Machine Embroidered Fabric

This has been a fairly labour intensive project, but one I wanted to try for ages. I used a selection of those lovely decorative stitches on my Pfaff to create a piece of fabric. This piece is designated for my sister and her beautiful photo prop dresses but now that I have tried it, I will change it up a bit and create another piece to use myself in a small quilted project of my own. It was great practice though kind of boring because you have to pay close attention to what you are doing. That means no straying eyes so no distracting movies on the laptop....darn!

Having our daughter home on Valentine’s Day meant her Dad bought me some beautiful flowers, specifically tulips. They sure brighten up my kitchen, especially when outside there seems to be snow, snow and more snow these days. Anyway, they are too pretty to not share. Enjoy.....

I am hooking up with The Needle and Thread Network. Check it out and see what other needle folk across Canada have been up to!

A block

My goal these days is to keep busy. And productive. And to remember to come out of my “cave” every once in a while and have a conversation. I had several projects I needed to get completed asap and now that those are done, I need to make good on my promise to my hubby to edit the photos from our Icelandic trip. I am going to start.....soon.....

As I sewed the last stitches on a recent project, I looked over the assortment of piles near and about and remembered I had taken a kit to complete a block for the PEDVAC, a volunteer group in nearby Port Elgin. Since I have picked some very delicious blueberries in that area and because we often bike their section of the TransCanada Trail, I thought I could help out in this small way. They were collecting blocks for a bed quilt to raffle off to help raise funds for a new building.

I was reminded of many things as I stitched this block....
1. Don’t take short cuts when you applique
2. Press, and press again
3. Batiks are a bugger to applique with and I should have ordered that silk thread 
4. For heavens sake, use a new needle
5. And yes, your eyesight is slowly deteriorating, get up and get your OttLite....

Anyway, it is done. Not my best but it did encourage me to start a new Baltimore block for "the quilt that will never be finished”.

Barbados sunshine

This quilt has almost felt like cheating, but I have to admit, this speedy quilting design is effective and I like it! I have loved this quilt top since I pieced it - quite a while ago - and I have wanted to quilt it for just as long. I made several tops in this design, a simple rail fence block with lots of opportunity for play and layout possibilities. I used to keep a basket of these blocks near my sewing and my children would spend hours laying them on the floor in different patterns. 

The majority of the fabric used in this top is from Barbados. My parents had a  second home there for approximately 30 years and when they were there, it was guaranteed that Mom would check out the many fabric stores for beautiful screen printed panels to bring back home. Mom was always excited to find sea island cotton to sew with and for good reason! This beautiful, luxurious fabric drapes amazingly and just feels so darn good. It has a sheen to it that most polished cottons nowadays cannot even come close to. And sewing with it is a dream! I remember Mom making me blouses and dresses from sea island cotton that I loved to wear because they felt so comfy yet were so crisp and fresh all the time. Some of these panels I used in this top were printed on this wonderful fabric and I even integrated a full panel as part of the backing. 

I didn’t want to quilt anything too dense so this ribbon design seemed a good choice. It was such a quick and fun design to quilt, I am thinking I may just have to use it again soon....as in on the next quilt to go on the machine! Quilt tops seem to be showing up in unexpected corners and this simple yet effective quilting pattern could work for a couple of them. I used this gorgeous marigold Glide thread by Fil-Tec and am loving how it works so well with the fabric!

I also find I am starting to relax a bit more too as I quilt - yesterday I caught myself driving one handed! Which is good except I had a snack firmly gripped in the other hand.....hmmm.....maybe I should follow the rules of the road and maintain the recommended 10 and 2 and keep the kitchen in the kitchen. Wish me luck!

Today I am connecting with The Needle and Thread Network.

Visual Art in Akureyri

Akureyri, with 17,000 residents, is the second largest “city" in Iceland and along with being a very cosmopolitan area in its own right, has numerous places of interest within its radius - can you say geothermal hot springs?! We had booked ahead for two nights accommodation and found ourselves staying in what we laughing called our "Ikea showroom”! It was a lovely 3 bedroom flat with every last item (except for one very unusual and relatively unattractive lamp shade) being from Ikea!

The city is located on a busy harbour and is surrounded by snow covered mountain peaks with its placement on the globe making it very close to the Arctic Circle. It is home to the only Art Museum in Iceland located outside Reykjavik. The Museum is associated with a Centre for Visual Arts with an extensive art program for all ages. Icelanders are a very, very creative bunch and they support the arts in their communities with every town having one, if not two statues along with craft cooperatives, many individual craft shops and just about everyone wears a handknit lopi sweater!! The corrugate metal and concrete houses are often painted beautiful shades of red, blue or gold and they stand out like bright flowers against the incredible land and seascapes.

The current exhibit at the Art Museum, in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of Akureyri, was called: Arsborealis - People and Culture of the Arctic. There were pieces from many artists of Northern communities including Iceland, Greenland, Norway and even Canada! There was also a photography exhibit on display with some huge photos printed and hung on the outsides of the buildings they were exhibited in.

The Museum advertised in this very unique way of using street art including a piece of sidewalk art which was secured to the pavement walkway. The dresses which hung over the road, flapping very aggressively in the strong Icelandic winds were approximately 12 - 16 feet in length! There were also rows of aprons, and various banners flying across the street.

Their means of drawing attention to their shows was definitely effective because we spotted them from afar and just had to get a closer look at these colorful banners. 

The Agony and the Ecstasy

"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen." Leonardo Da Vinci

Hmmm....easy for you to say, Lennie....although, perhaps you are right. 

I am currently removing a section of longarm stitching that just didn’t work. And maybe I wouldn’t have realized this if I hadn’t been away where I could only ponder the project from afar. And realizing it now, before I get into the meat of the stitching, is no doubt best.

So, maybe Mr. Da Vinci did know of what he spoke. He does have a number of successes in his resume.....

Drama Days. And nights....

"Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.” Bob Thaves


As I chuckled over the absoluteness of that statement, I was immediately lost in visions of dance routines and the tap, tap, tap of tap shoes. I am such a fan of musical theatre, and most especially water ballets! I have watched and re-watched all the Ester Williams movies I have been able to find. I love all things synchronized, and glitter and glitz make my heart race!! When my daughter joined synchronized swimming as a young girl, I was thrilled to be on the sidelines, ready to assist in glueing and sewing sequins and other shiny things. I didn’t do so well on the hair side of things though and after her head had been turned into a solid mass of hair with thickened gelatin, I resorted to glue gunning her bun cover to the back of her hair and making her sleep with it this way for the 2 days of the competition....I have never been good with hair. Or flowers.


My daughter was to spend a lot of time on stage and I was an adoring stage Mom. I learned early on when to interject and when to let her do things her own way. But, by the time she got to grade 8 and her Middle School Drama group produced Romeo and Juliet, I was involved. Her Drama Coach had a vision and allowed me to assist, so much so that I shared a NB Excellence in Costuming Award with her and another parent. Although I produced numerous costumes for that production, my favorites were those for my daughter as I had to develop the patterns myself. My daughter played the Nurse and I created her many layered costume including 2 elaborate head pieces and a “fat” suit based very loosely on the one in Mrs. Doubtfire. 


High school brought numerous roles for her to fill as she met a teacher who was to become one of her strongest mentors. Under his tutelage, she learned so much, and in tandem, so did I. I have lost count of the number of productions produced in her 4 years and also lost count of the hours my entire family spent spent building costumes, constructing and painting sets, lettering stage pieces, organizing the costume storage room and dressing rooms, compiling costume bibles, taking photographs, putting up and striking the sets, and transporting all of the above! 


Her time in Drama was a great training ground for life. And while she was busy learning lines, dance routines, songs, monologues and helping back stage, if I wasn’t painting sets, I was usually found in front of the cutting table or sewing machines building one of many necessary pieces. Probably one of my earliest and biggest accomplishments within this scope of theatre work was constructing 3 genuine corsets for Into the Woods. Each corset took me 21 hours - after I had first figured out how to create them. 


When building stage pieces, you need to consider so much more than when you are simply sewing garments. They need to be made so that they will accommodate a variety of sizes of actors, be strong enough for multiple costume changes and performances, allow for ease of movement, allow the dressers to get actors in and out of them easily during quick changes, and maintain a fresh look. There are many times you have to look outside the fabric store box to find exactly what would fulfill these needs. 


In order to keep the corsets shape intact and to help make sure they in turn kept all the body parts where they should be, I ended up using stripped electrical wire for the boning. It was difficult enough to use, but in doing so, I also had to make sure each piece was the perfect length so that the actor wearing it wouldn’t be stabbed during a performance if she happened to move a way that made the boning shift! For some of the first performances, I sat ready with my wire clippers so I could quickly adjust the lengths when one of the girls came off stage! 

When I was looking at photos from my daughter’s drama years, I realized she had worn one of the corsets again in her final year of high school in a production her Drama Coach wrote for her and that yielded her a NB Provincial DramaFest Outstanding Actor Award. That was the wonderful thing about building pieces for the Moncton High School Drama program - all pieces became resource pieces for other schools and theatre groups and many were integrated into other MHS productions. 

Summer Office

I love this time of year! I spend as much time as I can outdoors, so I often move out to what I call my “summer office”. We have decks on two sides of our home so we can take advantage of the morning and afternoon sun - or hide in the shade when the temps get a bit too warm. Over the last few days I have spent a few hours out there stitching and sketching - always with my handy iTools nearby. I have been making my way through quite a few UFO’s and it feels really great to start taking a bite out of the pile that has accumulated over the past....years....yikes! As I work, I have been watching episodes of The Quilt Show to keep me inspired. And a nice cool beverage is always welcome!! And yes, we use mason jars for glassware in this house....

I have never professed to be a great gardener. My thumb is only green when I am dyeing or painting fabric but, that doesn’t mean I don’t try just a little gardening. My hubby made me three window boxes for one deck and our children gave me two more for the kitchen deck on Mother’s Day years ago. This means I can have a small selection of flowers and herbs to enjoy each summer. I love variety, so every year I chose new-to-me annuals for the flower boxes (although I seem to be drawn to begonias again this year I must admit). And I always, always have at least 2 basil plants and a mixture of mints that can be added to teas. 

Every morning I visit both decks and simply exult in the sheer pleasure of the bright, vibrant colors of the blossoms and the variety of greens. I rub the leaves of each herb and enjoy their distinct scents. That is often when I decide we will have margarita pizza with fresh basil for supper or perhaps a chilled mint tea with whatever berry happens to be the fridge at lunchtime. 

This week I am also connecting to The Needle and Thread Network. Check it out!