OVWSG 2022 Exhibition and sale

OVWSG 2022 Exhibition and sale

Last weekend was the return of our local Guilds Sale and exhibition. It was last held in 2019. The Sale had grown over the years unfortunately the venue had not expanded as we had (Brick and Morter buildings just don’t stretch well!!)

Glebe Community Centre started life as the St. James Methodist Church In the Palladian style designed by Clarence Burritt (It was begun in 1914 and finished in 1924.) due to a merger of congregations it became St. James United Church in 1925. In the early 1970s, the congregation had declined and again merged with another Church building leaving The City of Ottawa to buy the building. In 1974 the Glebe Community Center opened.

outside of Palladian style brick building that was a church and now a community center. 1 The Glebe Community Centre, views from the outside. Large Palladian-style domed church a community centre.

2 Inside the Main hall.  Transom windows around the base and an octagonal apex window in the dome.2 Inside the Main hall.  Transom windows around the base and an octagonal apex window in the dome.

This year we reduced the number of booth spaces and increased the space for the exhibition, demo and Iles which also gave the sale a less squished look.  This worked out well since we had some vendors who were no longer vending and some who did not have the amount of stock for a booth so joined the Guild Co-Op booth.

Ann organized the measuring and taping group that started the setup for the sale. Once the tape was down marking the booth spaces, the tables and chairs were put where requested. The crew was moving so fast that it was hard to get a shot of their hard work!

3 part of the tapping and table and Chair crew. (a blur of activity)3 part of the tapping and table and Chair crew. (a blur of activity)

Just as the last table was set into place the first vendor arrived early.  Wendo had one of the four booths with felting!

4 Wendo arrives first with her car full of Felting4 Wendo arrives first with her car full of Felting.

The rest of Friday afternoon into the evening was spent in a blur of setting up. I had lively music to keep them moving, (including Uriah Heep, Sweet, Placebo, and lots of other lively inspirations ending with the Lords of Acid).

My focus for Friday was to both photo document the activity and find Photos of each of the 21 booths to put up on our Facebook group to inspire Shoppers for the weekend.

Booth 1 was the co-op booth. Members of the guild who only had a few items to sell put them in the co-op booth. Both Ann and I had items in this booth. (Bernadette was sharing a booth you will see some of her batts later)

5 Co-0p Booth Spindles, orifice hooks, stitch markers, Tapestry, Coasters and Mug mats5 Co-0p Booth Spindles, orifice hooks, stitch markers, Tapestry, Coasters and Mug mats

6 Co-0p Booth Handwovens, hand died yarn, Pine needle baskets, Felted sheep heads, felting needles.6 Co-0p Booth Handwovens, hand died yarn, Pine needle baskets, Felted sheep heads, felting needles.

7 Co-0p Booth Felted Soap, Dryer Balls, Sheep ear rings7 Co-0p Booth Felted Soap, Dryer Balls, Sheep earrings

8 Flying Dinosaur!8 Flying Dinosaur!

The booth beside the co-op was Wendo Van Essen’s. Full of whimsical felted animals, kits and pincushions. I was all set to take this guy’s picture face on when he suddenly swung around and showed me his but! I waited patiently, as he slowly continued his rotation until I felt he was showing a better side of himself.

A few booths down was Molly Underhill who also had a booth full of felting. I was captivated by the thin felted bowl. It was even more intriguing when she dropped in a battery-operated candle, which produced this fabulous glow!

9 her booth and the glowing bole9 her booth and the glowing bole

Lona’s Booth also had some Felted items, as well as Wood turned yarn bowls, shawl pins, buttons, art yarn items, crochet sets, handwoven and knitted items.

10 felt picture and roles of felt (I think they were scarves)10 felt picture and roles of felt (I think they were scarves)

Les Belles Bouclettes booth had high-quality mohair from Angora goats.  In both natural colours as well as dyed mohair locks, roving and yarn.

11 Combed Top, Kid Mohair Locks and Died Yarn11 Combed Top, Kid Mohair Locks and Died Yarn

Booth 6 was Judy Kavanagh and Don Haines. Both work with wood. Judy repairs wheels, makes spindles and sells fibre. Don makes doffers, nostepinne, Inkle looms, warping boards and a loom bench with a shelf!

12 fiber atrs tools make by Don and Judy and some of Judy’s fiber12 fibre arts tools made by Don and Judy and some of Judy’s fibre

Booth 7. Studio 3 had hand weaving; hand-dyed clothing, textiles, scarves and fibre art.

13 Handwoven shalls, scarves, stoles, hand died and hand knit Mitts, tam and scarf13 Handwoven shawls, scarves, stoles, hand died and hand-knit Mitts, tam and scarf

Booth 9. Wool, emporium de laine Amélie Blanchard raises cashmere goats. (She is also one of the people who run the fibre festival Twist). She had hand-dyed yarn and fibre, fleeces, and cashmere.

14 Fine yarn, Art yarn swetter with scains of art yarn behind, Fleeces from Rinebeck14 Fine yarn, Art yarn sweater with skeins of art yarn behind, Fleeces from Rhinebeck

Booth 11.Fab Fibre Two (Jean Sharp and Bernadette Quade)

Jean Sharp is a spinner and weaver. She had unique yarns suitable for weaving and knitting projects. As well as handwoven and knit articles.

15Knitting with shall pin and handwoven hand knit15

Bernadette Quade is a spinner and weaver She hand cards, drum cards, or combs the majority of her fibre and tries different dye techniques on her handspun yarn. Her fibre and yarn may include Fine wools, silks, linen, cashmere and angora as well as alpaca, llama and other exotics. (I have used her batts for landscapes and have found them fabulous!)

16 small bats in a hat box and with her business card. There is a depth of colour that flat colour batts can not match.16 small bats in a hat box and with her business card. There is a depth of colour that flat colour batts can not match.

Booth 12. Handweaving by Janet Whittam  Handwoven clothing, fashion accessories, rugs, household linens, and baskets in vibrant colours and always with something unexpected woven in. She also teaches both weaving and basketry.

17 Janet’s booth, rag rugs, jackets, shalls, close up of lace inclusion and fringe.17 Janet’s booth, rag rugs, jackets, shells, close-up of lace inclusion and fringe.

Booth 13. Cavadelo Flax Garden “Established in 2021. Our goal was to spin and weave flax/linen. We started with a (12 x 12) plot and tools replicated by our local Men’s Shed and learned the process of fibre prep, spin and weave. We have a much larger flax crop this year and it should be ready for the exhibition to spin.” They had a display of the tools of flax preparation, a small loom weaving with linin as well as a spinning wheel spinning the prepared flax into linen. It was a fabulous display! They are hoping to expand their production next year.

18 a hank of flax sitting on a woven linen mat, explain the stages of using hackles, small pouches of linin seeds in a handwoven linen bag.18 a hank of flax sitting on a woven linen mat, explain the stages of using hackles, small pouches of linin seeds in a handwoven linen bag.

Booth 14. Beaux Arbres Basketry (Michael Peterson) Basketmaker for about 30 years. Inspiration from historical techniques from various sources to make functional and artistic baskets. He teaches basketry, check his website. It is fun to watch a basket appear out of a pile of wet sticks.

19 weaving cane between the ribs of a small basket.19 weaving cane between the ribs of a small basket.

Booth 16. Wayside Weeds and Wool (Amanda Carrigan) Handspun and natural-dyed yarns, hand-knitted accessories and original patterns and kits. She is published in the ‘101 Lace One-Skein Wonders. She teaches spinning and natural-dyeing workshops.

20 Hand knit gloves, Hand Natural died yarn20 Hand knit gloves, Hand Natural dyed yarn

Booth 18. Yarnsomniacs   Handraised and homegrown sheep and llama fibres and yarns: raw fleece, washed fleece, roving, handspun and hand-dyed yarns, handmade SuperJumbo knitting needles, and more! Rambouillet Merino, Romney, Babydoll Southdown, and crosses of BL/BFL/Polwarth with either Romney or Rambouillet.

21 Many baskets and containers of raw and washed fiber21 Many baskets and containers of raw and washed fibre

Booth19. Cannaweave Weaving and Fibre Studio and Accessories (Laurie Harkin-Chiasson)  Loom weaving articles and baskets, including pine needle baskets, tools for the fibre enthusiast, nostepinne wool winders to mini tools on jewellery chains. Also woven bookmarks of handspun dog fur, spinning wheel hooks, wrist distaffs and rug hooking hooks. All the equipment for Japanese braiding (Kumihimo) including finished jewellery with Kumihimo braids. She uses beautiful exotic woods in many of her tools.

22 Laurie’s Booth, with tools and  baskets. A basket of Kumihimo bobbins22 Laurie’s Booth, with tools and baskets. A basket of Kumihimo bobbins

Booth 20. Off the Loom (Liliane McKennirey)  Hand Weaving using recycled materials for the weft: t-shirts, ribbing, furs, leather, VHS tape and plastics.  Liliane is very well known for her recycling of old fur coats into lap rugs and pillows.

23 Lap rugs, a purse, rag rugs.23 Lap rugs, a purse, and rag rugs.

Booth 21. Lin en ville Weaving eco-friendly linen essentials for the bath and kitchen. If you look closely you will see how fine the yarn she is using for her tea towels is. I could not pass up the lozenge twill pattern in blue and white!!

24 Tea towls in Linin (lozenge twill pattern!!)24 Tea towels in Linin (lozenge twill pattern!!)

We also had an exhibition. The theme this year was Then and Now: A Maker’s Journey. We were to select an early piece and one that was current to show the progress we had made in our creative journey.

 25 a few shots of the exhibition25 a few shots of the exhibition

We also had a make-and-take table (Kumihimo on cardstock, Turkish spindles and Tapestry Necklace)

26 the table showing the moridi and samples, the necklace tapestry pices and the parts to make turkish spindles26 the table showing the moridi and samples, the necklace tapestry pieces and the parts to make Turkish spindles.

There was also a demo area. (Spinning and weaving, I was felting in another corner with the Mer’s while I was taking photos and trying to get the music to run.)

27 the demo team changed over the weekend but had weaving, spinning (wheel and drop spindle). It was quite busy most of the time.27 the demo team changed over the weekend but had weaving, and spinning (wheel and drop spindle). It was quite busy most of the time.

Overall the sale was busy, vendors seemed happy with sales and the shoppers seemed happy with their purchases!  I mainly was distracted by fibre but also impressed with the linen display. Even Ann did a bit of shopping!

28 Ann took her new spindle for a spin!28 Ann took her new spindle for a spin!

Mr. and Mrs. Mer also attended the Sale but did not do any shopping.  I was working on Mrs. Mer but yet again Mr. Mer was caught Flirting!!

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24 thoughts on “OVWSG 2022 Exhibition and sale

    1. it was fun and a lot of people worked to get the sale to run! it was great to be back. i always enjoy seeing how the venders have set up there displays there are lots of photo opertunities as well as shopping!!

    1. Thanks! it is not a huge show but there was a good selection of venders and lots to see, buy and get inspiered by. its always fun to see what is avalible.

  1. It’s great to have a venue with so much natural light! We would have been over the moon to have been able to wander around the stalls – a feast for fibre lovers to be sure.

    Mr Mer looks very regal and his come-on wave will have mermaids swooning.

    1. i was told by one of the venders Mr Mer kept waveing at her!! (her husband was near by so i hope he didnt see) the lighting is lovely to look at but changes through the day so photography is a bit challanging. the glass is quite old (ok not so old if your in England!) and it can have a yellow tone so having extra lighting helps. the building started as a church and it still has a lot of that architectural feeling. the main hall is one level above ground. luckily there is a small elivator but it makes odd noisies and teneds to shudder occaionaly (a bit scarry) but its better than stairs!
      i hope you enjoyed the tour of the show! (and no stair requiered or scarry elivator!)

  2. A great post Jan. (Thanks for the link to the Guild’s website, it’s been interesting trawling through there too.)
    Some really great booths. I suppose it’s as well that I’m too far away to attend – much as I would love to see all this in person, I’d need a chastity belt on my purse!
    The flying dinosaur looks fun for kids, but I’d quite like that mad cow above it! At least, that’s what it looks like. Molly’s booth was fab – she certainly didn’t seem to have lost her mojo during the pandemic, that lit bowl looks great.
    Jean Sharp’s shawl pin looks interesting, though, if it is made of metal, I wonder if it might be too heavy for a fine shawl?
    It looks like Amanda Carrigan tats as well, I used to love doing that before I found fibres..
    Mr Mer is still being a bad boy I see, but Mrs Mer’s tail is looking beautiful. When she’s finished she’ll be able to give him a run for his money.
    Ann

    1. Thanks! i am glad you enjoyed the tour and its safer for your pocket book when vewed remotely!
      i think Mr Mer will have no option but to behave once Mrs Mer is up and swimming! (i think she will swim ciercles around him!!)

    1. i am very glad you enjoyed it! it was a fun event even vewed remotely! if you are in the area next fall i hope you will stop by and see what we are up to!

  3. How great it would have been to visit! It’s fabulous to see so many creative people hand-making such a variety of lovely things. I would definitely have come away with a suitcase full of goodies. Looks like quite an organisational feat too. Well done to the organisers.

    1. thankyou! Ann was amazing to watch she had the set up crew all organized and the marking out of booths went increadubly quickly! we had a team to help venders move stuff into the hall and then out at the end too. it went very smothly.

  4. Great post Jan, wonderful visuals as usual, thank you. It was an exhausting weekend, set-up and take down had to be done like clock work; we had a team of volunteers there hauling material up and down stairs, they were amazing. The visitors were so excited to see us again, conversations were lively, the ages diverse and I’m looking forward to more members to join. One thing we did that needs to be shared with other venues. We set aside a space with just chairs, like a waiting room, for the shoppers’ companions. It was well used.

    1. i moved my little table over beside the “rest area of chairs” and was felting there. it seemed to be a good spot for a mini demo. the Woolery had a husband drop off center with comfy chairs and a TV that they could watch sports. (Glenn sat and read a book). Twist festival had benches in the iles. after serious shopping its nice to sit down for a cuple minits and think if there were any spots i didnt check in my purse that i might have put more mony? i now am cheeting and bring my own chair with me (i have a walker) but i fill it with shopping and then dont have a place to sit! so a spiar chair is still apresiated. i hope we can do that again next year

  5. Looks like a very exciting venue to spend the day at!
    I think Mrs Mer is going to soon take center stage!

    1. It was a fun spot to spend the day and lots of tempting shopping too!
      i think you are correct, Mr Mer may be flerting now becouse he knows he will not get all the attention shortly!

  6. Great post Jan. Lots of great pictures of everything going on. It was a great sale. I think I counted 48 volunteers between steering committee, setup and tear down crew and all the demo participants. We couldn’t do it without them.

    1. It was a fabulous team!! i am looking forword to seeing what will happen next year. i wonder what the theam for the exhibition will be?

  7. What a wonderful combination of booths, exhibition and demos. And what a load of work, glad you had lots of volunteers to help. I hope it was successful for everyone. Thanks for the tour.

    1. i am glad that everyone seem to be enjoying it even if its only through pictures. the team was amazing and extreemly well organized. the feedback that i had herd from venders was vary good as well as what i had herd from the shoppers so i think it was a sucsess.

  8. I miss going to a big fibre event such as this one. I bet you had a great time, but I’m thinking Mrs Mer isn’t too pleased with Mr Mer’s flirty antics 😉

    1. i had missed the local fiber festivals the last 2 years too. i am glad they are starting up again and that they are giving more open space in the venues its a bit hard getting fully back to normal. crowds feel realy odd now.
      Mr Mer may be flerting now since i think he has noticed he may not be the center of attention when i get Mrs Mer’s outer colours on. she may be able to swim rings around him too!!

    1. its history as a chirch is still visible in the hall. the quior has been closed in and the front entrence is not longer the enternce but its still a stunning room. a lot of weddings happen there. other craft shows use it too. there are a lot of comunity and kids programs run at the Glebe. on friday when i arived to set up there were 2 girls sitting felting in the logy!!! i was thirilled.
      the shopping was good and the browsing was fabulous! it was fun to chat with so many people!

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