instruction and will be held at the Odessa Fairgrounds Hall. Students joining Bethany will have a chance to either “do their own thing” with their own projects and guidance/assistance from Bethany, a seasoned fibre artist and Instructor in the Textile Design Program at St. Lawrence College…. OR take part in the three separate “play day” activities Beth has planned…

 

Friday, Feb. 21^st is “INDIGO: an Introduction, (with opportunity to add to the Indigo vats on Saturday and Sunday but no instruction)

Saturday, February 22^nd is “FLAT DYEING" - a great way to dye fabric and YES it can be done very safely and with terrific results indoors with some care to manage your work site and carry wet fabrics home in a large container for rinsing at a later date

Sunday, February 23^rd is “SCREEN PRINTING with Thickened Dyes”. Beth will demo torn paper, resist based work and free form "deconstructed" screen work. Students would need to have a 10" x 14" screen and a squeegee prepared before the workshop.

Take advantage of all three days Feb. 21-23^rd for a special $120.00 or choose one or even two days. Each single day is $50.00  if you can only do one.  Dyes will be provided.  You will receive a Supplies list with paid registration.

Please plan to bring Brown Bag lunch. Coffee, tea and break snacks provided.

 

Contact Bethany at fibreworkskingston@gmail.com for a pdf descriptive and registration form or visit see the FIBREWORKS KINGSTON Blog for all of the details.

Bethany Garner, FW Coordinator and Registrar