Call for Items for the Fibre Walk

An annual highlight of the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival is the Fibre Walk where participants and other interested persons can stroll through downtown Amherst and enjoy many of the beautiful items displayed in the windows of the merchants. 

Now is the time the Festival Committee is looking for items for the displays. Anyone interested in lending their work for this purpose should contact Phyllis Cameron  or Patti Colson  for further details. 

The success of this event depends on the quality and variety of the items submitted for display. The Committee looks forward to a positive response from the fibre arts community - we'd love to showcase your work!

Thread Power

The Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival is pleased to welcome back Kathy Tidswell to the teaching staff again this year.  Kathy is well known for her thread artistry; her pieces have been juried into Canadian Quilters’ Association / Association canadienne de la courtepointe (CQA/ACC) National Juried Shows, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery Grand National Exhibitions and Ontario Network of Needleworkers Threadworks. In 1999 she won the CQA/ACC Award of Excellence in Wearable Art and in 2005 received Honourable Mention. Since 1993, Kathy’s love of teaching has lead her to share her knowledge and talent delivering workshops and slide/trunk shows from coast to coast for guilds, four Quilt Canada’s (the biannual National Conference of the Canadian Quilters’ Association), fibre art festivals, retreats etc. In 2005, she was honoured with the CQA/ACC Teacher of the Year Award. Kathy has been again chosen to teach at Quilt Canada in Lethbridge, Alberta in 2015.

If you have been longing to make jackets and vests that stand out from the crowd and are distinctly yours, Designing One of a Kind Wearable Art with Kathy Tidswell is a must-do workshop. Sewers and quilters at all levels are welcome, including beginners. In addition to suggestions on the types of patterns to choose, you will learn embellishment techniques such as lace cutwork, bobbin work, trapunto, arranging appliqués and methods for attaching appliqués. Information will be shared on types of batting to use...or you may choose not to quilt. Samples will be produced using free motion embroidery on a regular zigzag sewing machine and work on individual pieces will be started. This all-day class will be held Tuesday October 14, 2014 from 9 am to 4 pm.

A second class by Kathy teaches you to to create realistic images of flowers or birds totally from thread. On October 15, 2014 in the Creating With Thread workshop, you will learn to drop the feed dogs on your regular zigzag sewing machine and create beautiful pieces that can be used in quilts, artworks, cards and wearable art. In this class, you can choose to make flowers or birds but once learned the method can be used to make your own creations.

For more information visit www.kathytidswell.com or contact Kathy at 506-363-3560/ kathy@kathytidswell.com Further details on the workshops may be found here.

Festival Changes and Updates

Please note the following changes for this week's events:

• Art Hits the Wall Exhibit by the NS Rug Hooking Guild has been moved to the Museum at 150 Church Street.   
• The Square Bottom Round - Basket Weaving has been moved to Headquarters at Town Hall, 98 Victoria St
• Because You Count -Cross Stitch has been moved to Headquarters at Town Hall, 98 Victoria St

For further information on any of these events, click the links above.

Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival Dinner

Bella's Café and Bistro are cooking up a special menu for the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival.  Call now to reserve a seat!   

 Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival Dinner

Thursday, October 17, 2013 

6:30 pm 

Bella’s Café and Bistro 

117 Victoria Street East 

Amherst, NS

    

Appetizer

BABY SPINACH SALAD WITH MIXED BERRIES, FETA CHEESE AND HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY VINAIGRETTE

Entrée

ROSEMARY Roast Pork Loin with Sauce Robert

OR

PAN-FRIED HADDOCK

BOTH ENTREES SERVED WITH OVEN ROASTED POTATOES AND A VEGETABLE MEDLEY

Dessert

NOVA SCOTIA BLUEBERRY CRISP WITH FRESH WHIPPED CREAM

Price: Thirty Five Dollars Plus Tax Per Person

Reserve your Seat Now

660-3090

'Hands in Motion'

'Hands in Motion'

Featured Fibre Artist: Gertie Hollis 

By Joan Beswick

Gertie (in red) and Joan Ralph discuss embroidery stitches.

 

Gertie Hollis delighted and amazed visitors to her embroidery demonstration at festival headquarters. She’s been doing fibre arts for quite some time, and you name it, she can do it - tatting, embroidery (including hardanger), crocheting, hooking, felting, making bobbin lace - and so much more.

Tatting 

Hardanger

Her aunts did needle work, and beginning at an early age, Gertie demonstrated an aptitude as well. And she has continued to refine her skills and learn new techniques. Her hardanger pieces have been grand champions at the Atlantic Winter Fair, and she continues to make lace for dresses, tatted earrings, and crocheted necklaces.

Sample of Tatted Earrings

Sample of Crocheted Necklace

At the demonstration, Gertie chatted amiably with visitors, pointed out stitches in a revered stitchery book she’s had for many years, and moved her hands so quickly it was impossible for the camera to focus on them.

Gertie's 'hands in motion'

‘Hands in motion’, Gertie made it all seem so effortless even though her productivity and creativity are remarkable. Watching her, I was reminded of a quote by PBS interviewer, Charlie Rose, who said that ‘knowing a lot .... is a springboard to creativity’.  Gertie sure does know a lot – and that knowledge inspires her to keep learning, creating, and sharing.  We are so fortunate to be able to learn from her, and we truly appreciate her contribution to the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival.  

A Winning Weaving Combo

A Winning Weaving Combo

By: Joan Beswick 

Enthusiasm and energy – the vibes were great in the side room at festival headquarters when Patty Chasse, consummate fibre artist and weaving instructor, introduced me to her star pupil, Jane Jorgensen. Patty is an accomplished weaver who makes fine silk and bamboo scarves and shawls, table linens, towels and other items for the home. She creates all her own designs and is a juried member of the New Brunswick Craft Council, a member of the Atlantic Spinners and Handweavers and the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners. She is also the representative for the Maritimes for both the Handweavers Guild of America and Complex Weavers.

Jane is a nurse who is looking forward to having more time for fibre arts in her upcoming retirement. She is a talented fibre artist who spins and knits and creates comfy and colourful fibre works.

According to Patty, Jane has ‘good hands’, a compliment indeed coming from her accomplished instructor. When I visited, Jane had completed the initial teacher-planned project, and moved on to more ambitious weaving on a four-harness teaching loom, an instrument similar to a loom she has at home. 

Jane attributed her success to Patty’s calm manner, expert knowledge, and the excellent instructional book she created for the class. This book described different types of looms, demonstrated threading and repairing, and offered ‘point by point’ instructions on the process of weaving. 

To this author - a total novice without ‘good hands’ - weaving has always seemed intimidating, both because of the complexity of the skill and the intricacy of the machinery. Jane’s experience suggests that Patty may just be the person to dispel that notion – a skilled weaver who loves her craft and takes great joy in sharing it with others. 

At the 2012 festival, Patti and Jane formed a winning weaving combo and we look forward to seeing them again at the 2013 festival. We also highly recommend a visit to Patty’s studio in Wood Point, N.B.  On Saturday, October 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, she will be hosting a ‘Luxury Handwovens Studio Tour’. Those who went last year say it was also a winning weaving combo - the natural beauty of the  setting and Patty’s fabulous fibre artistry – a ‘must do’ for festival goers whatever their craft!

Fibre Artistry at The People's Place

Fibre Artistry at The People's Place

By Joan Beswick

The Antigonish Town and County Library houses diverse treasures, those typically associated with modern libraries - print and audio books, videos and DVD’s, magazines and newspapers, computers and classes – and of course, knowledgeable and helpful staff. However, while visiting today, I realized why it is also called ‘the people’s place’ – it is a community centre filled with the works of regional artists and artisans whose creations, both functional and decorative, enliven the space. A walking guide describing these works and their creators is available on-line at www.parl.ns.ca. 

Being a blogger for the Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival, I was delighted to find that the library is also a very ‘fibre friendly’ place. 

There is functional fibre artistry –

Fenn Martin’s Sculpted Ceramic Tiles Fireplace Surround

Wooden Study Carrels by Keith Grant

Tables from locally sourced Birds Eye Maple by MacLean Bros. Woodworking.

And there is decorative fibre artistry such as the Heart Quilt exhibited by the Highland Quilt Guild.

A guild member, Dorinda McCully, told me the guild held a celebratory quilt show at the Coady International Institute in July, 2012. The heart is the symbol of their guild and it was their tenth anniversary, hence this very special quilt with creations from members whose names are printed on the chart below showing their individual contributions.

This quilt is a fine piece of decorative fibre art – its beauty is in the thoughtfulness and detail of the individual pieces as well as the enjoyment engendered in those who stop to gaze. 

Saul Bellow once described art as “an arrest of attention in the midst of distraction”. Today, the art at the Antigonish Town and County Library arrested my wandering attention. There were so many worthy creations, only a few of which are mentioned here. On this brief visit, I took particular pleasure in the fibre artistry of Fenn Martin, Keith Grant, and the Highland Quilt Guild. To see the work of those and other regional artists and artisans, stop by the Antigonish Town and County Library or visit on-line at www.parl.ns.ca.

Festival 2012: 'Hook-In' and 'History of Hooked Rugs'

Festival 2012:  ‘Hook-in’ 

and 

‘History of Hooked Rugs’

By: Joan Beswick

In every organization, on every committee, there are a few individuals who go the extra mile. Their enthusiasm is infectious, their energy boundless, and no task is too formidable. The Nova Scotia Fibre Arts Festival has the good fortune of having such people among their committee members. This past fall, two of these committee members, Lynn O’Brien-Lines and Dianne Bacon, contributed to the organization of a ‘hook-in’ for the last day of the Festival. 

Lynn O'Brien-Lines

Dianne Bacon

In addition to bringing almost a hundred ‘hookers’ together for creative socialization, 

and providing an opportunity to exhibit their wares,

this ‘hook-in’ featured a ‘history of hooked rugs’.  To bring this exhibit to fruition, Lynn and Dianne scoured the region, followed up on stories they’d heard from fellow artisans who hooked together during the year, and made numerous contacts with people they’d never met. The resulting exhibit contained antique rugs, story mats (some with their own histories), hooked portraits, old rug hooking books, vintage patterns, and a collection of antique hooks.

Antique Hooked Rug

Story Mat

Hooked Portrait

Old Rug Hooking Books

Vintage Patterns

Collection of Antique Hooks

 

William Blake described energy as ‘eternal delight’  - the energy donated by Lynn and Dianne in bringing together this exhibit certainly brought delight to many – and it vibrantly illustrated the historical duality of rug hooking, a craft of necessity to warm cold floors and an art form to chronicle the lives of its makers.

The 'history of hooked rugs' exhibit was a highlight of Festival 2012 ... thanks to all who contributed .... and special kudos to Lynn and Dianne for their inspiration and ‘energy’ in bringing it all together!