SOFAAR – Society of Fibre Artists of the Annapolis River

Posted on April 20, 2019April 20, 2019 by Christine Igot

SOFAAR launches “conception to completion” workshops

Concept to Completion

SOFAAR is offering members a program called Concept to Completion. This programming is intended for members of our society who want to try using their fibre skills to design and create an original piece of work or who are interested in learning more about how to take a concept for a work of fibre art and make it into a reality.

There will be three phases of the program; Concept, Execution and Completion. Members are invited to participate in one or all of the workshops depending on their specific interest.

The first phase of the program, Concept, will be held May 5, 2019, from 1:30 – 3:30, at the Granville Ferry Community Hall. We will convene a panel of fibre artists in Stitching, Art Quilting, Knitting, Rug Hooking and Needle Felting. They will speak about how they proceed in making a concept into a finished piece. Do they draw it first? Does their original concept evolve during the process? What are the technical skills required in a particular field of fibre arts? The creative process is unique.

Our panelists will be Penny Berens, Rachel Ryan, Cheryl den Hartog, and Heather Horsfall. A fifth panelist will be added at a later date.

Following all presentations members will have an opportunity to ask questions and gain information that they can use in their own work. Our panelists are happy to share their creative process.

Phase 2, Execution, is aimed at members who wish to work with a mentor in one of the five above-mentioned categories of fibre arts and who need help and encouragement with original design. This will be in a small class format with each participant having a chance to work on a project idea of their own while consulting with someone with expertise. Phase 3, Completion, is aimed at helping our members complete their original piece of work either for hanging on their own wall or for exhibition. We will have more information at a later time.

Please write to us at info@sofaar.ca if you are planning to participate in Phase 1, Concept, so we will have nibbles for everyone. Last minute attendees are still welcome.

If you willing to give original design a try and are wondering where to start Heritage Homes will be the theme of SOFAAR’s 2020 Members’ Exhibition, which will be held at ARTsPlace to coincide with the Annapolis Historical Gardens House & Garden Tour. Members will be invited to create images of heritage homes in fibre. The interpretation of the home need not be in a realism form; it could be abstract, it could be a collage of different features of the home or anything your mind’s eye sees.

Posted on April 20, 2019April 20, 2019 by Christine Igot

Snips and Scraps: lots of fibre fun!

One of SOFAAR’s largest events of the year (SNIPS & SCRAPS) took place on April 13th at the A.R. Firehall. Over 150 people attended to see 18 exhibitors featuring creative ways to re-use scraps of fibre &/or explain the environmental impacts of the textile industry. The success of this event was clearly evident by the high level of interest & enthusiasm generated throughout the day.

Although our exhibitors varied in age from grade fours to octogenarians, they all had displays that reflected their dedication to keeping fibre out of our landfills. A special thank-you to CARP as well as the students who entered the Student Challenge to create pieces from fibre that would otherwise have been destined for the landfill.

Congratulations to Digby and Champlain elementary schools who tied for first place in this challenge!

Posted on March 24, 2019March 24, 2019 by Christine Igot

Snips and Scraps Expo: April 13th

Sofaar invites you all to attend our Snips and Scraps expo on April 13th from 10 am to 3 pm at the Annapolis Royal Fire Hall.

Snips and Scraps is an event free to the pubic and open to everyone. It will showcase the uses for fibre waste: all those pieces of unwanted clothing, bits of fabric, yarn, fleece etc that fills our landfill sites.

Come on out and learn how to be creative with these fibre snips and scraps.

Please help us spread the word about this event by sharing the attached poster.

See you there !

Snips.Scraps.poster

Posted on March 23, 2019March 24, 2019 by Christine Igot

ONE room left for the Fabulous Fall Fibre Retreat!

An update on our Fabulous Fall Fibre Retreat 2019. There is now only ONE room left at the beautiful Hillsdale House Inn for the weekend of our Retreat (September 27th to 29).

And only a couple of day stitching spots left.

It’s going to be a wonderful, relaxing weekend of like-minded fibre enthusiasts getting together to work on their projects and enjoy the sights of historic Annapolis Royal with its Saturday Farmers and Traders market, interesting shops and beautiful waterfront.

For more information on the Retreat and how to book a room, please contact info@sofaar.ca

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Christine Igot

SOFAAR elects a new board

SOFAAR held its Annual General Meeting and Stash Day this past Saturday, March 9^th, 2019. The sun shone for us and some 35 members gathered for a fibre afternoon. The business meeting was followed by much browsing and selecting of ‘new-to-you’ stash, an exciting Show and Tell and lively conversation.

One of the key elements of the business portion was the election of directors. Some directors are returning: Rachael Cheechoo, Donna Godfrey-Conyers, Sharon Moody and Céleste Thibodeau-Stacey. Others have served on the SOFAAR board in previous years: Cheryl den Hartog and Cathy Malon. Yet others have agreed to serve for the first time: Rosaire MacNeil, Annette Parker-Smith, Tammy Sanford-Hutchinson and Betty Wade. The new board met briefly after the AGM portion of the day and elected directors to serve the members of SOFAAR in the following roles:

President – Cheryl den Hartog

Vice-President – Céleste Thibodeau-Stacey

Treasurer – Rachael Cheechoo

Secretary – Cathy Malon

We look forward to a vibrant year of fibre events – casual gatherings, exhibitions and learning events. We hope to serve you well. If you have any ideas for future, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

PS> We’re working on the next issue of Snippets and we need your help. Please send us your news. This could be a photo of a recently finished project (with a few words of description); news of upcoming guild meetings or workshops; exhibitions of interest to SOFAAR members; books, websites or blogs you find helpful or inspirational; etc. In other words, anything you think would be of interest to fellow members. Please send directly to our totally amazing Snippets editor at gracebutland@eastlink.ca.

On behalf of the newly elected SOFAAR directors,

Cheryl den Hartog

Posted on March 1, 2019 by Christine Igot

Fabulous Fall Fibre Retreat update

Only THREE rooms left at Hillsdale House Inn for our Fabulous Fall Fibre Retreat coming up in September.

We are going to have a wonderful weekend of quiet fibre work in the beautiful setting of Annapolis Royal.

For information on the last rooms available, please e-mail Hillsdale House Inn directly at: <reservations@hillsdalehouseinn.ca>

We will have room for day-stitchers. This means you can still be a part of the Retreat even if all the rooms are booked at the Hillsdale House Inn. We have a maximum of 30 participants. For information on day stitching spots, please contact info@sofaar.ca.

Posted on February 23, 2019February 23, 2019 by Christine Igot

3rd annual Fabulous Fall Fibre Retreat

SOFAAR is pleased to be offering, for a third year, its Fabulous Fall Fibre Retreat.

This event will take place the weekend of September 27th to 29th 2019 at the beautiful and historic Hillsdale House Inn.

Although this year’s programme has yet to been finalized, we can promise you lots of time to work on your projects in a quiet environment – the retreat is limited to 30 attendees -, a lovely meal on Saturday evening at the Inn, two receptions and a popular attendees show and tell!

Four rooms of the 15 available have already been booked for this event, so don’t hesitate to come and join us! There is even an early-bird Thursday night room rate.

For more information and for room rates (the same as last year), please e-mail info@sofaar.ca

We hope to hear from you.

2018 Retreat attendees busy at their fibre projects.

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Christine Igot

Saturday Snips Show and Tell

We had a wonderful show and tell at our Saturday Snips in Digby on February 9th.

This “new to us” venue was light-filled and a great place to work on projects.

Our next Saturday Snips will be on Saturday, March 9th at Saint Luke’s Parish Hall in Annapolis following our quick AGM beginning at 1 pm.

Linda showing off her very first hooked piece! Congrats on such beautiful work!

Rachael's stunning peacock in progress. — Rachael’s stunning peacock in progress.

Grace is continuing to embroider on her jean jacket.

Lynn's gorgeous knitted shawl. We all wanted it! — Lynn’s gorgeous knitted shawl. We all wanted it!

Ann Marie's Bluenose cross stitch taking shape. — Ann Marie’s Bluenose cross stitch taking shape.

Christine's embellished hooked Prince symbol in progress. — Christine’s embellished hooked Prince symbol in progress.

Posted on February 9, 2019February 9, 2019 by Christine Igot

Saturday Snips: February 9th in Digby

Our February 9th Saturday Snips gathering will take place at the Digby Heritage Centre at 7 Birch Street from 1 to 4.

We love seeing members come out with some show and tell and a project to work on.

Finding the Digby Heritage Centre is a little tricky, primarily because the building doesn’t have a sign on it. Go to Digby and continue down the main St. (WATER ST.) until you come to the yellow restaurant called “The Captain’s Cabin” on your right. At this point Water St. turns into Birch St. Ignore the street that veers off to the right. Directly across Birch St. (prev. Water St.) from The Captain’s Cabin is A PARKING LOT. The Heritage Centre is the small beige building with white trim and vertical windows at the back of the parking lot. It is back off the street and has 2 white flag poles out front. Look for the SOFAAR sandwich board. (You can find the building easily on Google Maps.)

SOFAAR looks forward to seeing you.

Our March gathering will also be our Annual General Meeting and it will take place on Saturday, March 9th in Annapolis Royal.

Day of the Dead Dog hooking in progress.

Posted on January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 by Christine Igot

Saturday Snips Gathering

Nineteen ladies braved the snowy roads for a fun-filled, or should we say fibre-filled afternoon of sharing and working on our projects on January 12th. SOFAAR welcomed three new members to the group today as well. A warm welcome to Ann, Lynn and Linda!

Kudos to Irene and Audrey for driving all the way to Paradise from Weymouth to share our afternoon.

It was wonderful to spend time together seeing new beginnings and on-going work.

Our next gathering will be in Digby on Saturday, February 9th.

Here is just a peek of what we saw today:

Cheryl demonstrates knitting from the hip to help rest the wrist!

New member Lynn shows off her beautiful hooking.

Tammy has started a new cross-stitch of a rooster.

And Betsy's Day of the Dead Dog hooking is quite a hoot! — And Betsy’s Day of the Dead Dog hooking is quite a hoot!