2023: Year in Review

2023, we did less with more... or something like that.   We are in our fifth year as a collective and we have had a more passive year than in the past.  Our founding members have had other pulls on our time, injuries and just other priorities, but we have still been able to host a good swap, pass on some knowledge, play with others and say yes to some fun opportunities. We were able to be sustainable, not over tax ourselves or members of the collective, but still grow as a collective, making connections to new community (institutional) partners as well as connect with, support and learn from new artists so what more can you ask for?  Here are some photo highlights season to season from the year that was.

images (from left to right, top to bottom, more or less):  gifts for the neighbourhood via LITTLE FREE LIBRARY, Spring CLOTHIG SWAP images: poster and site, set up volunteers selfies, Leah and Leona sorting clothes.
second row: (still at swap) Leslie modelling a purse, Shams teaching repair during power outage, Nancy drafting a pattern.
third row: long line of swap volunteers mid clean up R
fourth row: Some individual work of our members: WiP member and textile activist Shams el Din rogers as a guest on Check your Thread podcast.  She's also been on Stitch Please and probably more.  A couple of winter repairs from Tanya, Leah working on The Gathering, a show she co-curated at the Textile Museum of Canada. Our new shed outside the church and the key. 

January to March: clothing swap and winter solo projects

We partnered with Glebe Road United Church at their request, to co-host a clothing swap while their tenant school was on a 2 week break.  We had done something similar in 2019 and had worked with the church since the Reverend Cynthia had returned in our last neighbour-to-neighbour swap.  This was our first return to indoor one site swapping and it was fantastic.  Great turnout despite the rain (and a power outage) we had visiting artists doing demos, members leading repair and upcycling workshops, a makers swap on the side... it was super fun. 

Otherwise the winter was mostly individuals working on their own projects to try to make the world a little more sustainable. 

images (from left to right, top to bottom, more or less): spring blossoms, poster for eco market, Tanya and Alex at the Edgar Allen gardens Eco Market for Earth Day, Alex wares for sale, poster for Ringing in Spring Community Fair in Davisville's June Rowlands Park
Second row: lavender sachets and Book sale from Earth Week events at Davisville PS (sign materials and swap supported by WIP), WIP workshop poster and book at Ringing in Spring Event May 6
third row:  Leah pounding flowers, poster for HRP, flowers, bunting picture over picture of Leah , Tanya and Marnie (plus Astrid) community drop in flower pounding table at Ringing in Spring
fourth row: Iki from Humber River Pals holding up finished bunting, a couple photos of making bunting at Humber River, a coiling project (learned from Lora) some pride earrings made by Ursa and Safiya, Alex at Hogstown Market (poster and pride patches)  plus Gabrie sewing bunting. 

April to June: we say YES a lot

We are invited to take part in an Earth Day Eco market at the Botanical Gardens in Toronto, to support a swap at a school, to host an activity and run a booth at a community fair in Davisville, run a drop in workshop for busy volunteers in Humber River and help some guides sew T-shirt bags for a badge (not shown) Some of our members are exploring more making opportunities, like Alex who is busy vending at craft and thrift pop ups across the GTHA.

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mages (from left to right, top to bottom, more or less):   first and second row left side 5 images from a Work party! a small gathering with a mission- logo removal on a pile of donated clothes from a private school.  altertered clothes on a clothesline, button repair, shams at her machine, Marlene holding up a patched cardigan, instagram post about where it all goes.
First and second row, right side: Tanya recording a puppet parade with Musical story Studio (side art, still environmental) then 3 images and a poster from the DT Resale market. Tanya and Leah at the WIP booth, Leah with Sharon and customer, patches for sale
third row:  Fort York workshops: sign with goods, Fort York wide shot, Alex and young maker below, Lora and Sandra mending outside FY schoolroom, Alex sewing with Amy and Delphine. then 4th row Jennifer with visible repair, group outside the schoolroom, Lora and Gabrie
Third, fourth and fifth row (right side group): Tanya and Ursa dying overalls for welcome week volunteers, overalls in vat, Marnie and Ursa dying overalls, instagram post from @Macindigenousss, some of the finished overalls with embellishments. 

July and August

Like last year, we decided not to initiate anything during the summer, but just see what came along... and a lot came along. We met in Tanya's backyard for a work party mid week in June and did some logo removal with new sewists (WIP member Shams saying YES to donated textiles to keep them out of landfill.) We said YES to running a table at a Double take experiment (their FIRST Community Resale Market) and we said YES to hosting workshops at Fort York city museum(now free to the public)

At the end of the summer we gathered in Marnie's backyard to do an epic dying session. Tanya's daughter Ursa was co-planning Welcome Week at her university and tapped Marnie to share her textile knowledge and WIP to help dye a dozen cotton/poly blend overalls... no easy feat, but they looked gorgeous.

images (from left to right, top to bottom, more or less):  Donated vintage sewing machine, Repair Fair poster repair table with Tanya, Leah and BR ringer, Tanya and Susan at Climate Commons (we donated bunting but not shown here), a jack-o-lantern
Second row: Leslie modelling her scrappy overalls, Cassie and Tanya with stuffing from Cassie's couch ( a donation to WIP) Leah sewing at the BR repair table, poster for Eco march, Little Free Art Library in Marnie's front yard.
third row: (after Leslie) poster for Country Clothesline (workshop lead by Nancy), donated twine passed onto artist Lora for a workshop, Coiled bowl in progress, free shelves and donated shed space, found chair recovery project
fourth row: Tanya filling in as facilitator at BR "Do-it-together" workshop at Moss PArk Market, participants holding up sachet, poster for coiling workshop, "Winter of care and rEpair" post, Shams posting a dailing repair
fifth row: Moss Parlk Market with new space. participants making sachets, co-leader holding up sachet, Shams post about darning, Homemade tree decorations from scrap textiles 

September to December: facilitating donations, making connections and stepping up

We had hoped to do another Back-to-School Swap but we lacked community support and dealt with another round of Covid.  But again, we said YES a lot, we gave support to artist projects (for example, loaned bunting to climate commons, shared information about workshops and shows online), and tried to find homes for unwanted textiles and tools via donating, collecting and redistributing, sharing online and in person.  For example, a neighbourhood friend donated  a curbed vintage sewing machine (it still needs a home) another dismantled her couch and donated the stuffing (which is becoming futons, yoga mats, stuffies in the hands of various makers.)  and another artist made good use of some donated twine for a coiling workshop.

We had a couple of opportunities to play with our friends at Building Roots - Leah and Tanya hemmed a lot of pants at a Repair Table (run during Market hours, Saturday 11-3) and also covered a workshop for Kate Hamilton, part of her Do it Together series for beginner makers. Love that Moss Park community.  Individual artists in (or friends of) the collective did some vending, ran workshops, made things from scraps and found objects, and shared repair stories (Shams was inspired by the online challenge issued by US Textile activist Jeanne Wigger: #winterofcareandrepair2023 challenge online (still ongoing until the vernal equinox in March 2024)