Home Again

I just returned last night from an 8 day teaching trip around Southern Ontario. Three workshops and two lectures in the space of three days, then a day off, and another day of workshops. One more day off and a lecture! My first day of teaching at the York Heritage Quilt Guild in Toronto started with a fabric frenzy when I opened my bins of hand-dyed fabric. Members were eager to have fabric for their projects. I could barely get their attention to teach the class! The Mustard Pickle Textile Temptation Packs sold out before I even left Toronto. Day one was my Surface Design class. You can see Erica applying Shiva Paintstiks with a stencil brush on a freezer paper stencil she cut.

Here is the result:

Day two was "In Full Bloom". Joanne's tulip was coming along nicely by the end of the class:

After class I drove to St. Catharines to deliver a lecture to the Niagara Heritage Quilter's Guild. Traffic in Toronto and on the QEW was slow so I screeched into the meeting with only 10 minutes to spare. My stay at Robinsong B&B in Thorold was delightful, and my only regret was that I couldn't stay longer. I must have been very tired on workshop day because I didn't take any pictures!
I had Friday off and was back in top form by Saturday when I headed off to Toronto again, this time to teach for the Yorkshire Rose Quilt Guild. The workshop was once again "In Full Bloom".

My last stop was Orangeville, a small city northwest of Toronto, where I delivered a lecture to the Dufferin Piecemakers Quilt Guild. Orangeville is a wonderful blend of urban amenities and country charm. I was billetted at the lovely home of Janet Slater and her husband, and their two charming cats, Rebecca and Fiona. The Slater home was once a one-room schoolhouse, built in the 1880's. What was the schoolhouse is now a large and comfy kitchen. Upstairs in the loft is Janet's studio.

Major additions and renovations have taken place to expand the house over the years. Although I am told she is usually shy, Rebecca was my best friend from the moment I arrived.

All through breakfast the next morning she sat on my lap.

We looked for Fiona and found her cuddled inside the quilt that Janet was working on.

Cats sure know how to spend a winter day!