Lethbridge, Part 2

After my 3 day workshop for the Lethbridge Centennial Quilters' Guild, I took a day off before my dyeing workshop with the Textile Surface Design Guild. I spent a quiet day on my own taking an excursion about 45 minutes outside of Lethbridge. I've always wanted to visit "Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo Jump". It's a UNESCO world heritage site and a cultural site older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. 

Indigenous people used to drive herds of buffalo off the cliff to obtain their meat supply. There is archeological evidence of this as far back as 6000 years ago. I watched the 15 minute film in the excellent Interpretive Centre, and am very glad I did. It made the experience all the more meaningful. These hunters had well-thought-out hunting strategies based on an excellent understanding of the regional topography and buffalo behaviour. You can read more and learn more here.

On my drive I kept my eyes open for interesting landscapes and sights to photograph. This wonderful rusty old truck presented itself.

What an amazing dye studio the Textile Surface Design Group Lethbridge has access to! It is located in their interdisciplinary, community arts centre known as Casa. I haven't seen anything quite like it in any place I've taught in Canada. It has both a dry room (as you can see below) and also a wet room, which you will see in subsequent photos. In the dry room meetings and instruction can take place, fabric can be ripped and prepared.

The wet room has at least 3 deep stainless steel sinks, deep enough to fit tall pails and fill with water. 

There are several stainless steel tables with shelving underneath, a fridge to store mixed dyes, microwaves for processes requiring heat, a silk steamer, mixing box, and lots of storage space.

I really enjoyed looking at the pottery for sale during the Casa sale, prior to class. Casa is a beehive of creativity. I heard music and drumming, and saw other groups at work in other mediums.

Here's a photo of Judy with her finished fabric two days later, just before she took me on a tour of a Hutterite colony (I'll share this in my next post). 

Mary sent me photos of her fabric after my return home. The class I taught is called "Dye Another Day". In this class students learn several processes I use to create the multi-coloured fabrics I dye and sell.

They also each get to dye a Textile Temptation Pack that contains velvet, cotton, silk dupioni, silk organza and cheesecloth.

Here's a photo Connie sent me of her Textile Temptation pack.

Dye Another Day and Two Sewing Machines

Last Saturday I taught my "Dye Another Day" class for the Ottawa Valley Quilters' Guild. I taught my "Intro to Fabric Dyeing" class for them two weeks prior. Several students returned to the second class with vibrantly-coloured fabric from the first. Smiles all around as they hold up their bundles of fabric.

"Dye Another Day" shares several methods I use for achieving my multi-coloured fabrics. Each student was responsible for mixing up a group of colours, and then everyone rotated around the room using each colour group.

We had a bit of an "oops" when a cup of navy blue dye got bumped over and leaked through to the floor between the tables. Unfortunately, some of it hit Millie's purse. However, students with knees in better shape than mine were quick to clean up the spill. The floor cleaned up beautifully.

I look like a pretty mean teacher with my students on their hands and knees under the table!

Sharron sent me this photograph yesterday of the fabrics from "Dye Another Day" on the left, and "Intro to Fabric Dyeing" on the right. In the middle is the Textile Temptation Pack she also dyed in "Dye Another Day". This exercise gives students the chance to dye a bit of silk-rayon velvet, silk dupioni, silk organza, cotton, and cheesecloth, using the same dye colour. As you can see, each fabric takes the dye a little differently.

This week I started quilting my fern quilt. I find I can only quilt for a few hours and then have to do something else. It is hard on the neck and shoulders. So I set up a second sewing machine to do some strip-piecing. I'm working on updating samples for "Liberated Radial Piecing". Since that class is one of my five one-day classes on free-form cutting and sewing that together form a one week class at Haliburton School of the Arts called "Serendipity Strips and Curves" that is being offered in July, I'm updating a lot of my free-form samples.

It's been great being home for most of December and January and having relaxed time in the studio.

What's Up?

We are experiencing a snowy Monday here in Canada's Capital, but hey it is winter, so what can we expect?

I thought I would share my conclusion about the fern quilt. This is the background and the setting I plan to fuse it to and finish it on. 

I am enjoying a fairly quiet month with just a few speaking and teaching engagements. Last Monday night I drove out to Kemptville, Ontario, to deliver a lecture to the Kemptville Quilters Guild. My student, Bev Cooper, brought some of her Show and Tell. Bev started this very colourful quilt in my "Reflections" class in November 2015 at the Upper Canada Quilters Guild. In this class students learn how to cut curved blocks free-hand, and are shown several options for designing with them. Bev used many of the fabrics she dyed in my "Dye Happy" class at Wabi Sabi last year. Isn't this piece stunning? Bev is always an inspiration, not only in the work she produces but in how fast it comes together. 

Bev then went on to create a second piece using this method. I love the way she has turned her blocks on this one and the way the piece emits light from the off-centre focal point. The small secondary square of green in the lower right adds an element of surprise and repetition, and the small touches of orange provide a nice complement! Both quilts are already beautifully machine-quilted on her domestic sewing machine

Bev also found a use for the poppy panel from my Northcott "Poppy Passion" fabric line. Lovely, isn't it?

Saturday I had a great time teaching "Intro to Fabric Dyeing" for the Ottawa Valley Quilters Guild.

My impression is that students had a great time playing with colour. Just look at the smile on Lynn's face.

I'll be teaching my "Dye Another Day" class to the Ottawa Valley Quilters Guild on Saturday, January 30. More fun getting messy with colour :-)

The tables are clear in my studio for more studio time this week :-) But I also need to dye some blues and purples.

Dye Another Day!

I just returned from a week-long teaching trip to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I will be sharing photos shortly. In the mean time, I am preparing for an Intro to Dyeing class I'm teaching for the Ottawa Valley Quilters Guild tomorrow, Saturday. Just wanted to let you know that I have a follow-up class at Textile Traditions of Almonte next weekend, Saturday, November 1. In this class we really get into the nitty gritty of how I use colour and different methods I use for different results. You can expect to dye fabrics that look like these:

You will also have an opportunity to dye a Textile Temptation pack (each fibre uses the same dye bath but each takes the colour differently. We'll be dyeing cotton, silk-rayon velvet, silk dupioni, silk organza, and cheesecloth. Here are some colour options.

Oh, and by the way, Textile Traditions of Almonte also carries my full line of Northcott fabric. They have it beautifully displayed in their store window.

Four Days of Instruction at Quilt Canada

I taught four classes at Quilt Canada: two days of free-motion machine quilting, and two days of dyeing. I was quite pleased and surprised that all of my classes ran, and two of them were full with 20 students. 

To be quite frank, this was the most physically challenging teaching event of my career. Events took place at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. University campuses tend to be great sprawling communities unto themselves, so there is a lot of distance to walk. Add in the need to transport a lot of supplies, especially for a dyeing class, and the need to stand all day and walk to lunch and dinner, and all of this on hard concrete floors, and you have a recipe for aches and pains. I am happy I survived :-)) In fact, when the President of CQA, Judy Kelly, got up to speak at the Saturday night banquet she joked that she hadn't seen her ankles in some time (due to leg swelling). We are a mostly over-50 crowd, so I'm sure these types of venues are hard on all of us.

The first day's class was "Beyond Stippling With Confidence". We had a class of 20 and brand spanking new sewing machines from Janome :-)

Yvette brought her finished hosta duo piece from my Windsor class this past March.

Look who I found in class: Patti Carey, the VP of Northcott Fabrics!

These photos are from Day 2, "Beyond Stippling, Beyond Confidence". Adele is working on doodling her feathers here.

Feathers stitched by Patti.

All in all I have to say that these were the most skilled students I have ever taught free-motion to in my 11 years of teaching free-motion quilting. I think all they needed was a bit of confidence.

Day 3's class was "Introduction to Fabric Dyeing". We had 20 students again. Lots of supplies needed for this class. Between the two days of dyeing, I supplied about 160 meters of fabric, and 35 kits that included the supplies needed. The Local Organizing Committee for Quilt Canada was thoughtful in collecting all the pails, jugs, kitty litter trays, old towels, etc. to make life easier for students travelling to the conference. 

Look who showed up in this class! This is my friend Daphne Greig, who is also a national teacher, book author and pattern designer.

The fourth class was "Dye Another Day". I was so busy that day that I forgot entirely to take pictures. It was great fun too.  

Thank you to all the keen and eager students that registered for my classes. It was wonderful to meet so many interesting people from around the country.

Last Week and This Week

Last week I had a great time teaching a private two-day free-motion quilting class for a group of 5 women in Almonte, Ontario. Great company with Kristi, Dana, Cathy, Angela, and Donna. A very relaxed and easy-going group of friends, great food, a lovely location, and frequent visits from the family's feline and canine members.

Fossil, the cat, was relentless at providing love.

One of two Boston Terriers spent a lot of time on my lap :-)

Beautiful Sian, now 14 years old, insisted on being with us, even though she needed help going back down the stairs :-)

Fossil posing again.

Lest you think I am having way too much fun, this week is full of preparations for the upcoming Quilt Canada Conference in St. Catharines, Ontario. 160 meters of fabric ripped up, with the help of my husband this time :-)

35 dyeing kits being assembled.

Several practice sandwiches put together to demo free-motion quilting.

It will be a very full and busy week! I'm teaching two free-motion quilting classes and two dyeing classes. Three of four classes have 20 students.

I am running an experiment this week to see how long a wet piece of fabric inside a plastic bag survives in my hot car before it starts to mold. This will dictate whether I will be rinsing and spinning all the fabric before leaving home, or finding laundry facilities in St. Catharines. I will be on the road 2 days before I get there, and have two days of workshops before the dyeing classes begin. 

I also have four brand new tires installed on my little Toyota, in preparation for all my summer travels.