Renske Helmuth: Quilt Artist & Teacher

Still more quilting

2009-11-11T17:00:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday it started to snow in the afternoon and by the next morning it looked like this outside. Riley and I went for a walk and I tried to take some pictures for my photography course. The rest of the class had gone on a field trip Saturday, but since I had to teach I was unable to go. I did manage to take a few pictures I liked, but this is my favorite. The snow did not stay around long and by the afternoon it was gone. Then Sunday morning we woke up to a very foggy morning .I took my camera outside before breakfast and took this picture of the sun coming up. An hour later the fog was gone and the sun came out. And we have had sunshine ever since. Laurence has done some more combining,but the crop is still very wet, even with all this sunny weather. Today was another quilting day. Just like last week we had another quilt to admire. Clara brought her beautiful Wedding Star, a variation of the Double Wedding Ring. This quilt will be a gift for one of her grand children But is was not all talk (and eat). A lot of quilting got done, so now I have hopes that the quilting will be finished before Christmas. Here are Judy, Jeanette, Shelagh, Emily and Clara ( I had to mention, that it was a very hard working group!!!) hard at work. You can see my "throne" in the back. I still do my quilting with the stab method and I'm very slow at it, but every stitch is one, that does not have to be done anymore. The 2 ends are almost completely quilted and right now we are just about ready to roll again on both sides. Next week I'm hope to get groups in on Tuesday and Thursday.

Start of winter?

2009-11-05T16:14:00.002-05:00

AS you can see there is still a lot of quilting to do. This was yesterday's crew with Judy, Arlene, Eileen, Lois, Emily,Shelagh and Jeanette.At the end of the day both ends of the quilt could be turned at least once. Then today there were 6 of us and by this evening if looks a lot different.Now we will take a break till the middle of next week. When you have this many quilters around you can get in some tight spots. It helps in times like that if you are very flexable like Judy and Arlene show us here. Judy showed us her fabric portrait of this Haitian woman. She is taking an on line course with Quilt University and this is her project. She has done a marvellous job. Here you have a close-up.She had not decided if she would frame this or if she would turn it into a small wall hanging. Now on the farming front. We have been farming since 1974 and this is one of the worst years we have had for growing corn. First there was the late spring, then followed by a non summer and a decent fall, but with an early frost. All our corn is still in the field, really too wet to combine. But today would be the day. Neighbours wanted high moisture corn to fill up their silo's for their dairy cows. So this morning at 6 we were up, but after breakfast it rained just enough to change our plans. For the rest of the day we had rain and sleet for a few minutes followed by sunshine. Then around mid afternoon they did start for a while. Around 5 o'clock it started to snow and right now we have a white world out there. Needless to say that the supper I had almost ready to take to the field was eaten right here in the kitchen. But the forcast promises a few sunny day. Let's hope they have it right this time!

Things don't always go the way you think they should!

2009-10-29T19:18:00.002-04:00

I have been taken a photography class at night school for the last few weeks. I'm used to taking my pictures on the automatic setting of my Nikon D40 and the first thing we had to do is change it to manual. That started all kinds of new things for me , from aperture to shutter speed. My home work was to take certain pictures on different settings. So Sunday afternoon saw me trampsing through our bush.This tree was as colourfull as I could find.This year the colors of the trees have not been great. But I did find a few roses at the side of our house. They are not the prettiest, but they give some color. I'm not very good at this manual thing yet, but I did get a few things figured out. Than on Tuesday I could not go to class, because of illness. Last week we started with the quilting. There is a lot of it, but we got a good start, till Tuesday. In the middle of the night I woke up, all dizzy.I could not stand or even sit. I happen to have a doctor's appointment that day and Laurence managed to get me there. A week before I had been to the doctor with my ear infection. He wanted me to have an appointment with the specialist and o wonder, that happened on Wednesday. The dizziness had nothing to do with my ear infection, but something was floating around in my inner ear. The specialist twisted my head a certain way and almost instandly the dizziness was gone. But not eating or drinking much for 2 days left me weak. Needless to say, that there has not been any quilting done.Here is a picture of the group on Monday with Margot, Jeanette,Charlotte and Emily. I hope to be back in business by the beginning of next week.

Ready to quilt

2009-10-23T16:32:00.002-04:00

A quilt top is not a quilt till it has been quilted. Tuesday was the day to put the "papercut" quilt in the frame for quilting. There is lots of room down here in the basement to set a quilting frame up. Emily and Carol, both very experienced, drove up from Waterloo to help.In 45 minutes the quilt was all ready to go. Wednesday we had our guild meeting and I made sure I had lots of hand-outs with the directions to our place. Today was the first day for quilting. We started of with only the three of us. Better to say two and a halve. I have trouble with hand quilting. My back just won't let me do much of it. This morning I tried really hard, but did not get much done. This afternoon I tried the stab method. By having one hand on top and one on the bottom and stabbing the needle up and down I managed to get more done with even stitches. So from now on this will be my(very awkward and slow) way. Here are 2 expert quilters, Carol on the right and Florence on the left. They worked very well together with one being left handed, the other right handed. Tomorrow I expect 6 ladies to come here. There is a lot of quilting on this quilt, but any less would not look right. Notice the 2 posters behind the quilters? That are 2 of the quilts the guild and the church did. Both were sold at the Mennonite Relief Sale in New HamburgThe one on the right was finished in 1999 and won an honorable mention in the group category in Houston. It sold in 2000 for $16000. The one on the left was sold 6 years later. Made by the same groups, this one showed interpretations of the aerial photography by Carl Hiebert. That one sold to Carl for $11.100.The quilt in the frame will be the 6th one to go to the Relief Sale. The weather has turned again. It is wet and cold. The soybeans have been combined and the winterwheat planted, so we are not in too bad a shape. Now the corn yet, but that can wait a week or so. With weather like this, it is kind of cosy quilting downstairs.

Woodstock fleece festival

2009-10-17T16:03:00.002-04:00

This is later than normal, but nothing happened on the quilt front. The design wall is empty. Not that nothing is getting done. The weather is much better and Laurence has been busy combining the white beans(of pork and bean fame) and soybeans. And as often happens, once the weather clears there are about a dozen jobs that have to be done at the same time. We are lucky , that we share our field work with our neighbour Herb. Today he has taken over the combining, while Laurence is planting winter wheat. It looks like we will get a few more sunny days and we need them. Jeanette came over last night and this morning we went to the first Woodstock Fleece Festival. Last year she went to the Wool Festival in Rheinbeck, New York, but with all the work going on at home, it was just too far to go. And we had a great time.This was much smaller, but there was lots to see and buy. The first picture shows a fellow quilter from the Oakville Guild,Marnie Parkin, who also makes socks on a 1925 sock machine. They are the neatest thing to see in operation. And despite the age this machine still works perfect. And then there was another quilter, Rita Budd. I have admired her landscapes for a long time. I even took a 2 day workshop in her barn a few years ago. A perfect place to have workshops. Outside there were a few sheep and 2 alpaca's. This one seemed quite content, but the other fellow did not like it one bit. There was lots of beautiful yarn for sale. When I used to knit sweaters for the kids, a long time ago, you could choose between wool or acrylic. Now the choices are endless, from bamboo to soybean, to camel,to cotton. to wool. And the colors!!!!! I did come home with enough yarn to knit a pair of socks and a scarf. Now to find the time!

Way up there.....

2009-10-07T10:24:00.002-04:00

As long as we have been living here ( all of 10 months) I wanted to have a quilt hang way up on the wall. Now that was easier said than done. To get up on the left of the railing was easy, but to install a hanger of any kind on the right side, was almost impossible. But yesterday, after another miserable, rainy day and no combining in sight, Laurence decided, that it could be done. He had this long plank, left over from a cementing job, that he could put across.He could stand on there and install the 2 eye hooks. I had my reservations, but it worked. Now if you have a close look, you can see that this all is just temporary. This wallhanging is one of my first and it is not quite big enough for that spot. It was one of the few with a sleeve though.Then notice the long dowel. The next one will be cut to the right size. And the string. All I could find was this white string and I knew that this would be a one time deal. I used that. On my list for town is nylon fish line. Main thing is, that it hangs straight. The quilt meant for that spot has been basted and it will be quilted in the next few weeks. Not too much is getting done. I thought that my ear infection was gone, but it has returned, with a vengeance. So back to the doctor it was and now I'm on 2 medications, oral and drops.And no hearing aid for the next few weeks. So it is back to shouting for my poor husband. The medication also seems to affect my stomach. Just to have something to do I got a few left overs together and made this post card. I appliqued the circle, left over from another project, and did some sashiko in the same pattern as you see in the applique. Quick and easy. Next on my list is the marking of the large papercut quilt.I will put it the frame in the basement and ask members of the guild to come and quilt on it near the end of the month The weather has been very poor with lots of rain and hard wind. All the crops are still in the field and it does not look like there will be anything done in the near future. A few flowers are still in bloom. These flowers were called "naked ladies" by my mother in law. They are different. The leaves come up in early spring and then die down. The flowers won't show up till late in the fall. They almost look like a bigger crocus and they are very pretty. Clean-up of the garden will start on the first nice day.

Quilt Show

2009-09-30T16:56:00.006-04:00

Last week, our guild had its biennial quilt show at RIM Park in Waterloo. Saturday morning I left early, with my camera. My plan was to look at the quilts and visit the vendors before my shift to volunteer started. That was fine, till I tried to take pictures and nothing happened. The memory card was still stuck at home in the computer!!!! Ever done that? So much for pictures.

To the rescue came Tamara (who, by the way, keeps me on the straight and narrow with my blog). I borrowed her camera just to take a few pictures. The picture above shows the winning quilts from the WCQG’s 2007 Quilt Show, which were displayed as you entered the hall.

Then yesterday, when I asked her for the pictures, her camera was misplaced, at least until her kids found it again. By the time I received them it was time to make supper, after which we went for a visit to my mother-in-law.That's why this post at first appeared with pictures but no story! (Above, a look down toward one of my quilts, the Mariner’s Compass.)

Now about the show. There were beautiful quilts, very well displayed. The hall is big and bright, and with the skills of Kathy Bissett, who hung the show, it all came together just right.

Here is a closer shot of my Mariner’s Compass, pieced for Shawn & Emily’s wedding last summer. (They’ll get it back soon!)

And I admired this Baltimore Album quilt (right), made by Ginny Hess. Very traditional and very well done.

The small wall hanging below was made by Judy Pearce, one of the 65 ladies who took my “Hawaiian” workshops last winter. The center piece was her first applique!

She designed the other 2 pieces and machine quilted it. For a first piece it was very well done.

As you entered the Quilt Show, you were greeted by this quilt, made by Elizabeth King. It is really 3 quilts in one. The long stripes in the back form one quilt. The 2 panels with the giraffes and elephants are 2 separate small quilts, attached attached by 3 very large buttons!

All in all it was very good show. I stayed till the end and helped with the taking down. That way I could take my quilts home with me. But was I tired!

And I'm back in the land of the hearing. I went to the doctor who cleaned out my ear. There had been an infection for a while and it still is not completely gone, but at least Laurence does not have to holler all the time.

And… my list of workshops has been updated, so have a look at some old ones and some new ones!

Watkins Glen

2009-09-23T10:18:00.002-04:00

We finally managed to get away for a few days last week. Friday we ended up at Jeanette's. I had mentioned that I needed a new purse and she had scouted out a few places to go. I'm not a shopper. I make a list and once that is finished I'm on my way home. She loves to shop and has a nose for sales. But first we had to stop at Vermeer's nursery, where they had their orchid week-end. I saw some beauties, but with Laurence in the back-ground I managed to get away with just 2 bags of potting soil. We did go to the leather store and I did buy a new purse and spend more than I ever have. According to my children I'm cheap!! But I guess that's what you get when you start farming with not much. You just had to be that way. Saturday we went over the border and were on our way to the Finger Lakes District. We ended up at Penn Yan and went for a walk at the Outlet Trail, where we saw this little fellow. A lot of squirels were very busy picking up acorns. We were expecting to see ruins of the different mills, but could not find any. I did visit a quilt store, but there were only finished quilts for sale, some very nice ones.Sunday we went to Corning. I wanted to go to the Glass Museum. Now Laurence is not a museum person, not on a sunny day anyway, but I insisted and guess what. He took longer looking at the exhibits than I did. The museum is fantastic and a must see. Next we went to the Westen Art Museum, which he also liked well enough. We had been told by Shawn, that we had to go and see the waterfalls at Watkins Glen. It would be busy, but according to him we could just walk up and take a shuttle bus down. Well, on Sunday evening we found out, that there would not be any more busses. And anyway how difficult could it be. Monday morning at 8.30 we were ready to go. There was only one other car in the parking lot. The walk up was amazing with beautiful areas. I took a lot of pictures.And just to show you that I really was there I had Laurence take a picture of me. Why the hat on backwards? How else can you take pictures. Once I was done I turned it around. The walk up to the top waterfall took us about 1/2 hour and we only met 5 other people. We decided not to go to the top, since we had seen what we came for. On our way down we met more people and by the time we came to the car, the parking lot was almost full. And you know what....we were not even tired or stiff. That came for me the next day. We decide the drive home. I had developed severe hearing problems in my "good" ear and Laurence was tired of all the shouting, what I can understand. This afternoon I have a doctor's appointment and I hope that I only need my ear cleaned out, so my hearing aid will work again. Right now it is a very quiet world for me. I will just mention ,that the Waterloo County Quilters Guild has their Quilt Show this coming week-end at the RIM Center in Waterloo. The show is Friday from 10 to 6 Saturday from 10 to 6. And finally were are working on updating my workshops page. It should be done later this week.

Workshops

2009-09-22T10:52:00.083-04:00

Here are the workshops/lectures I offer. Click on one of the links below to see more details. If you are interested in having me teach or lecture, please contact me at helmuth@golden.net

Trunk Shows/Lectures:

"My Journey as a Quiltermaker"
"Relief Sale Quilts"

Workshops:

Yellow Lady Slipper
Orchids with Sashiko Border
Introduction to Sashiko
Landscape One
Landscape Two - The Next Step
Roses
Sunflower
Pot with Pansies
Showy Lady Slipper
Jack in the Pulpit
Chinese Lantern
Hawaiian Block
Crazy Quilt Block

Lecture / Trunk Show

1. My Journey as a Quiltmaker

Duration: (1 hour)

Showing a variety of quilts and wall hangings, I will share my journey as a quiltmaker with you.

Quilting has meant a great deal to me. Many appliquéd quilts will be featured, as they are my favorite.

2. Relief Sale Quilts

Duration: (1 hour)

Many people have heard of Mennonite Relief Sales, but don't know what they are. The annual Relief Sale in New Hamburg, Ontario, features the largest quilt auction in Canada - with 100% of the proceeds donated to worldwide relief efforts.

Over the years, I have been inspired by the enthusiasm of the women in my church and my local quilting guild, to coordinate a number of unique group quilts, which were ultimately donated to the Relief Sale. Each one was an adventure!

In this slide show presentation, I talk about my personal experiences with the Ontario Mennonite Relief Sale and the group quilts I have orchestrated.

Hand Appliqué Workshops

3. Yellow Lady Slipper

Duration: 2 days
Level: All (some appliqué experience a benefit)
Project Size: 24"x29" (centre: 14"x20")

This native orchid is a striking project for the student with some prior hand appliqué experience.

Teaching a variety of techniques, I will lead you through the construction of the flowers. Fabric selection will be discussed, as colour choice has a huge impact on the success of this project.

Finally, you will infuse your work with true Japanese flavour by embellishing the border with sashiko. I will provide examples of some of the many sashiko patterns , then teach you how to stitch this design into your own work.

4. Orchids with Sashiko Border

Duration: 2 Days
Level: All (some appliqué experience a benefit)
Size: 24.5"x29" (centre: 14"x16.5")

Ready for a taste of the exotic? Why not learn to appliqué this elegant orchid arrangement, embellished with sashiko stitches? I will guide you through the different hand appliquéd techniques necessary to create the pot, then fill it with twigs, leaves and orchids. You will finish the arrangement with moss to give the whole a three dimensional feeling.

Colour selection is very important in this piece and I will discuss choices that create a dramatic effect.

Finally, you will infuse your work with true Japanese flavour by embellishing the border with sashiko. I will provide examples of some of the many sashiko patterns, then teach you how to stitch this design into your own work.

5. Introduction to Sashiko

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All
Project size: 18" x 18")

Using 4 traditional Japanese designs, we will learn the running stitch used by the Japanese to create beautiful sashiko designs. Sashiko is a beautiful compliment to traditional quilting!

The four 6" blocks created in the workshop can be combined into an 18" pillow or small wall-hanging, as shown in the workshop sample, above. Alternatively, at right, I've created a sample showing how blocks can be interspersed with squares of Japanese prints.

There are so many ways to use sashiko in your projects: let this workshop inspire you!

6. Landscape One - Basic

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels
Project size: 5.5" x 4.5"

We will start with a very simple landscape, using the pattern shown at left.

Fabric selection is important: you will need a variety of colours, shades and prints, but only in small amounts -- so start saving your scraps! You will be amazed what you can do with even the smallest scraps.

The detail photograph shows the same landscape pattern, but embellished with a different style of tree: see how it changes the final result!

Also discussed, fabric selection for season and mood, as well as options for finishing your work.

7. Landscape Two - The Next Step

Duration: 1 full day
Level: Continuation from Landscape One
Project size and design: your choice!

This workshop challenges participants to use what they learned in Landscape One to create their own landscape. First, you'll make a pattern from your own picture; then you will start the appliqué on a muslin background. It is strongly recommended that you take the first workshop before participating in this one.

The sample shown here is an example of an appliquéd landscape derived from a photograph: imagine the possibilities!

8. Roses

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels
Project size: 21.5"x21.5" (9" circle )

Here's a beautiful project. All the romance of a full-blown rose is captured using dimensional wired ribbon appliqué.

I will teach you about the tools and tricks for needle-turn appliqué, as you create the stems and leaves for your rose. Fabric selection is important if you want the variety of shading and colour that gives a realistic result. It is also possible -- though not necessary -- to fussy-cut leaves from a printed fabric, as I have done in the sample shown.

You will then learn to create the rose "petals" and rose bud. For this, the dimensional wired ribbon gives gorgeous depth, colour and sheen!

We will also discuss ideas and techniques for finishing your project. These roses make a wonderful gift for someone special -- if you can bear to give them away!

9. Sunflower

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels
Project size: 20.5"x 20.5" (9.5" circle)

Like a ring of sunshine, these dimensional wired ribbon sunflowers beckon us with the promise of summer. You’ll learn the basics of needle-turn appliqué as you create the stem and leaves.

You'll learn how to make a template for your pattern and how to choose fabrics effectively for creating highlights and shadow.

Next come the sunflowers themselves and you'll be delighted to discover how easily the shaded wired ribbon can be shaped into a ring of petals. So simple -- but such a beautiful result.

The flowers are finished by creating centres filled with coloured seed beads. Finally, you will learn to set your creation into a reverse appliquéd border.

10. Pot with Pansies

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels, but very suitable for beginners
Project size: 22"x20.5" (center 10"x9")

Capture the essence of spring with these lovely pansies in dimensional wired ribbon appliqué. And it's easier than you think!

This is a hand appliqué project that confident beginners can readily take on. I will lead you through the basics of needle-turn appliqué techniques as you create the pot and leaves.

Next you'll learn to manipulate shaded ribbon into blooms that look almost like the real thing.

Finally, you'll embellish your bouquet with delicate lilies-of-the-valley, made with fabric blooms and embroidered stems.

I will present different options for framing the appliquéd pot of flowers, as well as finishing and quilting your block.

11. Showy Lady Slipper

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels
Project size: 20"x14"

I love orchids, and enjoy capturing their elegant simplicity in appliqué. The Showy Lady Slipper is endangered in the wild, but we can safely capture it in this project with an Art Deco flavour.

We will begin by creating and layering pattern pieces, and I will lead you through the fundamentals of needle-turn appliqué as you create the stem, leaves and blooms of your flower.

We will discuss the importance of fabric selection for achieving a realistic result.

Ideas and techniques for quilting and finishing will lead you toward a completed project you’ll be eager to display!

12. Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels
Project size: 18"x20" (oval: 8.5"x10.5")

This native bloom is a sure sign that spring has come to the woodlands!

Refine your needle-turn appliqué technique as you create the distinctive striped leaf and tiny spadix inside that gives this plant its name. We will review pattern layering and discuss fabric colour and selection, for wonderful results.

I will teach you how to frame the oval inset that sets off the piece, and we will discuss tips and techniques for finishing. You’ll be delighted with the result!

13. Chinese Lanterns

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels
Project size: 19"x25"

The distinctive lantern shape and bright orange colour of these blooms make them a popular choice in autumn gardens and dried arrangements. Now you can capture these cheerful and festive-looking flowers in appliqué!

Fabric and colour selection is vital to the success of this piece, and we will look at your fabrics and discuss how to make good choices as you build the leaves and blooms from your pattern pieces.

I will lead you through needle-turn appliqué techniques, and will demonstrate the tools and tricks of the trade.

Finally, we will review ideas for finishing and quilting your project.

14. Hawaiian Style Cut-outs

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All levels
Project size: 28"x28"

In Hawaii, the pineapple is a symbol of welcome, and appears commonly as a decorative motif.

The method for creating these cut-out blocks with a Pacific flair is fun and easy to learn. I will guide you as you move from pattern, through fabric selection, to cut-out, and finally to needle-turn appliqué -- demonstrating the tools and techniques that will give you dramatic results, as in the sample above.

I will also show samples of more complicated patterns that can be created using the very same techniques, as in the photo at right.

We will also discuss ideas for finishing and quilting your project.

15. Crazy Quilt Block

Duration: 1 full day
Level: All
Project size: sample shown is 8.5"x8.5"

Indulge in embellishment! Learn different embroidery stitches, beadwork and ribbon work used for crazy quilting. We will be working on an 8" block, made before the workshop from a pattern that will be provided.

This is a chance to use all the "things" you have collected over the years, from old handkerchiefs to buttons and charms to old laces. There are so many options for embellishing your work, and I will show other samples to inspire you.

We will also discuss ideas for finishing your piece, or incorporating it into other projects.

No Internet....again

2009-09-17T16:28:00.002-04:00

We get our Internet via signals, that go from tower to tower. Usually it works well, although bad weather can interfere.Last week we ran into another problem. This is what I read in the local paper. "Around 2am on September 12th , vandals send a 120 foot communications tower crashing to the ground near Parker.Estimates are that the vandals used an angle grinder to sever the tower's legs. The cost is at least $100.000 and 3000 customers were without Internet services". That included us. I'm happy to say, that as of last evening we were connected again. The police is looking into this, but it is out in the country, so not many people are around at that time of the night. I managed to finish the Christmas throw. It is all flannel, so it is warm and cosy. I learned a lot by quilting it and feel ready for the next one. On Saturday I took a beginner course in making flower arrangements. It was put on by the Horticultural Society in Fergus and it was a lot of fun. Each had to make 3 arragements in a short period of time. After lunch we watched one member make abstract arragements and they were amazing. The worst is always to try and get the arragements home in one piece without dumping them upside down in the car.I was lucky that day! The weather is still beaufitul. It looks like we have our summer just a few months later than other years. This is very good for the corn, since that is still behind. Yesterday was guild meeting and afterwards I picked up my daffodil bulbs. They are huge. They barely fit in a big crate. I will need Laurence's help to get them in the ground. I got something to put on the end of a drill, so he can run that machine, while I put them in the ground.

Shorter days are here

2009-09-09T15:30:00.002-04:00

Saturday we had a visitor. Jenny came and she had Bernie, her Bernese Mountain dog, along. I just had to take a picture of a sweet dog in front of the sweet peas. These are in full bloom and it seems, that the more you pick, the more blooms there are. Another sign that fall is near are all the dahlia's I have in the garden. They always take a long time to get to the blooming stage, since I put the bulbs right into the garden. The yellow ones are almost dinner plate size. The orange ones are smaller. I like the color better, but these only last a short time. We did get the sedums planted.I have ordered 200 daffodils to plant in between, but I will not pick those up till our guild meeting next week.Jenny came home with 120 crocusses and they will also need a home. We even planted grass seed on the part that won't have plants. I phoned the hardware store and asked if they had anything that would drill holes in the ground and that would fit in an portable drill and I was lucky. There is one there,even on sale. I will pick that up next week also. Why do it the hard way, when there is an easier way! In the quilt department. I needed a card and I came up with this idea. The back ground has some selvages sewn on The sunflower is fused and then covered with some thread painting. Size is 5 by 7 inches.I like to do these small projects when I get tired of the bigger ones. I'm still not finished quilting the one from last week. The center is an all over design and there are feathers in the border. I have never been able to do even close to a decent job with these feathers. This is shown from the back. The front is harder to see, since it has different colors. I think I'm getting a little better. These feathers are all done free hand. I only draw the spine. 2 more to go and I can put the binding on. Hooray, another project to scratch of the to do list!

The final move

2009-09-02T19:10:00.002-04:00

When we moved in December it was too late in the year to move our farm sign. Then this spring the legs snapped in a bad wind storm. We moved it to the workshop and there it stayed. Laurence was busy and so it did not get done, till last week that is. To prevend the legs from snapping in the wind again he brought 2 cement block over and put them on each side of the potentilla. Next we had to find a small generator to run the drill, but it all came together on Monday and it is done. Today I visited my friend Lois and at her place we pulled out a bunch of perenial ivy. I planted that tonight around the blocks, so hopefully by next year they will be covered by ivy. If you look to the right of the sign you can see another bigger flower bed. At one time there was a statue. We sold it and pulled out all the overgrown evergreens. It is still very uneven and there are a lot of weeds. That job will be tackled next. I'm going to borrow a rototiller (sold ours for I did not think I would ever need one again)Since the bare patch is big, I needed a lot of plants. I wanted sedums, but could not find any in the nursery I went to today. On my way home I saw a sign at the end of a farm lane with "perenials for sale" On a whim I drove in and boy, was I glad I did. It was an Old order Mennonite place with a good size greenhouse and lots of plants. I came out of there with 14 good size and very healthy sedums for $70 plus tax. Now to fill in between the sedums I thought of daffodils. The plan is for the daffodils to bloom in the spring and by the time the foliage turns brown, the sedums have grown enough to cover the foliage. One call to Ontario Seed did the trick. There will be 200 bulbs waiting for me on the day of the next guild meeting. Now on the quilt front. This flannel quilt top I bought at a store a few years ago. My plan was to machine quilt it, but instead it ended up in the to do pile. But that is about to change. My next project will be to machine quilt the top with the Dutch fabrics. I want to do a real good job, so this quilt is my trial piece. The center is an all over design and in the border I want to try free hand feathers. I did learn what not to do. You can see the way I basted the layers together and it did not work. I get tangled up in the threads while quilting. I end up cutting the basting as I quilt, what is a real nuisance.

Memories

2009-08-26T19:22:00.002-04:00

I grew up on the farm in Friesland with Friesian cows and horses. That was in the days before these black horses where popular all over the world. All his farming life my dad had some Friesian horses around. Although we milked a lot of cows for those days and had an up to date milking machine, we never had a tractor till after I moved to Canada in 1970. My dad did not like anything with a motor, but could tell you the pedigrees of all the cows and horses for generations.Our horses, all registred, did the work,Besides that we drove and rode them. I can still remember when the inspector of the Association would be in the area. Dad would take one or two horses by the halter and on his bike he would go to the next town. We would follow on horse back if necessary. Right there, in the middle of town on the cobbelstones the horses would be judged. If they were good enough the branding iron would come out and the appropriate symbol would be burned in the neck. Over the last 25 years there have been Friesian horses in North America. Inspectors would come over and judge the horses here for entry in the books. My brother let me know, that this would happen near Woodstock near the end of August. So last Saturday, with the combining over and some free time I convinced Laurence to come with me to see the judging. It was just like the olden times with the black horses, shown by people dressed in white. The weather was not co-operating and at first the judging was done outside in the rain, but later it was changed to the inside arena. It was just like I was home again, except this time I was only watching. This made me wish I could still be riding, but that has not happened for a very long time. After a few hours Laurence really, really, really had his fill, so back to home it was, where I had so Skype with my brother in Friesland, who had been to a similar, but much larger show near his place. Back to quilts now. I finished the sashiko sampler and it turned out not too bad. The final size is 43 by 43 inches. Fabric used is Essex (linen/cotton mix) by Kaufman Threads used: overdyed cotton threads by Sassalyne. Appliqued circles come from a piece of silk fabric bought from John Marshall Crest designs: Japanese Design Motives 4200 Illustrations of Japanese Crests ( Dover book) Setting idea: Japanese Quilt Blocks by Susan Briscoe

A busy week

2009-08-19T11:30:00.002-04:00

Last week Thursday we started finally with the wheat harvest and it could not have gone better. By Monday afternoon Laurence was almost finished. Just when he started at the last of the neighbours it started to rain. Not that we were out of work. Monday was also the day to get ready for the chick delivery on Tuesday. A lot has to be done at the last minute. As this picture shows, our quiet road changes during harvest time with lots of activity. It is fun to see how 2 large combines try and get past each other. As I write this Laurence is back combining and he should be done soon. Just for a break we went to Jenny's on Sunday. Laurence received a ticket for a ride on the jet boats on the Niagara river and since it promised to be very hot, this was the week-end. Tony went along for the ride. Jenny and I chickened out and went to the botanical gardens instead. The guys had a great time and came back thoroughly soaked. We had been warned and had dry clothes and shoes along. During the harvest I do not have to be right there all the time, as long as I can do whatever comes along " right this moment". This morning it was announced that the rest of the large strawbales had to be brought inside and some help would be appreciated. Now I can drive the tractors, but I'm not very good at it. This I could manage and by noon another job was completed. Next up was a visit to the doctor for my mother-in-law. After supper it will be the rest of the lawn to cut. Not much in the quilt department will get done! I'm working on the machine quilting of a sashiko piece. It is going, but slow. I should be able to show it by next week. I find that very slowly I can do a better job and my shoulders are not quite as sore. 2 more tops are waiting and then it will be back to some new applique.

Another one done!

2009-08-12T08:55:00.002-04:00

The sashiko on both of these pieces was done a few years ago. I quilted the one on the left, but did not get around to do the other one. But last week it finally happened. I'm planning to hang both upstairs in the hall. This is after I have put something on the big window to keep the sun out. The sashiko on this piece are all cranes. The patterns came out of a Dover book with over 4000 crest designs. They had to be enlarged, but it works well. And I will not be out of patterns in a long time. This was the first time I used a variegated thread and I like the result. It seems to blend in better and gives it a softer look.

This is, what I look out to, when I do machine work. As you can see I'm working on another quilt and this one is much bigger. I put another small table behind the machine and use my ironing board to the left side. This way I get as much of the quilt as possible level with the machine.

Last week I mentioned, that we finally had started with the wheat harvest. That did not last long. After one round they tested for moisture and the wheat was way too wet, so the combine went back in the shed, where it still is. The weather is warmer, but we have not had the hot, sunny days we need.

I bet you, that there are not many people, who get their bread delived at home anymore. But we do. Every third Wednesday afternoon at about 2, a white van will drive in the lane. Out comes the baker, Guehnter's from Milverton, with the bread. And it is the best bread you can get, according to Jenny. She refuses to eat anything else. Nobody home.....no problem. The bread is put on top of the freezer and you can pay the next time.

Blame it on the apples

2009-08-06T14:22:00.002-04:00

I know that I'm a day later that normal,but it is that time of the year again. The old harvest apple tree at the home place is loaded down with apples. That is a change from most years. With this old tree you never know, what to expect. Last year only halve the tree had apples, the year before there were none. After a year with apples it usually takes a year of. On my way to get a tool out of the shop I realized that the time had come to pick apples and make apple sauce, so that's what I have been busy with. It is a messy job, but come winter, it is handy to have all those jars all ready with dessert. This past week I managed to get 2 small wall hangings finished. When I was visiting the guild in Perth in the spring I promised to make a pattern with a snowy lady slipper and here is the result. It is hand appliqued and machine quilted. I like to put the focus, in this case the orchid, in a frame with 2 colors for a back ground. It makes it a little bit more interesting. The Jack-in-the-pulpit has been around for a while, but I never came around to quilting it. This one is also hand appliqued. I consider these practice pieces. There is one top I want to quilt, but I feel that I'm not good enough yet. So there are 2 more tops to be quilted in the next few weeks. By then I should have a feel for what I can do and what my "weak" points are. We had some warmer weather in the last week. If it stays sunny for the rest of the day Laurence will be able to start combining the wheat. In general the crops are a few weeks behind a normal year, whatever normal is. But with this, in general cooler weather, the flowers have been doing very well and last way longer than other years.

Where oh where is summer?

2009-07-29T10:36:00.004-04:00

Here it is almost August and we are still waiting for those hot days. There has been lots of rain, but the heat is lacking. That means that the crops are way behind. We are not even thinking about combining the wheat yet. Let's hope, that August will be more like we are used to. The Two Cylinder club (for those not in the know, that is the club for antique John Deere tractors enthousiasts) had their annual show in Drayton. Since this was the year of the crawler or bulldozer, Laurence had to have his J.Deere 40 there. But when he drove it home the week before from the shed to the workshop something was seriously wrong. It ended up that the "head" had to be replaced.I have no clue, what it is, only that it means major bucks. It also meant a quick trip to Flint, Michigan for a new one. But as you can see, he did get it all together and made it to the show. See that little engine at the left? That is a stationary engine and it is used to make home made ice cream .Other years it is a very popular spot, but since it was cool and rainy that day, I did not see many customers. Each day there is a parade and this year the crawlers were first in line. In total there were over 20.I spend most of Saturday there and even saw our statue being sold at the small auction they have. Now it is up to Laurence to get our farm sign here.Once in place I can finish the flowerbed. Quilting was not forgotten. I finished the quilting on this workshop sample with Chinese Lanterns .I never like to start the quilting on a project, but once I'm quilting it gets better. Today I finished another small sample with one more to go. Those I hope to show next week.

One of my favorite auctions

2009-07-22T08:24:00.002-04:00

The Amish Parochial School Auction was last Saturday and I would not miss that if at all possible. Laurence and I both went and each has his /her day figured out. I head for the tent with the pies first, so I can get my choice. They are delicious and not pricey.It is not unusal to see people walk away with 6 or more pies. They keep well in the freezer, though I did not get quite that many.At the same time Laurence got our bidding number. I took the pies back to the car and first things first.... a visit to the horses next. Where else can you see about 100 buggy horses, all lined up. This picture could have been taken a hundred years ago. But that are not the only horses. About 200 are being sold and these range from big Clydes to smaller ponies. Most of them are standing around hay wagons and I did not see many arguments. From there it was only a short walk to my next stop....the tent where the quilts are being sold. I had gone over on Friday afternoon and asked if I could see the quilts. Everybody else was still setting up, but the quilts were all ready to go. This way I could take my time looking at the ones that were of interest to me. This year there were around 120, from small baby quilts to king size ones. The one in this picture was the top of the auction and brought $1300.It was all hand appliqued and had a beautiful design. There was one for $1000, the rest were lower. I did end up with quilt 108 ( yes I sat through them all) It is a lone star in beiges, dark red and very dark blue. It is 110 by 96 inches and suits the room. Once that job was done, it was time to eat and there was no shortage of food. Sausage on a bun seemed to be the favorite. And it is the only place I know of, where there is a different line for each flavor of icecream. Laurence had watched the different auctions and had just about enough ,so after a short visit to the horse auction we went back home. I know, that next year we will be back. It is the place to meet family, friends and neighbours.

Yard work

2009-07-15T09:54:00.002-04:00

On Monday I had a store owner come to the house to look at all my workshop samples. She might be interested for me to teach in her store. Since the the samples were all over I hunted them all up and put them on my design wall. The next step will be to take individual pictures and then update my workshop list. All of the classes are hand applique with no sewing machine involved, just the way I like it.

When we moved in December it was too late to figure out what plants we were looking at. By now I have a pretty good idea. Behind the house is a big area of the flower bed covered with a pretty ground cover, but it had taken over and had to be cut back.

That chore was completed last week, just in time.Laurence had a meeting at a resort (tough life!)near Grand Bend and the wives were invited along. Yesterday I had the whole day to myself, while the guys had their meeting. I started the day visiting the Lambton County Museum ,where they just happen to have an antique quilt show. There was a good collection of crazy quilts and signature quilts. I spend the morning there and on my way back to the resort I found a nursery. One of the first things I heard was "Perenials are 10 for $20 That was all I needed and I came back with a trunkfull of very healthy plants.

By now they are all planted ,since we can expect rain.

In front of the house is a area with shrubs and a statue, left by the former owners. The lower evergreens in the front had lots of brown spots and since we want to replace the statue with our farm sign anyway we dug the shrubs out with the help of the tractor. Next step will be to move the farm sign, but who knows when! I have not decided what I want to put in the front, but it will be either other low evergreens or some perenials.

Sashiko.....finally finished

2009-07-09T08:35:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Blogger did not want to co-operate and I finally gave up. This morning was better. I do have problems at times to get all the pictures to show up, usually the first one, so that's why the rose is first, just in case it was a no show. With the cool and rainy weather we have had, the roses are doing very well and I think I start to like them.So far I have not run into many problems disease wise. This piece with hand appliqued circles and sashiko is finally all together. The borders were a lot of work. I did each border piece seperate, sewed the whole thing together and then finished the sashiko where the border pieces would meet. That way I could match them no too badly. I have not decided how to quilt this. I could use a big stitch, similar to sashiko or machine quilt it. Regular quilting is not possible with my painful shoulders, what is too bad, but reality . It does not help either, that I try to keep the flowerbeds looking not great, but acceptable. Behind the house are a lot of shrubs and in front of them is a real nice groundcover, that has taken over. Very slowly I'm pulling most of that out and later will replace that with some SLOW growing perenials. As I was working away I heard a noise and I found this little fellow in one of the bushes. He did not like the idea of having to share the flowerbed with anybody else. We have had company of and on for the last week. Shawn and Emily flew from Calgary to Hamilton, spend some time with Jeanette and Tony., Then we picked them up and they have been busy since with weddings and visiting friends. A few more days at a cottage and it will be time to fly back home. It was really good to see them again.

A farmer's fix

2009-07-01T11:32:00.002-04:00

Our lawn looked a little yellow, according to Laurence and that needed a change. Since the big farm sprayer was empty and clean, he decided, that it would be easy to spray some liqued fertilizer on the lawn. Now our lawn is big, but it is not a field with as a result, that we have a tiger striped lawn. There was not enough fertilizer in the sprayer to make it work right and there was not enough pressure to spray the right width. And around the flowerbeds it is still a little yellow. He wanted to try it again, but once was enough for me. This is the workshop sample with the Chinese lantern plant. It is ready to be quilted. The size is about 19 by 26 inches. If the weather stays like this, I should finish it by next week. The weather has not been good in the last week. Most days we have showers and it has been cool. By the time you can work in the garden, another shower shows up. The roses seem to like it though and I have a wide variety of shapes and colors. I think I might to start to like them. Today is Canada Day . We missed the local parade , but might make it to the ball game later in the day. I will leave you with this week's favorite

Summer

2009-06-24T20:10:00.002-04:00

Summer is finally here.We had a hot one today with temperatures around 30C. With the rain we had last week the crops are growing very well, but so do the weeds. I was all set to edge all the flowerbeds with the shovel, when I heard from a friend ,that there is something called a flowerdbed edger you can rent. What a life saver! We rented it for 1/2 day and with Laurence running it, we went around all the beds in no time. Next time we will wait till the soil is drier. I had to clean the mud out quite regularly. But it did the job. The pots in front of the house look good. Now I realize that the colors are not all coordinated, but during the move I lost the tags and so had no clue what color the begonia's would be. Next year better. At last count there are 25 rose bushes that have survived the winter. The first ones are blooming including this pale pink shrub rose. I really did not want to look after this many roses, but looking at all the different colored buds I might change my mind yet. At last count there are 21 orchids in the house, including these 2. Where they all came from, don't ask. Last evening was our horticulture meeting and the speaker, Gerald Swan, is an expert in growing orchids. I learned a lot. The one on the right I took home from Jenny on Sunday . It did not look good with brown leaves all over. I took it along last evening and was told what to do. Gerald even transplanted it for me in a larger pot. Now it will go in the windowsill above the sink and I just hope it will show some green growth soon. The one on the left I won!!!! The speaker brought 4 orchids for door prices and since I had the first number, I could take one of them home. It is another lady slipper with the name of "Transvaal" I saw a picture in one of the speaker's books and it has beautiful brown flowers. With all this weeding and cleaning in the garden not much applique is getting done. I'm working on 3 smaller project and should have something to show next week.

Guild challenge

2009-06-18T15:30:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the last meeting for our guild. There was only an evening, business meeting and at times there are not too many members attending. Since our guild show is in September the show committee decided to make the challenge due yesterday. It seemd to work. There were lots of people and 20 small quilts. It had to be about an Idiom. I did start on one, but figured out, that it was more a saying then an idiom, so it was back to the drawing board. When I found the piece of fabric with the cows I knew what I was going to make. This is my interpretation of "Wait...till the cows come home" It is fused and machine embroidered/quilted. It was a fun and fast project. There were some amazing quilts and all so very different. The quilts were collected and we will see them again, hanging at the show. The evening was a lot ot fun, with food, doorprizes and then of course the business part. I needed a few cards and today was the day to make them .I love to make these kimono's and made these 2 even a little smaller, so the cards will go into a 6 by 9 inch evelope. The third card is made with 3d flowers I had on hand. Each time I teach a workshop making flowers I keep the samples and somewhere along the line I find a use for them. I like to find something for the back that complements with the front. For the red kimono I found a black and red fabric with goldfish. The card with flowers has pansies on the back and the green kimono has a piece of silk on the back. I seem to be a magnet for "strange" fabrics. Yesterday at the guild meeting I was asked if I could use some Asian fabrics. It turned out to be a big bag full of Japanese silks, silk scarves, a ikat belt with woven fish and some heavy Chinese silks. This green on the back of the card came from one of the pieces.

New winged "friends"

2009-06-10T15:29:00.003-04:00

A few years ago I received a folded fabric kimono from my friend Janet. I put it up on my bulletin board and there it stayed. Then a few weeks ago another friend, Tamara, remarked that she thought it was really pretty. At around that time I had to start thinking about a small quilt for the guild challenge. I took the kimono (sorry Janet) apart and found that it was not hard to make. And soon after I had it all planned. Too bad, that later I realized, that it did not fit the criteria for the challenge. I did make another one, that I can show after next week's meeting. But I did not want to forget about this one and I'm back at it. It is the saying "something old ( a piece of vintage silk for one of the kimono's),something new (fabric I just bought), something borrowed ( the pattern from Janet), something blue ( a blue kimono) The white circles will be sashiko. The smaller circles are cut from a piece of oriental fabric and the flying geese are made with vintage shibori. It is all in pieces yet, but it has been fun. We have some new winged friends around. These barn swallows showed up a few weeks ago and made themselves right away at home. First in the garage. We had some arguments and there were mad dashes close to my head, but they backed of. Now their nest is under the eaves, close to the diningroom window. They do make somewhat of a mess and don't like anybody outside on the deck, but it is fun to see the going ons in the nest. The weather has not been great. We did have rain, but it has been cold. All the crops are in the ground, but nothing is growing very fast. We do hope for more sunshine in the next few days. It is always remarkable, that the weeds do keep on growing. Tomorrow will be a weeding day!

Back home

2009-06-04T08:51:00.004-04:00

Quilts, orchids, horses, gardening and water buffalo mozzarella pizza, that just about sums it up. I came home Tuesday morning early after an overnight flight from Calgary after a very busy week. Quilt Canada in Saskatoon was great. As usual it was very busy. I taught for 3 days in a beautiful room. It was down in the basement of the hotel, but nobody complained about not having enough light. I had fun, I hope the participants too. The Juried show was a 10 minute walk. I finished at 4 and the show closed at 5, but I did manage to get there and see the quilts. In my eyes it was a very good show and I could have spend more time there. On Friday evening I did my power point presentation, a first for me and there were no equipment failures, my biggest worry. Everything was set up and was ready to go. Since I talked about the quilts I coordinated for the Mennonite Relief Sale I mentioned the one to be sold the next day. I was asked to find out what it went for and announce it at the next day's banquet. I was very happy, when I found out, that it went for $7200, in my eyes a very good price. It was the highest of the day. The quilt went to Bruce Menary, owner of the Len's Mills Stores in our area. Of the 5 quilts I have coordinated he has bought 3. He is a very big supported of the sale!!! After the conference I flew to Calgary and visited Shawn and Emily. The after noon was spend watching Emily at a working cow horse seminar. For most of you it might sound boring, but it was interesting. I grew up riding English Style and never knew anything about Western Riding. I learned new things, sitting in the sun with the Rockies in the back ground, what can be better. Monday we went out to look at plants. Once home there was enough time to plant it all and wrap the tomato plants. More frost was expected. Then the fun was over and it was back to the airport. But first supper where the water buffalo mozzarella pizza came in . When I saw that, I could not resist. It was good, but not any better then regular mozzarella. Then it was direction home. I had a lot of luggage by then. I bet you I was the only one from the conference who came home with a large orchid. During one of my workshops I had a visit from some of the organizers Since I was teaching the orchid workshop, we started to talk about different orchids. Finally I was asked if I had room for a "SMALL" one. Of course, who can refuse. The next day she showed up, laughing, with a huge cattleya. I was not going to say not to something like that and found a way to put it in a carry on. It survived and is looking great. I seemed to have taken the good weather with me to the West. Once back home, it has cleared up and Laurence could finish the seeding, except of the white beans and that will be done today. So it is back to work for me. And when I got home I found another orchid in bloom. For this one I do not have a name,