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Woven collages by Ana Isabel

3/16/2021

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View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ana Isabel (@anaisabeltextiles)

Shop Ana's work
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Andrea Rangel

3/28/2019

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On Instagram stories local author and knit designer Andrea Rangel shares outfits that she has made by hand. She recently shared this beauty and since she did it in collaboration with local artists I wanted to share it here. Andrea self drafted the dress in fabric which was handwoven at Wovenwares, a weaving studio in Victoria, and then had it eco printed by local artist Caitlin ffrench. She knit the Docklight pullover in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. Isn't this the perfect early spring outfit?

Join Andrea's newsletter HERE

Janna

PS. Want to knit this sweater? Use our search engine to find out which local yarn shops carry Brooklyn Tweed yarn.
​
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Out of the Woods exhibition in Maple Ridge

8/22/2018

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Gloria Stanley, Beholder, 2017, 64 cm H x 68cm W x 7 cm W, Reed, pine needles, waxed linen, glass lens, photo image, sea branches, beeswax. Technique: coiled, stitched, encaustic.

​The ACT Art Gallery is delighted to welcome back the Whonnock Weavers and Spinners Guild for their first exhibition in the gallery in nearly 10 years. The intriguing title of the exhibition, Out of the Woods, draws on the larger theme of the September conference in Vancouver of the Textile Society of America. Both events demonstrate the deep and enduring connections between traditional textiles, and their reinvention for today’s needs and markets.

The diversity of the Guild, and the range in ages, amply qualifies them to take on the broad scope of this theme. As is often the case with the more successful guilds, the constant introduction of new members and ideas ensures a healthy exchange and awareness of new trends while the older, more experienced members ensure that high standards are upheld.

Unusually, for this exhibition, manmade textiles will be accepted (generally, only natural fibres are considered exhibition worthy). The exception is justified on this occasion because of the group’s challenge to demonstrate how synthetic materials can be transformed into both functional and purely artistic objects to great effect. It is this kind of outside-the-box thinking that has spawned materials such as tyvak, kevlar and goretex, synthetics that have been adapted with remarkable success in the building, safety, medical, sporting and transportation industries.

This exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Ellen Hamilton, a long-time member of the Whonnock Guild, and one who contributed at many levels, including the envisioning of the upcoming exhibition.

The Whonnock Weavers and Spinners Guild was formed in 1974, and welcomes the participation of felters, knitters, basket makers, dyers, rug hookers and anyone interested in these art forms. Members benefit from exciting programs including demonstrations, visual presentations, slideshows, workshops, sales and community activities. For more information, visit the Guild’s website at www.wwsg.ca 

The ACT Arts Council operates the ACT Art Gallery, located inside The ACT Art Centre. In fulfilling its mission to broaden and enrich the public’s appreciation and understanding of visual culture, it presents stimulating and diverse displays of artwork by local, regional and national artists and artisans.

Visitors are welcome to visit the gallery at no charge from Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 11am to 4pm, as well as on selected evenings to coincide with theatre performances.

Please visit us at www.theactmapleridge.org/gallery
Location: The ACT Art Gallery (at The ACT Arts Centre) 11944 Haney Place, Maple Ridge, BC, V2X 6G1
Exhibition Dates: Saturday, September 8 – Saturday, October 27, 2018
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8 from 2-4pm (free)
Hand spinning demos: 12:30-3pm on Fri, Sept. 14; Sat, Sept. 22; Fri, Oct 12 and Sat, Oct. 13
Regular Gallery hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11am-4pm and selected evenings
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Community Highlight // Caitlin ffrench

8/17/2018

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WEB // www.caitlinffrench.com
INSTAGRAM // https://www.instagram.com/ffrench/
RAVELRY // www.ravelry.com/designers/caitlin-ffrench
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A mini interview with Vancouver Mini Maker Faire co-founder Emily Smith

5/18/2017

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Vancouver's Mini Maker Faire is coming up on June 10th and 11th at the PNE Forum and after signing up to participate in the textile village I realized that I know very little about the event. I figured, surely I'm not the only one. So, naturally I wanted to find out more and share with you. Vancouver Mini Maker Faire co-founder Emily Smith agreed to answer a few questions! Lucky us! Read on for a mini-interview...
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JANNA: ​Hey Emily, Thanks for sharing about Maker Faire. Can you explain what it is and how have you been involved?

EMILY: Maker Faire was born in San Mateo and is a merging together of projects and subcultures. From Burning Man enthusiasts, to Silicon valley innovators, computer hackers, urban farmers, tiny house builders, art cars, and more - it's where people share their passion projects and wild feats of imagination. It's a celebration of DIY advocacy, and a place where failure is celebrated, and making "for the fun of it" is encouraged.

Vancouver Mini Maker Faire is an offshoot of Maker Faire, and was founded back in 2011 as a result of a wild idea thrown out at a "Super Happy Hacker House" at the Vancouver Hacker Space. A few of us got together with no previous event management experience, and with a lot of hard work and a community effort, made it happen. The faire is all about learning by doing, risk-taking, and bringing together community. I was involved as a lead organizer for the first 3 years and have since served on the board, and am now community ambassador, building the textile village stitch & bitch area and helping out where I can!
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JANNA: Is this the first year you're having a textile village? What will that look like?

EMILY: Nope! I've been organizing the textile village for about the past 3 years or so. So far, there will be some looms, knitting machines, spinning, and more! There are about 26 or so people signed up to craft together. We're still accepting more applications!

JANNA: Oh, cool! Yeah, I'm signed up for a 4-hour block on the Saturday. I'm bringing my 16" Mirrix tapestry loom. It'll be my first time at the Vancouver Maker Faire. I've actually only ever been to the Mini Maker Faire briefly last year in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast, so I'm stoked to finally attend and participate in Vancouver.

I love this idea of people in the community coming together to share their skills. In my own art practice, I've done a lot of crafting and sharing textile skills in public. I'm not very familiar with your personal practice, but from what I've seen online it seems like Maker Faire has influenced your art practice... or perhaps vice versa. Can you tell me a bit about what you do and which came first?

EMILY: Yes, absolutely! I learned to knit when I was a kid, and it wasn't until a few years before Maker Faire (around 2008) that I picked it up again. Reading Make magazine really inspired me! And showed me that knitting and handicrafts are relevant and can even be critical.

Once I started knitting again - with an adult brain - I became curious about the fibres that made up the yarn. I guess it all really came as a reaction against fast fashion and the negative impacts of fashion overall. That curiosity motivated me learn more about the various fibres, their impacts, and study more closely how those fibres were manufactured. I was spending time with hackers at the time, whose ethos was, "If you can't open it you don't own it" - and in many ways, I was looking at textiles in the same way. What would it mean to 'hack' your clothes?

I find knitting to be a very social activity - and I found that I definitely wasn't alone in my curiosity about how to work with cloth. Immediately I started hosting craft nights everywhere. My house, the park, the hackspace, etc. I really fell in love with the idea of connecting with others over making. 

In terms of what influenced what, I would say that Maker Faire and my own art process emerged concurrently. As soon as I was making for the love of it and sharing it with others, it became clear that my art practice was about empowering communities to take part and discover and share with one another. I share what I learned; they share what they know. In many ways, I'm more interested in the culture, conversation and performative aspect of making, than of having a specific art piece. I've made lots of different pieces that I'm proud of, but I choose to highlight the patterns of connection and discovery with others. 
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JANNA: There are more and more artists highlighting meaningful connections with others in their work these days. It's great! ​The craft and the do-it-yourself world are so prevalent online, but that space can be very alienating as each person independently navigates how to actually connect with people there. I'm still figuring out how to make the internet work for me in that way. I love that Maker Faire merges technology and actual socializing. It looks like an interactive science faire for the whole family. I was going to get a babysitter for the day but after looking through all your photos I think I would spend the day wishing my four-year-old could be there, too. I think I'll bring him and see what happens (maybe I'll bring a g-ma for back up)
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    ​Welcome to the Vancouver Yarn blog! This space exists to celebrate and spread the word about all events, new local patterns, products and businesses.

    Submit the details of an event or new locally designed knitting/crochet pattern, or other local DIY news and I'll post about it here. Thank you! ~Janna Vallee

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    Hi, I'm Janna. I'm the proprietor and natural dyer at Everlea Yarn, and the tapestry instructor at The School of SweetGeorgia. I am a tapestry weaver, longtime knitter and 2013 graduate of Concordia University's Fibres and Material Practices program.

    ​I created Vancouver Yarn in 2008 as a space to hold as much of the textile awesomeness that I could find in and around Vancouver. Here on the VY blog I mostly share about local events, pattern releases as well as share Community Highlights.

    Do you have an event, KAL, yarn or pattern release, launch or other thing you want us to post? Just fill out the form at the top of this page, or send your press release to me at
     janna (at) vancouveryarn.com 

    ​Thank you!


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​Vancouver Yarn is  a free resource which links you to shops, designers, artists and more, which are local to  greater Vancouver BC, unceded Coast Salish territory, and beyond.

Our links come from you - Thank you! If you tell us about a dyer, designer, shop (etc) we will add it to Vancouver Yarn. Read our inclusivity policy here.

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