le chat noir

I have been in Montreal for two weeks now and I am starting to normalize. We have discovered that many of the museums here are free Wednesday nights, so Wednesday will be museum day for us. Walked to the top of Mont Royal where the vista of the city is remarkable. Had poutine @ Bonquise. It was good, but wouldn't want to eat there more than once every six months. Last night we were invited out for a raclette meal. We were told that it is a must do, French experience. Wine, cheese, cured meats, what more could you ask for?

As for quilting, I have found one great tissus (fabric) store so far on St Hubert. I am looking forward to visiting it again. One block from where we live, I stumbled upon a vintage and repurposed fabric store where they sell sewing machines from the 1960s, fabric, salvaged buttons, zippers, & shoulder pads, among other sewing necessities. I think I will buy un machine à coudre because they said that they would buy it back from me when I am done with it. Seems like a fair deal.

out of season

Bonjour mes amis
We are in Montreal and searching for a place to live. I do believe we have narrowed it down and will be putting cash on the table this afternoon.

Last night Daryl and I were craving gelato. With 2 stores near by we thought we were in luck. We walked into the first resto and were greeted by a jolly fellow. Table for 2? No just gelato tonight, pointing at the freezer of brightly colored gelato. He shakes his head and remarks that it is out of season. With obvious looks of disappointment on our faces he tried to steer us towards a piece of cake. Although they looked delicious we declined and walked toward the next cafe. With eager anticipation we approached the freezer and saw that the cooler was covered with cardboard boxes. We inquired about the gelato and she also said that it was out of season.

Daryl and I were befuddled by this discovery that gelato can be out of season. I guess Jerrys in Saskatoon has not received the memo that gelato has an in season.

Checked baggage

A year of change, uncertainty and adventure awaits. Je suis excite et nerveux. My mom chuckled at me this past week as I practiced expressing my feelings en francais.

What does one pack for a year long adventure? What luxury items does one bring and what do you need to let go of and leave behind? This is not an easy task. Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I love purging and organizing. I thought I kept up this fairly well in my own home, until I started packing. I have accumulated a lot of stuff in the last four years. I was a bit disgusted with myself. Upon our return, there will be a great purging going on.

My luxury items and necessities: Nespresso milk frother. Check. French-English dictionary. Check. Pink puffy. Check. Sewing machine...I had my sewing machine packed in one of the 6 suitcases that we are bringing but my mom talked me out of it. She figured I would be able to rent one when the mood struck. Daryl did a google search and confirmed that a sewing machine would not be difficult to come by. Out came the machine. Not sure how much quilting I will get done this year, but I will enjoy making chai lattes.

Whether I am quilting or out adventuring, I will keep you all up to date.

Off to Montreal we go.

Scientific Method

Recently I came across a blog "It's Okay to be Smart". It has quirky articles, interesting illustrations, amazing pictures, and fascinating facts. This basically describes one of my nephews who will be celebrating his birthday this month. He is quirky, interesting, amazing, and fascinating. Common discussions with him include how would gravity work on a square planet?, where would be the best place to build your house on a square planet?, what kind of rock would be the best type of rock to create rock people?, what's your favorite element?

When thinking about his quilt, I knew that I had to stick to a science theme. What boy is not fascinated with explosions and danger? With that in mind, I decided to applique hazard symbols on it. I love how they turned out.

I watched a clip on the above mentioned blog based on the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment about delaying gratification. As I watched the kids struggle with the decision to eat the one marshmallow immediately or wait for the researcher to come back in order to receive a second marshmallow, I chuckled as I watched them agonize. This reminds me of a conversations that my nephew and I had with several other family members about empathy. Watch the clip and see what your reaction is.

Throw caution to the wind quilt 2007

One of my favourite pics of my nephew (left) and my husband 2012

 

Loose Ends

I am an ISTJ - the duty fulfiller. Described as loyal, dependable, honest, and quiet. However, under stress, ISTJ's fall into "catastrophe mode". If any of you know me well, you will have been party to one of my dramatic scenes. Anyway, by nature, I am an organizer and a planner. If I have started a task or project I am highly motivated to work on it to completion.

When I start planning a new quilt in my mind, I mull over it for some time. I think about the fabrics that I have and how they would compliment and highlight the pattern that I have chosen. I also ponder over who each quilt will be going to and take great delight designing and creating it. Generally speaking, if you give me a week to work on a quilt, I will have it done. I become the mad quilter, obsessed!

However, this was not the case for this quilt. I started it in May, as seen in my first blog posting, but summer came and went and the quilt sat in my fabric box waiting to be finished. It nagged at me until one weekend in September, I became inspired again and I finished quilting it. Tying up loose ends is always so satisfying.

In quilting and in life, I strive to do my best and work diligently until the desired outcome is achieved. When that desired outcome falls short or changes in some way, I agonize and struggle until a new normal and order are established. I have learned that it is in the struggle that many beautiful things emerge.

What's next? I need to finish a baby quilt for a friend before I head off to Montreal!

Popsicle Toes

What do you give a friend who has everything? I suppose I need to explain a little here. This friend does not live excessively, but she has been able to streamline what comes into her house and what is taking up precious space. Organizing and purging are as innate to her as breathing. After 7 babies you become somewhat of an expert. Shall I rephrase the question? What do you give a friend that is well equipped with toys, crayons, clothes, books. . .? Why not another quilt? Although this friend is also a quilter, admittedly, she does not have the time, energy, or space to create right now. I thought these cheery colors would brighten up her day.

I found this pattern on Moda Fabrics called "Mind the Gap". I love the illusion of the strips overlapping each other. Cutting the strips was a bit tedious, but putting it all together went quite smoothly. I debated over several days how I was going to quilt this one. I like the crisp lines in the pattern, but I thought that if I quilted vertical or horizontal lines, they would somehow get lost or look off. I decided to quilt horizontal stripes with free form quilting in between. In the end, I am very happy with how it turned out.

I'm not sure if using a white background fabric was wise in a houseful of sticky fingers. Oh well, the colors pop and that's what I like.

Popsicle Toes quilt

Popsicle Toes backing

Rubber gloves

Why haven't any other quilters told me about the wonders of rubber gloves?

When I quilt, typically my forearms and shoulders get all tense and sore from directing the fabric. One evening I got thinking, if rubber gloves are useful for putting on my compression stockings, would they not also be useful for quilting. Voila! Rubber gloves have opened up my world of quilting. Who knew? They provide great traction and are oh so stylish. I casually mentioned the idea to a colleague and she told me that some company actually makes gloves for quilting. Crazy, right? Anyway, I feel like an enlightened quilter now. In fact, I was so inspired that I finished 2 quilts in one week.

This quilt is my first attempt at a "modern quilt" design. I'm not quite sure what that means exactly, but it seems to be a move away from the traditional block quilting and patterns. I have noticed the increased use of negative space, solids instead of prints, asymmetry, and random piecing of fabrics. What I love about modern quilting is having the freedom to piece together fabric for the backing. I think it creates a new dimension for a quilt. Quilting all the "straight" lines as opposed to my typical free motion quilting was challenging, however the rubber gloves made the job a whole lot easier. Next task is to find a suitable recipient for this quilt.

Posted from Paris

Posted from Paris quilt backing