No Snow Quilt Retreat

After my trip south I came home and worked for two and a half days, then was off to the “no snow” quilt retreat in Haines Junction – where we had about six inches of snow!  There were 33 ladies at the retreat, mostly from Whitehorse, but four came from Haines, Alaska, one from Idaho, one from Yellowknife, NWT and me from my small town.  We were there for four days.

My friend Dahn, who has a big heart and is always offering to do things for people, gave us an unscheduled mini workshop on snow dying (after she called her DH and got him to bring out all the materials she needed to put it on).  She is passionately into dying and prepares a lot of the fabric she uses in her work.  Here are the pieces I made.

I love the yellowy green.

 

There was a gift “exchange” where you could steal from someone else or take a new gift.  I ended up with a fabric panel of quilt sayings and a suction handle to use on rulers.    There was also fabric door prizes and again you could steal or open a new one.  I came home with these lovelies although I lost them a couple of times in the process.

I also came home with a huge bag of scraps that people donated for my scrappy postage stamp quilt.  I have so many scraps that I’m going to have to come up with another quilt idea once that one is finished!  Some of the scraps were LARGE…I pieced together this unstuffed pincushion from some of the scraps.

 

And this is what else I worked on:

A setting for my bluework squares.

Second border on this quilt that I made a couple of years ago and need to finish.  It is for a friend who ran a marathon with me – in February, in the Yukon, on the Yukon Quest sled dog race trail.  The quilt is a representation of the many hours we spent training; running in the snow amongst the trees.

 

I also worked on the quilt for DD # 2 – it’s 2/3 quilted.  Yeah!… but, she arrives tonight at midnight and it won’t be completely finished.  I’ve got until October 10th when she leaves to get it done.

It was a fun weekend!  Now I have to stay home for a while.  Although I am taking next week off work….and maybe we’ll go out in the bush with DD # 2, hunting or berry picking or maybe a drive to Skagway… Hmmm…..

Janet

Travels in the balmy south

I’ve was away for a few days last week.  DH and I took his 87 year old father on a little trip.  DH flew to PG to pick his dad up and they drove down and met me in Vancouver a few days later.  I arrived on the plane about 4:30 in the afternoon.  We had booked a hotel room and I went there and hung out for a while.  By 7 p.m. DH and DF-i-L had not arrived and I was starved so I set out to walk to a restaurant recommended by the front desk.  Amazingly DH missed the turn off for the hotel and drove right up to me when I was a few minutes from the restaurant.  Funny how these things can happen in a big metropolis.

We took DF-i-L to Port Alberni on Vancouver Island to visit his brother, then to Chemainus further south on the island to visit some old friends of his.  Then back to Vancouver to my B-i-L’s place and I flew home.  DH and DF-i-L were on the road for 7 days; I was with them for 5.  I have to say that my DF-i-L was a real trooper.  I was amazed at his adaptability and willingness to go with the flow.  I think he had a great time. 

Unfortunately I wasn’t a very good picture taker – but I’ll share a few photos that I did take. Three exciting things in Port Alberni.

1. Biker’s toy run with 600 plus motorcycles.

 

2. Kiwi tree growing in DH’s cousin’s back yard.  I’ve never seen one before.  She said that you don’t pick the kiwis until they have some frost, which would be mid-November for them.

3. Deer hanging out on the side of a busy road right beside cousin’s back yard.  We don’t have many deer where I live.

 

And for Friday Night Sew In I worked on a knitting project.  These are fingerless gloves for DD # 3.  One is almost done.

 

I loved this blue door in Chemainus… if I look like I just got up… well I probably did….

And the wake from the ferry…

I went to two quilt shops in Port Alberni but didn’t buy too much.  These fabrics in one shop…

And these fabrics in the other.  I got that red as sashing for my postage stamp quilt.  Thank you all of you who gave me your opinion.  I was in love with the red and enough people agreed with me to give me the confidence to go for it.  I thought this red looked perfect when I was at the shop, but now I’m not sure…

It was a great trip.

Janet

ATCs and other business (busyness)

Life has been busy the last week and there is no end in sight.  A synopsis:

Friday night – Klondike Road Relay (a running race) from Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon (176.5 km) on the highway that runs by my house.  DD # 1 and DD # 3 running legs 1 and 10 respectively.  Eight people in and out of my house all night long, including two grandchildren, both DDs, one boyfriend and my sister, who is here visiting from New Brunswick. 

Saturday – very tired from the night before.  Harvested basil from garden and made four batches of pesto.  Harvested oregano, thyme, parsley, chives and dried several batches of each.  Didn’t harvest the tomatoes yet – hope they don’t freeze.  Our sailing friends out to stay overnight in their camper and hoping to sail.  At our house for dinner along with my sister. 

Sunday – In to my LQS for a workshop/demo on the Tin Lizzie LAQ.  Very exciting and lots of of new ideas for quilting.  Part of me would like to own one of these machines, the other part doesn’t know if I can justify spending so much money on one.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – work, work, work.  Three big reports to write. 

On the quilting front I’ve been steadily working on quilting DD #2’s quilt.  Also made a few small items lately.  Here’s something I can show. 

I did an ATC trade with Linda from Linda Robertus, Quilts.  Now mind you I had never made an ATC before and had to get some instruction so I didn’t goof up.  Linda sent me this beautiful ATC

It is silk paper (paper made from silk fibres).  She said she followed a tutorial found in Down Under Textile magazine.

And this is what I sent her

 

The background is cheesecloth painted with acrylic paints.  The red is gauze layered and “soldered” onto the background.  You use a soldering iron around the edges of the shape.  It melts the fabric and the resulting gooey burnt mess acts as a solder onto the background.  It looks pretty cool I think.  There is a sequin attached to cover up a little spot where my soldering iron slipped.  ATCs are 2 1/2” by 3 1/2”, by the way.

Janet

My 9/11 story

Reading some 9/11 stories and remembering.  I woke up to the radio news telling of this terrible and fearsome thing – a plane flying into the WTC.  Put on the television and CBC had full coverage.  We got to watch the horror of the towers crumbling.  So terrible and sad …but we are far away from this craziness.  I was staying at my mom’s house in Whitehorse that night.  She was still alive, struggling to get by each day after my dad’s death and the reality of her dementia becoming clearer to us.  Went to work and the girls off to school.  I was supervisor of the volunteer ambulance service for our small town.  Had to call and make sure someone was on standby as planes were being diverted out of the US. Not likely it would affect us but had to make sure someone was paying attention in case our little airstrip was needed.

I was working with a woman who had been raped, helping her prepare for the upcoming trial when someone burst into the room to tell me there was an order to vacate downtown Whitehorse.  A Korean Airlines 747 which had been on its was to Anchorage, Alaska was being diverted to Whitehorse and there was suspicion that it was hijacked.  I’ve never heard what the truth is about this suspicion but I think it resulted from things the pilot said and the fact that he didn’t divert when he was ordered to.  The plane was escorted into Whitehorse by US and Canadian fighter jets.  I had to send that poor woman home on foot; there were no taxis to be found.  Fortunately she lived close by.  She declined my offer of a ride and set off.  I can’t imagine how traumatic this event was for her. 

I was on the road out of town, stopped at a red light,  when the plane came in flying directly over my car, what seemed like just a few yards overhead.  I thought “How crazy is this!”  It was just so close.

At my mom’s, I found my kids and made sure everyone was safe.  Then I got the call I was needed at the airport to help settle the people from the plane.  Off to the airport where the passengers were finally allowed to debark.  The hijacking scare wasn’t real but the people on the plane were confused, disoriented, scared and stunned.  Some of them were from NYC and were frantic to know about their loved ones.  They were all tired and hungry after a long flight from Asia.  I listened to people’s stories and comforted them as much as I could until the buses arrived to take them to the hotel where they were to sleep for the next few nights. 

My heart goes out to all those who were affected by the insanity of 9/11 and to those who lost loved ones.  I know there were thousands of brave and heroic people who did what they could to help others. 

Peace.

Janet

Labour day & gifts in the mail

DH went hunting this weekend.  I opted to stay home so I could sew.  I’m madly quilting my DD#2’s quilt to have it ready for when she comes for a visit at the end of September.  I know many people would be able to whip it up in a day or two, but I’m still learning about FMQ and this is only the second large quilt I’ve done.  I can tell you I won’t be showing too many close ups because I don’t want you to see how many mistakes I’ve made!

Saturday I went sailing with one of my co-owners and some other friends.  I discovered it’s difficult to take a picture of a boat under sail when you’re on it!   We were able to catch some good wind this time and really try sailing.  My friend told me that there is a saying that anytime spent sailing doesn`t get deducted from your total life span.  I like that! 

We were joined by this fellow….

Earlier in the summer I showed some pictures of fireweed, a beautiful purple wildflower that grows here in abundance.  Well I believe THIS is why it’s called fireweed…

It was a dull day and I couldn’t really capture the brilliance on my camera.  Suffice to say that on a glance one could think there was a fire burning.

I have got some things in the mail in the last while that I haven`t showed. I won a giveaway on Cyndi`s blog Stitch Stitch Stitch.  She sent me this gorgeous Christmas fabric and her snowball stitchery patterns.  As an extra she sent me two other patterns she has done, one for an elf quilt and one for a monster book.

Then I won another giveaway on Cyndi`s blog!! This time I got this layer cake

and she sent me another one of her patterns – this one for Baskets a Plenty quilt blocks.  I think Cyndi has a snowman theme going on here and I think I have inherited it!  These are such lovely gifts and I`m so glad to have some of her designs to try out!  Thanks so much Cyndi!

A little while ago I entered a giveaway for fixings for a Crazy Quilt on Pat`s blog http://quiltingcanbefun.blogspot.com/.  I didn`t win the giveaway but Pat sent me a parcel stuffed with goodies anyway.  Pat you spoil me!  Thank you so much. This is such fabulous stuff and I can`t wait to try a Crazy Quilt!

And then the other day I received a few blocks from Erin at My Patchwork Life.  I had received a chain letter which involved receiving and sending out purple squares.  Since there was so much purple in the scrap package Erin sent me in the spring I was pretty sure she liked purple so I sent the letter on to her.  And here are the wonderful purples she sent.  Thanks Erin!

I`ve been busy trying to get things in from my garden as well as sewing.  Fall is a crazy time of year. 

Janet

Swimming and sailing….and a little bit of fabric

I have been very busy sewing this last week on the quilt for DD #2, but I can’t show it for fear she’ll nag me about sewing faster :)  I can tell you Laina that I’m almost ready to start quilting it.  I’m just putting the backing together. And she called this morning to say she’s coming home for a visit on September 29th so I have a deadline!  DD # 2 lives at the other end of the country in St John’s, Newfoundland.

In lieu of sewing pictures let me give you an update on summer fun.  My swimming buddy and I set a goal of 10 for 10 this summer.  We swam in lake number nine the weekend before last.  It was cool but the water was warm.  We actually rated this lake at a 2 for swimming because it is full of glacial silt and you sink right in when you try to walk.  The silt makes the water appear a beautiful green.  It is called Emerald Lake and is a jewel along our highway which millions have photographed.

 

We squeezed in our last dip at Mary Lake one day last week after work.  The air temperature was 10 C and the water felt cold.  It was a quick dip.   Fall was upon us and we were scrambling to get our last swim in before it was too cold.  Of course today it was 22 C when I left work. 

And we launched the sailboat last weekend!  

 

Zeke likes it!

Wouldn’t you know we would pick the calmest day ever in this very windy part of the world to try out our sailboat!  Too funny!

 

But actually it was great for us non-sailors to have the chance to put everything up and try everything out without having to worry about the wind carrying us away.  And I was surprised how much breeze the sails actually captured on this almost still day.

And finally, a little fabric.  Our LQS (we only have one in Yukon.  The next one in Canada is a thousand miles or more away.  There are a couple across the border though.  Get your passport out!)   brought in this fabric and I love it.  I don’t buy much at our LQS because it’s expensive but it’s hard always buying fabric on line when you can’t really see it up close or feel it.  Often I buy fabric and am disappointed when it comes.  So I decided to splurge on these since I love them so much.  I have no idea what I’m going to make from them but I know some version of something is going to be called “Eat Your Vegetables”.  Just look at those green onions and squash and cherry tomatoes and ….

Janet