Nancy Bergman Workshop

This Saturday, Sunday and Monday I will be attending two workshops given by Nancy Bergman, quilt artist, from Ontario, Canada. I was first introduced to Nancy's beautiful work when I attended the Kitchener Waterloo and Area Quilt festival in 2004. I had a small piece entered into the exhibit called Constructions of Canada, and was attending the show. Nancy also had a piece there called Kenora Boatyards - 1906. Needless to say, I was smitten by that piece and kept going back to view it. This piece caught everyone's attention as it won the 2004 Grand Prize, Constructions of Canada. Take a few minutes to view more of Nancy's work.

The Cabot Quilt Guild and the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild are hosting two of Nancy's workshops

• Woodlands for the Landscape Quilter
• Sky, Water, Islands, Shorelines, Icebergs and Thread Painting Pine Trees for the Landscape Quilter

Hopefully I'll get some photos to share with you. According to the course descriptions, it should be three interesting days!

Flying Geese

Thanks to my niece, here is a photo of the baby quilt that I posted about yesterday. Now you can see all the little triangles that my sister cut and stitched.

Baby Quilt

I finally got a photo of the baby quilt my sister made for her first grandchild in Austin, Texas.
It's called 40 Dozen Geese Flying North for the Summer! Isn't it just beautiful, but then I'm a bit biased. It has 960 triangles which translates into 480 coloured geese. The quilt has a bamboo batting.

I remember my sister saying she used Thangles Quilting Paper to make the small triangles. That looks like an easy way to do it. You can view a demonstration of the Thangles method HERE but if you are into using traditional methods for this technique, check HERE.

The Purl Bee has a tutorial of a Mini Quilt of the Month, July: Flying Geese.
Connecting Threads also has a tutorial on Flying Geese - Make 'em Fast
These triangles are not in my future but they might be in yours!
Enjoy. . .

 

 



Newfoundland Pony

Sunday, I took a trip around the bay and spied this little fella, a Newfoundland Pony, in Crocker's Cove, Trinity Bay. He was very friendly and came close to say hello! He got a pat on the head and his picture taken. This breed of pony, originating in Newfoundland, are hard workers and easy to maintain. Its ancestors are from the British Isles and adapted well to the Newfoundland climate. At the moment the population numbers less than 400 and are now considered endangered by Rare Breeds Canada. If you wish to learn more about this breed, please check the links above.

 

Here are a few sites for you check out:

• Paper Pieced Horse
• Applique Horse (This one caught my eye!)
• Hobby Horse Ornament
• Strapping Stick Horse
• Free Horse Quilt Patterns
• Rocking Horse
• Fabric Portrait of a Horse Quilt Block (Interesting)
• Painted Ponies Swedish Dala Horse

Enjoy!

Incorporating Textiles and Paper into Wedding Fashion, Décor, and Gifts

Today I have a guest blogger, Laura Holden, a freelance writer whose biggest hobby (after writing) is knitting. Her grandmother was an avid knitter and gave knitwear for Christmas presents. I can relate to that, as my mother did the same thing.

Knitting has become popular again especially after the Royal Wedding when Kate Middleton wore a knitted bolero over her dress at the reception. You can see it in this article about weddings and knitwear that Laura sent to me. Check out the free patterns on the right side of the article.

Laura commented that I have a great set of resources on my site (thank you, Laura), among them some knitting themes. Check here and here for a couple of these. She also offered to write an article for my blog and I took her up on that. However, I did split the article into three parts. Here's the first one:

June and July always seem to be the big wedding months—and wedding anniversaries too, of course—so it’s a good time to hunt down some inspiring ideas and patterns for gifts and decorations. You don’t have to work with fabric specifically to make some gorgeous wedding-themed creations.

Knits Make Great Gifts and Fashion Statements

While few people are willing to knit an entire wedding dress, as English knitter, Lydia Taylor did in 2012, well-chosen wool and needles can create beautiful accent pieces. The trend towards making knitted wedding fashions part of the event can work in any season, even in the heat of summer. Cute cloche hats for the bride and bridesmaids add a fun element to a summer wedding, and styles like this crocheted cloche with straw accents, made by Linda Kilpatrick of The Teacup Milliner, are perfect wedding attire. For some truly inspired and inspiring ideas, visit AnnieBee Knits, the blog of Anne Blayney, who produced three amazing pieces for her sister’s wedding. For her sister and herself she created delicate silk lace shawls, which definitely fall into the category of wearable art. The third piece, her wedding gift to the bride and groom, is a geometric knit of vibrant colors that is no less than stunning.

Incorporating knitted pieces into a wedding doesn’t require making an entire garment or a full-size blanket. Thinking small can have results that are just as spectacular. Anna Hrachovec, who runs the blog MochimochiLand, knitted more than 200 flowers for her own wedding, and used them for her simply sweet bouquets, boutonnières, and table centerpieces.

 

I will be posting a second part soon!

 

Here's a short list of other sites related to weddings to visit:

• Six Little Wedding Knits from Cotton & Cloud
• Bamboo Wedding Shawl from The Purl Bee (pattern included)
• Free Knitting Patterns from Vogue Knitting
• Royal Wedding Knitting Patterns (the video is a chuckle)
• Kate Middleton Angora Bolero/Shrug

Enjoy!

 

 

Cabot Quilt Guild Show & Tell

Show & Tell this month was great. There were so many large quilts. In fact, it was the largest display I've ever seen at a monthly Show & Tell! Here are a few of them:



Bargello is reversible. Other side is below.

From Elaine Quehl workshop

Quilt Tutorials from Stitch This

While trying to catch up on my on-line reading, I came across 52 Quilting Tutorials from Martindale Publishers (thanks to Debbie from Stitchin' Therapy for blogging about it). Now I am also passing this along to you.

Go here to see those tutorials. They are all in one spot for easy reference! Don't forget to check out the 'freebies' too.
Enjoy!

Something Fishy Comes This Way!

Today I'm sharing my latest Pisci Fantasticus creations. If you are in the St. John's downtown area you will soon see some of my 3-D fish hanging in the window of the Newfoundland Weavery. The Weavery is carrying some of my smaller creations: shimmers, art cards, greeting cards and pins. There will also be a limited number of the hanging fish. I use batiks for the fish as the fabric colours are so vibrant! Check here, here and here for more fish on my blog.

I will also be having a guest posting an article soon. Check back!
Enjoy!

Eastern Edge Show & Tell

Now for some more photos from the May meeting of the Eastern Edge Quilters' Guild.
Enjoy!

Credit Card Holder made by one of the students

 from my last Fantasy Fabric Workshop 

Souvenirs from South Africa

One of the members of Eastern Edge Quilt Guild participated in Valerie Hearder's South African Tour last month. Of course, she brought back a few beautiful hand stitched pieces to show us.

Valerie is also the owner of African Threads. Please check them out.
Enjoy!

Tote bag from the tour

Hand Beaded Elephants

Also check the following sites:

Fiberworks - A Celebration of South African Fiber and Textile Artists
African Textiles on Pinterest
Judith Rouhani, textile artist
Alley Cat Creations, South Africa

Space Oddity

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated with outer space. I started a scrapbook with newspaper clippings of those first flights and continued collecting material up to and including the landing on the moon. Even though the scrapbook was put aside, my interest continued. However, it wasn't until Commander Chris Hadfield landed on the space station, that my interest was once again awakened. I have been following his daily postings since they began. Did I mention, he is Canadian and has family living here in Newfoundland?

His posts on face book have captured the interest of the whole world. I thought I would share a video from Digg.Com of Commander Chris Hadfield. The song is an adaption of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'

Commander Hadfield returns to earth tonight.
Safe trip home.

Happy Mother's Day

I wish all mothers everywhere, a very Happy Mother's Day.

Last year this time, all my tulips were in bloom, as you can see from the photo below. This year, they are about a week behind. Hopefully the buds will open up this week.

2012 tulips in my garden

A Great Day!

Today's Fantasy Fabric's Class was wonderful. I had a group of very enthusiast ladies! Everyone went away with at least one finished piece and another ready to stitch. I look forward to seeing what they create from their workshop pieces. I know there is at least one evening purse planned.

Embroidery Guild Show & Tell

The St. John's Guild of Embroiderers' meets the last Tuesday of the month. Last week's show and tell is ready to view.
Enjoy!

This month's program is Spring Flowers with Buttons

From the beaded scissors case workshop

Part of the ATC Exchange



Hand Embroidery

What a Day!!

The weather was wonderful! The day was great! I taught another one of my Fantastic Fabrics Workshops to a great bunch of very enthusiastic ladies. Have a look at their layered and stitched pieces.

Someone's stash of glitter!

Cutting slivers of lame

Cutting strips of stretchy costume fabric. Notice the Angelina fibres on the side.