The Oakville Fibre Artists group, like our country, has strength that comes from diversity. Our cohesive group of 30 artists includes those who stitch by hand and by machine. We sculpt, weave, rug hook and use a variety of media such as collage, beading, felting and surface marking techniques.
Within the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre in Oakville, Ont., we create a warm, accepting environment. This nurtures and supports creators during for our time together each week.
The positivity of the group helps each member grow their craft in a safe space. We have a giveaway table, where one artist’s discarded book or material becomes another’s inspiration. Our weekly ‘show and tell’ time often leads to subsequent workshops where an artist will demonstrate a technique or the use of various materials. Recent such events featured echo printing of infusing dried leaves onto fabric surfaces, coiled weaving techniques and the effective use of water-soluble materials.
Further, the Centre also provides opportunities for two to three corridor show a year. where we hang works based on a common theme. Nothing placed in our shows is judged or juried, simply included and all impeccably hung by a team of our members who make everything “sing.”
Hanging by a Thread
Along with the space to practice our shared creativity, the Centre also provides opportunities for two to three corridor show a year. Approximately every two years, we rent the Centre’s main gallery space to exhibit a show entitled Hanging By A Thread. Our sixth exhibit took place in the month of March 2026.
For each show, an artist walk-through tells stories of how and why the pieces were made. These feed viewers lovely tidbits that make the pieces come alive. Often fascinating and inspiring, we share a sample of these stories, across the spectrum of media our artists embrace.
For example, Carol Stanley’s Honey Take Me Dancing (above) was created for a Modern Quilt Guild challenge, where the prompt was Sparkle. Inspiration came while listening to a Paul Simon song Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes. Carole sang the song every time she worked on it! She had fun creating these shoes from upcycled upholstery remnants and glass beads, but admits, “honestly if I danced in them, I would end up in a hospital!”
We hope you may be inspired to join us for our next Hanging By A Thread show, scheduled for September 2027.
Donna Funnell’s Coverlet of Comfort
This year-long slow-stitch project arose from monthly guided prompts by Kathryn Chambers. Each section slow-stitched and attached to the centre in a quilt-as-you-go method. A gift for the maker, it explores self, family and ancestry. I used many types of stitches and embroidery: running stitch, buttonhole, couching, satin stitch, back stitch, woven stitches, kantha, Boro techniques, hand piecing and appliqué. The back exposes its back story and it is finished with a raw edge binding.
It began in January with the center block prompt of Self. I used cloth from loved ones, vintage fabric and a Joni Mitchell quote “don’t give yourself away.” It continued monthly from there with Home, Joyful Places, Friendship Stars, Flora and Fauna. In July, the prompt was My Place in the Family of Things (plants, animals and fungi).
The remaining prompts to complete the year and the coverlet were Ancestral Lines, Fragments of Memories and the Balance of Life (light and dark, my circles representing the sun and the moon). The entire year paid tribute to my love of hand stitching and cherished aspects of my life.
Final Approach by Caren DesBrisay
This marked my first foray into turning a photograph into a raw edge and needle-turned appliqué quilt, based on my picture of a flock of seagulls that call Tofino’s sandy beaches home. I improv-pieced the background, using my domestic Janome sewing machine to piece and free motion quilt it. Created from batik and cotton fabric, embroidery and cotton thread, with batting, in a wooden frame.
Pacific Giant by Caren DesBrisay
My favourite 500-year-old Douglas fir tree on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast inspired this raw-edge appliqué piece. It marks one of our favourite stops on the Health Trail in the mountain behind Robert’s Creek in Mount Elphinstone Provincial Park. I used wool, cotton and fireside scraps from my stash. My husband’s old jeans formed the tree trunk (the only way to get him to clean out his closet). It was my first attempt to use stretcher bars to mount the piece myself.
Mary’s Boa Bird by Nancy Hull
My fun-loving friend Mary decided she would retire her beloved boas at age 70 and take up more stately pursuits. I gladly accepted these feathery treasures to make cat toys and art projects. This funky bird helped me creatively repurpose a few of the feathers from that gift.
Mary’s Boa Bird stands on a tree trunk slice. My friend who turns dead trees on my property into firewood has learned to check the appearance of the cut surfaces of the logs. When he spots a beautiful pattern, he makes five-centimetre slices through the logs which result in cookie-shaped pieces. How sweet to use Mother Nature’s art in my art pieces.
Urban Meadows by Carol Stanley (in the background)
I drew inspiration from one of my daughter’s CD covers marking the first time I stepped away from patterns to make a quilt on my own. It was challenging to maintain the graphics since many areas did not have straight lines. This created an intense relationship with my seamer ripper!
When I finally got to finishing the piecing, it didn’t turn out square. In trimming it, I ended up sacrificing some of the detail. I tried to make amends by piecing the binding to match the quilt. It took a lot of tweaking to get it exactly how I wanted and I’m glad I didn’t settle.
As the quilt itself was very linear, I asked a good friend if she would longarm it with circles. She did a fantastic job and yes, each circle is done individually!
The Messenger by Karen L Ray
For this piece, I used painted fabric, paper collage and scrim. The cardinal reminds us that love never dies and those we have lost are always close at heart. The Lego logo in the torn magazine paper pieces holds a special meaning after the loss of my son many years ago.
Barriers by Karen L Ray
’Everyone has hopes and dreams . What barriers stop you from reaching yours?’ I began my artistic career in fibre but more recently moved to mixed media. In this piece I wanted to contrast the feminine aspects of the fabric with the harsh reality with which many women must cope. Using rust dyed fabric from a group workshop, cardboard and barbed wire fencing contributed by another member, a stark message was created for the viewer.
Families by Kristina Landstrom-Jaffe
My four-year-old granddaughter taught me how to make “uggli” dolls and I have created many different versions over the years. While I was stitching these dolls, last summer’s forest fires weighed on my mind. I thought of survival, happiness and children in a world full of scary challenges. That’s why the trees have no greenery, but flowers grow in the foreground. Felt fabric, yarns and beads are the materials. I hand stitch the dolls and flowers and use my embellisher for the trees and background.
What Does Canada Mean to Me?
For each Hanging By a Thread show, we try to incorporate a group project. This year’s project invited us to answer the question What Does Canada Mean to Me? We mounted the resulting 24 pieces by 23 artists on 12” by 12” stretched canvases. Next, project coordinator, Barbara Chapman, hung them with echoes of sky in the top and land in the bottom. The variety of media and interpretations exemplify the diversity of our artists. Diane Sutton created the Love Canada piece with the heart in place of our maple leaf by, stringing more than 82,000 individual beads to make it shine.
In the bottom right, you’ll find a piece called Christmas in Three Pines by Kathryn Curry. She knitted her version of the famous three pines in the community setting of the beloved book series by Louise Penney. Through a lovely quirk of fate and the friendship of another member, her piece will go to the author.
We hope you may be inspired to join us for our next Hanging By A Thread show, scheduled for September 2027.
