The Village Craft Line The Markham Guild of Village Crafts Newsletter March 2014 Calendar of Events 2014 Tuesday, March 11 General Meeting 7:30 pm. Tuesday, April 8 General Meeting 7:30 pm. Saturday/Sunday May 10/11 Colourstruck. This event will give our crafters and the Art group a chance to sell their work in the spring from our building. We will be looking for items to jury and sell at this new event. Tuesday, May 13 General Meeting 7:30 pm. It is quilting month! Message from the President I am totally convinced that spring is never going to come and we are caught in this never ending cycle of snow and cold. I would give anything to look outside the guild and see flowers poking their little leaves up in our front garden…..but….I guess we have to wait at least a little while longer . Things were humming along nicely at the guild until the roof decided to leak near the office, down the walls and into the basement leaving a huge mess. We are dried up at the moment BUT I am leaving things open and buckets set up in the event of another melt. The roofers have been and had a look but they cannot do anything for us until the snow is gone and the flat roof has had a chance to dry out. Please bear with us while we wait and see if there is any more water damage to come. As soon as we deem it safe, we will put things back where they belong and tidy up the mess. Our glass painting session in February was a big success. Many thanks to Linda Black for leading us on a very interesting adventure. If you missed it, the supplies are still available, if you would like to try your hand at using the new lead and paints. Saturday, May 24, Bits and Pieces and Parking Lot Sale Tuesday June 10 Annual General Meeting 7:30 pm. Dessert Pot Luck and Rosemary Oliver, a renowned multi-media artist will be joining us for our March meeting on the 11th at 7:30 p.m. She started out with embroidery then quilting for many years and many of you may recognize her from that part of her life. Over the last few years she has learned to spin and felt and has created some very interesting pieces that have been featured in shows Annual Themed Craft and various art publications. Rosemary is an ardent naturalist and sees the Competition beauty in her surroundings and tries to bring that into her work with a little whimsy and a great sense of fun. She uses thread and other materials to create a story. Being very environmentally friendly, she sees the value in using things in new ways. Rosemary volunteers at the Pickering Museum, fixing costumes and planting a dye garden (plants that were traditionally used for dying fabrics and wool). Her other passion stems from her former occupation as an occupational therapist and that is volunteering at Windreach Farms a riding stable that is accessible to people of all abilities where she is working on a sheep to shawl project at the farm. I think that you will find Rosemary very inspiring no matter what your major craft is. Our April General Meeting will feature Lucy Garvin from Wonderfil. Lucy is going to bring along the latest threads and if you think they are only for sewing or quilting you are wrong. Lucy is making jewelry and doing all kinds of wonderful things with thread so mark it on your calendar now for April 8th. Page 1 May is quilting month. You will want to see all the latest fabrics and fun that will come with Nicole from Log Cabin Yardage. If some of the reprints of vintage fabrics, fun prints for kids and glorious florals don’t inspire you for any project, not just quilting then come and see the colours and yarns and see what is new and available NOW! June is our annual competition. You will need to think of the past. The theme this year is Vintage. This means that you can make something out of vintage fabric, use a vintage pattern, make a vintage craft item like lace or try your hand at an old craft that has long been forgotten. Make sure to read the rules posted later in this issue and put on your thinking caps and get to work! Spring will come and so will new ideas but keep crafting! Louise CREATIV FESTIVAL 2014 The first Creativ Festival of 2014 will be held April 25 and 26 at the International Centre with Free Parking. If you can volunteer to help man our booth, please speak to Peggy Kwan. Peggy has worked tirelessly for the past several years co-ordinating with the Festival and organizing teachers for them so that the Guild can have a free booth. We express our appreciation to Peggy but she would like some help and to train someone to carry some of the load with 2 shows per year. I ask you to think hard about volunteering your time and skills to a very rewarding cause. The second Creativ Festival will be in October at the Metro Convention Centre and Peggy is already looking for people to teach. If you would not mind sharing your skills with the rest of the world let Peggy know. You can reach Peggy at 416-497-7340 or by email at peggykwan@sympatico.ca. COLOURSTRUCK - MAY 10 & 11, 2014 The Thursday art group, otherwise known as the Village Pallettes, has organized a show and sale at the guild on Mother’s Day weekend, May 10 and 11. We have decided that it would be a good idea to work together and have a spring craft show and sale at the same time. We are planning on running this sale as a single cash juried show. This means that anybody that would like to sell their wares would be able to send us a note and some photos of the work that they would like to sell and upon acceptance we would arrange for delivery of the goods to the guild on the Friday before the sale, display the items and hopefully sell them. The guild would retain 15% of the sales (or 10% if the vendor works a shift during set-up or during the sale) and the remainder would revert to the vendor. This way we do not need to sell booth space and it will keep the costs down for the vendors. I hope that you will all consider putting in your hand crafted items so that we have a glorious spring display filled with colour and beautiful items. You can start applying now by emailing a letter of intent and photos of your work to the guild at Markhamguild@rogers.com or drop your note and photos in the mailbox so they can be forwarded to the jury as soon as possible. We have had many inquiries in the last few years about selling via the guild now that we no longer run the guild shop and this would certainly be a place to start. Please join us in this venture as it has been a while since we ran our former spring sale known as Another Bloomin Craft Sale. Page 2 If every member of the guild puts at least one or two items in the sale then we would have a most spectacular display. I do not think that this is too much to ask. The guild is what you make it and we have some of the most talented crafters in North America among our members. Don’t be shy, and take a quick photo of the item and send it to the jury. Your participation can make or break this effort by the guild to keep us in the spotlight in Markham! BITS AND PIECES - SATURDAY MAY 24TH 2014 Keep on cleaning out your stash and bring your donations to the guild. Don’t leave them on the porch in the weather and mark your bags and boxes to the attention of Diane. She has been working away measuring and sorting the donations but we would like to see a lot more come in before the sale. Items must be clean and in good condition of course and must be craft related. Please no Christmas lights, stuffed animals and household items. If you want space in the parking lot for that portion of the sale, please email Diane immediately and drop your cheque for your spot in the mailbox at the guild. If you have not paid you will not be able to pay and set up on the day. If you get rained out, we will refund your money. Materials can be picked up if you have large items or need some assistance please call Diane at 905-470-0973 or email her at dirand@rogers.com or call Louise at 416-283-1938 or email at president@markhamguild.com SUMMER COURSES AND CAMPS We have just sent off a pretty decent list of classes for the May through August period to Markham Life. We will have ongoing Quilting, Crochet, some Sewing and other classes. Please check the website over the next little while and come out and support your guild. If you have children or grandchildren we are again running summer sewing and craft camps. These are half day ventures with the ability to take craft camp in the morning, have a supervised lunch and then take sewing camp in the afternoon. The kids that have attended in the past have come back for more and new projects are planned each year. Please contact Darlene at 905852-4114 (after April 1) or Louise 416-283-1938 or email the guild at markhamguild@rogers.com for more information. Guild Challenge 2014 - “Vintage” For 2014, your challenge is to create something using an element of “vintage” in your work. You could…  Use a vintage pattern: Aunt Martha’s embroidery, Vogue  Do a vintage craft: Tatting, Black silhouette, Macramé  Use vintage materials: Milk crates, Blue jeans  Create a vintage image: The Night Watch, Sepia tone photography  Use a vintage colour scheme: purple & orange, olive, orange & lemon, dusty blue & dusty rose  Use a vintage motif: Mushrooms, Centennial logo Your entries can be drawn, painted, quilted, hooked, sewn, printed, woven, sculpted, calligraphy, potted, knitted, or any other way you can express your talent. Page 3 We want to see your creative, colourful, clever and beautiful creations! Bring your work to the last meeting of the year - June 10th 2014 Rules and Regulations: 1. All entries must be the work of the entrant. 2. All entrants must be members. 3. Only one entry per member. Two Prizes of $25 each 1. Betty Rigsby Award – Members’ choice for the Best in Show 2. Most Creative Award – Members’ choice for the Most Creative and Clever entry overall Challenge Chairperson: Kathy Nelles CRAFT OF THE MONTH – SEPARATE FILE QUILT SHOW FLYER – SEPARATE FILE  2013-2014 MGVC Executive and Board of Directors President: Vice President (Acting) Secretary Treasurer Course Director Equipment Director Newsletter Membership Building Director Webmaster Louise Bonnycastle - 416-283-1938 - president@markhamguild.com Diane Randall - 905-470-0973 - vp@markhamguild.com Carol Thomas – 905-471-7801 - secretary@markhamguild.com Rebecca Sham – 905-737-5248 – treasurer@markhamguild.com Emma Woolfenden – 905 294-4027 – courses@markhamguild.com Diane Randall – 905 470-0973 – equipment@markhamguild.com Emma Woolfenden – 905 294-4027 – newsletter@markhamguild.com Betty-Anne Lynch – 905 294-8995 – membership@markhambguild.com Diane Randall – 905 470-973 – building@markhamguild.com Elaine Merrett – 416-577-2984 – webmaster@markhamguild.com Office Hours and Information The office is open from mid-September to mid-June. Mondays from 9 am to 12 noon Thursdays from 10 am to 12 noon Markham Guild of Village Crafts 11 Church Street, Markham ON L3P 3V5 Phone 905-294-7421 Email: markhamguild@rogers.com  Page 4