Skirt Tutorial and News

It's Friday and that means that Johanna from our Design team has created a fantastic tutorial of how to make your own skirt.   How cool is that?   You create a pattern that fits you, not the 7 skinny models the store patterns were made for.  

When you are done reading how to make the skirt at The Quilted Fish, check out Johanna's blog.  She has really funky quilts on it.


On other good news, my quilt 'Bye Gram, I Love You' that was in the Sacred Threads exhibit is now on it's way home.  The show has ended and they have posted 34 of the 173 quilts on their website.  Can you guess where this is leading?   Yep, mine was chosen as one of the quilts to highlight this year's juried show.  It is the 10th one down on the page.

I will tell you, when I sat in my grandmother's chair stitching those 500 buttons onto the quilt, I never imagined that it would have such an adventurous life.   I am both thrilled and  amazed that it has struck such a cord with so many people in the quilting community.

A Little Good News

My quilt 'Bye Gram, I Love You'  is on it's way back from Virginia after being in the Sacred Threads juried show.    Today I received a lovely 'thick' envelope from AQS (American Quilter's Society) telling me that my Gram quilt and Whimsical Wonder were juried into the Des Moines Iowa quilt show in late September.  

I had earmarked these two quilts to show in a museum here for the month of August and then at our local quilt show, but I guess they wanted to travel a bit more.   Both were also in London in May for the Canadian Quilt Show.   I do have another two that can go to the museum for that art show.

Here are the two quilts going to Des Moines.

That's enough excitement for one day=)

National Juried Show in Canada

Imagine my excitement that after 6 years of waiting,  I was finally able to attend my very first National Juried Show.   And to top it off I got to see four of my quilts in the show.

Even better, I was able to meet up with internet friends, old friends and new friends.  Needless to say, I had a total blast.   The competition was incredible.  There are some wonderfully talented quilters here in Canada.
The show was held at my alma mater, the University of Western Ontario.

And here is the sign I have been waiting to see for a very long, long time:

I was able to attend the awards ceremony with my dear friend Elaine Quehl.  Elaine had a gorgeous quilt in the Juried Show and another one in the Invitational Show.  She was also teaching a workshop there as well.   She is a super talented quilter from Ottawa.

CQA was celebrating it's 30th anniversary, so there was a huge cake there.

In a juried show, pictures are not allowed to be taken of the quilts.  But the exhibitors were granted a 30 minute time to enter with their photographer before the show opened.   I took advantage of this, and chose to stand beside 'Bye Gram, I Love You' for my picture.

I went through the vendors market and was in love with all the fabric and thread.   I met so many fantastic people.  It was just great being with quilters who share the same passion I do and can relate to all the things we deal with in quilt competitions.  I met the judges, and soon will get my critiques in the mail.   I learned a ton just seeing the other quilts close up and meeting the other quilters in the show.  

It was a weekend I will never forget.

Check Me Out!

Does that sound super braggy?   I don't even think that is a word, but I digress.  Okay, and confess, I am giving myself a shout out!   Not sure if that is a sign of desperation or a sign of supreme self confidence?

Let's just say it is the latter.  Onto super important matters.  As I was scrolling through my lovely blogs I follow, I checked out C & T Publishing's blog.  And much to my utter shock and excitement, I saw my quilt, 'Bye Gram, I Love You' being showcased.   Check it out!  

This quilt is certainly making the rounds.  First juried into the Canadian Quilt Show, then juried into Sacred Threads, and now a little publicity over on C & T's blog.

If you knew my Gram, she would be so surprised that a piece of her clothing was causing such a commotion.   And then she would tell everyone she knew how proud she was of her granddaughter.   In Gram's eyes, her grandchildren were perfect and could do no wrong.  She was that kind of Grandmother.  

Sacred Threads Acceptance

I am over the moon in excitement and surprise.    My quilt, 'Bye Gram, I Love You' just got accepted into the esteemed 'Sacred Threads' juried show.   This show was started by Vikki Pignatelli.  

The quilt will be travelling to the Canadian Juried Show in May and then off to Virginia to the Sacred Threads juried show.   At that point it will have travelled more than Gram did.   But now a piece of her and her story will be told to more people than I could ever imagine.

Here is my quilt.   The story behind the quilt is written beneath.  I can't tell you how proud I am to be her granddaughter.

It was made in memory of my grandmother who died in May 2009.

Every week for 10 years I would go over to their farm and see them, to do some housework, or just to visit. I did this by myself, and then as I had my two sons, they would come with me. And every single time, just as I was leaving, I would kiss her cheek and say, 'Bye Gram, I love you'.

She was the most remarkable woman I have ever known. A farmer's wife to my grandfather, a fabulous cook, a loving grandmother, and of course a quilter. Her grandchildren and then great grandchildren were her greatest joy. She was always so excited to see us. Everything about her was fun, whether you were in her kitchen doing dishes or peeling apples, or playing euchre, you were smiling.

This quilt was made from her blouse and a sleeper that both boys wore when she held them. The clothing is stuffed to give it more of a 3D appearance. The yarns couched into the background were from a sweater that she was unravelling near the end of her life. She was so thrifty and environmentally friendly. Decades beyond her time.

And the buttons.... there is a story. The yellow buttons, quite a few of them, represent how sunny and happy life was when she was alive. The orange ones, not so many, show the time of her dying and how painful that was for us all. And the red, all the red buttons, that is to represent all the love she left behind for us.

She witnessed my birth, watched me grow up, celebrated my marriage, cherished my children, and I held her hand when she died.

Bye Gram, I Love You

Bye Gram, I Love You

It was finished in May of 2010, but was sent to jurying for Quilt National, but didn't get in.  Finally now I can post it.   It was made in memory of my grandmother who died in May 2009.  

Every week for 10 years I would go over to their farm and see them, to do some housework, or just  to visit.   I did this by myself, and then as I had my two sons, they would come with me.   And every single time, just as I was leaving,  I would kiss her cheek and say, 'Bye Gram, I love you'. 

She was the most remarkable woman I have ever known.  A farmer's wife to my grandfather, a fabulous cook, a loving grandmother, and of course a quilter.   Her grandchildren and then great grandchildren were her greatest joy.   She was always so excited to see us.  Everything about her was fun, whether you were in her kitchen doing dishes or peeling apples, or playing euchre, you were smiling.

This quilt was made from her blouse and a sleeper that both boys wore when she held them.   The clothing is stuffed to give it more of a 3D appearance.   The yarns couched into the background were from a sweater that she was unravelling near the end of her life.  She was so thrifty and environmentally friendly.  Decades beyond her time.

And the buttons.... there is a story.   The yellow buttons, quite a few of them, represent how sunny and happy life was when she was alive.   The orange ones, not so many, show the time of her dying and how painful that was for us all.  And the red, all the red buttons, that is to represent all the love she left behind for us.  

She witnessed my birth, watched me grow up, celebrated my marriage, cherished my children, and I held her hand when she died. 

Bye Gram, I Love You

2nd place

We had our monthly guild meeting tonite, and I was pleasantly surprised to see my quilt won second place. I was only behind first place by one point, I shared second with an even more talented quilter than myself, and third was only one point behind second. So we all certainly were close.

I also did a talk on quilt design and had lots of interest.

And I finally showed my 'button' quilt that took me 9 months to make. It is always makes me feel good when the quilt can spark some emotion in the viewer, and this quilt certainly did.

Traditions....

Traditions.... when do they start and when do they stop?

I have lived on the island, full time for 11 years. When I moved here permanently, I unknowingly started a tradition. Every year I would drive to Sudbury at the first of December and go to my favourite greenhouse. They are my favourite for several reasons. First, when I moved back to Ontario and didn't know anyone in my old city, they took a chance on me and gave me a job. Then they turned around and treated me like one of the family. And when it comes to plants, they don't import their poinsettia plants, they grow them.

I started buying poinsettias as I never could figure out what to get my grandparents for Christmas. They had everything they needed. Really. Gram would never want you to spend money on something fancy for her kitchen. She would be thrilled to get a new spatula. They never indulged on themselves. Never. So I would go out and get them the largest, most beautiful poinsettia I could find. And while I was there, I would buy some for other family and friends as well.

This year, I haven't gone yet. I haven't marked a day to go, or made plans to go. I don't know if I am going to go. This year there is no Gram to buy a poinsettia for. This year, I can't deliver the biggest, most gorgeous plant I can find. This year I don't get to hear her tell me 'that I shouldn't have.'

Does the tradition continue without the most important woman in my life?

This year...

Grandma's Thimble

This is a picture of Grandma's thimble. It is made of leather and sewed at the back with nylon yarn. There is a second piece of leather put over the front to keep the needle from going through. She was always the most ingenious person I knew. And this thimble fits way better and is more comfortable than the steel ones you buy.

Gram

The most amazing woman I have ever known died last night, my grandmother. She had her 2 daughters with her, her 3 granddaughters and her nephew.

I had been travelling up every night for the past week to see her at the hospital. She told me on one of her visits that the sweet pea flower was her favourite. She had it climbing on her fence that entered the walkway to her house.

For the past 10 years, I have travelled up to their farm once a week to see her and Grandad. It was a year and 13 days since Grandad died. They both went into the hospital 2 weeks prior and they both died on a Thursday. Both times their daughters and granddaughters were with them at the end. There is no way we could have asked for a better life for them, or for them to have found more happiness. They loved their grandchildren and great grandchildren more than anything.

They witnessed my marriage, the birth of my children, and their baptisms. Gram was over at my place for supper less than 6 weeks ago and I showed her the quilts I was working on.

She was my role model, my hero, and the best Grandma in the whole world, and I loved her with all my heart.

Fabric and Running and Driving and Life

I have been exhausted all day today, like a fog is over me. Too much going on. Gram went into the hospital last Thursday and it was a bit touchy, but she seems to be rallying back to her normal spirits. But that has meant trips up to the hospital.

Took the kids to Sudbury yesterday, and they were as good as gold. There is a certain big box store that starts with a 'W', that is cutting way back on their fabric and they had batiks on for $3 a metre, so that was a good score!

Ran again today, just a short one. Have one more short run on Friday then off to Sudbury for the race Sunday morning.

Saturday morning is the first soccer game for my kids. Did I mention that I have never played and I am coaching 11 kids. 2 are my own, so we were out practicing today in the yard. They have never played either. The only way I could guarantee they were on the same team is to volunteer to help, they were obviously desparate for coaches! But since then, I have received a manual from a friend on soccer for kids, sent various emails out and am feeling somewhat confident of what to do. Plus the kids are supposed to be in Senior Kindergarten to play. My oldest is in JK, and my youngest is still only 3. Don't tell.

Hopefully it will be nice out and we can bike, play baseball and soccer. They start baseball in 2 weeks as well. And I didn't lie about their age this time! But I can't find their gloves anywhere and I have turned my house upside down.