I’ve long known of the Fibrations Festival, the event hosted by Knotty by Nature in Victoria, BC, the third Sunday of August each year, but I was never able to make the trip from Vancouver. Until this year! The early timing of the Jewish holidays coupled with eagerness to be amongst the craft community after such a long absence due to COVID-19, plus the unusual September date of the event, led to my stealing away for an entire day during my family’s busiest month of the year.
Sixty-eight vendors from around BC, most from Vancouver Island, displayed their wares on the grounds of a community centre, and through rain showers and bright sunshine, fibre lovers came together, many for the first time in over eighteen months. Yarn was aplenty, as were finished woven goods, and spinning fibre. The Victoria Handweavers & Spinners Guild, Victoria Quilters’ Guild, and Victoria Knitters’ Guild were all present, and The Makehouse, a Victoria fabric shop and sewing studio, held a felt-a-thon fundraiser for the Indian Residential School Survivors Society.
It was a true delight to meet Digits & Threads members and contributors in person!
Scroll through the image gallery, below, for a virtual tour of Fibrations. And look for us there next fall!
Correction: An earlier version indicated that Fibrations usually happens in September; usually the even is held the third Sunday of August.
fibrations-postcard1
For the first time since we launched D&T, we had something printed!
Fibrations Festival 2021
Vendor booths were all under cover, a convenience throughout a day that featured both rain and bright sunshine.
Fibrations Festival 2021
The Makehouse
Victoria fabric and craft shop The Makehouse displayed an orange gown with an invitation to trace your hand on the skirt, in memory of the Indigenous children who never returned home from residential “school.” The shop also hosted a fundraiser for the Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society.
Felt-a-Thon
The Makehouse fabric shop and sewing studio hosted a by-donation felt-a-thon, with money raised going to the Indian Residential Schools Survivors Society.
Kim, Coleen Nimetz and Catherine Knutsson
Meeting D&T contributors was also a true delight! Look for Coleen’s piece on raising silkworms, and Catherine’s writing about wool and yarn.
68 Vendors Participated in the Event
Fibrations Festival 2021
Bobbie and Kim
Meeting D&T members was a highlight!
Seeing More Contributors
Janna Maria Vallee of Everlea Yarn has written for D&T about tapestry weaving.
Meet Sarah!
Sarah’s a D&T member, and she’ll soon be writing for us monthly to round-up news from Studio Hours. It was wonderful to meet her in person after so many Zoom hang-outs!
