Thursday, February 16, 2012

Round Robin




One of the challenges our guild had this year was a Round Robin. There were 15 participating and we had the UNVEIL last Saturday. We were all very happy with the results! Our guild website has pictures of all of them if anyone is interested http://prairiepiecemakersquiltsnewulmmn.org/. We each made a 12 1/2 inch block and included fabrics we wanted in our piece. At the October meeting everything went into a brown bag and was handed off to another person. We didn't see them again until last Saturday. Here is a picture of mine... (I'm on the right side of the picture by the Hy-Vee bag - :) All of them will be on display at our quilt show in March. Joleen in MN

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Do tell Rosey !

Did you finish the outfit and did the end product match the image...? I can't imagine ever thinking that trying to replicate such an outfit would be a good idea ! Your creative energy must have been well stimulated by revisiting the Arctic Quilt. Photos please ! We need to see this !

I remember seeing (and hearing) throat singing on a Documentary programme once. It was fascinating.

DH . and I celebrated 48years of married life today ! How can that be ? I still think of myself as being "around fifty " !

Marion.


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Linda's kids


I'm sure they would all be OK with me putting their picture up since you all knew their mom.

Brennan is the oldest on the left, then Meaghan, Kennedy, Meredith, Ethan (he got all the height in the family!) Liam and Callahan, the youngest. I'm sure many of you remember when she was born! I held once when she was tiny...

WOW

When I saw your quilt, Rosey, I thought it was a photograph of an Inuit wedding. Clearly I was wrong on two counts but right as to my guess of ethnicity. There is one thing you must do with this marvelous work of art: share it with the NC Quilt Symposium. Please, oh please check the web site www.smokymtnquilters.org for all the information on entering quilt, insurance and shipping.

One handed typing is a bit of a strain so I bid all of you a good day.

scratchy throat

The running all over the county for 2 weeks has finally gotten to me. Yesterday I felt a scratchy throat coming on, and due to the heat being on I had a bloody nose off and on all day. Used my netti pot, and put gel in my nose, today I'm going to be a sloth and lay on the couch with blankets.
I got up early to catch up on my Beth Moore Bible study, and can't find the workbook. Good grief. That tells me that I'm really behind, don't even know were I put it down.
I've given over the quest for mirrors to DH- he says he is going to have a glass show custom make one for the master bath.
Last Friday I went down to the running expo and bought myself a decent pair of shoes. There was a marathon and 1/2 marathon being held for breast cancer fund raising at the Mayo clinic---. so glad I didn't sign up, the weather dropped to about 20 that night with wind. They did raise over 300,000.
Rosey-thank you for posting your pictures. you life is so interesting. Lots different from Fla for sure. I'm thinking more about getting an I phone. One of my quilting GF's says there is a free ap for quilt shops! Now that would convince me to buy one and learn how to use it.
JANE-Take care of yourself-if you are right handed you could do a bit of hand work, or maybe read some good books. I was thinking of you when watching the Westminster dog show last night. There was a local story about a Plot hound that was stolen, sold, and mauled by a bear, only to recover and be found by the original owner and was supposed to be in the show last night.
PK, I'v had 1 cup of coffee, now to gargle, and re-search for my book.
Sara in chilly Fla. --where is is supposed to be in the 40's today

I wonder why I do what I do sometimes...



I taught quilting for a decade in the early seventies/early eighties and at that time began designing many of my own quilts for my students and myself, some of which appeared in a national women's magazine in Canada. One, which appeared in 1987, Arctic Reflections, lay dormant for many years...in fact, the design was commissioned by the magazine and I did not keep the original pattern designs. Always one project ahead in my mind, I could not summon up any creative energy a few years ago, having dealt with trying medical issues in the household and I hit a very dry period of creativity in my life. And then, one day opening up my inbox in the morning I found an email from a quilter north of Edmonton, Alberta who said: my aunt was in the process of making your quilt pattern, died and now I'm trying to finish it off for her daughter, my cousin. Do you have the pattern still as I can't find it amongst her belongings. And so began what has been for me a very interesting journey of the Inuit and where they live in the Eastern Arctic. This quilter traced off the images so carefully onto tissue paper and placed them into the mail for me that I was able to redraw the quilt design and that was all I needed to remove the block of inactive creativity which had plagued me for a year or more. I remade the original design again, adjusting the border designs which had never pleased me and went on to create another Arctic quilt pattern and now, I am not replicating but interpreting an outfit based on the the Inuit woman's amauti and trousers, which you see above. These women are throat singing, which is special to the Inuit. I've had to draw my own clothing pattern from scratch, which has been a challenge and in fact, it's the first outfit I've ever made where my enthusiasm has lead to some insecurity on my part, waxing and waning, not sure of what my interpretation will look like or whether the outfit will turn out as I'd imagined it in my mind originally. Sometimes I get half-way through a project like this and wonder why in the heck I ever started it in the first place. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm on the home stretch and will be glad to put it to bed and be done with it. I'm not sure that I can say I've even enjoyed sewing and quilting it because I've been completely insecure about this design all along. I wonder why I do what I do, at times like this. The challenge is this: will the end product match the image I had originally in my mind; will it work out and will it take off, creatively in the end. We'll see.


Rosey, in Canada, who has a day of sewing ahead of her. And then, that's it. Thankfully, I can move on to my next project.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Linda's service and the kids

I decided to just copy what a I posted to another group that Fran and I are in:

It was nice to see the kids, I hugged them all from us. Curt was also there and
I think things are going OK with them all. From what I understand, they all went
to the Mall of America yesterday. Also, Curt has rented a small, 2 bedroom house
in town for the 4 younger kids, walking distance from school which is great.
Brennan, Meaghan and Kennedy are old enough to be on their own but I'm sure they
can be there as well as needed. It's a much better situation all around.

There was a guy at the door with a smudge pot which is incense that he was
swooshing over people with a feather. Sorry, I can't think of a better way to
describe it. I had gone inside before he appeared. I'm not really into that sort
of thing so I would have gracefully declined the offer had I been outside.

The actual service wasn't very long. The chaplain admittedly did not know Linda
except for what the kids had shared with her. After she said a few words she
allowed time for people to get up and speak. I had spoken to her before the
service and said I'd go first, it always helps to have someone break the ice. I
told everyone how we had met and about our sister's group and that their cyber
aunts from Australia, England and around the US were thinking about them and
sending their love. A couple of other women that Linda had been working with in
her herbs business spoke. Steve also spoke a bit about her and going to school.

Afterwards there was dinner and I sat with a couple that were friends of
Linda's. The lady's daughter had dated Ethan for a little bit. Must have been
very little, he's only 16, hehehe (cute, too). I think there were more friends
than family there but since I didn't know anybody it was hard to tell.
I have a picture of them all that I will try to post later, it's on my phone.

Afterwards, one of the young ladies that spoken had come to me and thanked me
for sharing. She said that Linda had spoken of us often and she was happy to
hear a little more about us.

I did tell Brennan and Meaghan that if they needed anything they could contact
us and we would do what we could. I think we just need to keep in contact with
them on FB...

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Linda


I'm so sad to hear about Linda.
How terrible for her children.
I can remember when her last little girl was born to us on the chat.
I wonder how old she is.
I found a picture from the MI retreat taken at the library where the
quilt show was held. Linda is on the far right at the end about 2 rows up.
What nice memories of that get together, you are all so dear.

Thanks to Sandi

Sandi went to Linda's funeral today. She also posted the following obit.

http://www.spooneradvocate.com/obituaries/article_27b4310c-5446-11e1-b417-001871\
e3ce6c.html

I will certainly pass on your thoughts, Laura, Marion, Bee and I'm sure Sandi will to the family if she's read the BB recently. Thanks to RoseyP and Marion for the original message letting us know so quickly what was happening.

Jane, sorry to hear about your wrist.

I saved this and now it looks huge but I don't know how to change it to smaller font.
Fran

SANDRA

Please email me with your tel #. I broke my left wrist last week and typing is a challenge. I'm reached at jbrown (1861) at hughes dot net . Delete the parentheses, spaces etc. You know the drill.

Jane