Nature & Fashion

This summer Daryl & I went hiking with my dad in the Frenchman River Valley close to where I grew up. I was struck by the starkness and beauty of the hills, rocks, and foliage. The thorns on the Russian olive trees, the brightly colored lichen clinging to the rocks, the smell of sage bushes as we brushed past transported me to another time and place; the wild frontier or even the days of the dinosaurs.

It was the lichen though that twigged my memory to furniture and house decor from the '60's & '70's. The use of brown, orange, yellow, and green, sometimes to excess, enveloped a room. I came across a blog posting that sums up the 1960's design quite nicely, Retro Planet.

It is interesting to me how nature gets it right. The elements & principles of design, such as color, line, shape, texture, contrast, harmony, & dominance are inherent to nature or rather God, who is the masterful designer of it all. When I go to a lake, I don't think to myself, "A taller and bushier tree on the right shore line would balance out the picture" or "The birch tree trunks are too white and they don't compliment the coniferous trees." The delicate and intricate design of a butterfly or the flower clinging to life in the crevasse of a rock cause me to stand in awe of the Creator.

Ocean waves

This has been a camping summer so far. D & I are preparing to hike the West Coast Trail which has compelled us to be active. Neither of us have done multi-day hiking trips, so we have been doing our best to get in shape and test all the gear before hand. Our outings have taken us mainly to northern Saskatchewan and the 10  flights of stairs in our building. Several sections of the WCT takes you along the beach looking out at the Pacific Ocean. I am looking forward to the challenge and beauty of hiking 75 Kms of the WCT. More to come...

Thinking of the ocean and the water reminds me of the quilt that I made for my in-laws 40th wedding anniversary. The bargello pattern creates fluid waves that tempt me to sail away on the ocean.

Coral sea quilt 2010

Trains

One of my nephews turned 11 this month and he is the reason that I decided to make a quilt for each of my nephews and niece. When he was in preschool, my brother or sister-in-law would drop him off at our place before they headed off to teach. He would hang out at our house for an hour or so before Daryl or myself would drop him off and pick him up at school. I often had a quilt project on the go and he would want to help me with the sewing. He was most interested in the "gas pedal", so I would let him control the foot pedal.

One morning he asked me if I would make him a quilt, of course I said yes. At the time he was obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine. I found a paper piecing train pattern on the internet and designed a quilt that he could curl up in.

Each quilt I made for the kids has given me such joy. I have tried to think about each of their interests and create a quilt that reflects them. In the future I will feature the other quilts for my nephews and niece in their birth month.

 Train quilt 2006

Suspended train track built 2004 at Michael & Megan's King St. house
by Daryl, Papa Don & me

Family time

This morning Daryl and I wandered down to Souleio for an iced beverage (I had the strawberry & basil iced tea, yum) and a pastry. While we waited for our order, we sat outside on the bistro chairs (reminiscent of France) and watched the comings and goings of the people around us.

One family in particular grabbed my attention. A white mini van with Alberta plates parked across the street and a young couple emerged from it. The side doors were opened and closed many times, the trunk was opened and they brought out a Chariot. The Tulle roof rack was opened and more pieces to the puzzle were added. The presumed "mom", I only say this because at this point there was no other evidence of kids besides the look of a post pregnancy tummy on her slender body & the Chariot, grabbed her suitcase and a change of clothes, then she disappears. The man keeps circling the van opening and closing doors, the whole while, Daryl and I are wondering what they are up to. After 5 minutes or so, dad pulls out a little girl about 18 months old. He walks around the van with her a couple of times and then puts her back in the van. I think this is strange, because it would appear that they are getting ready to go out for a walk. After another 5 minutes, mom appears again with a new outfit on. By this time I am thinking that they are ready for their walk. Nope. Doors open and close again and baby is changed. A time later, another kid emerges, approx 7 years old. OK, now their ready to go. Nope. I then see in the reflection of a store window a smaller version of the 7 year old emerge from the van. Now we have 3 cute brown haired girls, but that's not all. I see the smaller one check out herself in the reflective window, do a little twirl and then start pushing the Chariot. No surprise really, there is one more little girl sitting in the Chariot. This family spent nearly 30 minutes getting ready for their little walk. I felt exhausted for them. I wonder what brought them into town and where their little adventure was going to take them.

Kudos to my friends and family that have children. I no longer have to wonder why it takes them so long to get ready or why they are late arriving for events.

Perhaps the family could have used something like this. 

My patriotic duty

Spending time out in the summer sun is keeping me from my quilting these days. I love the long warm summer days and nights. I often joke that if I were a pagan, I would worship the sun.

From the heat of summer to the dead cold of winter I bring you a project that kept my husband Daryl and our neighbor Christoph busy for a few hours. We live in a loft with 18' ceilings, which means loads of wall space to display art, pictures, and quilts. When we moved in to our loft, I wanted to hang a quilt on the wall above our downstairs bathroom, but I did not want to use a ladder or scaffolding every time to change it. Christoph and Daryl created an ingenious way for me to display my quilts. The used a drapery rod and clips, nylon rope, pex tubing and a few other gadgets to assemble the pulley. I am able to access the pulley design above the ceiling tiles in the upstairs bathroom to lower and raise the quilt as I desire. Whenever I change out the quilt, I think that I should have some triumphant music playing. It's like our own private flag raising ceremony. With that said, I have my Christmas quilt Holly Ribbons still hanging. I guess I better do something about that.

The change has been made, my Paris quilt is now on the wall. "I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles."

Jazz

In Grade 11 I fell in love with Harry Connick Jr. & Billie Holiday. At the time, "Swing Kids" were the cat's meow and from there my fondness for Big Band music, Glenn Miller, and Django Reinhardt grew.

Last night we went to the Wayne Shorter Quartet performance at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. Although each individual musician was remarkable in their own right, I realized throughout the performance that I just don't get jazz. The improv and experimentation gets entirely too complex for me. I had difficulty following the melody and the structure, or lack there of, in the music. My husband, who is a musician, asked the question, "Does it matter if you understand it?" One can still appreciate the music and the creative process behind it without connecting with the music. Listening to unfamiliar music is like being in a foreign land. You hear "jibber jabber" and you feel clueless, yet there is something there that seems familiar and you know enough that you can appreciate the conversation or the activities happening around you.

Despite my lack of jazz insight, I am drawn to the the Jazz Age and the cultural revolution that it brought. The 1920's fashions were chic. The women of that era became more empowered. It brought us the Charleston, Billie Holiday, Art Deco, and fabulous hats.

A friend of mine shares my fondness of hats. In 2006 we decided to take VIA rail from Saskatoon to Jasper  decked out in our new fab hats and dress coats (fabrique par moi). Where ever I travel, I keep my eye out for a new hat.

Anna's gorgeous wool hat.

We each purchased a hat at Hats & That on Broadway (Saskatoon).
Our men look dapper.

I bought this hat along with a pair of circa 1930's shoes
 at a vintage store in Montana,
Virgelle Merchantile

I bought this one at McNally Robinson.
Who knew a bookstore would have such
great hats.

Paris

2 years ago Daryl & I went to Paris for our 10th anniversary. We fell in love with the city and the French language and France. I cannot get Paris out of my brain. The flavors, the architecture, the gardens all are inspiring.

3 Sisters Etchings designed for Moda Fabrics transported me back to the streets of gay Paris. When I saw this pattern hullabaloo by Moda, I knew the 2 would work perfectly together.

Enjoying a Nutella & banana crepe at Jardin du Luxembourg.

Wine, bread, cheese. 

The carousels of Paris.

I will return to Paris one day and wander the streets, walk around Jardin du Luxembourg, stroll the fabric district, and just sit drinking my tea as I watch the action around me.