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the exhibition before oppening
2025 OVWSG Guild EXHIBITION  PART 2

2025 OVWSG Guild EXHIBITION  PART 2

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Let’s return to the Glebe Community Centre, in South Central Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, (Canada). We have checked out the vendors, the demo team and the make and take table; let’s go see the 2025 Exhibition.

The 2025 exhibition theme is “Gathered Threads: Made in Canada”. We were showing work by guild members, with Canadian-supplied materials, most were also on Canadian themes.

blured figure rushes by grids being set up in forgroundpart of display is set up on tables and on grids 8.0-8.1) Setting up the Exhibition on Friday night, again a blur of activity

Last year, we had shoppers unsure if the exhibition was a booth or an exhibit (there were signs, but they were small). This year, Ann and her team decided to get a stand-up banner for the Exhibition. It was to be as neutral as possible, so we could use it for many exhibitions to come.

New Exhibition pop up banner8.2) The new banner for the exhibition that can be reused for future years

2 weavers admiering woven scarf from exhibition 2 people admiering the exhibit suprized look as admiering quilted jacket with woven sleaves8.3-8.5) Let’s join the people who are already looking at the exhibition

larger group looking at exhibition8.6) The crowd of people looking at the exhibition is getting bigger.

There is a lot of interest in the Exhibition, let us see if we can sneak past and get a better view?

the exhibition before oppening 8.7) A quick shot of the Exhibition before we opened

As you can see, the display was divided into 3 sections: Left Grids, front and back, Centre Table and wall, and Right Grids; Front and Back. The pieces represent a cross-section of the guild. Showing the scope of expertise, from those who have just started their fibre arts fun, to those who have been enjoying fibre and yarn for many years. The Exhibition also shows part of the breadth of interests in the guild, Spinning, Knitting or Crocheted with Handspun, Felting, and various types of weaving from tapestry, colour gamps, to complex weave structures. We have examples of individual projects as well as Guild projects.

While there is a break in the viewers, let’s take a closer look, starting on the Left. Since it’s hard to read the tags in the photos, I have typed out all I could read.  The yellow tags indicated the guild has workshops on that technique.

Left Front Grids:

Left grid panels with fiber arts pieces9.0) Left front grids.

9.1) Wild Weaving By Liane.  “maple stems, thistles anemone, False indigo, pearly everlasting and eving primrose are all native to Ontario. Only the dandelion and Curly Havel are not.”9.1) Wild Weaving By Liane.  “maple stems, thistles, anemone, False indigo, pearly everlasting and evening primrose are all native to Ontario. Only the dandelion and Curly Havel are not.”

9.2) Fall Foliage by Marie-France. “Rusted materials collected while hiking in Kanata. Rusted Techniques were learned from Maiwa in Vancover.”9.2) Fall Foliage by Marie-France. “Rusted materials collected while hiking in Kanata. Rusted Techniques were learned from Maiwa in Vancouver.”

9.3) Woven Basket by Molly.  100% Canadian Dorset Wool, Embroidery Floss Sourced locally, a weathered Branch from the woods.9.3) Woven Basket by Molly.  100% Canadian Dorset Wool, Embroidery Floss sourced locally, a weathered Branch from the woods.

9.4) Blue Handwoven tapestry (Sorry, cannot read tag)9.4) Blue Handwoven tapestry (Sorry, cannot read tag)

9.6) Foraged Fairy Baskets, by Liane “All materials were grown and or Gathered locally “  There will be a workshop on making these through the guild.9.6) Foraged Fairy Baskets, by Liane “All materials were grown and or Gathered locally “  There will be a workshop on making these through the guild.

9.7) From Above, by Nicole  “A view from above looking down at the Canadian Landscape using materials sourced from multiple Canadian provinces flown over by the artist.”9.7) From Above, by Nicole  “A view from above looking down at the Canadian Landscape using materials sourced from multiple Canadian provinces flown over by the artist.”

9.8) Reflections: Morning sky on water by Moira. “This piece stems from my love of dying and weaving with silk and the beautiful colours reflected in Lac Tenpenny in Val-des-Monts, Quebec. This Calm little lake reflects the sky, Sun and Surrounding Forest as the day Progresses: it is ever changing”.9.8) Reflections: Morning sky on water by Moira. “This piece stems from my love of dying and weaving with silk and the beautiful colours reflected in Lac Tenpenny in Val-des-Monts, Quebec. This Calm little lake reflects the sky, Sun and Surrounding Forest as the day progresses: it is ever changing”.

9.9) Scarf in Fall Colours, by Bernadette. “Canadian breed Fleece”.9.9) Scarf in Fall Colours, by Bernadette. “Canadian breed Fleece”.

9.10) Summer at King Mountain, by Barbara (description out of focus) this tapestry will be taught as a workshop.9.10) Summer at King Mountain, by Barbara (description out of focus). This tapestry will be taught as a workshop.

9.11) Maureen’s Vacation 2024, by Jan “guild Member spinning on Canadian guild wheel at Gros More Historic Park”9.11) Maureen’s Vacation 2024, by Jan “guild Member spinning on Canadian guild wheel at Gros Morne Historic Park”

9.12) Crab, By Nicole “this piece is intended to convey the beauty and decay of our Oceans. Using all Canadian Sourced fibres combined with two mass produced dollerama Halloween decorations, the crab shows the interplay between our supply lines and sea life.”9.12) Crab, By Nicole. This piece is intended to convey the beauty and decay of our Oceans. Using all Canadian-sourced fibres combined with two mass-produced Dollerama Halloween decorations, the crab shows the interplay between our supply lines and sea life.”

9.13)  Jellyfish, by Nicole.  “Jellyfish Found off the costs of Canada created with Canadian sourced fibers”.9.13)  Jellyfish, by Nicole.  “Jellyfish Found off the coasts of Canada created with Canadian sourced fibres”.

9.14) Mr. Mer by Jan. “Mr. Mer is a Mer-man or Fish-Person, I started with a Youtube Felt-along (Saraphina Fiber Arts) for inspiration but went way off n another direction. I have made a family of Mer-People with family pets. Each is a unique fish. Mr. Mer is based on a Norther Pike, which I saw frequently at my parents’ cottage just outside of Perth, Ontario.” (Mrs. Mer was canoodleing with her husband in the project bag, and seems to have snuck into the exhibition. She has Canadian wool, and hair from Olive Sparrow and other Canadian suppliers, like her husband)9.14) Mr. Mer by Jan. “Mr. Mer is a Mer-man or Fish-Person. I started with a YouTube Felt-along (Saraphina Fibrr Arts) for inspiration, but went way off in another direction. I have made a family of Mer-People with family pets. Each is a unique fish. Mr. Mer is based on a Northern Pike, which I saw frequently at my parents’ cottage just outside of Perth, Ontario.” (Mrs. Mer was canoodling with her husband in the project bag, and seems to have snuck into the exhibition. She has Canadian wool and hair from Olive Sparrow and other Canadian suppliers, like her husband. You can see her in the photo at the top of this section.)

Left Back Grids:

10.0) The back of the left grid panels:10.0) The back of the left grid panels:

10.1) Triangular Shawl, by (Francesca and Jean) owned by Ann S. “Front panel woven separately, and the back was created by weaving the warp of one panel as the weft of the second strand by strand. The piece was designed by Francesca Overend, and woven by Jean Down, both of Ottawa. The materials were provided by an Ottawa shop and it is owned by a Canadian.”10.1) Triangular Shawl, by Francesca and Jean, owned by Ann S. “Front panel woven separately, and the back was created by weaving the warp of one panel as the weft of the second strand by strand. The piece was designed by Francesca Overend, and woven by Jean Down, both of Ottawa. The materials were provided by an Ottawa shop, and is owned by a Canadian.”

10.2) Garden and Field Shawl, by Amanda. “Shawl made with yarn spun from fleeces of various sheep belonging to people I know, and dyed with a variety of plants from the garden or gathered locally. Crochet pattern from 1970’s  McCall’s Magazine.”10.2) Garden and Field Shawl, by Amanda. “Shawl made with yarn spun from fleeces of various sheep belonging to people I know, and dyed with a variety of plants from the garden or gathered locally. Crochet pattern from a 1970s McCall’s Magazine.”

10.3) Snoweflake Scarf, by Kanika. “Quebec Yarn, woven on a Quebec loom 8 Shaft loom, Canadian Weaver, Glass beads from Canada Bead Supply. The scarf is meant to represent snowflakes which is very Canadian”10.3) Snowflake Scarf, by Kanika. “Quebec Yarn, woven on a Quebec 8 Shaft loom, Canadian Weaver, Glass beads from Canada Bead Supply. The scarf is meant to represent snowflakes, which is very Canadian”

10.4) (upper Right) Shawl, by Ann S. “One of two shawls woven for the wedding of a Canadian by her Canadian aunt,. She had a choice of blue or burgundy and chose the blue. Hence I kept the burgundy.” (on Lower Right) Winter Landscape fence with owl, by Jan. “From a Picture of a winter scene found on the internet of a field south of Ottawa. I added the owl.” I teach for the guild, a needle felted landscape workshop. (On Left) Handspun Eva Shawl, by Carlene. “Local fiber made into a shawl.”10.4) (upper Right) Shawl, by Ann S. “One of two shawls woven for the wedding of a Canadian by her Canadian Aunt. She had a choice of blue or burgundy and chose the blue. Hence, I kept the burgundy.”

(on Lower Right) Winter Landscape fence with owl, by Jan. “From a Picture of a winter scene found on the internet of a field south of Ottawa. I added the owl.” I teach for the guild, a needle felted landscape workshop.

(On Left) Handspun Eva Shawl, by Carlene. “Local fibre made into a shawl.”

10.5) (On Left) 75th Anniversary Moose Bag (Glenn’s), by Jan.  “This is a Canadian Moose, it was made with fiber from a Canadian Supplier.” (On Right) 75th Anniversary Moose Bag (Jan’s), by Jan. “This is a Canadian Moose, it was made with fiber from a Canadian Supplier.”10.5) (On Left) 75th Anniversary Moose Bag (Glenn’s), by Jan.  “This is a Canadian Moose, it was made with fibre from a Canadian Supplier.”

(On Right) 75th Anniversary Moose Bag (Jan’s), by Jan. “This is a Canadian Moose, it was made with fibre from a Canadian Supplier.”

10.6) Quilted Jacket, by Maureen. “ Quilted Jacket with Homespun Canadian wool arms and edging.”10.6) Quilted Jacket, by Maureen. “ Quilted Jacket with Homespun Canadian wool arms and edging.”

10.7) 75th Anniversary Moose Bag Landscape, by Jan. “The theme (of the bag) is a Canadian skein winder (Moose), fiber purchased from Canadian vendor.”10.7) 75th Anniversary Moose Bag Landscape, by Jan. “The theme (of the bag) is a Canadian skein winder (Moose), fibre purchased from a Canadian vendor.”

Centre table and wall:

11.0) Center Display11.0) Centre Display

11.1) Fireside Blanket, by Karin. “Blanket was woven Double Width from Canadian Company Briggs and Little 2ply 100% wool. The Red and Orange wool for the warp were hand dyed by Karin Hendriksen. The black for the warp and weft were factory dyed. The colours remind me of sitting wrapped in the blanket by the fireside, reading a book and sipping hot chocolate.”11.1) Fireside Blanket, by Karin. “Blanket was woven Double Width, from Canadian wool from a Company, Briggs and Little, 2ply 100% wool. The Red and Orange wool for the warp were hand dyed by Karin Hendriksen. The black for the warp and weft were factory dyed. The colours remind me of sitting wrapped in the blanket by the fireside, reading a book and sipping hot chocolate.”

11.2) Poppies Remember, by Barbara. “Made at one of the guilds Workshops with Wendo van Esen”11.2) Poppies Remember, by Barbara. “Made at one of the guild’s Workshops with Wendo van Esen”

11.3) Lighthouse with Flowers, by Ann.  “A lighthouse is iconic from coat to coast, appearing not only on both coast but so many lakes between them.”11.3) Lighthouse with Flowers, by Ann.  “A lighthouse is iconic from coast to coast, appearing not only on both coasts but on so many lakes between them.”

 11.4) Northern Lights, by Ann M. “Northern Lights are an iconic symbol of Canada.”11.4) Northern Lights, by Ann M. “Northern Lights are an iconic symbol of Canada.”

 11.5) Heavy Heart, by Nicole.  “Combining fibres from artisans across Canada. The Sculputre brings together the pople and places of Canada. And when displayed on a scale as intended, suggests the surprising weight of our collective awareness—the lightest fibres gaingin weight and trenght when combined.” 11.5) Heavy Heart, by Nicole.  “Combining fibres from artisans across Canada. The Sculpture brings together the people and places of Canada. And when displayed on a scale as intended, suggests the surprising weight of our collective awareness—the lightest fibres gaining weight and strength when combined.”

11.6) the guild group project, the parliament building in various fiber arts techniques.11.6) The guild group project, the Parliament Buildings, in various fibre arts techniques.

 11.7) Polar Pixies, by Paula. “This piece was made in Canada from Canadian wool processed to roving at a Canadian mill. The yarn was hand spun and knitted by a Canadian too!”  (under the polar Pixies) Nova Scotian Shawl by Jean. “the yarn was dyed with plants collected in the Nova Scotian countryside using yarn from  New Brunswick and hand spun sheeps fleece from the Annapolis Valley. The Shawl was woven in Halifax, Nova Scotia. 11.7) Polar Pixies, by Paula. “This piece was made in Canada from Canadian wool processed to roving at a Canadian mill. The yarn was handspun and knitted by a Canadian, too!”

 (under the polar Pixies) Nova Scotian Shawl by Jean. “The yarn was dyed with plants collected in the Nova Scotian countryside using yarn from  New Brunswick and handspun sheep’s fleece from the Annapolis Valley. The Shawl was woven in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

11.8) Summer Table Runner, by Karin. “The summer colours of theis table runner, woven with Canadian made Orlec from Leclerc, was influenced bythe colours of my perennial garden.”11.8) Summer Table Runner, by Karin. “The summer colours of this table runner, woven with Canadian made Orlec from Leclerc, was influenced by the colours of my perennial garden.”

Right Front Grids:

12.0) The Right Front grids,12.0) The Right Front grids,

12.1) Remembrance, by Carlene.  “The red and black design reminds me of both poppies (remembrance Day) and the Red Dress Project which seeks to remember the Indigenous Women who have gone missing.”12.1) Remembrance, by Carlene.  “The red and black design reminds me of both poppies (remembrance Day) and the Red Dress Project, which seeks to remember the Indigenous Women who have gone missing.”

12.2) (On Right) Canadian Muskox, by Jan. “The Canadian Muskox is a source of one of the most expensive fibers on the planet. We have Canadian Muskox in both the East and western Arctic. I made this for the Canadian 150th anniversary art show. Using Canadian alpaca for the top coat.” (On Left) Canadian Linen Cloth, by Lisa. “Since taking up weaving I’ve learned a lot more about textile supply chains, and about how little we still produce  in Canada. The rustic weft of this piece is from Taproot Fibre, who are trying to revive Canadian Linen production and produce a small quantity of Nova Scotia grown and spun linen and are to my knowledge the only producers of machine spun Canadian grown linen. This piece turned out looser than I want it, but, it make a great wrap for fresh bread!”12.2) (On Right) Canadian Muskox, by Jan. “The Canadian Muskox is a source of one of the most expensive fibres on the planet. We have Canadian Muskox in both the eastern and western Arctic. I made this for the Canadian 150th anniversary art show. Using Canadian alpaca for the top coat.”

(On Left) Canadian Linen Cloth, by Lisa. “Since taking up weaving, I’ve learned a lot more about textile supply chains, and about how little we still produce in Canada. The rustic weft of this piece is from Taproot Fibre, who are trying to revive Canadian Linen production and produce a small quantity of Nova Scotia grown and spun linen and are, to my knowledge, the only producers of machine spun Canadian grown linen. This piece turned out looser than I wanted it, but it makes a great wrap for fresh bread!”

12.3) OVWSG Sheep to Shawl 2025, by the sheep to shawl team 2025. “Vibrant, glow-in-the-dark shawl produced for the Almonte Fibre Fest Sheep to Shawl Competition by October (Toby)ASnderson, Jay Perry, Heather Farrar, and Olivia” (I think this was the first sheep to shawl for all participents, this shawl won Second place!)12.3) OVWSG Sheep to Shawl 2025, by the sheep to shawl team 2025. “Vibrant, glow-in-the-dark shawl produced for the Almonte Fibre Fest Sheep to Shawl Competition by October (Toby) Anderson, Jay Perry, Heather Farrar, and Olivia” (I think this was the first sheep to shawl for all participants; this shawl won Second place!)

12.4) Diamond Jubilee by Ann S. “This piece a diamond made of 22 columns and 22 rows of twill weaves creating 284 diamonds to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the OVWSG.”12.4) Diamond Jubilee by Ann S. “This piece is a diamond made of 22 columns and 22 rows of twill weaves, creating 284 diamonds to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the OVWSG.”

 12.5) Aurora Borealis Skeins, by Bernadette. “Fiber Sourced from Canadian hand dyer.” 12.5) Aurora Borealis Skeins, by Bernadette. “Fibre sourced from a Canadian hand dyer.”

 12.6) (Left) Zita’s Yarn, by Wendy.  Made from a blend of our dog’s fur, locally rased border lester sheeps wool and Cotswold hand-dyed by Bernadette Quaide, this skein of yarn was inspired by the Guild’s Summer Fiber Poker Challenge. (Right) Home Spun Skeins by Maureen. “Hand-spun from Canadian Sourced wool.”12.6) (Left) Zita’s Yarn, by Wendy.  Made from a blend of our dog’s fur, locally raised border lester sheep’s wool and Cotswold hand-dyed by Bernadette Quaide, this skein of yarn was inspired by the Guild’s Summer Fibre Poker Challenge.

(Right) Home Spun Skeins by Maureen. “Hand-spun from Canadian Sourced wool.”

12.7) Scarf by Marianne Heggtveit, owned by Ann.S. “the Weaver, Marianne Heggtveit, is a proud Canadian of Austrian ancestry. She is also proud that Tencel-which is drived from wood pulp- was developed in Austria.”12.7) Scarf by Marianne Heggtveit, owned by Ann.S. “The Weaver, Marianne Heggtveit, is a proud Canadian of Austrian ancestry. She is also proud that Tencel-which is derived from wood pulp, was developed in Austria.”

12.8) Aubergine, by Carlene. “I wove this piece between June 30 and July 7th 2024 and it was part of my Celebration of Canada Day Holiday time. this piece is a study of the colour purple with may shades and textures incorporated into the work.”12.8) Aubergine, by Carlene. “I wove this piece between June 30 and July 7th 2024, and it was part of my Celebration of Canada Day Holiday time. This piece is a study of the colour purple with many shades and textures incorporated into the work.”

12.9) (Framed on Right) On the Prowl, by Marie-France. “I live in the Countryside and foxes are regular daily visitors all year round. this art work is based on a photograph I took on my property in Val-due-Monte Qc. I love the 4 seasons in Canada but Autumn is the one that inspires me the most.” (Top Left Yarn) Handspun Yarn - 4 skeins, by MJ. “1 skein of Bluefaced leicester 2 ply gradient from grey to purple to blue. Peach Suffolk yarn  1 skein 3 ply 1 skein 2 ply.  1 skein of fractal spun dorset in various shades of Grey.” (Center basket with yarn) tag not visiable but looks like natural dies on wool.12.9) (Framed on Right) On the Prowl, by Marie-France. “I live in the Countryside, and foxes are regular daily visitors all year round. This artwork is based on a photograph I took on my property in Val-due-Monte, QC. I love the 4 seasons in Canada, but Autumn is the one that inspires me the most.”

(Top Left Yarn) Handspun Yarn – 4 skeins, by MJ. “1 skein of Bluefaced Leicester 2 ply gradient from grey to purple to blue. Peach Suffolk yarn  1 skein 3 ply, 1 skein 2 ply.  1 skein of fractal spun Dorset in various shades of Grey.”

(Centre basket with yarn) tag not visible, but looks like a natural dye on wool, but could be the natural colour.

12.10) Magical Moose Mittens, by Judy. “These Mittens are made from local Shetland wool that I bought raw and then washed and carded. The white is from a sheep called Amber from Karberry Farm. The brown started out as off white fleece from Steve Welch. I died it with black walnut hulls that I collected in my neighborhood. Then spun the wool into yarn and knit the mittens using my own pattern.”12.10) Magical Moose Mittens, by Judy. “These Mittens are made from local Shetland wool that I bought raw and then washed and carded. The white is from a sheep called Amber from Karberry Farm. The brown started out as off white fleece from Steve Welch. I dyed it with black walnut hulls that I collected in my neighbourhood. Then spun the wool into yarn and knit the mittens using my own pattern.”

Right Back Grids: We have reached the final part of the exhibit, the back of the right side grids.

13.0) Back of Right Grids.13.0) Back of Right Grids.

13.1) We Stand on Guard for Thee, by Carlene. “This piece celiebrates the Ceremonial Guard and their bear Skin hats. I created this Piece in 2017 for our Guild art show.”13.1) We Stand on Guard for Thee, by Carlene. “This piece celebrates the Ceremonial Guard and their bear Skin hats. I created this Piece in 2017 for our Guild art show.”

 13.2) Reflections: Evening sky on water by Moira. “This piece stems from my love of dying and weaving with silk and the beautiful colours reflected in Lac Tenpenny in Val-des-Monts, Quebec. This Calm little lake reflects the coulours of the sky, Sun and Surrounding Forest in an ever changing tableau. This scarf highlights the colours as the water ripples in the lake and the sun begins to sink below the “ 13.2) Reflections: Evening sky on water by Moira. “This piece stems from my love of dying and weaving with silk and the beautiful colours reflected in Lac Tenpenny in Val-des-Monts, Quebec. This Calm little lake reflects the colours of the sky, Sun and Surrounding Forest in an ever changing tableau. This scarf highlights the colours as the water ripples in the lake and the sun begins to sink below the horizon“

13.3) Walnut Smudge Sweater, by Carlene. “Handspun and naturally dyed”13.3) Walnut Smudge Sweater, by Carlene. “Handspun and naturally dyed”

 13.4) Tied On, by Joan. “Made from Silk ribbon bought at a (quintessentially) Canadian yard sale” 13.4) Tied On, by Joan. “Made from Silk ribbon bought at a (quintessentially) Canadian yard sale”

13.5) Basket of tea towels (in front)  Rosebud Trellis towel, by Kanika.  “Maurice Brassard a Quebec company supplied the cotton. the weaver is from Ontario, the Leclerc Fanny Loom is by a Quebec company.” (In the back) Canada Day Tea Towels, by Wendy “..Memories of Canada Day picnics with friends and family.”13.5) Basket of tea towels

(in front)  Rosebud Trellis towel, by Kanika.  “Maurice Brassard, a Quebec company, supplied the cotton. The weaver is from Ontario, the Leclerc Fanny Loom is by a Quebec company.”

(In the back) Canada Day Tea Towels, by Wendy “..Memories of Canada Day picnics with friends and family.”

13.6) Scarf with beads, by Kanika.  (I did  not see a description)13.6) Scarf with beads, by Kanika.  (I did  not see a description.)

13.7) Socks, by Maureen. “ Hand-Spun and knitted from Canadian sourced wool.”13.7) Socks, by Maureen. “ Hand-Spun and knitted from Canadian sourced wool.”

13.8)  2 vests and shirts and tapestry of foxes with fluffy tails. (Lower Left Vest) Chiengora Wool Vest 2, by Doreen. Canadain grown, supn, woven and sewn.” (Upper Right Vest) Chiengora Wool Vest 1, by Doreen. Canadain grown, supn, woven and sewn.”13.8)  2 vests and shirts, and a tapestry of foxes with fluffy tails.

(Lower Left Vest) Chiengora Wool Vest 2, by Doreen. Canadian grown, spun, woven and sewn.”

(Upper Right Vest) Chiengora Wool Vest 1, by Doreen. Canadian grown, spun, woven and sewn.”

13.9) Summer and Winter, by Deborah. “Designed and woven by submitter, handspun yarn spun by daughter. Inspired by the guild’s Summer Fiber Poker Challenge.”13.9) Summer and Winter, by Deborah. “Designed and woven by the submitter, handspun yarn spun by my daughter. Inspired by the guild’s Summer Fibre Poker Challenge.”

The Exhibition Team:

It was not an easy job (there is a rumour that getting guild members to fill out a form and drop off their pieces is similar to herding cats.) Wendy and her team got us all organised and put together a very diverse exhibition. Well Done Wendy!!

14.0) Wendy was the head of the Exhibition team, and did a fabulous job.14.0) Wendy was the head of the Exhibition team and did a fabulous job.

I hope you have enjoyed looking through the exhibition and the OVWSG guild sale from the last post. If you would like to make comments, and you haven’t clicked on the post already, please check the top of the post for the comment button (it is hiding up there).

 

 

 

 

A Yarn and Fiber Artist’s Dilemma

A Yarn and Fiber Artist’s Dilemma

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I will be stepping away from scheduled blog posting in 2026. This has been a hard decision for me, as I so value the friends I have made through Felting and Fiber Studio. I was happy to hear I am welcome to submit articles, to be used when regular contributors need respite. My mother’s Alzheimer’s is in the final stage. She is on hospice care doing fine at the moment: but we don’t know the future, do we? I’m also helping my aunt, transition into assisted living care. Brian and I, of course aren’t getting any younger, either. We are using the information we’ve learned,  to start thinking of our own future. We are definitely looking at downsizing, our living quarters, so that means it’s time to do a purge: “death purge” is what many call it. I don’t like that particular terminology, but I agree with the gist of the concept. As baby boomers, we grew up saving everything, “in case we need it,” down the line. We held onto baggage, because our parents and grandparents, told stories of what happened during wars, or depressions. We raised our children, in times of plenty, and they don’t want any of it! As the dutiful family “storage unit,” I have some really nice fiber related items to find homes for. Example: I have a dainty antique wooden swift with finely turned spindles (UK early 1900’s) in perfect condition: made for ladies embroidering fine linens…what do I do with it? It’s easy to think about listing such items, on social media outlets, but there are so many things to research before hand. It all takes time, that seems at a premium these days. A never ending dilemma

Of course, Brian’s answer to everything these days: “burn it!”

His cynicism is predictable, given what he’s witnessed, as my Etsy shipping clerk for 8 years. He sees customer “requests” in messages. In an effort to deliver, and receive the coveted 5 stars, I spend a lot of time doing things, to “make the sale.” Often, after endless messaging back and forth; the person rarely makes the purchase…or worse, never responds back at all. I am getting better at setting limits, but as I’m sitting here typing my article, another request bit the dust…and proved his point again. Hide the matches!!

Last weekend, I agreed to participate in a holiday craft show. My friend of 60 years is very active with a Veteran’s organization. My participation allows us to see each other, and supports a good cause. Because, so many are struggling financially, I chose my offerings carefully. I decided each item needed to be; visually pleasing, useful, with a low price point. I geared them to be used as stocking stuffers, small gifts for teachers, friends or relatives…maybe a child’s gift to Mom. Brian watched me search Pinterest for small items that met my criteria, and used some supplies I already had. I chose to make the following:

Fabric Wristlet Key Fobs Little Hill Craft video,

Beadable Pens and Beadable Key Chains (Search on Amazon)

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Microwave (Baked) Potato Bags YouTube Potato Bag Sewing Tutorial

Potato print fabric, sewn as envelope pouch, for microwave baked potatoes.
Large size microwave baked potato bags. In order to avoid potential fire, all materials must be 100% cotton; thread, batting, and fabric.

If you are unfamiliar with these Microwave Baked Potato bags, you are missing out on the best way to bake potatoes. They yield soft fluffy baked potatoes in less than a quarter of the time. I purchased mine 15 years ago, while on vacation. It’s been well used, ever since. In addition to baked potatoes, you can steam corn on the cob, warm tortillas, and bread/rolls.

I also took Woolbuddy ™️ needle felted animal ornaments, I had in my shop. They retail for $15 and are worth every penny, but I reduced them to $12.50 each, or “buy 4 get 1 free” (33% off retail). To make certain my prices were fair, I took samples to Mom’s facility. I’ve made friends with other family members: I sold a few potato bags and wristlet’s right on the spot. They felt my prices were too reasonable, for the quality and craftsmanship. I reassessed my prices and realized my potato bags needed to be $14, despite Etsy prices of $11. The specialty fabric I used on the outside is brand new and fetches $15/yard or more. I chose to line the potato bags with a brown fabric, instead of the white muslin my bag has. You can imagine the staining from years of constant use. $12.50 was my initial price: only a bit above supply costs.

I wasn’t looking to make much, as we’ve participated in the show a few years ago. I agreed to share a table this time, and gear my offerings to those attending. I sold 4 potato bags ($14 each), 1 pen ($5), 1 key fob ($6) and some of the needle felted animal ornaments for a total of $137. Once the 1/2 table fee, a raffle donation, and food came out, we probably covered the cost of potato bag fabrics. The foot traffic was constant, and we had a steady stream of lookers at the table. People loved the items, pricing didn’t seem to be an issue: I sold as much as the crafters near me. I’m often asked why I don’t sell my things at craft shows! I’ve always felt the time involved in the making, is rarely valued by those purchasing. Maybe it’s the area we live in? Whatever the reason, I had a plan for any items remaining. We are gifting them Mom’s caregivers. I was very careful to keep the samples, away from caregivers view, and that was a very good thing!

Brian still has his thought’s, about those matches…when I whine “what am I going to do with all this yarn and fiber?” I know he would never think of doing such a thing, while I am alive…but if anything happens to me, you might want to make a quick call!!

Happy Holidays!

Am I losing my marbles?

Am I losing my marbles?

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Do you feel like the days, weeks and months just keep getting away from you? No matter how hard you work, paddling faster and faster, the to-do list never gets any shorter? It has been 6 weeks since Felters Convergence, I was hoping for a quiet spell before the Christmas rush but it feels like it has been another insanely busy period. When I stop and think, “What have I done / achieved?” I’m at a loss…. I can’t remember!

Thank heavens for the camera roll in our mobile phones!

Early October saw my first ever pit firing with the Manurewa Potters, it was a lot of fun, with a shared lunch but, for me, the results were a little disappointing. I love colour and contrast and this style of firing produces more muted, subtle tones. It’s probably not a branch of pottery for me but I’m glad I got to try it.

These were my pots, the red / orange rings around the top were from underglazes I painted on before firing, the browns, greys and blacks were from the materials added to the fire. I have started waxing the one on the right, which has intensified some of the colours and it’s growing on me but the one on the left I think will be re-fired with some more traditional glazes.

In mid October I hosted my first Open Studio event in New Zealand, as part of the Franklin Arts Trail (which gets unflatteringly abbreviated to FAT). It was a huge success, I met so many fascinating people, introduced some of them to felt-making and even sold a few of my finished pieces, so now I have space to make more!

This photo was taken during the reorganising / scurryfunging, I’m sorry to say I forgot to take any photos during the event. Can you spot the ever-helpful cat (Aoife)?

A few felty friends and I had a play date just before Halloween where we made felted eyeballs using a variety of different techniques (felting around glass marbles, polystyrene balls and making solid wool balls).

Halloween weekend was spent with the lovely Waikato Creative Fibre group at a wonderful 3-day fibre retreat. I even managed to get some spinning done in between teaching a couple of short felting classes and taking a mosaic crochet class.

Fingers crossed I now have enough yarn to finish making a sleeveless top with a tulip hem:

Auckland is starting to feel much more summery and the weeds in my veg patch agree, they were definitely winning…

But after 6 days of hard graft and 1 broken garden fork later I was delighted to find half a dozen leeks, some potatoes and a couple of onions ready to harvest and I no longer cringe at the state of this part of the garden:

I contacted Spear and Jackson about the fork because it had a “10 year warranty” sticker not really holding out much hope that they would replace it but amazingly the replacement has just arrived, all the way from the UK, less than 2 weeks after I emailed them! Now that’s good service 🙂

A few months ago Auckland Felters applied to hold a group exhibition at Nathan Homestead, an historic building that has just completed a year-long renovation, and we were successful – YAY!

The exhibition doesn’t open until next March but deadline for the marketing materials was last week so there has been a lot of frantic activity as we formulated a plan for a felting workshop and market day. The date of our workshop falls on 25th April, ANZAC day (the antipodean equivalent of Remembrance day) so we thought a field of felted poppies would be a fitting project.

With only a few hours before the deadline I found myself hastily felting a sample for the brochure. The result is ok but not my best work. If I can find a spare 30 min I would like to fix the central flower with some needle-felting and add some more highlights and shading.

My local craft / gift shop, Clevedon Creatives + Co, have started stocking some of my work so there has been quite of lot of trips back and forth to get it set up. Now my studio looks even more empty than it did after FAT but I am pleased to have a wider audience for my work.

The Christmas season has already started here with my first artisan craft fair last weekend. This market, at the Franklin Arts Centre in Pukekohe, was a very successful start to the season, fingers crossed this is a good omen for the next few weeks after 2025 started with a bit of an economic whimper.

The felted soaps are eternally popular at my local craft markets so I have been furiously making these most evenings for the last few weeks:

There has been quite a lot of dyeing going on too, mostly silk hankies and silk top as I try to keep up with demand. These plaits will be added to my Etsy shop over the next few days.

Finally a bit of felting fun, a new journal cover. When I started laying out the wool for this I was planning to cover it with yarn in a grid pattern but just as I was about to start laying out the yarns it screamed, “WATER!”. So I rummaged in my bag of prefelt scraps and found some space-dyed orange and yellow pieces. Perfect for fish! A couple of white silk hankies to emulate splashing water / surf et voila!

I’m so glad I ditched the yarn, the jumping, playful fish are much more fun! I can’t help but smile when I see them 🙂

Phew! No wonder the last few weeks have felt busy 🙂 Why couldn’t I remember any of that without my phone…?

Merrickville Ont. Canada, New Fiber Festival -Fiber by the locks

Merrickville Ont. Canada, New Fiber Festival -Fiber by the locks

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On Sunday, October 19th 2025, we had a new small fiber sale happening in Merrickville Ontario.  It was a lovely sunny day so perfect for a drive south of the city.

poster of silliwet of a sheep for the Fiber byt the locks sale1.1)poster of new fiber festival

Merrickville is a small town along the Rideau cannel at one of the many locks.  The town has many beautiful stone houses and buildings.  We arrived early and found a good parking spot, so let’s walk over to the locks and take a look around.

map showing the Pew building and Merrickville locks photomaps showing locations of Ottawa to Merickville and the area around the event beside the locks1.2) map showing the Pew building and Merrickville locks.

The pews is the building we were going to on the maps it’s the little red dot. It is also beside the locks and across from the blockhouse (where the guns and soldiers were, in case we were invaded by Americans in 1812). It was a lovely warm not-fall day for October, the leaves were turning and the water was still, giving beautiful reflections of the fall colour. (I was not the only photographer out and we had lens envy chats!)

the Merrickville lockstation with trees changeing colour, red and yellows1.3) the Merrickville lockstation

the Canal locks at Merrickville reflection of fall trees in still water1.4)the Canal locks at Merrickville

the Canal locks at Merrickville looking down the lock trees refecting into still water1.5)the Canal locks at Merrickville

the Canal blockhouse at Merrickville, the military would be stationed here to protect the cannel from American incursions.  I is now a musem1.6)the Canal blockhouse at Merrickville, the military would be stationed here to protect the cannel from American incursions.  I is now a museum.

the Arron Merrick Building (Side) stone block 3 story building with lots of windows1.7) the Arron Merrick Building (Side)

the Arron Merrick Building (front) decoration serounding door way cascading leaves in fall colours with window box of white flowers in front.1.8) the Arron Merrick Building (front)

Its now time to head back to the Pews (formerly a United Church of Canada building, from the 1890’s)

former church now called the Pews. truncated nave with cross esction and tower inset into one corner adjacent to crossing sections. the church is stone blocks. vewed from a lwer angle looking upword agaenst a very blue sky1.9) former church now called the Pews.

The upper part where the church was is still filled with pews and is often used for concerts. The lower hall is accessible from the back of the building. That is where we are heading next, if I can pull you away from enjoying the fall colour.

It’s a small hall, full of 4 foot tables, so it’s a bit snug, but that is more for us to look at. The vendors are just doing the last of their set up (we will wait in the back corner, out of the way, till its time to shop).  One of the vendors just pointed out a doorway with a ramp to another lower section, we can look at that afterwards.

the lower hall filed with 4 ft booths,very full this shows the center booths.2.1) most of the vendor tables in the hall there are a couple more to the left out of frame and at least one more to the right.

Shall we have a quick look around?

2 photos showing a booth with coats and a booth with yarn 2 photos showing a clsoe up of mini tapestrie landscapes and the other photo is of a coil basket 2 Photos; Sewing bags and knit things including a Hat on a manikin head 2 Photos; White Knit? Pumkins and crochet rugs 2 photos: knit hats and jacket and Yarn in skains 2 photos: wool cloth and yarn in many colours and yarn and knit socks and scarf 2 photos of braided yarn in many colours 2 photoss Mohair for sale and locks with wated doll in green outfit2.2-2.9) booths in the main lower hall

The second part of the lower level was accessible through a doorway and a small ramp. This was less finished and more basement-like. It also had an exterior door for accessibility from the outside. The booth sizes were bigger in this back section. There were two felters, which you may be interested in.

2 photos second hall basement: clothing and Upholstery Shop 2 photos second hall basement: Embroidery and anteques table display and close up of back of merorrors 2 photos second hall basement: Felting booth figures photo second hall basement: Felting booth Pictues landscape and Santa photo second hall basement: Edge of felting booth and Husband reading photo second hall basement: second felting booth this one has framed pictures.3.1-3.6) photos second hall basement

We had a thorough look through the event then went up the street to Alpaca tracks in hope of a butterscotch colour of alpaca fiber for a friend’s project. What they had, was not really what I was hoping for, but the store was interesting. Unfortunately, the fiber for sale is upstairs, and I was not feeling up to stairs by that point. So, I will show you a couple quick shots of the ground floor.

Outside and ramp into stone house that has been converted into a store (Alpaca tracks)4.1) the store Alpaca Tracks T(h)read Lightly

2 Photos one of felt flower with yellow center and wall hanging of alpaca 2 photos of displays Mettle frog with umbrella in front of felted mellons and wooden pumkins with cutting bords and scarves in the back ground 2 photos one of window vew with felted sunflowers and one of small wooden cut work candel holders 2 photos, one of Felt orniments including felt dodo bird and small alpaca made of leather.4.2-4.5) displays within the store that cot my eye

It was a store full of cool things to look at, much seemed to be made by local artists. Since I could not find the colour of fiber I was looking for I will have to look in Toronto later in the week.

 

I hope your virtual shopping money has not been badly depleted!! There is still the OVWSG guild sale to tell you about.  If you were in Ottawa the first weekend in November, I hope you dropped by (you might turn up in a blog post!) if you missed it, you can always plan ahead and be there next year!  But, if i am doing this in order, we need to have a quick chat about; reflections in glass, the ongoing Mer project, and a Visit to the Olive Sparrow (where there were lots of options of fiber!) before we can get to the guild sale.

PS the sneaky comment button is still hiding at the top of the page if you would like to chat!

Getting things ready for the Sale and Exhibition and class.

Getting things ready for the Sale and Exhibition and class.

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First, there are still a couple of days to sign up for the 3D multi-part resist workshop. It starts on the 17th, so hurry if you want to join us. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/3d-multi-part-resist/

 

On November 1 and 2 is our guild’s Annual Sale and Exhibition. https://www.ovwsg.com/sale/ Or her on Facebook FB Event The guild runs a booth for people who don’t have enough things to have their own booth. I have been getting my things ready for the booth.

I have a few needle books from several years ago. I had to check the tags, replacing some and adding price stickers. They have 4 needle pages, 2 pouches, 2 pins, 1 needle, on thread storage card, and one needle threader.

I also have some scissors cases with scissors. These are great little scissors, I like the big handles so you’re not tight to get your fingers in or out of.

And there are the sheep keychains. I told you about them here. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2025/09/13/this-and-that-5/

I had to iron their ears as they needed flattening. I thought I might need hairspray, but I didn’t.

 

I stamped the back of their cards

I put them into their plastic. I need to finish that. I think I need to get some double-sided tape to keep them centred in the bags. And for some, I may resize their bags.

 

I may put the other things in plastic, too. Do you think it would look more professional?

 

I still have to make felted soap. That is on the to-do list. But now I am out of time for today.

 

 

Felt Connect 2025

Felt Connect 2025

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As I write, nearly a week has passed since the 18th Southern Hemisphere Felters’ Convergence drew to a close but that peculiar mix of exhaustion, elation and excitement I felt as I drove home still lingers. I’m buzzing with so many ideas and happy memories! 🙂

The Felters Convergence is usually (pandemics permitting) a biennial event organised by volunteers from Australia or New Zealand. It is an opportunity for antipodean felt-makers to gather and share their knowledge and ideas. This year it was held in the beautifully quaint and historic suburb of Parnell in Auckland, New Zealand.

Before we arrived we were invited to “bring your smile”, a common refrain for anyone attending a social event but this time there was a twist…. We were to arrive with a smile and leave with a smile…. a felted smile! 🙂

Christine Roxburgh and Jenny Forrester (our very talented and incredibly hard-working organisers) put together an amazing, fun-packed program over the 4 days we had together. At almost any given moment there were 3 to 4 different classes or talks taking place and if that wasn’t enough, there was a room full of traders selling all manner of fibres, fabrics and felting equipment and a fabulous felt exhibition to visit. They REALLY crammed a lot in to the 4 days!

A small selection of pieces in the exhibition:

As Christine explained at the opening dinner, the Felt Connect title was a nod to the underlying philosophy of Convergence where feltmakers from far and wide come together to not only share their knowledge and love of fibre arts but also where new connections and international friendships form.

We had just shy of 100 attendees, 30 of whom were visiting from Australia and one came all the way from the US! Our headline tutors were equally international with Nancy Ballesteros from Western Australia, Katia Mokeyeva from Vermont in the US and Jacqui Collins from New Zealand.

Nancy taught for 3 very full days, covering topics such as:

  • colour theory for fibre artists
  • making properly fulled but beautifully drape-able felt in the Art of Drape class
  • the saucily titled, “Hanky Panky” session where she suggested lots of different ways to incorporate silk hankies into your felt
  • the Natural Rhythms class where she shared how she uses Fibonacci’s design principles in conjunction with her colour theory lecture from day 1. This allowed us the perfect opportunity to put some of what we had learned from her colour theory talk into practice while exploring wet-wool layout techniques.

Our sessions with Katia were a technological leap forward for Convergence, having someone teach 100 felt-makers from a different continent was novel and gave us the chance to learn from an expert that most of us will never have the opportunity to meet in person.

An example of Katia’s “Sea Waves” technique from her website

Katia provided us with pre-recorded videos of her signature “Sea Waves” technique and answered our questions over a Zoom call. Jenny did an amazing job of bringing it all together and resolving the inevitable technical issues that required her to hold the speaker jack in the computer so the room full of keen students could hear Katia’s replies to their questions from half a world away.

After our online session with Katia we were set free to experiment with our new learnings in the main hall.

Jacqui provided 4 full days of teaching, her classes were so popular many of them were over-subscribed. She covered a wide range of topics including, how to:

  • felt a fedora style hat using alpaca fibre,
  • make a wet-felted necklace,
  • painting on silk
  • construct and hang 3D wall art

And of course then there was the army of more than 20 volunteer tutors who offered to share their knowledge, a technique or ideas on how to develop your own style in new directions. There really was something for everyone!

A raffle was held to raise seed money for Convergence 2027 and the prizes were drawn on the final day:

Photographer – Pip Sturgeon

The final gala dinner and fashion show was a hoot, with heartfelt closing speeches from Jenny and Christine followed by the very funny “Glitter Sisters” AKA Lynn Evans and Sharon Fergusson, who hosted the felt fashion show with more than 20 stunning creations paraded among the enthralled diners.

L to R: Lynn Evans, Jenny Forrester, Sharon Fergusson and Christine Roxburgh. Photographer – Flo de Ruiter
Just a few of the fabulous felted outfits on display in the fashion parade. Photographer – Margaret Joppa
Bernice Mitchell modelling one of the three outfits she presented during the parade. Photographer – Margaret Joppa

Attending a Felters Convergence has been on my bucket list since I first read about the 2015 event and 10 years later, I’m pleased to say, Felt Connect 2025 massively exceeded my very high expectations and was worth the 10 year wait! Now I am hooked and Adelaide 2027 can’t come around soon enough! 🙂

Thank you so much to everyone who attended, organised and / or volunteered at this event, you are all utterly marvellous!

Eleanor Shadow with someone who had more colourful hair than she did
I did two yarn festivals in a month

I did two yarn festivals in a month

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Are you familiar with that feeling of agreeing to do something far away in time because you’re sure Future You will deal with it with grace and organisation? Since you’re sure Future You is much better at things than Present You, it’ll be a breeze when time comes. No? Just me?

As you can tell, I fell into this trap. I had already said yes to doing The Scottish Yarn Festival at the end of August, and when an invitation showed up in my inbox for Summer School mid-August, I thought, “easy breezy, I’ll be prepping for one show already, what’s the problem with another?” Famous last words.
(By the way, I wasn’t the only one flying by the seat of my pants, the Summer School roster doesn’t even include me in the website!)

For those who don’t know me, I am an indie dyer of yarns and fibres going by Eleanor Shadow. I run everything on my own, from admin to web design, to aaaall the hand dyeing of gorgeous fluff for the pleasure of the spinner and knitter. I do love what I do, but it’s hard work.

 

Top view of a hand dyed sock blank in rainbow colours, with sprinkles
An example of a rainbow I love to create, but that comes in multiple steps and takes longer than I ever remember

 

The passion I have for hand dyeing often makes me underestimate how much work something is; pair that with a neurospicy brain and there might be trouble!

The months of July and August were spent in a frenzy of planning, dyeing, sewing and art-batting (I know, not a word, but it represents the nervous energy spent at the drum carder extremely well). I never had enough time.

 

Multiple rainbow yarns drying on a rack, with a cheeky hand spun rainbow yarn in the middle
Rainbow hand dyeing and hand spinning drying. Behind the camera there’s one seriously dishevelled human trying her best to Do All The Things.

 

Top view of yarn in a dye bath, this is Apocalyptic Tweed in the sprinkles phase
Adding sprinkles to my colourway Apocalyptic Tweed

 

The end results, however, were wonderful. I had the most stock I ever had for any show, and consequently sold the most I ever had in a month.

Another fun thing about yarn festivals is meeting lots of different people. I was out-coloured by a lovely yarn-loving truck driver! Behold.

 

I didn’t have much time to peruse other people’s stalls, but I was sorely tempted by this prize-winning black fleece by BeautifulFleece.

 

A glimpse of BeautifulFleece's stall, with a luscious black fleece on display with the winner ribbon on top
Look how shiny those locks look! That prize ribbon gives me grabby-hands feels.

Finally, click here if you’d like to watch a video of my stall (which I’m not uploading directly here because it would be a chunky file!)

All in all, it was a blur of activity and also fun, and I wish I’d taken more photos… neurospicy brain, remember? I’m just glad I got all the yarn dyed and could put two sentences together during the events.

Tell me all about your own festival experiences, whether as a seller or buyer. Got suggestions? Leave them in the comments section, I’d love to know. Thanks for reading!

Twist 2025, Part 1 new booths of interests

Twist 2025, Part 1 new booths of interests

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Twist 2025 new booths of interest

Some of you have joined me in previous years on the trip to Twist Fibre Festival in Saint-André-Avellin, QC. It’s about an hour and 15 minutes from home, a bit longer with construction detours this year. It is worth the drive in shopping opportunities and usually has lovely scenery. (We had some of the smoke from fires much further west so it was too hazy for the views overlooking the river). Twist is also the largest of the close fiber events to Ottawa.  Please join me as we take a peek, first at the demos and a new booth that I hope will catch your interest too. We will take a look at more of the event in the next post. Don’t forget to meet me at La Toquade restaurant for after shopping Dinner of comfy duck sandwiches.

photo montoge of line up getting into Twist on friday morning (it was very hot) and close ups of the decorations by the sign which is a sheep on a rocket1)Lining up to get into Twist 2025

Demo Hall way,

There are two halls (Gym and Arena), one on either side of a main hall, which also leads to the back of the building, where more vendors in a large tent were located. The hallway is where the demos from various fiber arts groups are located, including the local weaving guild and our neighbour guild across the river. Let’s take a quick peek before heading into the main hall. I was sure I had taken pictures of the knitting guild, and author and one other group at the end of the hall by the tent but I don’t seem to see them. This year we had examples of weaving, spinning, and a bit of felting at the guild table.

OVWSG Demo table table loom on table OVWSG Demo table Suport spindle spinning2.1-2.2) OVWSG Demo table

Gatineau Guild of weavers banner and table display2.3) Guilde des tisserandes de Gatineau; our neighbour guild on the other side of the Ottawa River

lace makeing pillow with hands moving bobins2.4) The Lace makers guild

Association des Artisans de Ceinture Flechee de Lanaudiere banner Association des Artisans de Ceinture Flechee de Lanaudiere table of finger woven bands2.5-2.6) Association des Artisans de Ceinture Flechee de Lanaudiere

While at Twist fiber festival, I spotted a few new booths which caught my attention and I thought you would also find interesting. So I am going to focus on one of the booths today but we will look at the rest of the event hopefully in the next post.

New Vendor has felt

At this point, we had arrived, said hi to the morning demo team, and started looking for booths selling fiber or (Needle) felting supplies.  It was close to opening time, and was still quite busy with a rush of shoppers.  I had to wait to get into the booth. The little I could see from outside had me curious as to what else might be in there. I was sure it would be worth the wait.

glimps of wool felt between people stopping and walking in front of where i was trying to see in3.1)I see wool! Yes, that definitely looks like wool. I wonder which booth this is?

As the crowd parted, I could see the signage “Field & Fleece” and “WoolGrown”.  Behind the sign was a 3 foot tall roll of felt!! As well as bags of fiber (I think I overheard the bags of fleece were mixed rideau-arcott sheep fleeces?)

montage of photos, signage and bags of wool, lamb covers, wool pellets for gardening3.2) When the crowd parted and I could see part of the booth!

rolls of various lenths and widths of horticultural felt.3.3) Precut lengths of felt, some have holes cut out for planting plants, others are solid.

samples in booth of poducts made from this felt, jacket bag, art, and small bags of fiber 3.4) There were examples of wool Felt use; Jacket, purses, art, small batts in bags

There were also small strips of wool rolled up on the table. They were selling them to start seeds in. I looked at them and saw name tags!!!

3" and 4" widths of felt in long strips, they are to plant seeds but i am going to make name tages 3.5) wool strips  for sale in the booth

The strips were being sold as “Seed starting wool strips the eco-friendly evolution of the innovative seed-starting method known as the “Seed Snail.”” The concept seems to be to un-roll the wool strip about 4” x 4’ long, add moistened potting soil mix, roll up the dirt with wool, making something that looks like a less tasty cinnamon roll. Plant the seeds at the top of the roll, so the roots will grow down between the circles of wool. That sounds like an interesting concept but I still see name tags when I look at these rolls. There were a few different widths so I selected a few of the wider (about 4”) and a couple of the cheaper 3-ish” ones.

If you noticed the little square about an inch thick by about 4 inches, I picked up one of those too. I will try it out as a felting surface later.

Since I had finally got to the front of the booth and had already found a small selection of items, I kept looking.

ceramic sheep bole with blacksmith made masonre nails. (to use for mordenting dies)3.6) OH my! What is that?

Not the prins, look in the cup! I was just apologising to Glenn, as we drove here, that I suspected the booths selling blacksmithing items or supplies would again be rather thin.(ok, None. I am sure it’s just an unintentional oversight that will be fixed at some point in the future.) Those rusty items are square-headed nails, and look like blacksmith-made objects! I asked about them and was enlightened that they were the “nails” from a brick wall that had been taken down and she didn’t have the heart to toss them. She was selling them for dyers to mordant their dye baths. I bought a little bundle for Glenn so his day was not just carrying my packages and taking naps on a bench while I shopped or photographed.

Since you have seen the extreme relaxation (napping) demonstrated at various fiber festivals I should not deprive you of another sighting.

Husband sitting on bench sleeping peicefuly while shopping happens behind him4.1) Fibre festivals are a good spot for extreme relaxation.

Mer-Boyfrend self-feling his own abbs Mer-Boyfrend self-feling his own abbs another vew4.2-4.3) The Mer-boyfriend got impatient and started to work on his own abbs. I spent too much time explaining why I was making another mer-person to people stopping to ask what I was doing and how did it work? (Yes, I got another voodoo comment too!)

I filled in at the OVWSG Demo Friday afternoon, as the demo started to pack up, I “rushed” back to buy the roll of felt but they were unfortunately closed…. Drat. Ok almost everyone is faster than I am at the moment.

While we are still in town, we can go enjoy the comfy duck sandwiches at the La Toquade Restaurant. It’s part of the enjoyment of going to twist, and I think about this sandwich for a year between twists, so let’s go see it they are still as memorably delicious as it was last year. (Oh yes it was!!)

on a long rectangle plate, good fries, a small salid with rasbary balsamic vinagret, frenchfrie dipp and the amazing sandwich ingredients listed below photo5)“Club sandwich au confit de canard- Servi dans un pain abricot-raisin-tournesol garni de bacons, oignons, pommes vertes, céleris et mayonnaise maison et un choix de frites ou de salade mesclun” / (Google helped and translated the above to English for me: “Duck Confit Club Sandwich – Served in an apricot-raisin-sunflower bun topped with bacon, onions, green apples, celery and homemade mayonnaise and a choice of fries or mesclun salad”.  the dip for the very tasty french fries was “choix de mayonnaise maison” and the small salid had a fabulouse rasbary baslamic vinigret. Desert was Mousse au chocolat (I think that has to be one of the best types of Moose). If you make it to twist, this may tempt you to stay in town for dinner or a late lunch.

After a delicious dinner, we headed for the highway, through rolling hills and past a very picturesque stream, which I keep meaning to stop and take pictures. Unfortunately, shortly after getting on the highway, we found the highway was closed, so wound up enjoying rock cuttings and farm land while following a very round about detour. (We eventually found out the road was closed for paving.)

pick up truck (licence plate obsured) has bound (tied up) small couch in back.6) I suspect I have been watching/listening to too much US political news on you tube. We saw this in front of us on the detour. Can you guess my first thought as to who must be having a quick getaway visit to Canada?

We did make it home after enjoying parts of Quebec we had not seen before. I spent the rest of the evening reviewing Fridays photos and posting some on the OVWSG Group FB page, I did a bit of investigating on the internet since I regretted not buying one of the rolls of felt.

WoolGrown Company web site: www.woolgrowncompany.com

WoolGrown Company on Face book: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568471715075

This is a Canadian company, based in southern Ontario. It is a lot closer to drive to Twist (Just over 1 hour east), than to drive west, well past Toronto (Over 6 hours south-west of Ottawa). (Which is why I was trying to get back to twist on Sunday.)

As I heard at twist and saw on their web site, they were looking at ways to diversify their farm production (sheep farming).  On their web site i found links for Wool pellets for mulch, Garden & Horticulture Felt (which was the felt I purchased on Friday, but not the option with holes precut in it for plants) and Sheep Tea Pouches. In their booth, were also examples of; felt art, Felt Jackets, Felt Bags and felt Pots as well as the felt itself.

I tried messaging the company on their Facebook page (but they were likely very busy recovering from day 1 of twist) since I knew going back on Saturday was not an option. I would have to hope to be up and running… er, walking… ok rolling on Sunday.  Glenn said he was up to joining me again, (he was hoping for more Comfy duck), so off we went back to Twist early Sunday morning.

large roll of felt (hordicultural) 3' tall and very long. sitting partly behind sign saying Feild and Fleece7.1) 3 foot tall roll of wool felt!

Ah good they have not sold out, but as I got closer, there was a lot of stock missing. The 10 foot by 1 foot rolls were gone and so were the other sizes I had seen on Friday (Drat). Luckily, Sunday morning at opening was not as busy as Friday, or I heard Saturday had been, so they said they could cut me a piece from the big roll.

mesureing out 4 feet of the lenght from the roll mesureing out 4 feet of the lenght from the roll7.2-7.3) I got 4 feet of the big roll.

I am hopeful I will be able to use this with my picture felting students. I need cut pieces that are a bit bigger than 5”x7” finished picture size.  I want my students to feel the difference 100% wool felt feels, when compared to the cheap part wool, to full acrylic non-woven options for picture felting bases.

close up of some of the pices i purched from this vendor. 8.1) “Horticultural”, as you can see there is some kemp and a bit of VM. Even so, it looks like it will make a good base for picture Needle felting.

Let me show you some of what I wound up with from this vendor, I will show you the rest later. I am looking forward to investigating this wool felt, hopefully soon.

Today (which will be yesterday as you read this) we headed south of Ottawa to Kemptville for a much more intimate fiber festival. I had wonderful chats about felting and fiber and thoroughly enjoyed myself. (Glenn read a book and had another nap, I told you fiber events were extremely relaxing, soon all husbands will want to attend with us, just for the quality napping!!) I would like to show you a couple of interesting displays and booths there too, but let’s finish off visiting Twist next. Don’t forget to save a bit of virtual or actual money for shopping at Almonte Fiberfest on Sept 6th 2025 if you are in the area!!

Summer Needle felting Demo, July 12 2025

Summer Needle felting Demo, July 12 2025

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Summer Demo at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum

I have spent the week, investigating possible new cars, trying to fix the cell phone that had just been Fixed with a new sim card, so I can chat with my car’s Doctor and my bank. After one call out it is again refusing to let anyone talk to me. (it’s not that I get a lot of calls, but some day the visa purchases I am told I made, while I was sleeping, will be delivered.  What will I do with all those amazon iPhone? I wonder who is getting them and who’s visa it is that keeps paying for them?

Was it a few weeks ago I was out at the father’s day Blacksmithing event in Dunvagen Ontario. While there, felting and taking pictures of blacksmiths, I was asked if I could come demo felting for their fiber and fabric event in July. I said I was interested but would have to confirm closer to the event.  I am still not back to feeling like myself yet.

flyer for the event 1.1) the add for the Glengarry Pioneer Museum event.

So beside the phone and the car,  I spent part of this week trying to find my demo stuff to do a display of both 2 and 3 D needle felting.  (I should probably have found Miaka’s giant fish to sow wet felting,  but as I said I am still not quite back to normal and seem to still be forgetting to think of things.)

Of course I need to take the Mer-Boyfriend I was working on too. Now where did he wonder off to? he went into the guild a couple weeks ago, I am sure he came back. What is it with Mer-Teens wanting to play hide and seek in my house?? We searched the bags that go back and forth to the guild, no, I looked in the office, the bedroom and was trying to search the living room. Glenn even checked the basement. I was so disappointed. Maybe he had found Miss Mer and they were hiding together? Maybe I should collect the rest of what I want to take and then look again.

I got the Moose bag with the landscape and the bags of fiber to work on it from the hall and added it to the commercial felt bin with handles. Glenn said he found the sample punctures down stairs. I found the green tool bag and extra foam garden needling pad to work on. I found the bag of core wool of carded roving from World of Wool and wound a couple big balls of wool from it. (I am going to have to get some more soon I hope Ann needs something from them!) I had Glenn’s moose bag hanging in the bedroom, when I grabbed it, it was lumpier than I remember it being…. I looked in and guess who was hiding inside? Mer-Boyfriend!!!

map from Ottawa to Dunvagan Ontario. about an hour driving.1.2) a bit of a drive with all the construction on the highway

Saturday July 12 2025, Glenn loaded the car and we were ready to go. oh my, its seems a bit warm out! As you step out the door it feels like you are wrapped in a very worm wet wool blanket, except for the wet part that would sound nice, but the blanket is wrapped around the head too and you are trying to breathe through it. Not so nice, really. If only my car would consider letting the AC work, well I still remember cars without AC so rolled down the windows. The drive was not too bad once we were moving and we arrived with time to set up.

Other than hot it was a beautiful sunny day, booths were scattered around the museum grounds and buildings. I had a fabulous spot on the covered porch at the corner of the building and very close to the handy cap parking! We loaded up the grey box on the walker and threw the black car blankets on top. Glenn brought the other bags and we quickly set up a display. I turned the commercial felt box on it side so the opening was towards the back of the table where I would be sitting. This gives both a spot to hide stuff, like my camera, extra work tools, and wool, as well as give height to the display. I used it to lean the Mer’s against as well as one sitting on top of it. it also supported the two moose bags and the picture of the winter round bales. I had miss manta and Sharkette sitting in front of the work area and the little aluminum folding table from the car had the fox face picture.

setting up felting demo display felting display 2D and 3D Close up of the Mers (Mer-Persons)2.1-2.3) the Mer’s getting ready to People watch and hoping for a tennis match.

When I have the Mer’s comfortable,  we can made a quick tour around to see some of the booths before people started to arrive.

Glenn took a few shots of the demo as I was working and chatting. They will show the display better and prove I was actually there!

old chair beside display of felting2.4) Glenn had the cool chair and a book on architecture as well as my old camera.

Ottawa Valley Hay rolls in winter2.5) Winter hay in the Ottawa valley

manta ray and sharket in forground jan in background Mr. Mer, Sharkboy, Jan in back ground2.61-2.62) Proof I was there (I never seem to be in the photos!!)

Fox face clsoe up needle felting in a way similar to watercolour2.7) Fox and my sturgeon reference photos

open sided barn with quilts displayed inside closer vew of a few of the quilts3.1-3.2) There was a quilt display in the open sided barn

I was hoping to get back and take some close ups, But kept having people stop and ask lots of questions about needle felting. I hope I got them inspired to try it.

first people ariving for the event table and sign and people4.1) Oh no I better hurry, the first few people are arriving. (Glenn is manning the demo so we can go take a quick look around.)

Most of the venders were under tents.

Booth with sewen items4.2) Sewing

Knitting and sewing itums4.3) Knitting  and Sewing. I think the pom-poms will melt shortly!

pop up tent with Alpaca yarn underneeth4.4) HUM selling alpaca yarn and teddy bares. I didn’t see any fiber but I tried to get a quick look.

closer vew of yarn and alpaca bare display4.5) a close up of some of their stock

Chrochay itums4.6) Just past the building with the forge there was a booth with crochet. I got distracted looking ahead, and almost missed her!

looking ahead towords more log buildings with tents with booths 4.7) There are booths hidden under the trees and by one of the log buildings.

Oh there are more booths hidden by the open carriage barn! I almost missed them too, lets look over there first.

There must be fiber here somewhere!

a large display of sweadish weaving 5.1) Swedish weaving. it’s a type of needle weaving on already woven fabric. The patterns were very interesting.

close up of sign and some of the patterns5.2) Swedish Weaving Guild of South Glengarry and Area

tables of booth beneath large trees 5.3) I think this was a display of Lace but I didn’t ever get a chance to get back and look. They had a lovely shady spot!

Rug hooking demonstration and display table beside5.41) this was a display of rug hooking

Rug hookers display table close up5.42) some of their display

crocheay anagarumi5.51) Anagarumi gnomes, bees, and sea creatures!

anagarumi bees and cow5.52) close up of the bees and the Cows I didn’t notice!

braded ruggs5.61) Braided rugs, the one on the end I particularly liked the colours chosen

braded rug display with cool old sewing macheen 5.62) cool sewing machine

the Embroidery guild display of work5.71) the embroidery guild display

the embroiderers and more of there work5.72) the embroiders enjoying the shade

AH HA!! I found fiber people!

2 seated drop spinners and one seated carder 6.1) Drop spindles and fiber prep!

I found out later there was a drop spindle competition between three of the guilds represented here today.   Think I was told it was The Twistle Guild of Glengarry, the Kingston Handloom Weavers & Spinners Guild and the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners Guild (OVWSG).

I better get back to work soon or I will get fired before I get started!

Oh there is one more booth on the way back, it advertised bespoke Tartan kilts! (But no modeling display!!!) Sorry I got distracted by the tartan sample books and missed the kilts on the table.

books of tartan samples Historical recreations of tartens7.1-7.2) tartan sample books

Ok, now to demonstrate needle felting. I am focusing on making the flattish bottom of the sturgeon so I will have to build up on either side of the wrapped armature.

Mer-Boyfriend in progress. focusing on underside of fish parts8) Mer-Boyfriend in progress. focus is on under side of fish part of body

I explained multiple times why i was making a Mer-Boyfriend to lour the missing teen-Mer back to the office.

I was doing quite well with chatting and working on the under body,  then realized there were booths in the school house too. Since the people seemed to be elsewhere it’s time to take a quit trip to the bathroom then on to the schoolhouse!

Oh this is where the fiber people are!! Two of the booths have drop spindles, one selling Ashford and the other had their own design. Quite hefty but I tend to like heavy whorls (I was tempted) I got distracted by second hand quilting hoops and bought 2.

spinning tools and wooden knitting needles more tools and qui;t hoops in the back ground9.11-9.12) Tools

one of vendors showing how to use a drop spindle9.21) Drop spindle demo to a customer she had batts on the shelves at the back too

bags of fleece some washed and some raw in various breeds9.22) washed and unwashed fiber various breeds

Here is the winner of the 2-hour drop spindle competition. They were each given, the same amount, of the same fiber, and had to spin the longest even amount (?).  I am not sure if they had to ply it, or if they were spinning singles.

the drop spindle compatition winner was from the OVWSG10) this is the competitor from my local guild who won!

Mer-BoyFriend is progressing11.) odd I was sure I took a lot more progress pictures as I was working.

It was close to 3pm and I wanted to make a quick run (ok running is not really quick and it doesn’t look like running…) but I had wanted to go take pictures of the quilts and see what the yarn seller beside the wall-less barn was selling.  I had a couple more people come up, just as I was wheeling away from the table with my camera who had questions about needle felting. By the time they had run out of questions, I looked up to see this.

the quilts are being taken down close up of the one i had been admiring as i worked12.1) the quilts are disappearing!

Which quickly became this:

packing up the venders and quilt display12.2) 4pm and packing up

Oh well, maybe next year?

I did have a lot of great conversations, including with the photographer I saw at the blacksmithing weekend. He gave me a few more tips on the new camera (we both were admiring each other’s lenses)

I got an invitation to demo in Van Kleekhill but I found I was still feeling the drive, so it’s probably too far out for me yet.

I packed everything away and Glenn got it into the car. Which was quite warm… I think that the temperature outside the car said 38c. it seems hotter in the car… let’s roll down the windows. On the porch there were occasional little breezes blowing through, but when the breeze drops and now we are in the car, that blanket we are breathing into seem to be even wetter and warmer than this morning!

We stopped at the gas station before getting on the highway home, to buy cold peach drink and a Fresca.  Ah that feels so nice.  Window down as long as we are moving it feels a bit better.  Just wait a couple months and we will be complaining about the cold.  I guess we have got to enjoy the lack of snow banks while they are missing!!

The hot weather is grate for washing fleece when you don’t have hot water outside. So it’s not all bad! However, it has taken about 3 days to get the washed fleece to dry. I have now started the third batch of the giant white fleece and it got an extra rinse in the heavy rains with the thunderstorm yesterday!

In case I was feeling up to staying for the social tonight at the guild I brought someone to work on. The Mer-Boyfriend seems to be in a rush to get more work done so I had better get back to work before he wants to felt me! I did get a good chunk of library work done, but I was feeling wiped again by the early afternoon so did not stay for the rest of the social. Mer-Boyfriend got his hands on the felting needle I had been using on the weekend. He was all set to do a bit of work on himself!

Mer-Boyfriend with felting needle stuck in his low back13.1) still a lot more work to do on the under structure

Mer-Boyfreind getting ready to self felt!13.2) I had better get that needle away from him soon!

I hope you enjoyed the drive out to Dunvagan, Ontario, and that it wasn’t too hot for you. (the car said it was 26+humadex on the way out and 36+humadex as we headed home.) Have fun and keep felting!!

Quicker and Cheaper?

Quicker and Cheaper?

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For some years now I’ve been selling my work in local galleries and from a  ‘fisherman’s hut’ in Whitstable harbour market.

For many traders in the harbour market, sales seem to have been down over the last year, and I’ve noticed that people are frequently buying smaller and cheaper things from everyone, like smaller pictures, or prints rather than original pictures. Sales in the galleries have held up a bit better for me so far.

I decided to see if I could produce some felt pictures more cheaply without compromising on quality.

I wrote here last September about having to make a lot of pictures for a big exhibition. I developed a new line of work that I could produce at speed. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2024/09/05/the-mother-of-invention/

I decided to take my nuno printed tree pictures one stage further to make them a little smaller (less felting time, fewer materials) and offer them unframed (lower material costs).

I’ve realised that using recycled silk or fine wool scarves is a quick way of creating patterns within a felt picture. It can significantly reduce layout time as your fabric does a lot of the work for you.  I then thought that I could cut down on fulling time as well if I made two pictures at a time. 

I then had a presentation question.  I normally have my frames handmade by a local maker. Would I go down the mass-produced frame or the no frame route? I decided to start with the no frame option. I found a provider of inexpensive but good quality picture mount kits that include a back board, mount and cellophane bag.

I made the felt for four pairs of pictures; cutting them apart before printing a different tree on each. I took these photos as a record rather than to present so they’re not the best, sorry.

For the top pair I used a fine wool scarf, for the bottom two, a silk scarf
A recycled silk scarf provides the pattern for this pair
I’ve used a fine wool scarf for these

Do you have a favourite? I think the one top left is mine.

I had 5 weeks of sales / exhibitions in June (one of two weeks and one of three, overlapping – I know, poor planning) and sold 4 of the 8, so I’m pretty happy with this experiment.  What next? I will probably make a few more of these and I might source some sample frames to go along with them. Maybe I’ll get my local frame-maker to make one then buy a couple of cheaper mass produced ones so people can see what the options are.  Framing is much more expensive than many people realise. I’m also offering photos of some of my bird felt pictures, and prints of some of my (non-felt) photographs in the same unframed format. I’ve sold three of these so far so will see how they go.

I thought I’d finish with a follow up to my sample making blog from March. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/2025/03/09/auditioning-fabrics/

I made each of the samples into cards and here they are.