What was That About Spring?

The above photo isn't from today -- or even this year (the tall birch stump beside the garage in the background is gone now) -- but it might as well be!  As forecast, the snow began early this a.m. and is ongoing.  It paused long enough -- well, lightened up long enough -- for my neighbour to satisfy his urge to clear it from his deck and some of his walkways, with his big snow-blower (in fact, he and his wife are still out there as I type!) -- but it's full on snowing again now and isn't destined to stop for another two or three hours.  And it's blowing. 

A fellow with a sidewalk sized vehicle with a blade on the front has been by at least three times, ostensibly clearing the public sidewalk in front of our houses, but all that's happened is that it's filled up again.

What's a gal with a girly snowblower and an aversion to blowing snow supposed to do?  Stay inside and create, of course!

Let me begin with what I've worked on up to today...

Aside from knitting on my Millie sweater, in which I'm making my way down the body to the point where I can begin the finishing (3" - 4" deep) ribbing, I spent last weekend working with the "mystery materials" I showed you in my last post:

Materials: indigo-dipped silk scarf, cut into 1 1/2" strips,
piece of recycled cotton pillow case
 -- sea green, over-dyed with cobalt blue MX dye.

Inspirational photo by Gina Blank
-- a section of Riel House, Manitoba

Silk strips sewn together in random order;
tracing of the shuttered window, auditioning position

Strips quilted; "window" fused to top.

Et voila!
Shuttered: Riel House, Manitoba - (C) 2020
Highlighted with Pitt pen,
coloured pencil and mechanical pencil,
and wrapped around 12" x 9" stretched canvas
-- awaiting framing.

By Monday I was ready to rest my brain a bit, so I took out several small 'tops' I'd created in some colour studies in a Craftsy class a few years ago.  I'd put borders on them a few months ago, figuring I'd make table toppers for the Bazaar at our church last November.  Well, that didn't happen.  But...they are coming to life now as little cuddle blankets or car seat blankets or whatever for a new moms-and-babes program in Lacombe.  I decided it would be enjoyable to quilt them by hand, using a 'big stitch' (1/8" or a bit larger) and #12 perle cotton. 

There are four in all, measuring up at about 29" x 30" or 30" square.  The first one is finished.  The blue border has more green in it -- but I couldn't get it to show on camera.  That said, it suits the blues in the squares.

Lazily lying on the top of my easy chair...

A detail of my 'big stitch' hand-quilting

The second one has been quilted, and I'm ready to sew on the binding on two of the sides.  I do what I've heard referred to as an "Amish binding" -- straight of grain; first two sides sewn edge to edge, then hemmed to the back; next, the second two are cut a bit longer so that when you hem them down on the back, the ends are folded in for a neat finish.  I'm not sure it's Amish (I can't find proof) but it works for me.  I find mitred corners clumsy to do and this method is less bulky in the corners than sewing all the bindings on a the same time and then trying to fold in the corners (which is what I used to do).

Today...well I was in the mood for Something Completely Different. 

One of my favourite video podcasts on YouTube is Kate's Last Homely House.  Kate is a knitter, spinner, quilter, potter and gardener who lives in a "cottage" on a farmstead in Northumberland, UK.  She's a few years younger than I, with grown children, four cats, a goose and several hens.  Something about her strikes such a chord in me...and I love to hear her "witter on", as she calls it.  She sometimes does tutorials, and one of them really caught my attention several months ago (maybe even a year).  For those of you who want the whole thing for what I'm about to share, click HERE.

Now, those of you who know me, know that I'm not particularly partial to paper arts -- even though I've altered one book and created an artist's sketchbook/journal or two. 

But that said, I absolutely love stationery and fine note paper and cards.  I don't care to make them, but I enjoy receiving them, and using good stationery for real hand-written correspondence.  Well, then.  Kate shared her idea for creating a sort of album in which to store favourite cards one had received.  It uses cardboard -- best from recycled cereal boxes -- decorative paper, glue and string or ribbon or even elastic to hold the cards in place in the album covers.

My cereal box, opened out and trimmed
of the flaps.

My cover trimmed to fit the selected cards,
prepared with its "binding",
and lined with decorative paper.
(I have a very limited selection!)

Cards fastened inside
with #8 perle cotton; view of
finished "album" from the outside.

Inside view.

The card with the two kitties was sent me by my friend Maggi Birchenough of the U.K., whom I met when we were both SAQA Reps at the Portland conference in 2015.  She died a bit more than a year later, but in that time we became fast friends.  I miss her still.

I leave you now, Gentle Readers, to figure out what to make for my supper...and to resume knitting on that Millie!  I want to wear it at the SAQA Conference in Toronto in a few weeks, and it's not going to finish itself!

Linking this to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday -- and wishing you a cozy rest of the weekend!  (Think of me tomorrow, when the storm has passed and I'm shovelling out! 😉)

Into the Mystery

I'm out of sorts, "tetchy", at loose ends.  The weather, unlike yesterday when it was clearly miserable, is uncertain.  It's by turns snowy and less snowy, and the roads are unpredictable.  The wind rises and falls.  There are ice patches on the highway at the edge of town.  I had some errands I wanted to run (because I couldn't, yesterday) and just when I think I might risk the highway, the snow and the wind both pick up.  😣  Sigh.

I've worked on some knitting (gifts-in-the-making); I've stitched on the third SJSA block; I've sorted some more of my Scotland photos.

I shovelled (including my driveway), commiserating with my neighbours and Miss Pookie, who pranced delicately about in the footsteps dented in the snow, rather than risk an all-out gambol.  I went to the Post Office (no mail).  I ate some lunch, and caught up on blog reading.

Bless Bonnie Hunter!  As I was reading her latest post -- and commiserating about her late night at the Emergency Vet's with her beloved pooch (all shall be well now but it was a long evening!)...I remembered.

The annual Mystery.

It's that time of year again -- and she's recently posted the introduction to this latest quilt-along.  Why not take a look at it?

Who am I kidding?!  I didn't participate last year (the use of templates is just not my idea of a good time), but maybe this year...?  My current commission is stalled -- temporarily.  I need more of one particular fabric, and while my LQS is holding some for me pending inspection, I can't get there because of the questionable road conditions.  A Quiltville (Facebook) Community colleague in the U.S. is putting some in the mail today with the hopes that it's a match...so between those two sources, I am hopeful. 

But while I wait...I'm antsy.  I finished another small canvas yesterday...but I don't want to do another today.  Yes, I'm an art quilter, but my hands want to piece -- so I printed off the 2017 Mystery intro and took it into the sewdio.  Cutting and piecing is rhythmic for me; it might just relieve the tension of waiting for the weather to clear.  Why not at least audition the fabric?

It didn't take me long to notice, though, that there in a series of Styrofoam trays on the floor under my ironing board was...um...an Unfinished Mystery: "Grand Illusion" from 2015.

Well, then!  I could hardly start a new one when that one was in pieces on the floor, could I? (rhetorical question! 😉 

"Grand Illusion"
Clue #2 units finished

Clue #3 units finished

I did a quick check of where I was -- counting out finished units -- and realized that I'd finished up through Part III of five "clues".  Two more, and I could put together full blocks.  I can do this! 

And I've just enough time to work on it today and to pick it up over the coming weeks, even as I (finally) finish that commission, and those knitted gifts, and perhaps a few more canvases.

The realization was just enough to reignite my Quilting Mojo -- and that, Gentle Readers, is the blessing, the miracle and the mystery of the creative process.  Onward and upward!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at The Needle and Thread Network, and gettin' back into the sewdio.  I've fabric to cut!

A Snowy Start to January

I couldn't resist "sharing" this Bitstrip I made for this morning's Facebook post!  

You guessed it: I'm not in Calgary; I didn't even begin to try to get there...and I was unsuccessful in my attempt to get to the Purolator depot in Alix to arrange to ship the Trunk to Manitoba.  I'll try again tomorrow to drop it off but it won't get picked up till Monday a.m....and so mayn't make it to its destination in time for its first booking.  Blessedly, the good quilters in Dauphin, MB get their share of wintry weather so undoubtedly they will understand!

Meanwhile, I have an EBMC assignment to work on, some Clues to solve in a quilt mystery and some slippers to finish... See ya!

36 of 50 Units - Grand Illusion, Clue #3!

NOTE: Even though this is a rather "art-less" post, I'm linkin' up with Nina Marie and the others over at Off the Wall Friday....Have a great weekend!

The Gift of a Day...and a Day of Gifts

Yesterday I woke to snow and blowing snow, with drifting on the highways.  There was no way I was going to be able to get into Lacombe for my "usual Monday".  I made a phone call or two and then settled in to enjoy it.

Since finishing my 15 x 15 piece for the "Rhythms" theme, I've begun work on a couple of large projects, both of which I can't say much about at present -- but they began yesterday in the sewdio.

The first is going to use a significant portion of my stash of muted fabrics, many from Japan.  The design source is Susan Briscoe's Japanese Taupe Quilts, which I bought a few years ago at a local quilt show.  I've had this project in mind ever since and have finally settled down to design it...even setting aside a special sketchbook.

Initial Lay-out

Fabrics for Pieced Block

Two blocks on the design wall
- will measure 9" finished

Given the size of the piece and the finished size of the blocks, I mulled it over some more, and late last evening came up with a larger lay-out.  The blocks with the crosses are from the pattern I've already made.  There will be more blocks and central motif, rather like a medallion.

By late morning the snow had stopped, and the sun was out, but the roads were still a mess.  I got in a shovelling work out and then went to the Post Office, where I found these awaiting me:

I'd ordered them in early December -- one as the result of a blog post I'd read (can't remember which, now) and the other, because Interweave was offering it on sale at an incredible discount -- enough to make the postage worth it.

The Art of the Needle by Jan Beaney is one I've longed to collect; I bought it second-hand through Amazon.ca, and it arrived slowly but in remarkably good condition.  India Flint's Eco Colour was the Interweave offer, at a price so low I thought I was going to receive an 'e-book' but no -- I actually have a hard copy in my hands.  The temptation to throw all other work out the window and curl up with these is strong, but I'm resisting...for now.

The greatest gift yesterday, though, was the memory of my daughter's birthday, thirty-three years before.

Self Portrait of my daughter...some time in 2013

I look at her, and what she's done in those 33 years, and I marvel.  A gift, indeed.