The Bed Quilt Club 2

We had our second meeting yesterday and only four hardy souls braved the freezing winter day to attend. Cabin fever is beginning to set in with the crazy weather swings, so it is appropriate that two of us are making log cabins!

Pat is beginning a Kentucky Log Cabin quilt.

Doris is making a Log Cabin with Stars quilt.

Marg is making a blue scrap Friendship Star quilt.

I have finished the 9 Woven Blocks and have cut out the pieces for the Square and Star blocks for my "Oh, My Tangled Stars!" pattern from Sherri Hisey's Border Creek Station Pattern Company.

Lower French River

It is so cold this morning. I can hardly wait for spring. I miss canoeing on our lakes and rivers. This is a photo of our canoes on the north end of the Bass Lake portage on the main channel of the Lower French River, only a few hours from where I live. We spent several glorious days tripping there with dear friends.

Leaf Magic Little Quilts

The Leaf Magic Little Quilts are my latest pattern which use real leaves. I discovered how to preserve leaves for use in my art journals a number of years ago. The leaves are not indestructible, however they remain pliable enough ( even after years) to attach to stable surfaces. Just lately I've begun to use them in my quilted work. This is a photo of my first prototypes. This pattern will be ready for sale this spring at the Embellishment Village booth at Quilt Festival in Chicago as well as International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon.

I am using Blank Textiles Rock Candy, Guilded Greenery, Bali Rain, Floret and Lava fabrics. I am also using the gorgeous Glitter, Metallics and Rainbows threads from Superior Threads . Embellishment Village is creating little kits of leaf beads to sell with this pattern. I'll post more about it when I get the final pattern published!

Colour

"The first colour is red. Red was invented by a Spaniard who was a chemist and as a hobby did bull fighting. He used it on his cape and got bulls madder than anyone else. The second colour is blue - blue was found lying around on the ground by Mr. da Vinci when he was searching for purple. Another colour is yellow. No one knows who really discovered yellow. Red - yellow - blue. I think that is about it except for black and white."

William Accorsi

The Love of Reading

I worked long hours in my landscape design business, and reading became a luxury. You have to think something is wrong in your life when you don't have time to read. We've lived in northern communities where many people were illiterate, and I came to appreciate just how lucky I am to have this basic ability.

I read every night now. I made this pencil drawing of my daughter when she was 10 years old. She's had her nose in a book since she was 6.

Campanula rotundifolia

I took this photo on the shore of Georgian Bay, Lake Huron near the Killarney lighthouse. This pretty little plant with its delicate dancing bells grows out of a tiny crack in the solid bedrock.

Black and White

One of my favorite ideas is to take photos of landscape subjects as black and white images. These are images of Clintonia borealis, also called Blue Bead Lily. In real life, this forest carpet was a tapestry of brilliant greens. But colour can distract, whereas black and white allows focus on the qualities of the subject itself.

This distance shot emphasizes pattern, texture and value (contrast).

This close-up shows texture and is also a good illustration of form and rythym.