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Next Meeting: May 16 | Doors Open: 6:30 | Meeting Starts: 7:30 Location: Innis Town Hall
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May Meeting
Annual General Meeting &
Guest Speaker: Kirk Dunn
Kirk is an actor, writer and corporate consultant – but his greatest love is knitting.
Kirk has been knitting since 1988 and began designing in 1996. He shares
a love of colour and complex design with renowned textile designers
Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably. In 1998, Kirk apprenticed at the Kaffe
Fassett Studio in London, England.
Kirk has designed several sweaters, afghans and pieces of knitted art.
His “Thousand Cranes” sweater design is award winning, his
“Symmetricats” pillow design was published in A Needle Pulling Thread,
and he recently designed a “Topsy Turvy” pillow for Topsy Farms yarn
producers.
In 2003, Kirk was awarded a significant Ontario Arts Council Chalmers
Foundation Fellowship for Stitched Glass, an installation of three
5’ x 8’ tapestries, knit in the style of stained glass, exploring the
commonalities and conflicts between Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Fifteen years later, Kirk is almost finished the final tapestry. With
the support of the Toronto Arts Council, Kirk and his wife, Claire Ross
Dunn, are co-writing The Knitting Pilgrim, a one-hour play to tour
with the installation. The play will explore the development and themes
of the piece: interfaith understanding and empathy in today’s polarized
world, as well as Kirk’s experience of working on one ambitious piece of
art for 15 years. The international tour will launch in
2018/2019.
He has been interviewed on CBC Radio’s “This Morning,” and has been
featured in A Needle Pulling Thread Magazine, Enroute Magazine, Family
Circle Knitting, Vogue Knitting, The National Post, Maclean’s Magazine,
The Presbyterian Record, Vogue’s Knit 1 magazine and the online knitting
magazine Knitnet.
Kirk was the feature speaker at the June 2006 meeting of the Toronto
Knitters Guild (formerly the Downtown Knit Collective). His talk was
turned into the documentary film Threads of Abraham. A short
version of this film is available on youtube.
Kirk can be seen knitting on various TTC vehicles across Toronto.
Vendor: Viola Yarns
We are pleased to announce that Emily Foden of Viola Yarns will be returning to the Guild as our May vendor.
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Message from the President
I can’t believe that I have been in the President’s role for almost a
full year!! It’s been a wonderful year, with lots of fun and lots of
learning. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the workings of
the Guild. Thank you also to everyone for all their encouragement, kind
words, and support. Putting on a monthly program and offering up special
events like the Frolic and the Bus trips is a team effort, and it’s
thanks to the Board and other volunteers that we have been able to do
it.
The May meeting means it’s time for us to have an Annual General
Meeting. We promise to keep it brief, but are committed to sharing with
you all where things stand with the Board.
The AGM includes the election of new Board members. All positions carry a
2-year term. Several of these positions have been vacant this year,
plus we’re losing 2 sitting board members.
Carole Adams has been on the Board for at least 8
years: 5 years as President, and 3 years as Treasurer, plus several
years as Frolic Co-chair. She says she is ready for a break from her
Board commitments.
Roberta Brown has been Newsletter Editor for 3 years and needs to step down due to work and family commitments.
Thank you for all your contributions, Carole & Roberta!
Here is how our Board is looking for the 2018-2019 year.
- President & Frolic Chair - Carol Mather Miles
- Vice President - VACANT
- Treasurer - VACANT
- Secretary - Jill Cameron
- Registrar - Anastasia Pelechaty
- Programme Coordinator – VACANT
- Newsletter Editor - VACANT
- Local Yarn Store Coordinator - Susan Loube
- Social Media - Ramona Ng
- Creative Director, Member At Large - Patrick Madden
- Webmaster - Vivian Goffart
- Webadmin - Sarah Gibson
- Past-President - Debra Rowland
While the deadline has officially passed, we are still accepting
nominations for the roles that are identified as VACANT. To date, we
have 1 nomination for Vice President and 1 assistant for Newsletter;
nothing for the rest of the vacant positions. If you’ve been sitting on
the fence, trying to decide whether or not to join us, please speak with
any member of the Board. We really do have fun!
Constitution Amendment:
In January 2018, the Constitution was
ratified unanimously by the Guild Membership. During the
membership review period prior to acceptance of the constitution, a
suggestion was made to include the Social aspect of the
Guild in our Purpose. During the Annual General Meeting portion of the May 16 Guild meeting, we will be asking our Members to accept the proposed revision (in italics) to the constitution as follows:
Article 2 – Purpose
The objective of this organization is to provide a community for knitters:
- to improve the skill and artistry of fibre-related arts,
- to increase the interest in and knowledge of knitting and related activities,
- to promote fibre-related crafts in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA),
- to be a welcoming social group within the fibre arts community.
If you have any comments or concerns about this revision, please contact Carol Mather Miles or any other Board member.
Carol Mather-Miles
Guild President
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Announcements
June 20 Meeting - Work of Our Hands Show!
This is Last Call for submissions for June’s Work of
Our Hands Show! This is the perfect time to show off that fantastic
piece of knitting, crochet, or other that you’d like to share. There
will be an MC to talk about your gorgeous item, and if you don’t want to
do the model’s walk, we will have models for you. Or perhaps you have a
friend who would be willing to show off your garment? We will also have
display areas for items that don’t show well in a fashion show layout,
like socks, pillows, blankets, etc.
Please submit the information requested in this form to info@torontoknittersguild.ca, or print the form, complete it, and bring it to the May guild meeting. Deadline for submissions is May 16. Full details are available on the Guild Website.
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New Memberships for 2018/19
2018/19 Memberships are now available for purchase.
This means New Members get up to 2 extra meetings for free,
plus up to 4 extra months of discounts at the Local Yarn Shops who
participate in our discount program.
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World Wide Knit In Public (WWKIP) Day
Won’t you join us on June 9th for a fun Social Knit at the Wychwood Barns Park?
Bring your lawn chair or blanket, or sit on the grass, and
knit, crochet, spin, whatever you like. The Farmers Market will
be happening at the same time, so a variety of snacks and
beverages will be available for purchase, or you can bring your
own. Washrooms are located nearby, within the Barns.
The Wychwood Barns are at 601 Christie St south of St Clair; the
Park is along the South side of the Barns. We’ll be there
from 8am to 1pm. Just look for the Toronto Knitters Guild tent
and Banner!
Don't forget to bring your Sunhat and Sunscreen!
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St. James Cathedral Toronto Presents an Exhibit of Textile Artist Hilary Rice
St. James Cathedral Toronto will be presenting the inaugural showing of
Hilary Rice’s new series, “Seeing Visions, Dreaming Dreams”. The exhibit
and sale of embroideries by multi award-winning textile & mixed
media artist Hilary Rice will take place from May 10-20, 2018. The
exhibit is free and open to the public. Donations in support of the
Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund welcome. More details are available on the St. James Cathedral website.
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Travel in Style to Prince Edward County FibreFest, May 26, 2018
Would you like to go to the Prince Edward County FibreFest in Picton,
Ontario, but don’t have a car or don’t fancy the 2-hour drive?
The Toronto Knitters Guild has booked a Luxury Coach to take
us!
There will be 2 pickup points for this trip. The first pickup will be
Finch Station, for people who are coming from central Toronto and points
West. The second pickup will be at Oshawa GO Station.
1st PICKUP – DEPART Finch TTC/GO Bus Station 8 am sharp
2nd PICKUP – DEPART Oshawa GO Station 8:30 am
ARRIVE Fleece Festival approx. 10:30 am
VISIT a Vineyard, approx. 3 pm (tentative)
RETURN Oshawa GO Station approx. 5:30 pm
RETURN Finch Station approx. 6 pm
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We only have space for 54 persons, so get your ticket as soon as they are available!
Cost per seat is $40*
Admission to the Festival is $5, to be collected on the bus (Exact change, please)
Admission to the Winery tour and tasting is $5 + 15% gratuity = $5.75, to be collected on the bus (Exact change, please)
Please indicate your level of interest in the Winery visit in NOTES when you purchase.
The bus is fully Wheelchair Accessible, subject to availability.
Please contact Carol at info@torontoknittersguild.ca if you have any questions or to confirm wheelchair availability.
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June Meeting
Work of Our Hands Show
June 20 Meeting - Work of Our Hands Show!
See above for details. We are still looking for contributions
Please submit the information requested in this form to info@torontoknittersguild.ca, or print the form, complete it, and bring it to the May guild meeting. Deadline for submissions is May 16. Full details are available on the Guild Website.
Vendor: Red Sock Blue Sock Yarn
 Red
Sock Blue Sock Yarn is a family run business based in Ontario,
Canada and was founded in 2013 by Ashley Ratnam as a way to further
share her love of fibre with others. The name of her company is inspired
by her daughter’s love of all things Dr. Seuss and the wonderful and
crazy adventures to be had.
Red Sock Blue Sock Yarn strives to provide high quality yarns in a
fantastic array of tonal solids all the way to vibrant and highly
variegated colors. Each skein is hand dyed with care on high quality
fibres spun in Canada.
- We will have the following items: sock kits, gradient kits, a mixture of our comfort sock, singleton, and cashmere sock yarns.
- Payment methods: we will be able to accept credit cards and cash only. No Interac.
- Discount will be 10% off everything but we do have to charge tax.
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The Toronto Knitters Frolic Highlights
Thank You to Everyone who helped us put on a successful 2018 Frolic!
It takes many hands to bring together the Toronto Knitters Frolic. We
could not achieve this popular and successful event without much
assistance.
A huge thank you to everyone who assisted with Frolic set-up,
fundraising table, admissions, line marshalls, information desk,
hospitality suite, frolic café, front & rear door monitors, raffle
prize table, book sale table, yarn winding table, and Dr. Knit.
Thank you to our Frolic Sponsor, Universal Yarns. They generously
donated the amazing Door Prize, which was won by Barbara Herridge. Ask
for these excellent brands at your Local Yarn Store.
Thank you also to our Vendors and Non-vendors for their continued
support and for their contributions to our Prize Draw. Following is the
list of the non-vendor contributors. View the list of our Vendors on the Frolic website.
All Dyed Up
Berroco
Black Sheep and Ewe
Eucalan
Frolic Café
Knit Stitch
Knitty
Les Belles Bouclettes
Rhichard Devrieze
Sugarbush
Tin Can Knits
Universal Yarns
Frolic T-shirts will be available at the May Meeting!
$10 each, Cash or Credit.
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April Meeting In Review
The first ever member destash was a great success!
Raffle
Lana Grossa Alta Moda Cashmere Yarn (3 balls) - Anastasia Pelechaty
Knit Nefertiti Bracelet Kit - Carol Mather Miles
Book: Exquisite Little Knits - Sara Joyce
Frolic Project Bags (3 Bonus prizes) - Marilyn Brady, D. Pejic, Sara Joyce
Show & Tell
We had a great Show & Tell with 4 participants showing items
big and small! Thank you to everyone who shared their projects: Nelia,
Susan, Sara and Vjera.
Feature Speaker: Fiona Ellis
While it may not be bathing suit weather yet, Fiona has us all thinking
about swimwear. From the full coverage of early twentieth century, to
the more cheeky Brazilian styles Fiona played out the path that has lead
to us to the modern styles of suits. While the presentation focused on
women's fashion, men's suits did have their brief moment in the
discussion!
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