Lynn's Quilting Studio

My 10 needle Brother embroidery machine has developed a couple of problems which means it needs a service. I went on-line to discover that just 12.5 km away, in Auburndale, is Lynn's Quilting Studio. Well, Lynn is a Brother rep and services the machines. In fact, her first introduction to servicing embroidery machines, was on one just like mine. After giving her a run down on my machine's problem and the code that was displayed on the computer screen, Lynn was able to pin point the cause of my problem. I hope it will be an easy fix. So, she is making a house call on Monday morning.

I spent the morning in her quilting studio. Her real passion is her longarm Gammill quilting machine which is in the main house. She is up early each morning, quilting on the machine as she has many customers seeking her services.

I am so glad I discovered this little gem of a shop. Her fabrics are quilt lovely and reasonably priced.

If you are a quilter /sewer, then Lynn's Quilting Studio, should be a destination. The shop is on a 90 acre lot and can't be seen from the road, so you have to look carefully for her sign. Even better, put the address into a GPS (which I did) and it's easy to find.

Here's a few photos of her place. Click on the photos to get a closer view.

Enjoy!

Lots of Christmas cottons!

More Christmas fabrics on the bottom

I Won a Magazine

I've been following Margaret Blank, textile artist, for many years. Earlier this month, I entered her giveaway for celebrating 15 years as a blogger and won! My prize is the Inspirations magazine shown below. Thanks, Margaret.



Since this magazine is all about hand embroidery, here's a few links to check:

• Hand Embroidery by Corinne Sleight (another from Magpie's Mumbling)
• Free Embroidery Patterns from Andrea Zuill's Blog
• Embroidery Patterns from French Knots
• Cats Cross Stitch

Enjoy!!    

New Book Added to My Library

My new embroidery book arrived today. Stumpwork Flowers by Sachiko Morimoto, is just delightful! According to the write-up, this book 'offers a modern perspective on the traditional floral motifs that have been a stumpwork mainstay for centuries. There are 19 beautiful designs to choose from, and 8 projects showing how to use the motifs to embellish pillows, napkins, pouches, books covers and more.'

The step-by-step instructions and diagrams are easy to follow so is ideal for all levels of embroiderers. I was attracted to the smaller scale designs and this book did not disappoint me. This is a great addition to any library (guild or personal).

If you really want a full review of this book, visit Mary Corbet's Needle n' Thread HERE.  Her review sold me on this book. Thanks, Mary.

Links and More

Yesterday, I linked up with The Needle and Thread Network. It's a great place to see the work of some Canadian Quilters. I've been checking their blogs out and came across The Inquiring Quilter's list of linky parties. There are links for each day of the week. Worth a view!

A new shimmer has just been tested and looks good. More on that when it's stitched out. The Newfoundland Dog is on my machine at the moment. These, along with lots of other Shimmer Ornaments, are headed to The Rooms Gift Shop, St. John's, NL.

Since I don't have a photo of my work to share today, here's a 6" x 6" oil on paper that my daughter, Jill, completed today. I copied it from her Instagram shots (permissions granted, of course). She is giving this one away on her facebook page.

Working!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I'm working steadily on my Shimmer Ornaments to get them ready for the tourist season. It's been difficult getting focused on new items since the big move here to Nova Scotia. Studio is in the works so I'm working out of a bedroom, kitchen, living room . . . you get the idea. As a result, I can't put my fingers on things quickly. Not an efficient way to work at all! But, the new studio will be big and have lots of work surfaces and storage.

We have two more new Shimmer Ornaments, a grouper (I've nicked named it the 'grumpy grouper') and a map outline of Labrador. An interest was expressed in creating the map so it's done and ready for the general market. If there are any businesses on the Labrador Coast or in Newfoundland interested in purchasing these, please contact me.

I've also included a couple of older Shimmers that I'm working on.

Linked to The Needle and Thread Network!

 

On the table to be finished!

Craft East Buyers EXPO

Yesterday, my daughter, Jill and I attended the Craft East Buyers EXPO in Halifax. This show was formally known as ACTS, Atlantic Canada Trade Show. I've attended this show twice as part of the Newfoundland and Labrador wholesalers. Since the format has changed considerably, I decided to check it out. This event, which was held in a downtown hotel, wasn't open to the public as it was a wholesale show for buyers.

We visited just about every booth and chatted with the makers. Some had their displays in a suite at the hotel while others opted to set up in several large rooms with other vendors. Four floors of the hotel were taken over for this event.

There was lots of interesting art and craft to see. Many of the vendors were new this year, but I did speak with many people I've met over the years.

Here's the vendors from Newfoundland & Labrador:

• Michael Harlick from Black Hen Studio
• East Coast Glow - Wild Island Apothecary  
• Elizabeth Burry Design 
• Ewe Design 
• Molly Made Fibre Art Studio 
• Natalie Jewellery  

I do have to share one vendor from Nova Scotia as their business cards for this event was very innovative.  Have a look:

          
I've bought several pieces from this company, Hand-made Fused Glass Products.
Enjoy!

Blogging - 1589 posts!

I was reading Margaret Blank's blog and she mentioned that she has been blogging for 15 years and posted over 1500 posts. That got me thinking, so I checked my blog profile and so far, my total is 1589 posts. I didn't think I had written that much in ten years (it will be ten next August). Some would say 'long winded'!

I've tried to keep my comments related to my art and the art of others. Most of the time, I've linked to lots of interesting sites where you will find things related to textile / fibre art such as free patterns, tutorials, YouTube videos, other blogs, teachers, classes, quilt shows . . .

Thanks for stopping by and for your comments.
Now it's time to view a few links:

• Magpie Mumblings has lots of interesting links. Her writing usually gives me a chuckle or two.
• Needle and Thread Network  
• Brown Paper Bag (from Magpie Mumblings) 
• Asian Sewing Patterns 
• Fabulous Fat Quarter Sewing Projects 
• Sashiko and Other Stitching (Susan Briscoe's photos from Tokyo 2018 Quilt Festival)
• Free Coaster Tutorials & Patterns for all Occasions   

 Enjoy!


  Here's yesterday's visitor:

New Shimmer Ornaments

We have new Shimmer Ornaments created and working on a few others. Have a look!

The Caribou and Forget-Me-Not were requested by The Rooms Gift Shop to be exclusive to them.  More on that at a later time.

Enjoy!

Sea Horse

Shell

Salt Cod Fish

Caribou

Forget-Me-Not

Shopping in St. John's

While in St. John's last week, I visited Fiber Lilly, Sew Many Stitches, Sewing World, Cast On Cast Off (recently moved to Duckworth Street) and Some Good Market. Of course, I made a few purchases! Here's a few of them:

These colours caught my eye

The blues might be used in my next Snow men hand embroidery piece.

Oriental panel has no project assigned to it yet!

The cup is mine. I thought the owl looked cute sitting in it.

I will use some of this yarn in my Fibre Lace Scarves and other projects.

More mittens for Gale!

St. John's Visit

I've been in St. John's since Tuesday morning. My flight was one of the few that got out of Halifax during the snow fall. Needless to say, the time flew by so quickly. Tomorrow afternoon, I head back home. 
This trip was personal and business related. It was great to meet up with friends. Thanks, M and B for your hospitality - much appreciated! It will be reciprocated when you visit our home in Nova Scotia.

I got everything done on my list. My last visit will be Some Good Market tomorrow morning.

Here are a few photos of Verna's newest Temari Ball Ornaments. These were taken this afternoon when a bunch of us got together for our regular monthly stitch meeting. They waited until I was home.

work in progress