Student Work

While in Santa Fe a couple of weeks ago, I walked and drove along Canyon Rd. several times looking for the trees in this photo, taken in 2008, and that inspired my first tree quilt, Standing Still.

One of them was breaking down quite badly. I did find the trees in the photo below, and think it might be one of them, just grown a little more bent and gnarly over the last five years.

Speaking of the Santa Fe tree, two more photos came in from students who took my Collage Tree class last fall at the Lively Arts and Crafts Guild, just outside Sudbury, Ontario. The one below uses the pattern I created that was inspired by the gnarly old Santa Fe tree. Jenny Ross has quite effectively turned it into a winter landscape.

Susan Purdie, on the other hand, elongated my autumn tree pattern and turned out this stunning tall red maple with a landscape influence.

On the weekend, while vending hand-dyed fabrics at the Ottawa Valley Quilters' Guild "Festival of Quilts", I spotted two tree quilts made in my class here in Ottawa. These feature a spring/summer tree, inspired by a photo I took at the Montreal Botanical Gardens.

The first one is by Sheryl McKendry.

The second is by Heather Williams.

Several student quilts were on display at the show. I want to send a big congratulations to Albertina Pianarosa and Alice McKay, who both won ribbons for their quilts, started in my classes.

The first one is by Albertina. It is a series of three small florals that have been mounted. Albertina has a great eye for design!

Alice's piece was started in my Liberated Radial Piecing class.  She turned hers into a stunning Canada Day fireworks scene overlooking Parliament Hill.

I apologize for the poor quality of these photos. I had only taken my "point and shoot" camera with me, and it looks like there were issues with the lighting.  You will notice that both won two ribbons. One is a Viewer's Choice award (based on the votes of visitors to the quilt show), and the other awarded by judge Bethany Garner, who was hired by the guild to judge the show.

You could say I'm tired today after a week of dyeing, washing, ironing, cutting and bundling, with a mid-week trip out of town to teach last Wednesday. The coming week will be a bit of a marathon as well. I am packing for three events at the same time. This weekend I'll be heading to visit family on the way to next week's teaching trip in Southwestern Ontario (Erie Shores Quilt Guild in Leamington, Ontario and the Huron-Perth Quilt Guild in Kirkton, Ontario). I'm also packing for France as our departure happens two days after my return from this teaching trip. At the same time I'm packing for my "Dye Another Day" class at the Country Quilter in Richmond, Ontario. It takes place on June 15, two days after we get back from France. To say that this time of year is crazy busy is an understatement! We will enjoy a bit of vacation in France after the show.