My Big Fat Greek Bucket List Trip, Part 1, Athens

I've been back home for a week today, but hit the ground running. Finally taking some time to share some visual inspiration from my big fat Greek bucket list trip. We start with two days in Athens. Athens is a very large city with pretty intense traffic, and lots of high rise buildings. We did our research on where to see the old part of the city.  We began our walk in the Anafiotika area. This is a small and lovely neighbourhood close to the Acropolis. It has the old winding streets I love, but offers the added contrast of some colourful graffiti.

There are lovely little restaurants here with colourful seating.

Classic blue and white of course!

Looks like someone did some zentangles on the wall at this restaurant!

We walked and walked and walked, past the Agora (ancient market) where Socrates, Aristotle and St. Paul all made speeches.

One can't visit Athens with out visiting the Acropolis and its temples.

But like many well-known tourist attractions, there were way too many people, even in September.

The Temple of Athena seemed the best preserved to me, and held the most visual appeal for me.

We met a lot of dogs in Athens. They just drop to the stone and cement and sleep wherever they like. These two were found near the Acropolis. I guess the coolness of the stone gives relief on a hot Mediterranean day.

This orange tablecloth caught my eye. Just up the stairs is a lovely little restaurant.

Of course cats are plentiful everywhere in Greece. Many of them are homeless but are fed by kind people.

I hope you enjoyed this little slice of Athens. Next post we will move on to the main events, the Greek Islands, which were the destination on my bucket list.

September Activities

During the month of September I reserved a couple of weeks for vacation to a destination that has been on my bucket list for a while. I'll be blogging about that over the next few days. But here are a few good news items I wanted to share that have happened in the last few weeks.

I'm hearing reports that the show of the Crossing Oceans Textile Artists, on the theme of Nature, was a success at at Carrefour de Patchwork Europe. My Spanish friend Cecilia Gonzales, who was teaching there, sent photos of my pieces. It is a reminder to me of how much better quilts look on a gallery wall with appropriate lighting, rather than the pipe and drape of quilt shows. Cecilia and her sister Merce do some fabulous textile work. I met them last year when I was teaching in France, and did a blog post about their work. You can view it here.  Their website is www.desedamas.com.

A blogger from the UK, named Annelize, has done a very detailed blog post about our show, with very good quality photos. 

"Encore" was juried into the Infinity Art Gallery fibre art show. Just follow that link to see all the works in the show.

I was very pleased that "Returning 2", my donation to this year's SAQA Auction, sold on day one of Section 2 of the auction, raising $750 for SAQA. The auction continues for two more weeks, so have a look at the link and consider purchasing one of these one foot squares to help raise the profile of the art quilt and support exhibitions around the world. 

After my vacation I holed up in my office for most of the week, working on the pattern for my next line of fabrics. I thought I had finished the job before I left for vacation, but when the fabric scans became available I had issues with the colour loading properly. I've learned a lot this week and am feeling just a bit more confident with Electric Quilt.

I've also spent a lot of time cutting up fabric for promotional events, give-aways, and for sale. I've already had one give-away on Facebook of the Autumn Harvest line.

I've been thinking a lot lately how much activity I am engaged in on Facebook compared to my blog. So if you are on Facebook and also a reader of my blog, please do come and friend me on Facebook.

The Fall teaching season has begun so I'll be quite busy teaching for the next two months. When I get some time I'd like to make something with this colour way of my fabric line.

A Very Successful Fabric Launch!

Today was the official party to launch my new fabric line, "Falling Leaves" by Northcott. A big thank you to The Pickle Dish Quilt Shop & Studio in Carleton Place, Ontario for hosting it.

The event was a huge success! When I arrived, about 10 minutes late due to traffic, the store was filled with customers. I recognized almost everyone's face! What a thrill to see so much local support.

The full line was sold out before the party ended. 

Jan will be placing an order for more fabric, so don't worry. Besides, Textile Traditions of Almonte carries the full line as well, so you can always shop there. In fact I'll be at that shop next Saturday, October 4 to give my first "Hosta Leaves 101" class in the Ottawa Valley. There are still a couple of spaces left, so if you are interested call the shop (phone number on website). There are some great green fabrics in my Northcott line that would be very suitable for this class and you can pick them up at the same time.

We had visitors from as far away as Kingston

and many people I've come to know over the years showed up. A fantastic chance to catch up with a lot of people I know.

I'll be blogging with more news soon!  I know I've been quiet lately.

YOU ARE INVITED

YOU ARE INVITED to a fabric launch party!  Come and join me at The Pickle Dish to see my new fabric collection, "Falling Leaves", from Northcott Fabrics.
Enjoy coffee, tea and goodies with friends.
Door prizes!!! Yes they include fabric from this line.
WHEN: Saturday, September 27 from noon to 4 o'clock
WHERE: The Pickle Dish at 113 Bridge St., Carleton Place, Ontario

The Fabric Has Arrived!

After a process of about a year of discussions, planning and designing, my first line of fabric with Northcott arrived today. All 30 bolts of it! I've already begun cutting it up for gifting and sales. This is a beautiful culmination to my week with Electric Quilt, trying to design a pattern for my second fabric line.

This colourway of "Falling Leaves" is called "Spring Rain"

This colourway of "Falling Leaves" is called "Autumn Harvest"

Never thought my name would be on a selvedge one day.  Now I'm thinking that maybe I should get a stamp so I can add my name to the selvedge of my hand-dyed fabrics as well.

In the Ottawa area, my fabric line will be carried by The Pickle Dish in Carleton Place and Textile Traditions of Almonte.

Stay tuned for news about an upcoming fabric launch party.