Sally is a very special pattern of mine. It's a collaboration, an invitation, a special project, a beautiful yarn, but also a great cause to support. Let me explain why and how you can do your part to help this cause as well.
An Invitation from the Twist Festival
Last Summer, the Twist Festival invited me to the Twist X Designers project. My mandate was to create a pattern based on a moodboard of inspirations, from a local fibre. The launch and pre-sale dates were already defined in a pre-holiday strategy and we were also invited to think about giving back some of the money from the sales to an organization that is important to us, in a spirit of generosity and sharing. I immediately knew what organization I wanted to support.
MAIH and I
In 2019, as part of my job, I got to know the Montreal Association for the Intellectually Handicapped when I organized an arts-based summer camp for its members. Dance, theatre, music and visual arts were on the agenda and I wanted to get involved a little more. I offered to give an introductory embroidery workshop.
Embroidering is like drawing, but with thread!
It was a truly inspiring camp week. I had never been around a person with an intellectual disability before and all the participants truly moved me with their joie de vivre, their curiosity and especially their love: a love of life, of others and of discovery. These moments spent with them really allowed me to take a stop, to see life through other eyes and to slow down, to breathe. It was so sweet on the heart and the soul.
Creativity, sharing, thread... There were so many links between my involvement with MAIH and the Twist X project that I chose to give 50% of the sales of the pattern created for the occasion, Sally, to the association.
Sally, a Patchwork Pillow Cover
Sally is Jack's girlfriend in Nightmare Before Christmas. Made of several pieces crocheted and then sewn together, I named this pillow cover after this character because the stitching reminded me of her. While Tim Burton's films may seem dark to some, to me they represent nostalgia, comfort and home, so many key words that guide the 2021 edition of the Twist X designers project.
Sally's character is sweet, intelligent and generous, but shy and reserved because of her
her difference, though she gains confidence and confidence throughout the film.
Intermediate level pattern, to be crocheted with worsted weight yarn and a 4.5 mm hook.
You Can Make a Change!
Since my MAIH camp experience, I have become a member of the MAIH Youth Ambassadors Committee. Our mandate is to spread the word about the Association and its cause in new networks and also to attract donations and visibility.
What does philanthropy mean to you?
To me, donating can have many forms: making a $2 donation when you pay for your groceries. Volunteering. Making an online donation ($) if you can. Encouraging your employer to make a corporate donation. Serving on a committee or a board of directors and offering your expertise. Buying a sweater, mug, or dinner that gives back money. It can also be buying a patron for which the designer gives back to a cause!
Every donation makes a difference. For an organization like MAIH, donations are used to provide services to people with intellectual disabilities: adapted programs, advice and support for daily life and access to financial and material resources, or supporting special projects such as the construction of adapted housing.
Theatre night, anyone? Here's your cue to buy a ticket for for the Soirée-théâtre Janine Sutto on January 31st. It's just $35 (the show is in French).
What's Twist X Designers?
Twist Festival is one of the biggest events in the fibre business in Quebec. It reunites makers, fibre producers, designers and yarn lovers at the same place. The Twist X Designers is one of their initiatives and promotes local makers and producers' work by putting forward some inspiring collaborations.
For a new designer like I, be invited to take part in Twist X Designers is truly an homage!
(IN FRENCH) See my interview with Éveline from Twist right here.
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