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By Chair, on January 1st, 2005
An annual Kleinburg highlight in September is the Binder Twine Festival. It began in the late 1800′s when farmers came to the community to buy twine to bind their sheaves of wheat together. Charlie Shaw, owner of Shaw’s Hardware Store in Kleinburg, offered food and entertainment to the visiting farmers and an annual celebration was born, continuing until his death in 1931.
In 1967, a small committee revived the concept of Binder Twine as Kleinburg’s centennial project. It was so successful that it once again became an annual event. Occurring on the first Saturday after Labour Day, this exciting festival features juried craft exhibitors, great food and entertainment. It is organized and run entirely by over 800 volunteers from the community. Its success has resulted in benefits to the community, such as Binder Twine Park, support for local schools and clubs, new street signage, Kleinburg New Forest, and much more! There is a very special spirit of cooperation and celebration – “a community brought together with a common goal”
An exciting day filled with unique crafts, great entertainment, Olde Tyme activities and great food awaits the entire family. The entire site is wheelchair accessible. For many, the highlight of the day is a unique Queen Contest where eligible “young ladies” (age 16 to eternity) call a hog, flip pancakes, hammer nails, and even milk a cow! The first official duty of the newly crowned Binder Twine Queen is to draw the winning ticket for the festival’s Quilt Raffle.
Gates open at 9 a.m. Admission prices are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and teenagers, and $2 for children aged 2 to 12. However, if you come dressed in pioneer costume in keeping with the spirit of the festival, admission is free!
If you are interested in exhibiting your craft at the Binder Twine Festival, please CLICK HERE to download an Adobe Acrobat version of the application form. It should be printed, completed and mailed to the address at the bottom of the form by no later than April 15th. Please note in particular the Terms and Conditions.
See you at Binder Twine!
By Chair, on July 27th, 2010
It’s that time of year again!
Please join us for a fun-filled day with family and friends.
In order to make this year’s festival a success, we need VOLUNTEERS. Please help us by volunteering for a 2-hour shift. All volunteers are eligible to win exciting prizes.
Click HERE to view the attached form, indicate your preference, and deposit the form in the drop-box located in the Kleinburg Post Office.
Offering a few hours of your time will help make OUR COMMUNITY festival a huge success.
For more information, contact Heather Arnott at 905-893-0794, or send an email to volunteers2010@bindertwine.ca.
By Chair, on July 27th, 2010
By NormaC, on February 2nd, 2010
The Binder Twine Quilt Raffle is one of the Festival’s longest traditions. Since 1968, at the second annual Festival a quilt has been displayed at the Quilt Booth. The first Binder Twine Quilt was won by an auction. For the following years it was decided to sell raffle tickets, with the winner being announced during Binder Twine Day.
The 1970 Binder Twine Festival program is the first to mention a Festival Raffle Quilt.
The Binder Twine Quilt tradition is older than the famous Binder Twine Queen Contest, which began in 1971.
In the early days of the Binder Twine Festival from 1968-1982, several ladies from the Kleinburg-Nashville area made the Festival Quilts. They are often referred to as the Women’s Institute Quilts since these ladies were WI members as well.
The early quilts were hand stitched Hawaiian style and the pattern used was Friendship Plume.
For many years, the Quilters would also set up a Quilting Demonstration at the Festival.
In 1982, the Kleinburg-Nashville Quilt Ladies, informed the Binder Twine Committee, that they would no longer be able to provide a quilt for the raffle. Not having a quilt at the Festival was a great concern. To ensure the Festival had a raffle quilt a very unique tradition began, the Binder Twine Festival Quilt Square Contest.
Since 1983, the Binder Twine Quilt has been created by using the quilt square entries in the previous year’s Binder Twine Festival’s Quilt Square Contest.
The quilt squares that are entered in the contest have coordinating fabrics, however no two quilt squares are exactly alike. The quilt squares are sewn together, quilt batting is placed in the middle and a backing fabric is added. The three layers are then stitched (quilted) together and the result is a queen size Sampler Quilt.
Sampler Quilts are named because each square in the quilt is unique and the squares are often a combination and variety of individual quilt square patterns and techniques. The squares are as individual as their makers.
The Binder Twine Quilt has been displayed every summer at one of Kleinburg’s merchants, Jeremy’s, located on the main street, Islington Avenue. In 2010 the displaying of the quilt moved to the Kleinburg Royal Bank.
Quilt Raffle Tickets are $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00 and can be purchased at the Quilt Booth on Binder Twine Day or at participating Kleinburg merchants during the summer. The money raised goes to Community projects.
A detailed map of each year’s quilt lists the following information for each quilt square; the maker’s name, the sewing technique (Pieced, Appliqué, Pieced & Appliqué or a Special yearly category), the prize placement (1st, 2nd, 3rd or Honourable Mention, if applicable), and the quilt square pattern name.
The Nobleton United Church Quilters have hand quilted many of the Binder Twine Sampler Quilts.
Quilting time is approximate, however it usually takes 3-6 ladies, 5-6 days to complete each quilt. A quilting day is about 6 hours long.
The first official duty of the newly crowned Binder Twine Queen is to draw the winning ticket for the Binder Twine Quilt. Draw time is approximately 6:00 pm.
The Quilt Winner does not have to be present to collect their prize. A confirmation phone call will be made on the following Sunday.
The winner, hopefully with their quilt is also posted on www.bindertwine.ca
Quilt winners have been as close as Kleinburg and as far away as Alberta.
Recently, some of the Raffle Quilts have had a theme, including the following; Christmas (2000, 2005, 2010), for 2004 the Scrappy Sampler used 14 fabrics to help deplete the accumulating quilt square contest fabric supply, the 2006 Binder Twine Quilt celebrated the Festival’s 40th Anniversary with a Pioneer Themed Quilt, the 2007 Binder Twine Quilt is Red & White in honour of Canada’s 140th Birthday, the 2008 Quilt stepped away from traditional quilting and used a more modern day technique called Folded Fabric and the 2009 Quilt honoured our family heritage with a Great Grandmas Quilt.
The 2010 Binder Twine Festival’s Raffle Quilt is a red, white and green, Treemendous Christmas Sampler quilt, as many of the quilt squares have a tree design within them.
On several occasions there have been enough quilt square entries to permit the construction of two Binder Twine Quilts. The second quilt becomes a volunteer prize at the annual Binder Twine Winter Party.
The Winter Party Quilt is one way the Binder Twine Committee can thank the numerous (600) Kleinburg and area residents that volunteer their time annually for the festival.
By NormaC, on February 2nd, 2010
The Binder Twine Quilt Square Contest originated in 1982, as a result of the news from the original Binder Twine Quilt makers. Hilda Irwin, Quilt Co-ordinator of the Binder Twine Festival (referred to in early programs as the Women’s Activities) informed the Binder Twine Festival Committee that her group of ladies would no longer be able to make and provide the Festival’s quilt for the yearly raffle.
To continue the tradition of the annual Binder Twine Raffle Quilt, the Kleinburg quilting group the Kleinburg Piecemakers suggested and organized the festival’s first Quilt Square Contest. The contest was such a success that it has continued to this day.
In 2007, the Binder Twine Quilt Square Contest celebrated 25 years.
The contest is announced each year in the community newsletter, the Kleinburg Spirit. Newsletter editions can also be found on Kleinburg’s webpage www.kleinburgvillage.com.
Fabric for the contest are provided by the Binder Twine Festival Committee and individual fabric bundles and information sheets are available at the main desk of the Kleinburg Public Library, around May 1st each year.
Completed quilt squares are due mid August.
Fabric is provided to keep the colours of the quilt coordinated. Contest regulations can be found on the Information Sheet provided with each fabric bundle.
The contest is open to anyone who likes to sew. Entries have been as close as Kleinburg and as far as California.
The majority of entries have come from current or former Kleinburg and area residents. Several participants of the Quilt Square Contest are members of the local quilting group the Kleinburg Piecemakers. This group meets on Wednesday mornings (10:00-12:00) at the Kleinburg Public Library and welcome sewers and quilters.
The Quilting Demonstration &/or the Quilting Representative at the Quilt Booth has volunteers from the Kleinburg Piecemakers and can answer many of your quilting questions.
On Festival Day, the Quilt Squares that have won a prize in the current year’s contest have a ribbon attached.
Community merchants have donated prizes for the winners of the Quilt Square Contest.
Participants can choose any quilt square pattern or technique.
Quilt Square Categories for each year’s contest are; Pieced, Appliqué and Pieced & Appliqué.
Some years have seen the addition of a separate category. These categories have included; Beginner (no more than 3 years entered), Special Class (extra work on the square), Embellished (ribbons, embroidery, buttons and/or charms), Scrappy (6 or more of 14 fabrics), Pioneer Square (squares are those that have a pioneer name (log cabin, rail fence, mill wheel) or squares that evoke pioneer times (school house, ducks on the pond, country roads)), Redwork (use of red embroidery thread), Folded Fabric (3 dimensional sewing technique), Ode to Grandma (squares with Grandma in the name or something to remind you of Grandma) or Christmas. For 2010 the additional category is Springtime (a pattern with ‘spring’ in the name).
As an additional category for the 2004 Quilt Square Contest the Viewer’s Choice Award was suggested. Visitors to the Quilt Booth were encouraged to vote for their favourite quilt square. The top four quilt squares were awarded prizes and announced from the main stage. The category was well received by both the quilt square makers and by the Quilt Booth visitors as it provided a unique activity. It continues to this day.
The entries for each year’s Quilt Square Contest are displayed on the large folding screen at the Quilt Booth.
Each Quilt Square Label identifies each quilt square with the following information; the quilt square maker’s name, the prize placement when applicable (1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honourable Mention), the quilt square category (Pieced, Appliqué, Pieced & Appliqué or any additional class) and the quilt square pattern name.
The quilt squares are officially judged by Isabelle Bottoms of Bolton.
Quilt Squares are judged on the following; measure size, stretching, edges, squareness, pressing, points, matching, stitch size and colour combination.
A Quilt Square Contest Information Sheet can be obtained from a Quilt Booth Volunteer on Festival day.
The quilt squares will be sewn into a queen size Sampler Quilt to be raffled at the following year’s Binder Twine Festival (held the first Saturday after Labour Day).
When the current year’s quilt squares become the following year’s Binder Twine Quilt, it is necessary to think ahead regarding milestones. In 2006 we will celebrate the 40th Kleinburg Binder Twine Festival. The 2005 Quilt Square Contest began the celebration two ways. The first is the fabric chosen for the contest. Blue and yellow fabrics were chosen that have the famous Binder Twine motifs; a mouse, a sprig if wheat and a swirl pattern that resembles twine, bindertwine. The second is the creation of a Pioneer Square for the quilt square contest. The 2006 Quilt Square Contest had red and white fabrics and a Redwork (red embroidery) category to celebrate Canada’s 140th Birthday.
By NormaC, on February 2nd, 2010
Since 1982, at each year’s Binder Twine Festival there is a Raffle Quilt and entries in the Quilt Square Contest on display at the Binder Twine Festival’s Quilt Booth.
The Quilt Square Contest entries will be sewn together and then quilted to make the following year’s Festival Quilt.
For the past six years there has been excellent participation in the Quilt Square Contest. For these years, over 25 quilt squares have been created and handed in. When this situation occurred in 2004, it was decided that the Festival Committee could revive a tradition that occurred in the 1980’s when a Volunteer Prize Quilt was given as a thank you at the Binder Twine Festival’s Winter Party / AGM. The winner is selected at random by having the lucky volunteer prize draw ticket.
Included with the Winter Party Quilt is a Quilt Map to let you know who made each square, the sewing/quilting technique (Pieced, Appliqué, Pieced & Appliqué and a special category if applicable) and the quilt square pattern name. The individual quilt squares have been made by someone from the Kleinburg-Nashville community or a former resident. Sometimes former residents get their new friends involved.
This year’s Winter Party Quilt is a Red, White and Green Christmas Sampler, as the Christmas theme for the 2009 Quilt Sqaure Contest returned by popular demand.
Don’t forget, if this is a quilt fabric colour combination that you like, it will be the Binder Twine Festival’s Raffle Quilt colours as well.
The Binder Twine Quilts are the epitome of the Festival. Essentially, there are individuals and groups that work on a section. That part later comes together with all the other sections. The creation is a project that is much greater than the sum of all the parts. The result is a fabulous quilt and an equally great Festival.
The Binder Twine Festival’s Winter Party Quilt provides an opportunity for the Festival Committee to thank one of its many Volunteers.
Thank you,
Norma Curtis – Quilt Contest Co-ordinator.
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