Snippets

July/August 2021

Saturday Snips Update for August

Summer is finally here, social guidelines are relaxing and our borders have finally opened up!

To recognize that many of us will be enjoying long-awaited reunions with family and friends as well as summer outdoor activities in general, we have decided to cancel Saturday Snips for August this year.

Saturday Snips will reconvene in September. Enjoy your summer!

Join us at The Courtyard

 Outdoor Stitch-Alongs

2 - 4pm on the following dates

World Embroidery Day Fri. July 30th

World Cross-Stitch Day Fri. Aug. 13th

International Crochet Day Sun. Sept.12th

The Courtyard Artists and Artisans, 212 St. George St., Annapolis Royal

Please join us with your chair, drink and whatever you’re working on!

(Current Covid Protocols will apply)

Member News

Our members are keeping their needles busy!

From Grace Keating: 

"I came across a pic of someone else's quilt on the Facebook embroidery site "Sweat Pea Machine Embroidery"  and thought it was a great design. We had three new additions in our family tree during 2021, a granddaughter in Mexico, a great-granddaughter in England, and another granddaughter in Penticton, BC. Although I have done mini patchwork blankets and a few quilted style pillows and mats, these are my first FINISHED quilts. I finished these two and have done a larger one for another granddaughter (6 1/2 yrs old) and have just started the one for the granddaughter born in June.

I've included a pic of Macy, at five months, on her baby quilt (which had been posted on Facebook - so that means 'it's out there')."

Lorraine Lafrance has been kept busy with needlework during the pandemic.

"Thanks to my kind and competent framer, I have a few photos to contribute. The pandemic continues to provide me with many hours to stitch!"

Pheasants in a Mediaeval Garden, a chart by Stitch World Cross-Stitch that I've had since the 1990s, made as a companion piece to the Unicorn Tapestry, a new chart from Tiny Modernist.

News and Articles

How to Paint a Quilt

My brother lives on his own and went through cancer treatment this past winter. Because of the travel restrictions I was unable to be there to support him. So I decided to create an art quilt inspired by a favourite photo of our father as a young man with his first car.

If I couldn't get there, at least Dad could. 

First, I scaled up the photo with a pencil drawing, then taped the drawing on a sunny window with a piece of washed cotton over the top. Using an erasable pen, I drew in the main figure and the car, which were to be the focus of the piece. 

Once I had the drawing transferred, I made a quilt sandwich with the sketched piece of cotton, thin batting and another piece of white cotton as backing. Using my sewing machine, I "drew" in the outlines and detail. I went over the lines multiple times to give it a "sketchy", energetic feeling. 

Next I got out my Pebeo fabric paints and Inktense pencils and blocks, looking for colour inspiration.I wanted some colour for this piece so I mixed navy blue for the car from the Pebeo colours and used the Inktense colours for other areas. (My brother told me later that he was pretty sure Dad's car was actually navy.) 

Because Dad was to be the focus of the piece.I chose to only add colour to the main figure, the car and a bit of shadowing to anchor things to the ground.

I had to paint in sections so that the wet paint didn't wick into other areas. I also had to be careful of how much water or medium I used to keep the colours contained. I would do a section and then leave it to dry over night. All in all, it took a couple of weeks to paint. 

I couldn't get the right gray for the suit from Pebeo and Inktense so I experimented with watercolour crayons I had on hand and textile medium. After painting a test swatch with multiple colours, I washed the swatch. Surprisingly, the colour held and I had the added bonus of a colour chart!  Watercolour crayons are now part of my quilt painting toolkit. 

His face stumped me for a bit. I couldn't seem to get the fine detail I needed to do this. So I put out a call for help and another art quilter told me to use aloe vera gel as a medium for my Inktense pencils. Another swatch test and I had my solution. It works like a charm and I can confidently add fine detail work to any art quilt paintings. 

When the main painting was complete, I drew in the background buldings, again with erasable pen, using a ruler to keep my lines clean and the perspective true. 

After pinning the quilt to prevent shifting of the large, unfinished areas, I began quilting those background lines in white and realized I preferred the subtle grey of the pen lines. It meant a run to Atlantic Fabrics for a spool of thread but it was well worth the time. 

Once the front was complete, I finished it with a binding that looked like tire marks, including corner pieces for hanging. A label on the back completed it.

It now hangs on my brother's wall as a reminder of the family that surrounds him, even when we can't be there. 

Aprille Janes

To back stitch or not? That is the question.

How many of us needle workers take into consideration how much back stitching there is when purchasing a new kit or checking out a new pattern? Or groan in dread at the thought of what comes next when you’ve completed the stitching in the pattern of your cross stitch, embroidery or needlepoint pieces?

Back stitching!

In the past, I hadn’t thought much of it but now I make a point of looking over a kit or pattern to determine just how much back stitching and detail the finished piece will require. Funny though, black work doesn’t bother me at all.

Back stitching which may be tedious, boring and uninspiring to many is actually what brings life to your finished pieces. It adds extra detail, outlines design and creates a beautiful finish to all your hard work. Why not show it off!

Tammy Sanford

Call for Yarn Donations

Using a knitting loom, I am making toques to donate to communities in need. I have arranged for my first batch to go to Fort Smith where a friend will distribute them through the local schools and the Salt Lake First Nation. I am looking for somewhere in the colder areas of Nova Scotia for another donation site.

I am using my own stash of acrylic knitting worsted but will soon run out. The pattern requires two strands of knitting worsted (weights #3 or #4) or one strand of bulky yarn (weights #5 or #6). Man-made fibres (polyester, acrylic, etc.) that are washable would be best but a superwash wool would also work. Please e-mail me at nutleyhunter58@gmail.com and let me know if you have anything suitable. I’m happy to pick up anywhere in the Valley. If you have a round knitting loom with 32-40 pegs and would like to help out, send me an e-mail and I’ll send you the pattern I’m using. The more the merrier!

Barbara Nutley-Hunter

Fibre Events

A very brief History of the Paradise District Quilters

And an Invitation to an Exhibition

Many fibre artists enjoy meeting regularly with people who share their love of working with fibre. SOFAAR is a group that includes a wide variety of fibre enthusiasts. There are benefits in being a member of a large group, organized workshops and programs, educational resources, exhibition opportunities and more.

Often, fibre artists will gather in a smaller, more intimate group and concentrate on a specific fibre art such as rug hooking, cross-stitching or quilting. I have been a member of the Paradise District Quilters, PDQs for short, since 1998. Begun in 1985 by eight quilters living in the Paradise and district area, the PDQs have met every two weeks since then, until early March, 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to all such meetings. Over the years people have come and gone for various reasons but until very recently the PDQs have maintained a membership of eight quilters. Three of us are also SOFAAR members, Shirley Bent, a PDQ charter member, Joan Bryant and me.

The advantages of belonging to a small quilt group are many and varied. Over the years The PDQs have met for sharing ideas, techniques, friendship and lunch. We have had workshops, fabric-shopping trips, quilt show visits, retreats and lots more in the last 36 years. Being part of the group has enhanced my quilting skills and encouraged and challenged me to explore more of the possibilities to grow and learn.

We have had a long association with the Macdonald Museum. Every five years, or so, the PDQs have had the opportunity to show their work at the museum and the display installed at the museum for the summer of 2021 is our eighth quilt show. We’ve titled the exhibition The Paradise Quilters Saved the Best for the Last. We are now a small group of five who love fabric, colour, design and tradition. We hope you will enjoy the show.

Céleste Thibodeau-Stacey

 Check These Out!

Member Resources

Be sure to check the Members Only page on our SOFAAR website for members' resources -- how-to articles, our lending library, etc. The password is sofaarsogood.

We also have a Members Only Facebook page where we share information, sources, inspiration, etc. Please join us there.

Time to Renew?

Is it time to renew your membership? Don't forget -- you can now pay your dues by e-transfer to info@sofaar.ca. What's easier than that?

A Note from the Editor

Hello from your new Snippets editor. I have some very big shoes to fill as I take over the reins from Grace Butland. She provided a top quality newsletter that offered a wonderful point of contact for our members, valuable features and interesting fibre news. Thank you, Grace for your five years of building this into the wonderful resource it has become. I would be remiss if I didn't also thank every one who contributes articles and photos for each issue. This would be an impossible task without your input.

My wish is to "do you proud" and continue to make Snippets something you look forward to seeing in your Inbox.                                                                                  Aprille Janes

The deadline for the September/October 2021 issue of Snippets is September 15, 2021. Please send submissions to the editor at snippets@sofaar.ca. We welcome your input and we're always happy to have members write articles about topics of interest. (If you'd like to write an article please contact the editor). We'd love to have your feedback.