Your choice to support Fabric of Life helps us preserve traditional skills by hosting programs dedicated to weaving, construction, agriculture, traditional music, and so much more. We rely on the generous support of our amazing community and welcome donations in any amount. Every dollar raised goes directly toward supporting the mission of Fabric of Life.
New this year! Donations of $250 or more may choose to receive a special thank you gift.
*Please see details below.
We thank you for helping to sustain Fabric of Life by making your tax-deductible contribution before December 31st.
Description
2024 End of Year Fundraiser
Fabric of Life is a 501(c)3 educational organization that has just celebrated its tenth year since being founded by Executive Director, Becky Ashenden. We are dedicated to the preservation and passing on of traditional knowledge and skills that enrich our daily lives. All of us at Fabric of Life give thanks for the support received from individuals like you who value the work we are doing.
We Need Your Help to Preserve Traditional Skills
Your choice to support Fabric of Life increases our capacity to preserve traditional skills by hosting events dedicated to weaving, construction, agriculture, traditional music, and so much more. We rely on the generous support of our amazing community and welcome donations in any amount. Every dollar raised goes directly toward supporting the mission of Fabric of Life.
- Donations up to $100 help us cover our operational costs and continue doing the important work of carrying traditional skills forward.
- Donations up to $250 increase program accessibility and allow us to maintain our sliding scale fee structure for workshops.
- Donations up to $500 allow us to provide fair compensation to the talented individuals who work so hard to keep these traditional skills alive.
- Donations up to $1,000 enhance our scholarship availability for our 8-week Väv Immersion weaving intensive.
- Donations in excess of $1,000 ensure a strong future for Fabric of Life and enable us to plan for growth over the coming years.
New this year! Donations of $250 or more may choose to receive a special thank you gift: a handmade zipper bag or a handwoven holiday coaster.
Handmade Zipper Bag
Handwoven Holiday Coasters
* If you would like to receive a thank you gift, please be sure to include your complete shipping address with your donation and let us know which gift you prefer to receive. Gifts will be available as long as supplies last and are subject to change. In order to receive your gift before Christmas, please make your donation by December 10th.
We thank you for helping to sustain Fabric of Life by making your tax-deductible contribution before December 31st however you are most comfortable.
With Gratitude,
Becky Ashenden
Executive Director
Fabric of Life
If you prefer to donate by check, please mail your donation to:
Fabric of Life
c/o Joseph Blumenthal, Treasurer
39 Chapel St
Northampton MA, 01060
A Year In Review
With the help of donors like you, Fabric of Life organized engaging programs focused on bringing music, textiles, printmaking, handcrafts, agriculture, gardening and more to our community this year. Your donations allow us to increase accessibility to our workshops while still providing fair compensation to our workshop instructors and performers.
We began the program season in February with two intimate Fireside Orchestra sessions where musicians of all levels learned a variety of eclectic tunes. In late April, the Fireside Orchestra and Friends played a Contra Dance for a wonderful audience at the Buckland Public Hall in neighboring Buckland, MA. The hall was filled with music, food, laughter, and dance.
In mid-March, our dear friend and neighbor Peggy Hart joined us to celebrate her book, Wool: Unraveling an American Story of Artisans and Innovation.
In mid-June, a dozen participants gathered at Fabric of Life as local fiber artist, Michelle Parrish led a wonderful workshop on Planning a Dye Garden. The group worked together to plan and then plant a variety of cultivars that flourished throughout the summer months.
A few days later, award winning Cape Bretton fiddlers Troy MacGillivray and Mari Black led an intimate Fiddle Workshop at the farmhouse and then treated the community to a lively Cape Breton Fiddle Concert that packed the Buckland Public Hall.
Rounding out the month of June, we were excited to host a Working Oxen Demonstration, which featured 10 teams of oxen, a single hitch ox, and a team of Belgian draft horses. We had an enthusiastic group of spectators in spite of the cool, damp weather and successfully plowed the lower garden for a broom corn planting.
July featured Shelby Howland expertly leading a Tool Sharpening Workshop where a dozen participants learned to sharpen knives, scythes, and a variety of other tools.
In August, we hosted an amazing group of thirty musicians as we featured Jim Beloff and Kate O’Connor for our second Singing Ukulele Retreat. The afternoon was a wonderful mix of singing, playing ukulele, and learning new techniques, followed by a sit down supper and a wonderful concert.
Late August marked the beginning of our seventh Väv Immersion Scandinavian weaving intensive, with eight students accepted from around the world. Immersion is co-sponsored by Fabric of Life and Vävstuga Weaving School, and thanks to generous support from the Ddora Foundation, we were able to award $31,000 in scholarships to increase the accessibility of this opportunity to young people with a passion for weaving.
October was a busy month for Fabric of Life! On October 5th, we hosted a hugely successful Barnfest event, which attracted nearly 500 people to Bassett Road for a beautiful day of crafting, weaving, music, dancing, and community! This was our largest Barnfest event to date and we were overjoyed to have so many families and local folks attending for the first time, in addition to seeing many friends from previous years. Visitors enjoyed a variety of mini-workshops, demonstrations, and vendors offered by 35 participants, an amazing buffet meal featuring local ingredients, and live music from 10 bands as dancing continued late into the evening. We are grateful for the Shelburne Cultural Council and the Mass Cultural Council for their support of Barnfest.
The weekend following Barnfest, Michell Parrish led a full day Natural Dyeing Workshop to help us bring the lovely colors from our new dye garden to wool yarn. Later that week, we opened up the barn for our Väv Immersion Celebration & Grand Exhibition before we wished each of our Immersion graduates the best as they take the next steps in their weaving adventures. To finish out the month, we hosted two Broom Making Workshops with Eva Gaultney, where participants made a set of three hand brooms from broom corn, including some that was grown on-site!
Our final program of the 2024 season was a one-on-one Digital Printmaking Workshop with Master Printmaker, John Marcy. At the conclusion of the workshop, we opened the farmhouse to the public for a reception of John Marcy’s photography and printmaking work.
Join Us in 2025!
We are making plans to feature a variety of skilled craftspeople, educators, and musicians in next year’s programming and will announce those dates soon! We hope to see you in the coming year!
Barnfest: October 4th
Väv Immersion: August 11th – October 3rd
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