Another Road Trek

Today, I made a trek out to Elemsdale, NS, to visit It's Sew Time. It was a 25 minute trip from Lower Sackville out the highway toward Truro. I met two lovely ladies who are members of the Martine Modern Quilt Guild.

I had a great chat with Suzanne, the owner. she gave me permission to take photos around her quilt shop. There were also some quilted pieces on the wall but I will post photos of those another day.

Have a look at the fabrics! One stop shopping. Everything is there to start a project - big or small.

 

Nature Walk

As I have written before, my camera goes with me all the time. I'm always looking to nature for inspiration.  I see lots of potential in these photos. I like the daisies growing beside the house. In fact, I've made similar pieces using 3-D miniature daisies.

When I was a small child, the purple flowers below, were referred to as 'toothbrushes'. I don't remember their name. These would look lovely in a small embroidery piece.

There are lots of places to find inspiration for quilting and embroidery, for example: nature gardens, beside a pond, seashore, neighbourhoods, books, magazines, the internet . . .
Enjoy!

Road Trek

Friday was a beautiful sunny, warm day. As I was left to my own devices, I decided to take a road trek! My first stop was to Avonport Discount Fabrics in Nova Scotia. I wasn't looking for fabrics but I did spy some 100 % wool felt. Some of my future ideas will be using different coloured felt.

Wolfville was my next stop. This is a pretty little town and the home of Acadia University. I walked along the main street dropping into many shops. Lunch was eaten on the patio of a Greek restaurant. Delicious!!

Windsor was my final destination. The shopping was good there too but nothing craft related.



Bay of Fundy, tide is out!

 



Jill Thirza Cooper - Artist

Today, I'm highlighting some of my daughter's paintings. Jill Thirza Cooper lives in Chicago, IL with her family. She has a framing shop and art gallery called Forte Framing and Gallery. Jill is a design professional with an undergraduate degree in computer science and environmental design and a graduate degree in Architecture.

She has painted the Chicago skyline in various sizes and different times of the day and night. This past week, she posted the one below, on Facebook, and it sold. This one has a very colourful sky - a happy piece!

The swimming woman is my favorite. I saw it when I was in Chicago in April.



Most recent and just sold as well as a print of it.



Sea Shore



Colour and texture is every where. The other day, while iceberg watching, I happened to look down at the water near the shore. The colours and textures were amazing.

I can see a bit of stump work in the first photo. Maybe a bit of textile painting on linen or muslin for the background and some stitching added, in the second one. A combination of stitch on organza might translate well for the other two. What do you think? What would you do?

Icebergs

A couple of days ago, we went to Harry's Harbour to see the icebergs. What a sight! I put in a couple of shots of the large berg. Icebergs are fairly common during the month of June and sometimes into July. Tourists travel to the island during this time frame just to see these massive pieces of ice.



Check a previous post to see my iceberg art cards.

 



Links

I've linked up with The Needle & Thread Network this week. Please check out the work of Canadian bloggers who also linked into this network.

Check out some of these other links:

• Table Topper
• You Can Make This
• Buzzing and Bumbling Tutorials

Enjoy!

Stained Glass

My brother does stained glass in his spare time. Here's a few pieces around his place. I left the view out the window, as it's spectacular!

Have you ever thought of taking a stained glass pattern and doing a quilted piece?

Nature

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm focusing on the natural world for a few days. Think about what you could do with some of these photos or parts of them. Maybe a small framed art piece or a quilted one, maybe an embroidery piece . . .

Inspiration From Nature



I don't know about you, but a lot of my inspiration comes from nature. My camera goes with me at all times, whether it's my phone camera (which  has a 41mega pixel camera), my pocket size Canon or my tablet. The pictures below were taken with the tablet.

The lilacs are just starting to bloom. Just see where the tiny maple tree decided to grow (potential art piece ???) - maybe!
These plants are in my sister-in-law's garden.

I will be presenting some nature photos over the next few days.
Have a look around your area. What might inspire you. Take photos, sketch a bit, add colour, transfer to fabric but most of all, HAVE FUN!!

Enjoy!



 

What's On My Needles

Last summer, my sister gave me a lovely winter scarf that she knit. It's mostly silk and feels wonderful. So, this summer, I've decided to knit a couple for gifts. Here's what's on my needles today:

(in case you saw this post last evening, this morning I took more photos of the scarves as I wasn't pleased with the colours).

L

my sister did this one.



Festival Gallery of Quilt Art: Home

Today, I'm highlighting the Festival Gallery Online.This is where many of the quilts that have been exhibited at shows are shown to those of us who can't attend in person. 

The show today is titled "Home". What comes to mind when you think of home? Is it the place where you grew up or the place you live now? Is it a feeling you get when you go somewhere familiar? Maybe a memory of a place you once knew? In this exhibit, artists explore and share what the concept of 'Home' means to them and how it plays a part in their lives. 

Click on the thumbnails to see each piece.

The textile piece below, called 'Gower Street', was a commissioned piece that a former Newfoundlander has in his Nova Scotia home to remind him of home.

Enjoy!

CQA / ACC

The Canadian Quilters' Association just posted all the entries from Quilt Canada's 2015 National Juried Show. I had a very quick look at all the categories and they are quite impressive. Please take a few minutes to look at this show.

In the wearable art section, Judy Kelly, former CQA President and member of the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild here in St. John's, has used fabric selvages to create a very unique coat. Congratulations, Judy. Hopefully, we will see it next fall. I had an opportunity to see a chair that Judy covered with fabric selvages a couple years ago. That, too, was amazing!

The theme for the Trend-Tex Challenge at Quilt Canada this year was Blowing in the Wind. Check these out too.

CQA / ACC is also on Pinterest.


Enjoy!!