The Festival of Broken Needles, GMQG Retreat 2015

Whew..Well, it's over..There is still a mountain of paperwork, finances, thank you's, photo editing, a post-mortem meeting to be completed, but the actual physical retreat is over and done with. 

A puzzle table in the sun

I belong to the Greater Moncton Quilt Guild, a guild currently in its' 29th year. Each year a retreat is held and this year we were able to accommodate 40 participants. Last year I was one of two "assistant planners" and this year I was Co-Chair and next year I go back to being a registered participant.

Our block challenge was a spool block and the lucky winner went home with enough blocks for a very large quilt top!

 
We open the doors to our weekend retreat on Friday at noon and close up shop at noon on Sunday. What happens between these hours is pretty amazing whether you are considering what the collective group manages to produce, or whether you are considering the sheer dynamics of 40 women talking, laughing, joking, eating, and drinking, with a few tears mixed in, some from joy and a few less joyful, but all therapeutic none the less. 

I love to plan and execute events. And I feel establishing a theme helps create a cohesive event and makes it easier for the organizing committee. Last year our theme was "Quilters Love to Strip" and all the projects, games, prizes, decorations focused around strips. This year we based our retreat on the Japanese Festival of Broken Needles, an annual ceremony where Japanese seamstresses honour their broken tools by laying them to rest and giving thanks for their service. With this focus on gratitude, we also wanted to educate and were able to include valuable information on needles, pins and thread as part of the handouts. 

Juanita made herself and Shirley oriental mug rugs for the occasion!

We contacted sponsors, both local and online and were absolutely astounded by the support we received. In addition to the small budget we had from our retreat fees, we raised funds by selling tickets on a basket of quilting goodies. Combining what we raised and what was donated, we were able to provide each of our participants with a wonderful goody bag and a door prize! 

The last two years we have included a banquet on Saturday evening as part of the price of admission. This year after the meal, we also held a small ceremony conducted by our own Geisha who gave us much food for thought with her reading of Emily Dickinson's poem, "Don't Put Up My Needle and Thread". She invited each of us to consider the importance of these simple tools as we placed our broken needles and pins in a bed of tofu, just as they do in Japan. 

Our altar

Our broken needled and pins were laid to rest in a bed of tofu

Afterwards we invited everyone to come and have their photos taken in the photo booth we had set up, complete with costumes and props. To say we laughed is an understatement! What a wonderful group of women! Everyone participated and we have some gems of photos as they shared this fun activity with their quilting friends. 

The planning committee 

Co-Chair Nancy and I hammed it up

You might guess I am weary now. I had a full three weeks with a week long trip to Toronto, a three day seminar here, and then this retreat. Today I stayed in bed a bit longer, wore my fleece pyjamas longer than I stayed in bed and I enjoyed endless cups of coffee while I readjusted to the inside of my house. 

The Calm Before the Storm - Shediac, New Brunswick

Whenever snow, storms, blizzards are coming our way, the media is all over it. Conversations are dominated by the topic of what is expected. Comparisons are made to storms of the past and predictions are made for the one coming.

Right now the first blizzard of 2015 is brewing outside my windows. At 8 am, the air was still, no snow fell. Within a half hour the view out my living room window had changed considerably. The snow had begun and the wind had picked up. 

We have electric heat, so the most that can be done to prepare is to run off some extra water and bring in the camp stove. I don't react well to a loss of power, but a cup of hot tea or coffee can go along way to a better attitude. After all these years together, my husband knows this well. 

Our antidote to an impending storm is to head to the beach. Saturday was spent exploring the sands and wharf of the Shediac - Pointe du Chene area. As always, I took my camera and my husband exhibited extreme patience as I stopped and clicked and oohed and oohed more. He carried driftwood and feathers after my pockets were full and helped me push huge chucks of ice into the current and we watched as they floated and crashed and broke up into smaller pieces.

Shediac Beach

Looking toward Pointe du Chene

We met some other like minded folk walking and biking and even had a gentleman in an ultra lite fly just over our heads and wave! My photos don’t convey it well, so you will have to believe me that by times the sun was glorious. 

It was an incredibly restful and fun day.

off the Pointe du Chene wharf

Pointe du Chene Wharf

Shediac Beach

Sew Sister Blogathon Canada 2014 hits the Atlantic!

Welcome Blogathon readers!! This week Sew Sisters is celebrating Canadian quilters!

This week is the third Blogathon Canada sponsored by Sew Sisters, a brick and mortar quilt shop located in Toronto, Ontario. I have ordered fabric online from Sew Sisters and found them to be very prompt and efficient. I really enjoy how they wrap all fabric securely in plastic before they box it up to mail. It is great service because this is how Canada Post handles parcels being delivered to me: if it is raining or snowing, parcels are left it in the middle of my driveway and if the sun is shining, parcels are bent and folded and shoved into the mailbox..Fortunately fabric is forgiving!

There are two Maritime hosts today, and both happen to be Linda's! There is Nova Scotia's Linda at Scrapmaster and New Brunswick's Linda at Stitch Lines. Check both of Linda’s blogs out for lots more East Coast bloggers and be sure to comment on both their posts - Sew Sisters has generously provided some great prizes! Thanks Sew Sisters!!

I refer to myself as a "person of fibre"..I love it in its many forms and love working with it any way I can. I quilt, I paint fabric, I surface dye it, I have sewn lots and lots of clothing and household items over the years, I have built costumes for the stage, I can weave and felt, I knit, I can crochet. Breathing does become an issue around sheep (and horses, too, but that's irrelevant here) so I sold my spinning wheel early on in my weaving/spinning career.

As well, I am a sign painter. Hence the name of my blog, Sister of the brush. Sign painting tended to be a predominately male occupation for many years and when I studied at George Brown College (yes, there are legitimate sign writing courses...), we were told the secret to running a successful business was a supportive wife. A wife. No, they never said, supportive husband, spouse, partner, it was wife..Well, that left me and other females in our class high and dry, so it was there and then that we dubbed ourselves, Sisters of the Brush and swore to be our own support system!

I still love wielding a brush. And I incorporate paint and fabric all the time. Painting fabric is soooo much fun! I especially like low immersion dyeing, discharging, sun printing and soy batik and combinations of all techniques!

I am also a longarm quilter. I use pantographs to quilt edge to edge designs, but especially enjoy quilting my own designs.

Thanks for visiting and welcome as always to my regular audience! I appreciate you taking the time to see what I am up to, what I am currently ranting about or seeing what photos I am sharing. Please continue to comment and if you have any issues doing so, please email me. My address is available via my profile which can be found on my sidebar.

Sun, Sand, and Swimming on a Sunday in September

Here in my area Sunday was beautifully summery, reminiscent of July days. Before my head left the pillow that morning, I was cajoling my husband into a trip to the beach. An early lunch allowed us an early start and we drove to nearby Parlee Beach for some sun and fun.

We weren't surprised to see a few others with the same idea and a low tide encouraged a number of walkers. We counted a total of 7 adults and a handful of children in the water, all seemingly oblivious to the strong winds that whipped stinging sand in the more open areas.

We had barely gotten our knees damp when we struck up conversation with three very polite and chatty young gentlemen visiting the beach while filming a movie in the area. I exchanged shark snorkelling tales and had a short discussion about snakes (?) with one of the two stunt men while Rejean chatted with the other, as well as with the third fellow, an actor. Rejean took a photo for them wading in the waves and they joked about jealous wives and girlfriends back in Montreal working while they enjoyed the east coast. Then they wandered off in search of seafood while we continued along the shore. My daughter always jokes about me and my frequent conversations with young guys, and I really have no idea why this is a fairly constant thing for me, but maybe they find me, a middle aged, chubby woman non-threatening, or maybe they are missing their moms?? Anyway, they were very fun to talk with and I think they might have stayed longer had they not been hungry..lol Always delightful, these conversations!

After we walked the shore and checked out the wharf area, we came back to the beach and had a wonderfully refreshing swim in the ocean. One fall when our children were in middle school, each afternoon I picked them up after school and drove to Parlee with a van load of their friends and we swam until 8 pm every night! That lasted well into the last week of September and I haven’t seen me in the water this late in the season since then. So, this was a great treat! And to be able to lie on the sand in the hot sun (25 degrees!!) afterwards was icing on the cake! 

Last night the rain pounded down, but the temperature stayed high. This morning the sun is pushing its' way back out from behind the clouds and it is going to be hard to stay on task today..sun, sand and the possibility of an ocean swim are the sirens call for me. 

A Collaborative Quilt

One of our local guilds held their annual retreat this past winter and as part of the Saturday evening events, participants were invited to play a quilters game of dice and strips. Fabric strips, that is. Our retreat theme was, “Quilters Like to Strip” and all activities on the weekend revolved around 2.5 inch strips. Since I was one of the organizers, I like to think that everyone had a great time and that it was a very successful retreat.

The game was a success and my quilting friend, Juanita won the strips. Being a good sport, she announced that she would use the strips to make a charity, or comfort quilt, and I offered to quilt it.

Fast forward to August. The top and back were pieced, I finished the quilting and Juanita added a beautiful binding and label.

Top

Back

Juanita used every bit of every strip and pieced this lovely top and equally fun back.

On August 24th, one of Moncton’s most enthusiastic and positive quilters passed away. Ree always wore a huge smile and her hugs were legendary. Although I didn’t know her really well, she was exceptionally kind and encouraging the last time we spoke and I will always remember how excited she was for me as I move my way into the world of longarming.

Today Juanita delivered the quilt to Crossroads for Women on behalf of the Greater Moncton Quilt Guild in memory of Ree. We think she would approve.

Marie Ree Defina

 

Glimpses of a Maritime summer

Looking toward Charlottetown, PEi across the Charlottetown Harbour

A typical incredible roadside view, Cumberland, PEI

A couple of happy bikers on the south shore of PEI

Our favorite honey stand which works on the honor system for payment, a standard for road side stands in the Maritimes

The absolute best..Blueberry Honey although the Blueberry Cream is equally as delicious

The view from under my rainbow umbrella

The skies over my favorite NB beach

Throwing a few lines off a wharf in Petit Cap, NB

So many seaside treasures, this an abandoned crab shell picked clean by the gulls and washed by the ocean

Prayers for Moncton

Today we all sigh a collective sigh of relief as the events of the last few days finally come to a close. I admit it has been very difficult to focus on anything except the tragic events as they unfolded and sleep has been difficult. I found myself glued to the news broadcasts and to Facebook, trying to learn what I could about any new developments in my adopted town.

My nature is such that I constantly ask myself, what if? what could have been done? why did no one recognize the forerunners in this person’s personality and habits? I have to wonder what the triggers were for this young man and what made him feel what he did was necessary. I wonder how his life’s path might have been altered to avoid his actions, the terror he evoked, the lives he took. I wonder what his life will be now. And why he lives when three others died at his hands..

I also have to admit that although he was finally apprehended in a non-violent manner, I was initially discontented. The fact that he lives will be a constant reminder that others do not because of his violent and senseless actions.

My heart goes out to the families, friends and colleagues of the three fallen officers. Their lives have been forever altered, their grief is immense, their loss is immeasurable. 

Colors of Cozumel

Spring is slowly making its way back into our lives, although as I drove through the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia this week, I saw evidence that New Brunswick is still slightly behind on the calendar. Even though I attended Acadia University way back when, I had never witnessed the apple blossoms in all their glory! So, I was actually momentarily puzzled when I saw the rows of trees laden with their ethereal whitish pink flowers. I remember the thought crossing my mind that it seemed like an awful lot of ornamental cherry trees off the highway with no houses in sight. Yes, I have days like that where the obvious is just not obvious...

Had I not been so focused on making my way to my destination, I might have stopped and taken a photo or two to share. But, I also remembered one night, those many years ago, when a group of fellow students and I made our way into the apple orchard, bags in hand, with plans to help ourselves to some deliciously juicy pickings. The details are now vague, but I do recall a couple of twisted ankles and scraped knees as we breathlessly raced out of the field when we were spotted and told on no uncertain terms to beat it!! Still embarrassed by this escapade all these years later and not willing to twist my aging bones and joints, I simply stayed out of the field and enjoyed the view from afar. You will have to trust me that it was a glorious sight with a very festive feel as the laden branches delicately danced in the breeze.

After that long winter we all persevered, I am visually hungry for new growth this spring and am anxiously waiting for my magnolia tree to bloom, for flowers to begin popping up, and for the greens of summer to grow strong and true. Nova Scotia is weeks ahead with magnolias beginning to drop their blossoms, ornamental cherries and dogwoods in full bloom, wild flowers and tulips in abundance and trees full and green. 

So, to appease my senses, I have been looking at some photos I took while in Cozumel. Until I get some more local color photographed, I am sharing these..

Feathers and Freehand Quilting

It seems that most times I am told, “ do what you want,” when asked to quilt for people. And that is what I love to hear because it gives me free reign to quilt as I choose.

This lovely quilt is one of those wonderful projects where I had no set parameters and no limitations. Claudia pieced this top at our local guild retreat, using a variety of fabrics including Stonehenge fabrics by Northcott.

She asked me to order a wool batt and for the top thread, I used a Superior Rainbows variegated thread I purchased at Road from Dr. Bob whose sage advice when I asked about it was, “Try it. You’ll like it.” I have to admit, I was hoping for a bit more info, but he was right, I do like it. I used a Glide thread in the bobbin, one of the spools the Gammill folk included in their goody bags for class participants.

I felt this quilt needed feathers as well as places for the eye to relax so I quilted feathers in the outside borders and triangles and did some freehand work in the blocks and inside border. My feathers are a work in progress and I seem to have found my style when I practice and then lose it again when the quilting gets serious..lol I am going to keep working at them because they are actually fun to quilt.

Bargello Hearts and Complementary Coloring, a Client’s Quilt

It was only as I chopped the green onions that I recognized the pattern.

I looked behind me to the plate of thinly sliced cucumber and wedges of tomato.

I remembered filling my shopping basket with brussel sprouts, asparagus spears, firm sweet peppers, strawberries, leeks, a mouth watering canary melon.

It was the perfect example of art imitating life. Or life imitating art? 

When I teach my color theory classes, or give my hour long presentation on the same topic, part of the program emphasizes looking to Mother Nature for color guidance. An interesting twist on this topic, here I was, innately recreating the colors I had been quilting with, only this time they were on my plate.

During the recent Greater Moncton Quilt Guild retreat, one of our members was working on this luscious bargello top.

I admired it from afar and remember thinking how much fun it would be to quilt.

Yesterday as I handed this beautiful quilt back to its maker, I laughingly told Marie my thoughts that weekend. And how excited I was when I saw the top she asked me to quilt for her!

As I sat and munched my veggies and fruit last evening, I reflected on how your mind make these connections and how I was so obviously influenced by the colors of Marie’s top. Perhaps I just wasn’t ready to let the piece go and this was my way of re-creating those wonderful complementary and gradient colors. Whatever the reason, the quilt is rich and gorgeous, the food was delicious and I am so happy to have had both to enjoy.