Cabot Quilter's Summer Challenge

The summer challenge for the Cabot Quilt Guild was a great success. Last evening, fifty nine children's quilts were shown to members and then given to representatives from Ronald McDonald House . Here is just a small sample. Enjoy!

Table Toppers

Last week I was working on four table toppers. One of them will be a donation to the auction at the St. John's Embroidery Guild in November. This pattern is a simple one which I designed a few years ago. There is no separate binding to add because I bring the back fabric to the front and top stitch with a matching thread. The diameter is 22 inches.

Here's a few table topper patterns for you to check:
Pumpkin Table Runner
Zig Zag Table Runner
Leafy Table Runner
Halloween
Log Cabin
Shades of the Season
Orange Peel

Enjoy!

Hooked Rugs

Rug hooking, according to Wikipedia, is 'both an art and a craft where rugs are made by pulling loops of yarn or fabric through a stiff woven base such as burlap, linen, or rug wrap'. My mother told me that my grandmother made all kinds of hooked rugs but I never saw any of them. It is one art form that I have not tried but I do appreciate them. I have seen very elaborate rugs as well as very simple ones. Today, I want to bring your attention to a Newfoundland blog, Anne's Original Hooked Rugs. Anne uses Newfoundland Themes in her rugs. This weekend, Anne announced that one of her rugs was purchased from a museum in Nova Scotia by Anne Murray, a very famous Canadian Singer. Congratulations! Check out her blog for a photo of Anne Murray holding her newly purchased rug. I love the vivid colours used in this piece. While there, have a look at other rugs Anne has created - you won't be disappointed.

Enjoy!

Hurricane Leslie & Stuff !!

This had been quite a week here in the St. John's area. Hurricane Leslie, with a diameter of approximately 800 miles, reached our shores on Tuesday morning. HERE is an interesting video someone posted - it takes a tour of down town St. John's and up to Signal Hill during the storm. Actually, you get a brief glimpse of the colourful row houses in the older part of the city. Most visitors are usually amazed at the vivid colours and tend to look for art and/or souvenirs depicting these houses. Here's several of my card sets that can be found at the Devon House Shop.

We were very fortunate on our street as we only lost the power for about an hour. Others, throughout the city, weren't as lucky. I spent the day in my studio sewing. Since the storm, we have had very warm, sunny weather, which has been quite enjoyable. However, it certainly doesn't put me in the mood to be creative! I have to get busy. Christmas is only a couple of months away and there is so much to do.

Maybe these links will help the creative juices kick in:

We'll start off with a Handmade Fabric Bauble tutorial HERE and another fabric ornament HERE.
Here's a Christmas Stitchery and a Christmas Present Quilt
12 Gifts of Christmas Tutorials might have just the perfect gift
This Christmas Door Stop is a nice idea. Make one for spring, summer and fall too - just change the fabric and the appliqué designs.
Some Knitting Gifts for those evenings when you want to be busy but not doing sewing stuff.

To see links to other Christmas freebies on my blog go HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Enjoy!

Rock Recipes

Today I'm reintroducing you to Rock Recipes, from Newfoundland. I posted about their Gingerbread Houses in 2011. This month they are celebrating their 5th Blog-iversary and today posted their 900th recipe -  Frozen White Chocolate Cream Puffs! There are a lot of people out there who just love Newfoundland cuisine from Fish Cakes to Figgy Duff. I hope you don't mind my diversion to cooking on this warm day in St. John's.



After you check out the recipes, have a look at these interesting 'food' items:

Free Play Food Patterns - get an early start on Christmas gifts for young children
Cookie Set and Hello Kitty Placemats
Yarnalicious Cupcakes
Sewing Play Food

Enjoy!

Books

While on vacation, I collected a few books and magazines. Take a look! Actually, the Machine Embroidered Seascapes by Alison Holt, was waiting for me when I got back home. I thought I'd include it too. It's an excellent one for those who are into thread painting. The Complete Feltmaking, More ... Texture with Textiles and Needleweaving were purchased at a second hand book store on North Avenue (Wicker Park area of Chicago). The Christmas with Possibilities is bright and cheerful with easy and quick to do projects. They are also easy to adapt to make other Christmas things and not just the ones shown. The Christmas one was a Joanne's purchase with a 50% off coupon. (Love those coupons).

As you can see, I have a variety of interests! Will I ever get the chance to do all in my 'want to do list?!' I can always try. . .
Enjoy!

Wool Roving from K E Designs

On my travels, I visited Windsor, NS. This is a very nice town. However, driving along the main streets, we noticed two ladies dressed up in winter clothes (it was 31C and sunny) and Christmas decorations along the street and in the windows. Then we saw the lights and cameras - a Christmas movie was in the works! For awhile, I thought I had skipped a couple of months.

We had lunch at an outdoor bar & grill further along on Water Street. Right next door, was K E Designs, a small gift boutique. Of course I had to peek inside! My eyes were drawn to the hand dyed yarns and roving. Of course, some of the roving found its way into my stash. It was very difficult to choose which colours would work best in my art - anyway here's what I purchased:

Quilting Gallery Blog Hop

Just a quick post to let you know about the Quilting Gallery Blog Hop Party. There are lots of blogs participating in this celebration of back to school. Even if you don't want to leave any comments for a chance to win something, the blogs are great to visit. Many of them have great tutorials to try! So grab a cup of something and enjoy!!



PS,
I've left a few comments along the way.
Maybe I'll be lucky - or NOT but it's been fun looking at the various sites. I'm not finished yet.

The Fabric Shop, Gander, NL

I have been having some difficulty getting back to doing 'stuff'' in my studio - especially posting to my blog! But, as promised, here's a few more photos from my trip.

One of the things on my list this trip was Dr. Seuss fabric. Last year I found it in Chicago but after getting home could have kicked myself for not buying it. I could have purchased it on-line but didn't. Anyway, to make a long story short, the only place I found it was at C & M Crafts N Stuff / The Fabric Shop, Gander, Newfoundland. Needless to say, some of it is now in my stash. In fact, I've already started a project with it.

If you are a quilter, this quilt shop is a must visit. I was impressed with the variety of fabrics, notions, threads, kits, yarns and embroidery supplies. There is also a dedicated classroom for teaching quilting classes.

I was told that their other location in Carmanville, has different fabrics (no duplications). On my next visit to central NL, I have to visit that shop as well.
Enjoy!

Blog List

I'm finally back home from vacation. It was fun keeping you posted on some of the shops I visited as well as posting photos of things I saw! There is still more to share with you and I'll try to get to this soon. Tonight I did an update on My Blog List. A lot of the sites were hidden behind the scenes and only I could see the blogs I had joined. Now everyone can read the updates. Grab a cup of something and check out the list! Some of the posts are older ones but even so, the information on them is still worth reading. Enjoy. . .

I'm still searching for interesting sites related to quilting, stitching, felting . . . the list goes on.

Not Just Any Old Sheep . . .

I was taking photos of sheep (among other things) in St. Jacques, Fortune Bay, today. Of course, to me they were just a bunch of old sheep! However, I was later educated about the sheep from St. Jacques. These sheep, which belong to the Whalen family, are a Newfoundland heritage variety known as St. Jacques Sheep. They are one of three distinctive breeds found on the island. The others are found in Bourgoynes Cove and the Exploits Islands. A few years ago, Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), did DNA testing and discovered that this breed of sheep (as well as the other two breeds), has maintained its pure strain for hundreds of years. There are quite a number of black sheep. Makes me think of the nursery rhyme, Baa Baa Black Sheep - the wool is sent away to be processed and sold as yarn.

Here's some photos to enjoy.

Laurie Swim - Textile Artist

On my travels, I had the opportunity to visit Laurie Swim's Gallery in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, Laurie wasn't there. We met several years ago (I believe it was 2002), at the Waterloo County and Area Quilt Festival. Each year quilts from a different province were highlighted and it was Newfoundland and Labrador's turn. I curated the quilts and accompanied them to the festival. South African quilts were also on display as well as some of Laurie's masterpieces. Laurie and I also happened to take several workshops together.

Laurie Swim's medium is quilting in which each piece tells a story. If you ever get the chance, please go visit her gallery and see her work up close. A photograph in a book is great but not as fantastic as the real thing. You are able to see the threads and fabrics and how they relate to create a fabulous scene.
Laurie has also written three books. The latest one is The Quilt as Art, Rags to Riches. I have my own signed copy.


I was given permission to photograph around her gallery. Enjoy!

Patterns

I'm always looking for patterns / unusual designs when taking photos. You never know what might trigger an idea - old vines on a brick wall in Kingston, ON; a rock wall and a brick road leading down to old Quebec City; waves created by bricks beside a water exhibit in Quebec City; a bridge across the river (check out the clouds). . .
Enjoy!

Farmer's Field

I took a walk along the road beside this field. The sky was blue but off in the distance I could see clouds. Within ten minutes, dark thunder clouds appeared and I felt a few drops of rain. I just made it back to the motor home when the rain came down in buckets! However, it passed over quickly and the sun came out again. I managed to get these photos just in time. Each of these scenes has the potential of a thread painting and/or applique. Think about it. How would you begin? What fabrics would you use? How large or small would it be? . . . the field could be: strip pieced, thread painted, hand embroidered, a single piece of hand dyed fabric. Would you paint the sky, use dyed cotton, transfer paint, water colour pencils/crayons? For my sky, I'd use a piece of hand dyed satin. I just love the shiny sheen from the satin. Don't stick to traditional cottons but explore other fabrics. Some might work out but you'll never know unless you experiment. These are just a few ideas to get you thinking about small landscapes.

The black birds at the bottom were awesome. One minute the field was dotted with black and then they just swarmed up into the sky. My mother, who is 90, calls these the 'dirty weather birds'.
Enjoy!

More Inspiration

Here are photos from several walks along the way. Note the vivid colours in the flowers and the multitude of greens. I'm not familiar with the foliage in the second photo but would appreciate finding out about it. Inspiration for sure!
Enjoy