Protection/Healing Quilt

Carrying on my blue theme, this is a wall quilt I made for my sister. My friend Judy Martin made a beautiful Protection Heart block for me several years ago, and it inspired me to make this quilt for my sister. I used colours that symbolize her element (air) and metal (gold). I included a Protection Heart, a Healing Hand, and Life Spiral images.

I also included buttons from 3 generations of family button boxes, a length of old hand-crocheted lace that was passed down to me, many symbolic embellishments including Roman Catholic religious medals, and a collection of lace hankerchiefs that belonged to our Great Aunt Muriel Rice. She graduated from the Waltham Training School for Nurses in 1925, and these hankies were part of her nursing uniform. Muriel worked as a healer all her life, and I wanted to include her power in the quilt.

I stencilled the back of the quilt with words that describe my sister, and used one of Muriel's fancy dress hankies as the label.

This quilt is collaged, pieced, hand-embroidered, stamped and stencilled.

Blue

... water world. My hon Sid on our kayaking trip to Johnstone Strait, British Columbia, July 2007

... sky after the storm. My backyard, this morning.

Killarney Provincial Park

We are in the middle of a snow storm today. To cheer myself up, I am sharing photos that I took in Killarney Provincial Park , Ontario in September 2007. Killarney is gorgeous, and one of our favorite canoeing places. The fall colours are intense, the lakes are lovely, and the quartzite cliffs glow in the sun.

Chicory

This is an ink & watercolour sketch I did of Chicory, a lovely wildflower that grows in my region. True blue flowers are unusual in the plant world.

I've been thinking about creating a quilt pattern series of wildflowers. Manitoulin Island, one of the most amazing wildflower areas of this part of Canada, is only an hour away from my home. I plan to get more sketching time in this year, and there will be new quilts as a result.

Moosejaw Mountaineering & Marketing

I just love the way Moosejaw Mountaineering uses humour in every aspect of their marketing. Their website is a hoot, and even their mailed packages make me laugh.

We ordered titanium pots (much lighter to carry!) for our canoeing trips and this is what the box looked like.

These people are brilliant! Their pots are great too...

Quilt Fabric Stash

Lately on the Quilt Designers List people have been discussing their definition of "Stash". This is a coloured pencil drawing of my stash cupboard, done on white cotton ironed to freezer paper for stability. It includes a lovely little Amish miniature quilt made by my friend Carol McLean.

La Maison and Tourtiere

My husband asked me last night what television programs I watched as a child. I remember "Chez Helene" and other French Canadian programs, as I was being raised in both English and French Canadian cultures. I began in a French Catholic school. My father (English) decided soon after that I would not continue there. He came to my school one day, removed me from class, and enrolled me the same day in an English public school.

Eventually I lost most of my French. The quilt above is titled La Maison, which deals with the feelings I had during the change from French to English. I created the centre collage panel of this quilt in 2003, and completed the quilt in 2005. The red embroidery above the chimney is the Red Lion of Wales, and there are blue Fleur de Lis in the sky.

To celebrate my French Canadian culture on this snowy Sunday, my husband and I spent the day making Tourtiere (meat pie) and I've included my recipe here:

1/2 lb ground pork
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 stalk chopped celery
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 Yukon Gold potato, cooked and mashed
1 tsp. each of salt, dried thyme, and dried rosemary
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
Optional: minced garlic cloves
1 recipe of pastry for a 9" double crust pie (I use the Tenderflake Lark recipe)

Brown ground pork and beef in frying pan (add garlic if desired). Remove meat from pan and set aside to cool. Add onion, celery and pepper to pan. Saute until cooked but not too soft. Mix the cooked vegetable, meat, potato and spices together. Completely cool in fridge.

Spoon cooled mixture into pie shell. Cover with top crust. Flute the edge and cut vent holes in top. Bake at 425 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until brown.