An Inspiring Group of Students in London

This past week I taught my new three-day class called "Inspired by Nature, Designed by You" for the Canadian Embroiderers' Guild in London, Ontario. I was one of two teachers that gave workshops to the guild for their summer workshop series. Amanda McCavour gave a class on Experimental Embroidery that looked like a lot of fun. Both of us also gave a lecture on Wednesday evening.

 

I had a full class at 15 students. Every student brought their own photograph of a flower or tree or foliage that was meaningful to them. We talked about how to choose a good composition. We learned about value, how to build the quilt, etc. I am so pleased with the results of this very creative and committed group! I am sharing photos of the stage that each work was at by the end of three days. Some designs were more intricate than others, so many were not finished during class.

 

Carla's anemone flower and bud.



 

Christine's red trillium. The diagonal composition really enhances the feeling of movement in this piece!

Eleanor's iris

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Gwen's hibiscus, about 3/5 finished. 

 

My Facebook friend, Judith, decided on a pretty complex and intricate hosta design. She will still have a few days of work before it is finished. She is off to a great start!

 

Judith on the left, me on the right.

Kay's rose

Karen's peony

 

Miriam's hibiscus about 2/3 finished.

 

Norah was working on a beautiful butterfly sitting on yellow-green foliage. Still some background to fill in and a bit of work on the butterfly's large upper wings.



 

Susan worked on a round piece for her kitchen that featured a mesclun salad mix. The colours are rich and complex.

 

Maria decided to work on orchid buds rather than an orchid flower. The results are really interesting.





Meg's bleeding hearts. Still a couple more hearts to add.

 

Libi worked on a very pale purple waterlily, that required delicate and slight value changes. It will come to life when the centre is added!

Anne and her purple cosmos.

 

We had a brightl and spacious studio classroom in the Visual Arts Building at Western University.

A big thank you to Beth and Nancy who organized the workshops and provided assistance to teachers.

I will be flying to Edmonton, Alberta on Friday and then on to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia to teach workshops in both locations. A busy month indeed!

Teacher of the Year

I can finally let the cat out of the bag! About two months ago I received a phone call from Linda Schmidt, the VP of the Canadian Quilters' Association, telling me that I had been one of the teachers nominated for the 2015 Teacher of the Year Award. In fact my nomination had been chosen to win the award. Unfortunately because of my week of teaching in London, Ontario this past week, I was unable to be at the CQA Conference in Lethbridge, Alberta, on Thursday night to receive my award in person and give my acceptance speech. In my absence, Anna Hergert, my good friend and last year's Teacher of the Year, delivered my speech for me.  A big thanks to Anna!  You can read about the event on Anna's blog:

A big thank you to Pat MacDonald, Linda Doyle, and Sylvia Young for their part in the nomination. Another big thank you to students who wrote letters of support. I am honoured and humbled and hope that I am not only worthy of this award, but that I can also live up to the expectations it creates :-)

Blog post about my inspiring students in London coming very shortly!

On My Way to London

I am stopping to visit family on my way to London, Ontario to teach for the Canadian Embroiderer's Guild this week. I will be teaching a new 3-day class called "Inspired by Nature, Designed by You", and I am sure there will be photos on my blog by next weekend.

 

Before leaving home, I put together a one foot square quilt for the upcoming SAQA benefit auction. I didn't have time to quilt it until yesterday, on my travelling sewing machine, at my sister's house. It is all finished and packed and will be in the mail tomorrow. The title is Cavern 1, and it is inspired by Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon in Arizona.



 

After my sister went to bed I was up late putting together a second piece for the Haliburton School of the Arts faculty exhibition at Rails End Gallery. I had fused and cut out most of the pieces before leaving home so it was a matter of putting the design together. It will get quilted when I return home. This one is called Cavern 2 and is also based on the same slot canyon, Antelope Canyon. 

While staying in Waterloo, I had a chance to see the Grand National Quilt Show at Joseph Schneider Haus Museum. It was a busy day and I ran into a number of quilters I know, so I only took a few pictures of my favorite pieces. Hope you enjoy.

 

This first quilt of poppies is by Carolynn McMillan, and she did a fantastic job capturing poppies backlit by the sun.

Another favorite is also a nature piece by Lorraine Roy. Love the whimsical circular design, and the tree theme. Sorry about the light bulb at top that puts a glare on the work.

 

This is a detail of the piece.

 

Gordana Brelih's work is always a favorite of mine!

 

Here I am with my hosta piece, Curtain Call 2.



 

London, Ontario is my first stop in my marathon teaching month of June. Coming up are Edmonton, Alberta and Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.