ELAINE QUEHL, Quilt Artist, Teacher, Dyer, Designer

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Greetings of the Season

From my house to yours, I am wishing you the best of this Season. I hope you enjoyed a restful and Merry Christmas and are now looking toward a brand new year in anticipation.

One of the sights I love at this time of year is seeing my feline family settling down for a long winter's nap. OK, I confess that winter has not hit Ontario yet, but is due this coming week. We will likely pay for a Christmas day that was as spring-like as Easter.

Wilma

Peekaboo and her tongue.

For a while now, we've had a third cat at our house. "Foxy" comes around to eat each day and we do not know if she has a home. She seems to be outside at all hours of the day and night. This photo was taken a few weeks ago when we had a brief, light dusting of snow. My husband built her a shelter as per the Humane Society instructions. Actually we don't even know if "she" is a she yet. We could probably accommodate a third cat so she is welcome to move in, but it will have to be on her own time. However, it is also possible that she likes the food better at our house than her own?

If you read Quilting Arts Magazine, you may have noticed that they featured my last fabric line with Northcott in their December issue. While the Poppy Passion collection was released last April, it is probably still available at many stores. On the Northcott website, it has now been "archived" meaning that no more will be available for sale to stores.

I confess that I've been in a bit of a creative slump this past year, due partly to a busy teaching schedule. The last few days I've been warming up by sewing a bed quilt, something I have not done in more than a decade. I love polka dots, the colour turquoise, lots of white, and improvisational piecing, so I'm working on a new quilt for our guest bedroom. Remember the one that I painted in "Serene Moment" this past summer? Photos here. Yes that one, and it is also my office.


Some of you will recognize that these blocks are similar to what I teach in my Reflections class. In this case, however, I have only pieced half the block, leaving the other half white, and I have arranged the blocks into a spiral setting. The design possibilities are endless with these blocks.

Hoping you enjoy the rest of this Christmas season! I'll be working on a new art quilt during the first week of January. Can't wait to see how it progresses.


10 comments:

  1. I find that piecing in between art projects is rather like a 'palate cleanser' and gets me going again. Following OPI (Other People's Instructions) for an entire piece can kick-start an entirely new set of ideas. Happy New Year, Elaine! May you be blessed with health, joy and creativity in 2016. :-)

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    1. Yes, I can see that piecing would be an enjoyable palette cleanser and I am certainly enjoying watching this quilt develop. I am not good at following instructions or manuals of any sort. My eyes just tend to glaze over ;-) So this piece is rather seat of the pants and is cut free-hand (except for squaring up the blocks).

      I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas, and I wish you the same for 2016 as you have wished me: good health, creativity, happiness and contentment.

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  2. I trapped a stray cat last winter who was getting so fat that I thought she was pregnant, turns out she was a he and was already neutered. So it was someone's abandoned cat, who now lives on my front porch in a shelter, and is fat because he eats all the time. Enjoy your time off from teaching, and have a creative 2016!

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    1. Hi Laura, and Happy New Year!
      So your abandoned cat decided to live in your shelter? Our "stray" will not live in ours but still comes around for food most days. I'm not 100% sure s/he is a stray but we'll keep on feeding him/her.

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  3. Looking REALLY good, Elaine! Very pretty . Can't wait to see it finished. Happy New Year!

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  4. You must be a half-square triangle whiz after all those in the blue-white quilt. It is going to be quite charming! That Wilma is one lucky cat to move in with you. Happy New Year!

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    1. Not really Martha. Half the block is free-hand cut curves, so I am a whiz on that, but it has a similar design potential that half-square triangles do.

      I assure you that Pete and I are the lucky ones having Wilma live with us :-)

      Happy New Year to you too!

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  5. Elaine, There is a good chance the kitty is a male. There is info out there that explains the genetics and why it is more common for them to be male. We adopted a stray named it Lucy, and then when we went to the vet found out it was a neutered he! He is now Mr Luci. Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Yes you are right Anonymous. This kitty only has a 20% chance of being female. That is the way it goes with ginger cats. 80% of them are male. In order to be female the mother and father both have to have the orange gene. It is the cat's delicacy that makes us keep calling it "her".

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Elaine