Jen Hiebert and her knitting circle are
creating a hexagonal quilt as a fundraiser for
Hives for Humanity. I
met her during her lunch break at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in a gallery
that has been transformed into a workshop and hang-out for textile
nerds. It's the brainchild of artist Lexie Owen called
The Textiles Institute.
When I heard Jen's group was making a honeycomb quilt, of
course I immediately thought of the old fashioned British paper
piecing method of quilting, but I was mistaken. The knitters are
making honeycombs from remnants of sock-weight yarn. Each piece is
stuffed individually before they are stitched together to make a very
funky and cosy quilt which will be auctioned off for the non-profit
organization that gives people the healing benefits of working with honeybees. The pattern for the quilt was
purchased from the Ravelry website, and if the group can't knit
honeycomb quickly enough to meet their deadline they might put out
the call for some helpers.
Jen was inspired to become a textile
artist by her grandmother who taught her crocheting and cross stitch.
She was lucky enough to study textiles in high school and then
Capilano College. Jen creates tapestry and garments. She works in
the Soft Shop at Emily Carr, a sewing room open to all
students so that they can integrate techniques and materials into
their work across disciplines. (There is a design class currently
working on outdoor gear.) The Soft Shop houses industrial sewing machines,
sergers, and a floor loom.
I also met
Louise Perrone in the
gallery, a accomplished jewelry artist who also happened to be working on a
project involving a honeycomb pattern. She was making a necklace out
of interlocking hexagons formed by stitching pieces of reclaimed
satin using traditional quilting techniques. Quilting is so hot right
now! She asked me where to buy beeswax (Welk's and
The Honey Shoppe on Main Street). Louise plans to make little wax forms (like the star above) which needleworkers use to wax their
thread so it is less likely to catch, twist, tear, or knot.
As Louise stitched and Jen knitted we did what all good slow fashionistas
do; we had a lively discussion about the politics and culture of fast
fashion and tried to unpack questions we had around the entangled threads that bind class, capitalism
and fashion. All in a day's lunch!
Hives for Humanity is
a non profit organization that enhances community through apiculture.
Through mentorship based programming we create flexible opportunities
for people to engage in the therapeutic culture that surrounds the
bee hive; we foster connectivity to nature and to each other; we
participate in local sustainable economies; and we do so with respect
and joy.
