Rock pools by Cynthia McNair · 365 Project

Rock pools by Cynthia McNair · 365 Project


This has been a very small and quick project.

 Have you ever noticed that fabric speaks to you? Sometimes it just yells at me and I have to do something with it. I have a gorgeous hand dyed piece hanging in the studio which screamed so I have started work on it, it is such a vibrant piece and I am using sheer fabrics on top so that the colours still shine through.

This small piece of silk shouted and it hasn't taken me too long to put it together. I was thinking I might add some beading to it though to make it a little more interesting, sometimes my work can be too subtle for its own good and needs to pop. The rock pools might be a good place to add some beads.

I have also been trying to make postcards, have to keep up with demand! Its a great way of using some of my hand dyed fabrics, sometimes it just looks at me challengingly until I come up with a plan, so postcards it is.

Dedication

The Banners were dedicated on Sunday morning. I went to the service and was thrilled to see them hanging as I hadn't actually had anywhere to put them here that was high enough! They measure 104 x 41 inches, so they are not small!!

I then thought about how dedicated we artists are, be it for fibre or paint. There is always so much to do and it is alway a struggle to dedicate the time to our Art. I have space in a Gallery in Port Stanley, I love going there to see the Art it really is very inspirational and I feel comfortable in that world. My struggle is having enough work to fill it and I have been busy trying hard to get pieces made as I really need to change my display. I have made a batch of postcards, and was then asked to make some for the Church Bazaar this coming weekend! Talk about short notice, but on the other hand, it does make you concentrate more.
I now have to work very hard to get more small pieces made so that I can have enough to keep my space fresh and interesting, I haven't changed the display for four months! Oh well, I am sure I can make some small pieces, they sell better than the bigger ones anyway.

Banners and Postcards

A busy week! I have been trying to get postcards made ready to take to Port Stanley next week, and have managed to get a few done.

                                                            A Postcard






Still a long way to go though.

Tomorrow sees the dedication of the banners at St Christopher's Catholic Church in Forest. I was asked to make them and now they are hung ready for the Mass tonight, and ready for Mass tomorrow. I have put up a display of work. Hopefully the congregation will like them!

A quieter week

Last week was very busy lots going on and we had been at the Creativ Festival in Toronto which was great
fun! We took three Israeli quilts with us, and helped Pix Martin show quilts that she designs, and others that will be in the St Jacobs show in May next year.
I was glad to get home, but it was fun being in the big city for a little while and I slept well last week.
This week I am able to spend time in my studio which I am looking forward to. I feel such energy in it and I am thoroughly enjoying it, I seem to have my creative groove back which is good.
I started an Art group which was formed with members from the local quilting guild with the idea of helping them to make Art Quilts. We had a good first year, meeting every other month which takes the pressure off and we work on 9x12 inch pieces only. That way, it is not overwhelming. This year, our numbers have swelled to 12 and include two teenagers. We had our first meeting of this year yesterday, and I was thrilled with what they were doing. I have Sandra Meech's "Connecting Design to stitch", a wonderful book and I am drawing some of the exercises from that. I think if they simplify what they are doing they will enjoy it more and I think they are beginning to understand that.

The end of this week will be busy as the Banners I made for the Catholic Church in Forest are being dedicated , I am looking forward to seeing them hung and will supervise it on Friday!

Life returns to ........?

I'd like to say that life returns to normal, but what is that?
I had a lovely week last week in my studio after a weekend away at a quilt retreat with some guild friends. I was able to get one piece finished which was good. However, a trip to the gallery in Port Stanley shows my work depleted and a desperate need to get some new things in , this weekend has been spent busily working away, I'm beginning to feel like a factory!!! But, what I'm doing seems to be popular and sells so I keep at it.
This coming weekend I will be in Toronto at the Creativ Festival modeling quilts from Israel! I am really looking forward to it it's a long time since I've been and it should be fun.
More after the event!

Woohoo!! On our way!

This was Cathy and I on our way to the Uk from Pearson.

Another week

Finally settling into routine and trying to decide how I am going to spend my time. I will have a lot more free time this coming year and I am looking forward to it. I really want to get some quilts made so I am going to work out a plan and see what happens.
I have a Trunk show of my work coming up at the end of the month and I will be teaching in the new year and I also have to get pieces made for the gallery in Port Stanley.
The next thing will be to come up with a subject but I think I will find one!

After Birmingham

We got back to my Aunts house early evening on the Friday and we were able to sit and relax and tell her all about the show and the quilts we had seen, I showed her photos on the camera and she was very interested.
The following day was glorious, we had had rain all day the previous day in Birmingham, not that it worried us being inside, bunt it was good to see the sunshine again.  Aunty had asked for our help on small jobs that needed doing and we were only to happy to oblige, so off we went to St Ive's , we had a lovely visit it really is a lovely town and we walked from one end to the other!

 We had visited the Ferry Boat Inn in Holywell prior to going to Birmingham and this is Cathy and I standing in the pub with the beam just above our heads.

 The great British Breakfast!!

 I couldn't resist taking this. I used to drive around London, England in  the exact same Land Rover, it was my favourite vehicle. It 's an ex Army Series III, the petrol tanks were located unde the drivers seat, and under the passenger seat, when one tank was empty you just flipped a switch and the other tank would then be used. She was a joy to drive, hot in Summer which is why you took the canvas hood off, and cold in Winter, I can remember getting wet feet as the rain would drip in  through the window area. As for heating, it didn't have much! However, I loved driving it but was then upgraded to a Range Rover!

Views of St Ive's, the weather was extremely hot, the following week saw the temperatures drop quite considerably although it was still warm. We then went to the Garden Centre in Brampton and had lunch and then back home to do some planting and other jobs. We left after lunch on Sunday and then headed back to London where we were staying with friends. But that's another story!

Home again

Well, that was a hectic two weeks!

The Festival of Quilts was very interesting, and I had every intention of posting whilst we were there, unfortunately, the signal was week or non existent and I could not connect to the Internet in the hotel so was unable to post anything.

We arrived at the show on the Thursday morning and parked the car far more easily than I thought as it was very busy. We went into the show and straight to the Israeli Quilters Association booth to meet Clara Kichel, the President of the guild. They were expecting us and we had a little time to walk around the show as Clara wasn't there. The show did have rather a strange and confusing layout with Quilts on display as soon as you came in the main entrance and then a big area of display booths which was put straight through the middle of the vendors, not easy to negotiate and it necessitated looking at the map provided in the catalogue, and also broke up the flow, think that is something that should be addressed personally, we found it difficult to find our way back to where we wanted to be. However, we met with Clara and then arranged to meet her for dinner that night. That gave us plenty of time to go around the show and vendors and also back to the hotel to freshen up and relax a little.

 I am posting a few images of the quilts we saw, in fact I had also seen some of these in Houston last year at the IQF. The second image is beautiful and consists of three layers of sheer fabric, each one different allowing there to be depth to the entire piece, truly beautiful.

 A display by  European Quilting Association members from the UK, These were challenge pieces.

A beautiful Miniature quilt which was had appliquéd and hand quilted.

 You really needed to stand away from this quilt to appreciate its beauty, one of my favourites, the watery effect was achieved by layering fabrics and has a wonderful sense of movement.

What better in this Jubilee year than the Coat of Arms?

We had a wonderful evening with Clara and also bumped into some of our old friends from the Netherlands who were with us last year, Jeannette and Leontine. It was lovely to see them and there were hugs all round. We arranged to meet for lunch the following day, which we did and then had dessert with my Cousin's wife who was visiting the show and we had arranged to meet her too, a very busy day!!

Cathy and I with Jeannette and Leontine at lunch.

All in all, it was a successful visit and we achieved a lot. We then drove back to Cambridge that night as we had been staying with my Aunt.

What happened?

Well, it's been an interesting week so far, no Internet service which caused us both withdrawal and frustration!
However, now in London and have been able to catch up.
We had a great visit with my Aunt and then a couple of days at the show in Birmingham. Shall I write now? No, I will save it for later!!!

Three days to go

Little did I think a year ago, that I would be heading to a Quilt show in the UK, the land of my birth. I am in a funny way, really looking forward to it, I had to make a sudden trip back in February to visit my Father, who died not long after I returned home. A stressful trip as one can imagine, so I am looking forward to this as there will be a little more time to have some fun.

The first week will be focusing on Quilts and the second week will be going to London and doing some sightseeing and relaxing. I have already booked tickets for Richard III at Shakespeare's Globe on Bankside, we will be groundlings for the evening and I can't wait. I have yet to hear from Cathy as to what else she would like to do, but I hope a little shopping will feature in there somewhere!! A visit to Tate Modern which is right next door is high on my list, and maybe a visit to the Textile section at the V&A, so much to see......

I also hope to go to Brighton for the day to the Pavilion and to wander the Lanes, I think the Olde Worlde charm of these places is something to see, and then the North Laines.

Oh well, I am sure we will be making plans on our flight, but do hope I get some sleep.....

The countdown begins!

It's a funny old world, as a friend of mine says, this blog was originally going to be about City and Guilds quilting. Well, since I did that, I have become very involved with a group of volunteers in the town of Ailsa Craig who started the Ailsa Craig Community Quilt Festival. My role was initially to run the festival blog, and social media . We have a Facebook page which I try hard to keep up with I'm just not very good at it, and the blog was hijacked by others so I have decided to use this as the Festival blog as it is a much nicer one to use, I hope you will bear with me if I don't post too often but will do my best.

Cathy and I are getting ready for our trip to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham and looking forward to it, I know there will be lots of fun and I hope to be able to share it with you, watch this space!!

So, what's been happening?

Well, I thought I would give a bit of an update, then realized I have done nothing for over a year!!!!! Hmm, about time I started then isn't it? Last year was very busy, I got involved with the Ailsa Craig Community Quilt Festival and the show was Quilts of the Netherlands, fabulous quilts and people from Holland, made lots of new friends. Tried hard to get some work finished and just made it! My entry for IQF was accepted, so this years entry is travelling the US and I love it, one of my favorite quilts, I was lucky enough to get to Houston to see las years entry and had a really good time. This year, Quilt Festival hosted Quilts of Denmark, another great show and lovely quilts. But what about next year? Well, we host Quilts of Israel, which will be amazing and I will be travelling to England in a couple of weeks to the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham to meet up with the Israeli's, it promises to be a great show and I will blog from there, but try and put more on before then! Am Modelling today for my friend Patti, she has a lovely fashion store, so I am lucky enough to be asked to work for her a couple of times a year, get to wear some pretty cool clothes!!