Dog Days?

August days are generally known as the "Dog Days" of summer. That expression conjures up lazy images of just lying around in the sun, doing as little as possible, eating and sleeping and eating some more. At least that's what the dogs in our family seem to do most of the time, not just in August.

But for us this year, those images don't apply. August was a comparatively busy and productive month, although not solely in the quilting line.

We are blessed in Edmonton and area with excellent farmer's markets, and market gardens, U-pick farms and acreages are within easy driving distances. At this time of year they are a treat to visit and we did just that several times this month. In the markets, in addition to fruit and vegetables, preserves and baking there are stalls selling unique arts and crafts, including jewellery, woodwork and, yes, quilts.

It was the vegetables and fruit which interested us most. My quilter's eye and love of colour were captivated by bright orange carrots displayed alongside fresh green broccoli, red cabbage, green and yellow zucchini, newly harvested and scrubbed white and red potatoes, pearly onions, juicy red and yellow tomatoes, dark red beets... and the list goes on.

And the fruit! My mouth waters just thinking of it: sweet, juicy BC cherries (the best crop in years), blueberries, blackberries, red and yellow raspberries, and apricots to mention just a few. Who could resist such bounty? Not us.

We had already brought home 30 lbs of apricots from our earlier trip to BC and these we either made into jam or froze for later use in pies and puddings. From the farmer's market we purchased 20 lbs. of beet to pickle. This was in addition to the 10 lbs we had already received from a friend's garden.

Next came the saskatoons (for those who are unfamiliar with them, they are blue berries that

grow on a shrubby trees and their unique flavour is a treat in jams, jelly or pies). We went to a U-pick acreage on a beautiful sunny day and spent two hours picking to our hearts' content, coming home with three gallons of these delicious berries destined for jelly and the freezer. Another day was spent with friends at their farm, where we enjoyed a visit and a delicious meal and came home with two more gallons of saskatoons.

Lucky for us both, my husband enjoys berry-picking and is equally willing to help out with the preserving when we get home. So our freezer is getting full (Did I mention blueberries?) and our cold room shelves are laden with colourful, bottled preserves.

In the depths of the winter to come, we will enjoy the "fruits of our labour" and a taste of saskatoon pie will be a welcome reminder of warm, sunny August days.

And, yes, I did manage to do a little quilting. I have another "fish" to add to my collection and have totally fallen in love with the ease of making baby quilts using the "Disappearing Nine-Patch" pattern. Attached you will see photos of "Hotlips" (above) and a colourful little DNP baby quilt.

That's it for this month.

Happy quilting!

Summer At Last

After a prolonged and cool spring, we are finally enjoying some warm summer days. There's not a lot in the quilting line being accomplished by me, but I have managed to complete another fish wall hanging and have another one in the works. After completing "Grandfather Cod" I decided to make something very different; much less subdued. Hawaii is about as much a contrast to the North Atlantic as you can get and so "Wahini Cod" (below) was the result.


Our little neighbourhood quilting group has suspended operations for the summer, but at our last session, I managed to get a flannel baby quilt put together, when one of the ladies asked me how to tie a quilt. I had the top and backing ready, so we speedily layered the quilt and then with five sets of fingers making the ties, it was quickly done. I sewed the binding on soon after but haven't yet stitched it down on the back.


A ten-day trip to the Kootenay region in BC with our son, daughter-in-law, and three grandsons (3 yrs, and twins who are 19 mos.) was lots of fun. I haven't spent as much time in playgrounds and at the beach in years! The scenery in the Kootenays is spectacular and we enjoyed the whole experience.

We returned with 30 pounds of fresh apricots, most of which have been turned into our favourite apricot jam, with some frozen for future pies and puddings.

I decided on the spur of an unguarded moment to learn how to do hardanger embroidery. I've tried many different types of handwork over the years but have never done hardanger. Armed with a beginner's book and materials to make a simple doily, I figured I could learn it on my own. I thought in terms of having a nice relaxing occupation while watching TV. I have discovered that I certainly can learn it, but usually after making all the mistakes possible and much frustration, picking out of stitches and re-doing.
Relaxing, it isn't. It is impossible (for me, at least) to watch TV and embroider at the same time. For one thing, I find it easier to see with my glasses off(!) and for another, counting threads requires close concentration. Hardanger is well named!
But I am persevering. If I live long enough I may actually complete the doily.


That's all for this month. Happy quilting!

June

This has been a landmark month for Edmonton quilters and it's barely half over. This year the 30th Anniversary of the Edmonton and District Quilters' Guild coincided with our bi-annual quilt show and we went all out to make it special. It was held on June 13/14 and we called it "Quilted Expressions."

In addition to the quilt show (200 quilts) there was a merchant's mall, quilters' boutique, and demonstrations of various quilting techniques, as well as a display of hand-cranked and treadle sewing machines. For those of us involved in the preparations and operation of the various areas, it has been a busy time, and although physically tiring, it has been mentally stimulating for us all to see the beautiful work that has been done. The whole event was a great success. And although I'm still recovering, it was a pleasure for me to work with so many talented, creative people, who were willing to do all that was needed to make it happen.


I entered a few items for sale in the boutique, and two of my fish wall-hangings found homes. One was a new one I had just completed called "A Close Call." (see photo).




When I came home from the show on Saturday, my body needed sleep, but my brain was on sensory overload. Sleeplessness had a positive side as it produced more ideas for future projects.
Now I'm working on a few more fish. I can't seem to get fish out of my system. Perhaps it's my maritime background! Stay tuned for the next one to make its appearance.

Where Has May Gone?

I'm just getting in under the wire with my blog post for May. Where has the time gone? What have I accomplished in the sewing line?
At the beginning of the month I made a list of all the sewing projects that were waiting to be done; some already underway, others just in the fabric stage, some only ideas. There were ten on the list.
Three major projects have taken most of my time.
To begin with, on our trip to Malaysia, I succumbed to temptation and, lured by the beautiful, colourful silks, I bought some, with the intention of sewing them into an outfit for myself. This was a real learning experience for me in many ways. First of all, I had never sewn with silk before, with the exception of a few silk ties I used in a crazy quilt. But with helpful suggestions found on the internet, I was able to avoid some of the worst problems, such as the movement of silk when cutting it -put some paper under the silk, lay out the silk, pin the pattern to silk and paper and cut through all layers including the paper underneath. I also learned the proper size needles, stitch length and the best thread to use. The biggest problem came with the adjustment of the pattern to fit me, no small task when parts of the body are three different sizes. But, it is finally done, and if not totally to my satisfaction, it doesn't look too bad to wear.
However, I also know why I stopped sewing for myself a long time ago and it will probably be much longer, if ever, before I try something like that again.
Project number two was the completion of a queen-sized quilt that I began last fall. I chose a pattern called Paperweights, because it used lots of different fabrics, and it was my intention to use up as many of the older fabrics that had been in my stash for years and years. Like most of my quilts, the finished article bore only a passing resemblance to the orginal. Once the top was finished, I was faced with the daunting task of basting and quilting it. With the help of my friend Linda and her long-arm sewing machine, that too was finished.
Third project: a bedspread from some lovely cotton fabric purchased in Singapore. This was by far the simplest project of the three, as I just seamed lengths of the fabric together, quilted in straight lines and added a binding. It now adorns our bed and its matching valance is installed over the window.
It's a great relief to have all these projects completed and I'm looking forward to working on some smaller "fun" projects. Two more fish have been swimming around in my UFO stack for far too long. They need to find a suitable habitat.
Let's see what June brings.

Flowers, Friends and Fish

It is only a little past mid-April and here I am. That's a definite improvement over March.

April has brought lots of changes. With the arrival of warmer weather (although not as warm as we would like) the piles of snow pushed up by the plows in winter has melted from all but the shadiest locations. The ice has finally left Bearspaw Lake, on which our home is located; the geese, who stood around forlornly on the melting ice for a few weeks are happily swimming in the water and have been joined by the ducks - mallards and golden eyes - which spend their summers here. And neighbours have pots of pansies on their doorstep, adding a colourful touch to an otherwise drab landscape.

On the quilting scene, I have put together the backing for a queen-sized quilt which I pieced last fall and am ready to take it to my friend Linda who has offered to let me try and quilt it on her long arm machine. That will be a new experience for me and I'm hoping it will be a positive one.

The preparations for our Guild's 30th anniversary quilt show, sale and banquet in June are well underway, and, as a member of the 30th anniversary committee, I've been attending extra meetings and work days in preparation for those landmark events.

A few of my neighbours expressed an interest in learning to quilt, so six of us meet every other week and with the help of my next door neighbour, who is also a quilter, I am taking them through the learning process a step at a time. We began with simple stitched and folded coasters and have graduated to elongated nine-patch place mats. If they persevere, we will move on to baby/lap quilts and then "the sky's the limit."

And finally, I managed to get back to my own "fun" time and made another quilt in my "Fabulous Fish" series. This one is Number 9 and was made to fulfil a request from a Newfoundland friend for a codfish. A cod is not the most colourful of fish, to put it mildly, so "Grandfather Cod" is rather subdued, as you can see, below. But I'm not finished with the species yet and have plans for my next codfish to be a very colourful mutation.

And that's it for this month.

March In- March Out

It's already the end of March and I haven't written a new post for the month yet. Where has the time gone? What have I been doing?
We arrived back home on March 9th. So the first week and part of the second was gone. By the time we unpacked, adjusted to the time change and sorted out our lives again, another week had gone by. All the while, the lovely fabrics I had purchased or been given, plus those I had already, were calling me to create.
First, I made a set of four placemats and napkins from a Batik fabric I purchased in Malaysia for our neighbours who had taken good care of our home while we were away.
Next, thanks to the generosity of Marianne Bos in Singapore, I was eager to get started on a postcard quilt to showcase some of my fabrics from Pacific countries. The postcard quilt (my name for it, which may or may not be the name others know the pattern by) is relatively easy to put together. The basic block is a 4 x 6 inch rectangle bordered by two 1-inch strips which makes a 6-inch square. These squares are then arranged alternately vertical and horizontal and sewn together in rows. I added extra strips to the outer edges of blocks which didn't have any.
Most of the machine quilting was done before the edge was finished. To finish off I sewed facing strips on the front, cut them to match the irregular edge, turned them over to the back and stitched them down by hand. The finishing was a little tricky, but when it was completed, I was glad I had done it that way. Here is "Postcards from the Pacific."

Finally, this past week I put together a simple top for a baby quilt in blue flannelette.
No wonder I didn't get time to add to my blog until now. At least that's my excuse!

The World-wide Quilting Web

The wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze me. I am currently in Singapore visiting my daughter Kathy and her husband Mark. Today we talked to our daughter Susan in California and via Skype were able to see our little grand-children on the other side of the world in Canada.
From a quilter's perspective, the web is agreat asset. I was delighted to meet this past week with quilters here in Singapore, having first contacted them through the web. Thanks to Janice, my contact who invited me to meet with the ANZA (Australia New Zealand Association) quilters and to Maurine who hosted us in her home. Each lady was working on a different project and in addition the group undertakes a charity project each year. I was especially interested in the project to make blocks which would be later made into quilts for victims of the bush-fires in Australia. The blocks are called "wonky stars" and they will be collected and sewn together by Australian quilters. Here is Alison with some of the blocks she had made.

When disaster strikes, quilters all over the world immediately start to do what they do best. Their quilts comfort and support the needy recipients by letting them know that others care about them and want to help.

On Wednesday, I met with quilt artist Marianne Bos (you can find her website by Googling her name) and we had a lovely two hours of quilt talk, sharing experiences and information, and looking at her beautiful quilts. Here she is with two of her wall-hangings.

I've never met unfriendly quilters and these ladies were no exception. Thanks to you all for welcoming me and letting me see and photograph some of your work.

Before leaving home, I checked out fabric sources in Singapore on the web and have visited most of them on my list, as well as some I didn't know about until I got here. My suitcase gets heavier and heavier with each shopping trip. And we still have two more weeks to go!

I think I already have enough projects in mind to keep me busy for the next few years.