Hello everyone! As the Vernal equinox approaches, we emerge, blinking into the sun... to find snow still on the ground. Nevertheless, Spring is coming and we are making plans to play together: a Spring clothing swap, a community fair, some explorations with plants and fabric.
It has been a long Winter, frankly we are grateful to be emerging intact. We have members of varied ages and circumstances, so some have been busy with university, some with home renovations, with craft sales, repair challenges, aging parents, winter projects- and all of us needed rest to restore our spirits. There is comfort in the repair and assessment allowed by the Winter season.
We have many potential projects as Spring draws us back outside, and are trying to be careful about what we take on, so we can sustain this work in progress. Below are a few things we have said "yes" to, and there may be more before the next newsletter, so please follow us on instagram for quicker updates. We have a Spring clothing swap coming up very soon, March 25, so please reach out ASAP if you would like to take part as a donor, volunteer, artist or advisor. Details below.
Be kind to yourselves and each other.
In this newsletter:
Spring Clothing Swap March 25
Gratitude check: thankful to the village we inhabit across Toronto and Hamilton
2nd Annual Ringing in the Spring Community Fair May 6
Spring cleanup: Reuse & Repurpose with Humber River Pals May 7
Earth Day market (Community members) at the Botanical gardens
Links
SPRING CLOTHING SWAP
(March 25 2023: Midtown Toronto at Glebe Road United Church)
Davisville Spring Clothing Swap (hosted by Works-in-Progress art collective and Glebe Road United Church)
Keep good clothes in circulation- donate your gently used clothes and pick up some new to you clothes- all free!! There is enough for everyone. This is open to anyone: bring a friend! Pass on clean, dry gently used clothes in bags labelled by size, and get some new to you Spring clothes. All sizes, all ages, gender free.
Location: Glebe Road United Church 20 Glebe Road (near Yonge and Glebe, midtown Toronto)
Date: March 25 2023
Time: 11am-2pm
Cost: FREE (bring your own bags or fill one of our upcycled TShirt bags for $5 or pay what you can)
Items: gently used clothing and shoes all sizes
Info at www.works-in-progress.ca
Contact with questions, suggestions or to volunteer (good for teens needing community hours): Tanya Murdoch at: works.in.progressto@gmail.com
To donate in advance: please drop off clean, dry, gently used clothing in plastic bags labelled by size. You can drop off inside the Tullis street entrance during administration office hours BETWEEN MARCH 20-24:
Monday 9:30-11-30, Wednesday 9:30 - 2:30, and Friday 9:30 - 2:30
Or on the day of the swap (March 25) between 9-1. Thank you to all the volunteers in advance- we welcome more hands always (and feel free to shop while you are helping)
ALSO ON SITE: repair advice and upcycling space - try out a sewing machine, make an upcycled T-shirt shopping bag! No experience needed.
This is now an annual event and we are building on past success, with great volunteer and institutional support- we were last in this space for March Break 2019 and are happy to have an all weather event again.
Gratitude Check our village build on trust
Our collective has no physical home- we come together for events or host work parties in backyards or parks- so we count on institutional partners or the generousity of friends and neighbours to host swaps and do workshops.
We store the "best of" remains between swaps, because we can. This allows us to have a "starter" for swaps, and occasionally we are asked for emergency clothing donations. For the past few years, we have used a private shed in our friend Amy's backyard- with their imminent move, we have found another local shed solution in the property of Glebe Road United Church.
This Spring swap (also at Glebe Road United Church) is a one off, but we usually do a series of swaps in the Fall, and our community partners Building Roots have been gracious about allowing us room in their workspace for temporary storage.
We are always grateful when people literally share their keys with us, and allow us to have good neighbours across the city.
Ringing in the Spring second annual community fair on May 6 in June Rowlands Park
We are back for the second annual Ringing in the Spring community fair in June Rowlands park with community partners Appletree Markets hosting. This will NOT be in conjunction with a swap this year, but we have ideas. We will definitely have our Repair and Reuse advice table, may have some upcycled goods for sale (proceeds go to the artists) and a maker swap (patterns, tools, that sort of thing) and will be leading a "Mother Earth art hour" with an upcycled craft drop in workshop from 11-12.
Appletree will also be starting a new market adventure at the Toronto Botanical Gardens come April, and we hope to play with them in that gorgeous setting.
Follow us on instagram for more updates on this and all our events!
Flower pounding + bunting
a drop in workshop with the Humber River pals May 7
So, this will be a busy weekend, with events both days, but we have been wanting to play with these humans for a while. Humber Rivers Pals lead a group of volunteers in a monthly clean up of the Don and like to reward their hard work with some fun, so we will be providing the fun. Current plan is to pretty up some old sheets/fabric scraps by dying them through flower pounding AND use that gorgeousness to make bunting for future events. May 7, 10-12
