Adventures and Teaching in Victoria, British Columbia.

You never know who you meet in your travels! A few days before I arrived in Victoria, British Columbia I received an email from Hilary Perrot who had noticed I was coming to Victoria. She moved from Ottawa to Victoria 12 years ago. In Ottawa we belonged to the same fibre arts group, Out of the Box. Around 2001/2002 she gave a talk for our group about dyeing. At the time she had a business called Fabricadabric, selling her hand-dyed fabrics. I went home from that talk and ordered my first dyes, fabric, and a book about dyeing. Hilary was always generous with information about supplies and processes. It was great catching up with a mentor and inspiration at Murchies Tea and Coffee.

My hotel was downtown and only a couple of blocks from the main tourist attractions.  Having been to Victoria several times, and as recent as two years ago, I sought out things that were new to me. However, I did go take the requisite shots. The hydrangea outside the Empress Hotel are always impressive.This was high tourist season and there were a lot of tourists!

Victoria is the capital of British Columbia, and you will find the provincial parliament buildings right across from the Empress Hotel and the harbour.

Empress Hotel

Victoria Harbour

My lecture, as sometimes happens, took place inside a church, and I got to deliver it from the pulpit. Yes, I got to pretend I'm a woman of the cloth again ... not untrue, is it?

Over the next two days I taught workshops to the Victoria Quilters Guild. Here's Elaine finishing up her hosta leaves. They only need to be attached to a background and quilted now.

20 students showed up to make hosta leaves.

Donna decided to try them in a different colour. Cool, eh?

On the second day of workshops I taught Liberated Strip Piecing.

This was my own sample that I used to talk about forming a composition. Students got to contribute and critique.

I'm pretty pleased with the results of the class. I'm sorry, however, but I cannot remember the names of all the students I met in eight classes. If you see your work here you can let me know and I will be happy to add your name.

Donna contemplates her design.

Daphne's resulting piece is really fun and playful.

Love the fence post bottom on this piece.

Fun with polka dots!

Modern in solids.

After the second class I had dinner with fellow Canadian teacher and friend, Daphne Greig, at a favorite restaurant in Sidney, just north of Victoria. Sea Glass Grill is along the harbour and is a beautiful location with fantastic food. I spent a fair bit of time before and after dinner photographing.

Next blog post will be about how I spent my last day in Victoria. However, I realize I haven't posted yet about the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. That will require a separate post for such an impressive place. A big thank you to the Victoria Quilters' Guild for inviting me to your beautiful city.