Goodbye, Dear Friend

"Sometimes You Can Walk on Water"
(c) 2017

I'm just home from my two-day exhibit of quilted and hooked art at the annual Encore! Lacombe Art Show & Sale -- and I'm over the moon with the results.  Excluding 2023, when I was Featured Artist, it was my best weekend of sales since 2018, when another artist purchased my large piece, "Sometimes You Can Walk on Water", inspired by a photo my daughter took of herself, walking over the frozen Astotin Lake to Elk Island, here in Alberta.  

I was delighted to sell six of the eight 6" x 6" mini hooked art pieces I created in the last two weeks, as well as this larger hooked and framed piece, "Jewels in the Water", which I created last fall (shown below before final finishing:

It was purchased by an old friend with whom I used to sing harmonies at church.  She bought an art quilt of mine several years ago and now she has a new piece in a new-to-me textile art medium -- a real blessing, as our lives have diverged a bit and we've not sung together in several years.

But the Very Special Story of this weekend's success -- the story behind the title of this post -- came about, as such stories do, by serendipity.

A woman came to see my work, having dropped in to the art show -- unplanned -- after visiting the Mary C. Moore Library, just down the hall in the same building, the Lacombe Memorial Centre.

She has recently returned from living many years outside Canada.  She's bought a home in Lacombe (or area), from whence she came, and it's being renovated, so she is staying with her brother in the meanwhile.

In his guest room is a piece of mine, which I created many years ago.  I remember it well because it features power poles along a roadway, based on a photo I took almost 20 years ago at a quilting retreat at Northbow Lodge (no longer used for that purpose) in 2008.  I called it "Sentinels"...and it's the only piece of my textile art that I've ever sold to a man. (Most men look politely -- especially if they're artists themselves -- but then their eyes glaze over. I won't say anything more on that!)

Anyway...she saw it...and when she happened on the Art Show/Sale...she stopped in...and found my booth and said to me something to the effect of "I know your work! My brother has one of your pieces in his home!"  So we talked, and she found this dear piece of mine -- my final exam piece for my City & Guilds of London Level 2 Certificate in Creative Techniques: Quilting.  I acquired that certificate in 2012 after 3 years of online study with the wonderful artist Linda Kemshall of the UK.  

It's a piece I created using self-dyed fabric (sky), naturally-dyed fabric (tree trunks) from my friend arlee barr in Calgary, recycled sythetic fabric from an old, thrifted sweater, and commercial fabric, quilted and then embellished with contemporary hand embroidery.

"Trio" - (c) 2012

From this piece, based on aspen along a road near my home, I created a bed-sized quilt as a commission for a dear, very elderly friend -- a gift to herself, she told me, for her 99th birthday (2019). She made her request in June of that year; her birthday was in the third week of October.

Taking inspiration from the wonderful art quilter, Katie Pasquini Masopust, in her book "Artful Log Cabin Quilts" (which my daughter, conveniently, had just given me for Xmas!), I made it into "Prairie Quintet" -- five tree trunks -- so that it could be twin-bed sized.

"Prairie Quintet" -- finished, September 2019

Yes; she got it in time for her birthday. She put it on her bed -- a fact to which is testified by her nephew (he sent me photos) -- but she never slept under it.  An artist (painter) herself, she simply wanted a piece of art on her bed.  Every night she would fold it carefully and set it on a surface near her bed.  Every morning she would make her bed and cover it with the quilt.

Alas, she only did so for just over 8 months -- she died in May 2020 -- not of Covid, but of heart failure, about 5 months before her centenary.  Her elder son advised me of her passing, and I expressed to him hope that one of the younger generation in the family would become the new owner of that quilt.

Once I took up rug hooking as an art medium, with my fondness for aspen, I decided to see if I could recreate it in that format.  I chose a 12" x 12" size, and got it framed.  This time there are only two tree trunks, so I've entitled it "Duo" -- and I hung it with "Trio" this weekend at the art show.  Someday, I hope that it too will find a new loving home:

"Duo" (c) 2026
yarn and fabric strips hooked
into burlap, 12" x 12", framed

I don't think there'll be another 'iteration' of this idea, but I do rather have a fondness for aspen/birch...so who knows where the muse will take me?

As Nina-Marie opines this week, over at "Off the Wall Friday", "every finished piece is proof that courage is stitched one seam at a time."  Or -- I might add -- one stitch, one hooked loop, one brush stroke, one thrown bit of clay, one turn on the lathe, one step at a time.

Where will your memories and your dreams take you this week? Perhaps one teeny, tiny bit more -- as you Create Beauty Every Day.  Remember, Gentle Readers, there is Light in the Making.

Until next time, eh?  A bientot!

Making My Bed

 

I've never been a tip-top housekeeper -- it seems like such a thankless exercise -- but I do try to keep up with some things: the dishes (I'm the dishwasher); the laundry; the bathroom; the vacuuming...that sort of thing.

And I always made my bed -- until about 20 years ago, when my husband died.  I'd been sleeping in a twin bed in my daughter's room for some years before that, as Howard was in a hospital bed -- with a special mattress for his fragile skin and poor circulation -- for more than two years before he died.  

During that time, I'd tried to keep my room in good shape -- it was at the front of the house, after all -- but after he died, I moved back into what had been 'our' room, and it didn't seem to matter much any more.  Even after I moved out of the city to this wee rural hamlet, well...I'd make my bed before I left the house for any length of time, but if I were at home, I just left it.

That seems to have changed in the last few months...since the fall.  In August I posted a special post about what would have been our 50th Anniversary -- and the 19th of his death (same day, different year).  Sometime in the weeks after that, and after my 73rd birthday, and a visit with good friends who let me work through all that those weeks had brought, I began to make my bed again.

Pretty much every morning -- after whichever cat was sleeping on it, got up and left.

I still have my weepy days, my grumpy days, my angry days...but they're less frequent now.  I found a new faith family that I'm still uncertain about joining, but one thing I know is this: they are kind and friendly and want me to stay.

And while my 'art mojo' has been unsettled, this month I'm back into a better groove, making time for it again.

My word for this year is 'Enough' -- and I think that somehow, somewhere deep down inside, I found I'd had enough. Enough of the mess of the bedroom every night at bedtime.  Enough of feeling like I was never accomplishing anything.  Enough of bringing the uncertainty of the outside world into my home.

I'm sleeping better, longer and with fewer unsettling but unremembered dreams.  I'm drinking more water and tea -- even herbal tea! -- and less alcohol.

I'm losing my resentment for the short winter days, all the snow shovelling, and the unpredictable sidewalk and road surfaces that make daily walks difficult.  And when I'm out in the cold, crisp air, I take deep breaths and thank the Creator for the sunshine.

So my making is more a pleasant routine than a boring rote exercise -- and I've found the courage to apply (again) for a booth at the local Art Show/Sale in April.  I'm making new hooked work, including a piece for another fund-raising silent auction for the local performing arts centre.  I gave my 2025 Warm Things box to the church for its mitten tree, and have begun new pieces for a 2026 box.  I'm listening to more quiet, lovely music and less to the news.  

And it all began with the simple step forward: making my bed.

Here are some photos of what I've been working on:

Quilting

I'm making steady progress on Bonnie Hunter's latest Mystery, "Lupines and Laughter", inspired by her 2025 trip to Iceland.

I finished the units for Clue 5:

And I started those for Clue 6:

Shortly after my last post, Sherri posted the first of her blocks for her annual Block of the Month (BOM) at A Quilting Life.  She's doing hers in colours that honour the US 250th anniversary.  Being Canadian, well...I've decided to dig out red and white from my stash -- including fabric left from Canada's 150th Anniversary of Confederation.  I don't have much of the red-and-white print from that fabric line, but I'm going to stretch it as far as I can.  Here's my version of the first blocK:

If you want to make it, and haven't yet downloaded the pattern, it's still free for the taking, HERE.

Knitting:

You all know how I get 'startitis' every January, and (truth be told) again in September with "back to school" -- though I've not had to worry about that for decades now! LOL!

Well, this year, a couple of the knitting podcasters I watch have joined in something called "The 12 Days of Cast-Ons" (or "Christmas Cast-ons"), to which I referred -- briefly -- in my last post.  This originated some years ago, apparently, with a podcaster named Rainbow Ange -- her YouTube channel is YarnNYarns.  The project calls for folks to cast on 12 new items between Xmas Day and the end of January, and then try to finish them by the end of the year.

That said, the "rules" are...well...loosey-goosey.  One podcaster is casting on 6 new projects and dug out 6 Works in Progress (WIPs) to make up 12.  And the craft can be knitting, crochet, spinning, weaving...whatever.

Me?  I decided to cast on a few new knitted things, start a few new projects in my other crafts, and toss in a few languishing WIPs.

The quilting?  My 'new projects' consisted of the Block of the Month, that began January 4, and a funky scrappy log cabin I'm making as a leader/ender project.

In the knitting vein, I cast on a pair of socks (since frogged because though I liked the pattern, I didn't like it striped); a cowl -- mentioned in my last post -- red and white with maple leaves on it.  Sorry; I've still no photo to show you because although I'm past the ribbing and some of the first colour-work, the darned edge rolls up such that I can't photograph it!

And then...my first ever top-down stranded colour-work raglan pullover.  I am loving it!  Even the short-rows!

Pattern: "Feel the Bern"
Designer: Caitlin Hunter
FREE on Ravelry
Yarn: a stash assortment

I finished my 'Simple Handspun Hat'. and it's going into my Warm Things Box:

2-ply -- hand-painted Falklands wool
marled with black alpaca

And I continue to work on the 'Sylph Cowl', which is now my carry-along project.

Cross-stitch:

Except for my Sunday Stitch -- "Cattle on a Thousand Hills" from Plum Street designs -- I've set aside the other projects mentioned in my last post, in favour of focusing on a languishing WIP and a new start (part of my "12 Days" informal plan).

The WIP is the first section -- "Winter" -- of a four-seasons kitted cross-stitch project I got sometime after it came out in (yes) 2005. It's from Elsa Williams, and is done on 14-count white aida, with specially kitted DMC floss.  I really didn't have much left to do, and now all I have is a bit of straight stitching "tree branches".  It's very pretty, and I'm delighted that I'll have it finished by March, when I can start the "Spring" section:

The other piece is my new start -- mentioned in my last post -- the 2026 Stitch-ALong (SAL) from Modern Folk Embroidery, entitled "Little Acorns".  I did indeed start it January 1st, and here's where I am now:

Floss: "Pippy" from Roxy Floss Co.
Fabric: 40-count "Platinum" from Roxy Floss Co.

I took Jacob's suggestion as to how to divide up this year-long SAL, and then decided to further divide the first section into four -- one for each week this month Jan. 1st, Jan. 8th, Jan. 15th, and Jan.22nd.  What you see above is where I got to last evening, just past the half-way mark, so into the fourth week, which is really 10 days.

Finally, in stitch, in light of the events of the past week, I dug out "Disagree" from Rebel Stitcher, and have put in a few stitches.  Here's where I left it in May, 2025:

                              And here's where it was as of last evening:

Thread: 12-wt. Sulky variegated in blues and greens
Fabric: unlabelled 40-count something! 

Rug Hooking:

These are my newest projects.  In my last post I mentioned that I'd received Deanne Fitzpatrick's latest book on landscapes.  I've now read most of it, and taken inspiration to get back to the frame(s).

On my made-over embroidery frame, I started a small piece (8" x 10") that's a floral, inspired by a water-colour from my cyber-friend Holly Maclean of New Brunswick -- and used by permission:

There's actually more been done on it than the photo shows -- but I've put it on pause until I receive some more yarn in shades of maroon that I discovered I was lacking.  They should arrive next week.

And on the Cheticamp frame, I drew two landscapes.  One is an adaptation of an art quilt I created in 2012, but I've not started it yet. Stay tuned!

The other is the landscape I plan to mount on canvas (provided by the venue) for the 2nd "Piece-by-Piece" silent auction fundraiser to benefit the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre (LPAC):

Working Title: Underneath a January Moon

Again, I took some inspiration from Holly -- a watercolour she did of a large bare tree in winter -- again with her permission -- but I've made it my own with the other trees and the moon etc.  I have yet to finish the sky and the foreground snow, but it'll be finished soon.

Those of you, Gentle Readers, who've been following along, might remember that in November I was accepted into "Winter's Night", a small group exhibit also at the LPAC.  It closed last week, and on Monday this week I picked up my piece, "Love Lives in the Stars".

It won't be home long, though, as "my" gallery, Curiosity Art and Framing in Red Deer", has accepted it for their next themed exhibit, "Starry-eyed" -- so I'll be taking it there next week.

Riding a wave of inspiration and hopeful ambition, I've sent in my application for the 2026 Lacombe Encore! Art Show and Sale in April, and am giving consideration to answering an Open Call at LPAC for later this year or into 2027, a solo show of my quilted work.  I've talked it over with the young woman in charge, and she's encouraged me to apply...so stay tuned for news on that too.

I think that's enough for this go 'round, Gentle Readers.  Just reviewing it all makes my head spin a bit. The evening is getting late, so perhaps it's time for me to close this off and crawl into that well-made bed with a cuppa and book.

Until next time, I'll leave you with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.  She too is in a whiriwind of new making -- requiring her to deal with the...um...state of her studio.  I think you'll agree that for most of us, it's easier to make our beds! 😉

A bientot!