One UnBeelievable Year

Can you bee-lieve (sorry, had to) that the Beehive Craft Collective has been around for a year already? It's flown by in a blur of meetings and workshops and craft fairs and art installations. Not to mention the fact that many of us are full-time makers and/or entrepreneurs in our day-to-day lives. Needlework, Sweet Ice Snow Cones, Bespoke Uprising, Jenna Rose, White Elephant... sometimes it's exhausting to even think about. But that's also the really great part about a collective - the joint support from everyone involved working towards a common goal. I often think about how honoured I am to be a part of a group of such awe-inspiring and talented women.

We're gearing up for some exciting things this year too. We are super excited to be participating in the Craft and the New Economy symposium on March 10th at OCAD University. We'll be doing a pretty informal presentation on how to start a craft collective within your own community, while also providing materials for a crafting circle. We'll have everything you need to join in making paper piecing hexagons, but everyone is encouraged to bring their own projects as well.

Ever since we saw the Quilts! exhibit at the AGH we've all kind of been obsessed with quilting bees and friendship quilts, and this is where our idea stems from. A collective project while discussing forming collectives. We'll be presenting from 6pm-8pm and we hope to see some of you there. It should be an amazing event all around.

We're also working on our submission to be a part of this year's Supercrawl. All we can really say about it at this point is that it will be another large scale textile installation that has the opportunity for community involvement. Does Jenna's sketch give you any ideas? I didn't think so. The Bees are really hoping to be a part of this for a second year, so cross your fingers for us!

And the question that we've been asked most often lately - will we be putting on another Summer Craft Fair?  Honestly, we're still figuring out the logistics of this, as we've lost our beautiful location from last year (very happily to CBC) and it's caused kind of a snag in our plans. If not a full scale craft show, be sure to look out for some smaller trunk shows throughout the year. Either way, we'll be sure to keep you updated on our plans.

Thanks for following us during our first exciting year! We look forward to what 2012 will bring for us all.

A Bee Abroad

In October, I temporarily left the hive to move to London, England, while I study for my master's degree in textiles at Chelsea College of Art & Design. I chose Chelsea because its Textile program has a focus on sustainability, which is becoming an increasingly important aspect of my work, and outlook on life. Chelsea has an unique research centre, TED (Textiles Environment Design) which is part of a larger partnership with Central Saint Martin's called the Textile Futures Research Centre. For anyone interested in textiles in general and sustainability specifically, explore both their websites for volumes of fascinating research and inspiring projects.



My MA project focuses on natural dye printing, something with which I've long wanted to experiment. So much of my own work and teaching involves screenprinting, and as much as I love the beautiful effect of printing with conventional fibre-reactive or acid dyes, I worry about the long term health and environmental effects of all the chemicals involved in the process. I've had a lot of experience using natural dyes for immersion dyeing, some of which we've shared with you here on the Beehive, but little experience with using natural dyes for printing. I had a sense of how they might work for printing, but I'd never really tried to use them.

I thought the perfect way to begin would be to take a workshop at the Maiwa Symposium in Vancouver, which is also something I've always longed to do but could never fit in, as the symposium falls during the fall school term. The workshop at Maiwa gave me the confidence to get going!





Since arriving in London and settling into the studio at Chelsea, I've been experimenting with the colours I can produce using the various natural dye extracts available from different sources. Maiwa, Couleurs des Plantes, Couleur Garance, Earthues and Pure Tinctoria all sell a variety of ready-to-use natural dye extracts from ethical and sustainable sources. The extracts are relatively easy to use as they dissolve in water, but you can also make your own extracts from dried or fresh dyestuffs.

I thicken the extracts with a gum to produce a paste appropriate for screen printing. So far, as I'm only in the early stages of testing, I'm stencilling the print pastes onto mordanted cloth rather than screen printing, which will come later. The colour testing will also involve pushing the range of hues by shifting colours by adding acid, alkaline or other mordants to the colour after it has been applied. What you see here are some of my early samples in progress, which give you an idea of the range of colour you can achieve using all natural colourants, all derived from plant and a few insect sources.





A large part of my investigation is researching the plants that produce dyes, and their chemical, cultural and economic histories. I've been making ink and crayon drawings of these plants from historical herbaria (scrapbooks of preserved dried plant specimens) to develop imagery which I will later use in screen printed patterns.

When I return home, I hope to share my newly gained knowledge with anyone wanting to learn more about these precious and wonderful sources of colour. Read more about my project over the next 6 months as it progresses on my blog, now up and running again after months and months of neglect!

A New Dress

I'm not totally sure how, but as a mother of three small children I can find time to sew - usually things for the kids. Projects range from clothes, bibs and quilts to dolly diapers and dress-up costumes.

I was recently given a gift from a friend who specifically said that I am always making things for everyone else, so now I can make something for myself. I was so excited to recieve a Colette Pattern, not only to make something for myself, but also because these patterns are simply beautiful to look at and hold. Well printed on good paper in a compact little booklet. The pattern was simple enough for a hobbyist sewer to follow.

The Macaron Dress has what they call a "sweetheart top with a contrasting top yoke." I just call it cute.

I like the pattern so much, I decided to trace it onto freezer paper before cutting it out. This took more time, but I think it was well worth it. Within two days, I had assembled the dress, with a few little distractions.

My favourite part in any dress is finding out it has pockets, so when I noticed the pockets in my pattern I was over the moon. When I finally tried it on, I found it a little tight in the bodice, but letting out the seam allowance fixed it up great.

I am very pleased with this pattern, and I am definitely going to sew it again and again, now I am just searching for the perfect material.



I would highly recommend Colette Patterns, and if you head on over to their website they have a lot of really informative tutorials.

And if you live in the Hamilton area, You can check out Needlework, rumour has it they will be carrying Colette Patterns! Their grand opening is February 10th at the James St. North Art Crawl.

The Bees at Home: Projects in Progress II

We're into January now - one of the best times for crafting. There's snow on the ground (sometimes, at least!), and the air is cold, so sometimes it's nice to just stay in and make something. We thought we'd catch you up on on what's going on in some of our craft spaces...

First, Jen is making this amazing 'junk mail cross-stitch'. She brought it to knit night on Wednesday, and was explaining some of her reasoning behind this little project. One of the 'men of the beehive' is a mailman, and it's really personified the postal system for her. Thinking that the postal workers probably see a lot of 'no junk mail' posters', she wanted to add some personal time and energy to her sign. It also relates the very tactile quality of sending mail and that of cross-stitch. It's so great, Jen!

(The book she used for the alphabet patterns can be purchased here.)

As you might know, part of our identity in the Beehive is 'homesteading' - participating in a lifestyle of  sustainability and self-sufficiency. It's been amazing to see different members of our craft collective tackling these amazing and practical art forms of old, like canning, mending, natural dyeing, farming, and now weaving! Hollie is in the middle of a weaving class and has so far wrapped about 1700 metres of textile, prepped the loom, and should start weaving next week.

In other very exciting news, our very own Jenna Rose was a Featured Seller on Etsy last week! Jenna's handmade housewares and accessories are so beautiful, and regularly and proudly sported by members of the Beehive. Everything she makes is hand screen printed in house, and the illustrated designs are thoughtfully created by Jenna as well. I could go on and on, but the Etsy interview is a great read, so make sure you check it out here.

Lastly, you can always count on Kate to be working on at least one (but more likely three or four!) amazing project...this time it's paper piecing with hexagons. Basically, paper piecing is a hand-sewing technique that is used to improve accuracy when working with shapes that have difficult angles. You fold lightweight cotton around paper templates, and baste them in place. Once everything is whip-stitched together, you press the whole piece, remove the basting, pop out the paper pieces and voila! Super cute quilt top/pillowcase/placemat/table runner/whatever you want.

So, there are a few things that are going on in the background, here at the Beehive. We'd love to see what you're working on at home, or which projects you have on your radar. Just post your link in the comments. Happy crafting!

(You can see 'Projects in Progress I' here...)

Quilts! at the Art Gallery of Hamilton

Recently the Beehive was granted the exciting privilege of a private visit to the Art Gallery of Hamilton’s exhibition Quilts! A Gift from Carole and Howard Tanenbaum to the Textile Museum of Canada. As pretty much all of us are textile superfans, we gazed with reverence at the 17 quits on display, marveling at the textures, colours and skilled handwork at play in these Canadian, American and British works dating back to the 1830s.


Though many of their makers are unknown (and were certainly not releasing artist statements!) , the quilts in their distinctiveness inspired us to try to imagine the thought process involved in creating them. Pieced Quilt (1880) for example appears to have no rhyme or reason in the colour placement - the maker seemingly having worked their way through their scrap pile, moving on to one fabric as they ran out of the last. Randomness in this and other quilts through the interruption of pattern (or lack thereof) has very personal and charming effect. Equally charming are the backs of the quilts, which we attempted to sneak peeks at wherever we could and oohed and ahhed at the boro-like patchwork or sweetness of a simple cotton paisley.


Some quilts appear to have been made with a more distinct vision, or boast luxury fabrics such as brocades, printed silks, and patterned velvets. Pieced Quilt with Sawtooth Stars and Diamonds Pattern (1836) is a particularly stunning example of a quilt made with naturally dyed silk (prior to the invention of synthetic dyes 20 years later) and has maintained a rich colour palette of purples, maroons, greens and reds. The crazy quilts - irregular patchwork quilts joined through decorative embroidered borders - incorporate many different luxury fabrics as well pieces of cultural history such as Crazy Quilt in 30 Blocks (1885) which includes a ribbon showing the "Great Bridge - length 5989 feet" aka the Brooklyn Bridge which was completed in 1883.



As the quilts range from having been completed in the 1830s to the 1950s, there is some textile history to be learned in this exhibit as well. While earlier English quilts tended to start with a central medallion then finish with a distinctive border (much like an oriental carpet, as seen in Framed-medallion Quilt (1850)), by the second half of the 19th century, quilters began to structure them as a series of blocks arranged in a grid - making them easier to sew as smaller blocks could be made individually and joined later. This style of quilting is much more common today than the more labour intensive method of assembling the quilt from the centre outward. The topic of labour and time came up frequently amongst us Bees as we tried to imagine how many hours must have been invested and wondered how the makers found the time. In our current age of the instant the amount of time invested in the more complex quilts is almost unfathomable and something to be admired.


Though originally intentioned as functional pieces, the Tanenbaums (skilled art collectors) were clearly drawn to these quilts based on their aesthetic impact and artistry. In placing them on the gallery walls, we are asked to re-examine our relationship to these domestic objects that are so frequently lumped in with the curtains or the welcome mat - to consider them as works of art. These are not simply quilts, they are Quilts!


Quilts! A Gift from Carole and Howard Tanenbaum to the Textile Museum of Canada
On view until January 15, 2012
Art Gallery of Hamilton
123 King Street West | Hamilton ON | L8P 4S8
T: 905-527-6610
E: info@artgalleryofhamilton.com
artgalleryofhamilton.com

Photos by Hollie

Knit Nights at the Brain: Make Do & Mend

Earlier this month, a number of us Bees had the pleasure of attending a special edition of Knit Nights @ the Brain: Make Do & Mend. The evening was lead by the multi-talented and master mender, Becky Johnson, who to our delight agreed to stop in on Knit Night to share her mad mending skills, just in time for the chilly season ahead of us.



Armed with tins full of darning yarn and materials, Becky shared two mending techniques used to tackle the most daunting holes: classical darning, and swiss darning.







Classical darning is a mending technique that's used to repair existing holes in knits. This method is done by using an embroidery needle and yarn (of a weight that's similar to the knit being repaired) to create a warp between the two strongest rows on either side of the hole. The next step is to weave yarn through the warp, creating strong woven material that patches the hole, as well as reinforces the stitches around the damaged area so that the knit ceases to unravel. While the concept is easy to grasp, the real trick lies in creating a patch that matches the same weight and tension as the knit material below; too tight and the knit may bunch; too loose and the knit may sag. A darning egg helps in this process by providing a nice flat surface to work on, but a lightbulb (or even beer bottle, as was the case that evening!) would also do the trick, DIY style.

Most of us Knit Nighters focused on classical darning for the evening, but those who finished their repairs graduated to swiss darning -- a method of mending that's used to reinforce weak spots in woollens, not holes. In basic terms, swiss darning (also called the duplicate stitch) is done by threading new yarn through the knit, following the path of the existing knit stitches. Doing this strengthens the knit, thus preventing impending holes.

Unfortunately I didn't nab any swiss darning action photos, but I highly recommend checking out Becky's blog for some fantastic examples of her swiss darning, and other mending projects. (Sidenote: this is why I refer to Becky as master mender -- look at those socks!) Also worth checking out is this duplicate stitch video - a straightforward visual tutorial on swiss darning.

It was a pretty cozy Wednesday night at The Brain, and it was so nice to spend the evening learning a new craft, with both familiar and new faces. A super special thank-you goes out to Ms. Becky Johnson, for teaching us how to fix all the little (or large!) holes in our woolly lives.

Aviator

I always get excited when summer draws to a close and my most favorite season approaches. Fall has so many great things. Wool sweaters, apple picking, garden harvest, warm drinks, fires in the wood stove, and Halloween!



Growing up, my mom would make us the best homemade Halloween costumes - Pigs in Space, Frogs, Toasted Westerns, Pippi Longstockings, Care Bears, She-ra, and so on.

Now, as a mother myself I pride myself in making the coolest costumes for my kids (at least, what I think are cool). It sometimes takes some negotiating, to convince my three year old that he doesn’t want the generic store bought Halloween get up. And I always wait in anticipation to see if the tough critics will approve. Last year they wouldn’t put on their Red Riding Hood and Big Bad Wolf costumes until the actual day, and I am not going to lie, I was a bit worried.

So after convincing my son this year to be an Aviator, I got worried when he told me he was going to be a kitty cat or Wall-E only days before the big day. Luckily we both came through and the costume was not only simple but I’d say a hit.

I made the hat out of vinyl lined with fleece, I made a rough pattern and then shaped it to his head for a perfect fit. I borrowed my friends snap press to add a few finishing touches.

The goggles are a pair of welding goggles we had laying around the house (I just took out the darkening lenses). I found the almost perfect fitting jacket at a local thrift store added a fleece collar and pilot patch to the sleeve. A scarf and a mustache were finishing touches to our simple but very cool costume.