NS Fibre Arts Festival

                                

 

Fibre Arts Brochure – Feature Event

“Stitch and Knit for Lit”

By: Joan Beswick

 

Although this title is catchy and the words rhyme, a number of people have told us they don’t really know what the session involves. So to prevent a great idea from being consigned to the dustbin of obscurity, we talked with the people involved to find out what it’s all about.

The braniacs behind this session are Deanne Fitzpatrick, hooker extraordinaire, and Denise Corey, Deputy Chief Librarian of Cumberland Public Libraries.

Deanne has noticed that people like to ‘hang out’ in the studio, to talk with other fibre artists, to explore materials and share ideas.

 

                                                   

Denise has noticed there is great demand for fibre arts DVDs, videos, and books in this fibre obsessed community.

 

                                       

So they put their heads together and came up with the idea of ‘Stitch and Knit for Lit’, a festival event with two components.

 

First of all, it’s basically a ‘stitchers’ bee’ or a ‘knitting bee’ or a ‘fibre art bee’, hence the ‘Stitch and Knit’ portion of the title. As such, this session is an opportunity for fibre artists of any stripe - stitchers, knitters, crocheters, hookers, embroiderers, etc. – to come together during the festival, to chat, to have a mug of tea or coffee, to share their stories and their art.

 

                               

 

Secondly, since the demand is high and the funds are limited, the $20 fee participants pay for the session will be donated to Cumberland Public Libraries to help them expand their collection of fibre arts literature, hence the ‘lit’ component of the session title.

The ‘hang out’ for this event is Deanne Fitzpatrick’s studio at 33 Church Street, an emporium of ecstasy for fibre addicts.

                     

 

                                       

 

Between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 13, participants can gather, relax, stitch, knit, sip, chat and enjoy, while also having the added pleasure of knowing they are enriching the resources available for fibre artists in this region. Denise says there is great demand for Karen Neary’s quilting book and for Lucy Neatby’s DVD; the library will use the funds from this session to purchase more of these types of materials with particular attention to those developed by artists from the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival. And she mentioned an added bonus – since the library is a registered charity, participants can request a tax receipt for their donation.

 

“Stitch and Knit for Lit” sounds like a delightful day shared with old and new friends - fibre artists of all stripes from all over.  You can register by contacting Deanne’s studio at 902 – 660- 3220. Thanks to Deanne and Denise for this great idea!