Tired of Winter White and Longing for COLOUR....?

Are you tired of winter? And looking at white? As a quilter and a gardener, I find myself longing for some colour! Yes, I do have lots of colour in my fabric stash, and I've been browsing some gardening catalogues, dreaming of which new perennials to add to my garden this summer. I guess that will have to do for a few more weeks, but it is encouraging to feel the growing warmth of the sun, the lengthening days and slowly rising average temperatures. Spring IS coming... eventually....
Some of our members are snowbirding where it's warmer, basking in green instead of white, and perhaps enjoying beautiful tropical blooms like these at left. Or maybe they are taking in a few inspiring quilt shows.

Here are a few links to some colourful inspiration for you: The Road to California Show takes place each January in Ontario CA, just east of Los Angeles. You can see some of the winners here and here. Pictured at right is the Best of Show winner, Fractal by Claudia Pfeil of Germany. Wow! Just W O W! Read all about it and its maker here.

I've always had a fascination with Japan, probably because of the Japanese penpal I had for years. Attending the Tokyo Quilt Festival would be fabulous wouldn't it? Viewing the entries online is likely the closest I'll get, click here to see some of this year's entries and winners. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the amazing Grand Prize winner, and to click on several more links for Special Exhibits and Close Up views.

St Patrick's Day is just a few days away. Click here to view some quilts inspired by Celtic designs and symbols, and of course that beautiful colour GREEN!

How are you dealing with these latest snowstorms? I'm just hiding away in my studio, quilting, quilting, quilting.....

It's Meeting Time Again

Where does the time go? It's meeting time again... already! Tomorrow night we'll be treated to a wonderful Trunk Show by one of our more prolific members, Jean K. I know she will inspire us with her talents and many works of art. I hope I will see YOU there!


Last month two of our own members shared their love of English paper piecing with us. For those who like handwork and a portable project, it is the perfect choice! Susan D who is fairly new to EPP, shared her thoughts and ideas on getting started and how she has approached EPP.

Barb P who has been at it a while.. (some might say she is obsessed..?) shared a number of projects, both large and small. It would be an understatement to say we were in awe of her EPP skills... Oh My!!! From tiny hexies to large ones, to fussy cut, to heavily embellished... wow! Barb sure keeps busy!

Thanks Susan and Barb for a wonderful program in January.

See you tomorrow evening! Same time, same place!

This and That...

Last Saturday was the final workshop for this year. Monica W led a group through all the ins and outs of the Storm at Sea. Everyone enjoyed the day of sewing and camaraderie. Thanks Monica for a great day! We'll all look forward to seeing everyone's Storm at Sea quilts!

 Thanks to Susan D for the lovely photo of Monica with her Storm at Sea quilt.

 There are a few "events" coming up in the next few weeks - Quilt Shows next weekend in Saint John and Woodstock,  a Quilters' Bazaar in Moncton on May 8th and then a Quilt Show and Tea in Sackville on Sat. May 11th. See all the details on the sidebar. It's time to gather up a few buddies and hit the road to support our quilting "sisters" around the province!

To get you "in the mood" for the upcoming spring Shows, here are a few links for you to check out. First for all the Dear Jane lovers out there, there will be an exhibit of Dear Jane quilts from around the world, in Nantes France this weekend. Check it out here. The exhibit celebrates the 150th anniversary of the original Dear Jane quilt, made by Jane Stickle.

And below you can see the winners from the recent AQS Show in Lancaster PA. WOW! Talk about inspiring! Wouldn't it be wonderful to attend this show! This week is the big AQS Show in Paducah. I will add a link to view the winning quilts as soon as I see it online..





I hope you all are busily finishing up your Challenge pieces for our May meeting.. the deadline approaches...  Next up - I'll share some photos with you from our wonderful visit on Tuesday with Sussex Vale Quilters Guild. 

What a Meeting!!

Odyssey Coat- of felted wool, silk and bamboo, lined with Dupioni silk

What a fabulous February meeting we had! An awesome program with such creative pieces of art by an inspiring guest, some good tips/demos, a "blow you away" Show and Tell, and lots of laughter. What more could you want?

Detail of Odyssey coat lapel

Our sincere Thanks goes out to Sharon Riley of Whisper of Spirit. She shared many of her wonderful pieces of felted fiber art with us. Sharon has been working in a wide range of mediums for over 40 years, including clothing design, fiber art murals, quilting, vintage restoration, Liturgical and costume design, mixed media sculpture, screen printing and dyeing, hand felting, needle felting, leather craft and painting.  Sharon's creations are deeply influenced by nature. She uses a wide variety of materials, including Merino, Corriedale, silk, bamboo, angora, alpaca, tulle and silk chiffon. She embellishes with  novelty ribbons and yarns, embroidery and metallic threads, seed pearls, vintage prayer beads, seed beads and Swarovski crystals. She also incorporates found objects - "gifts from Mother Nature", such as stones, bone, feathers, moss, seed pods, shells and driftwood.
Sharon shared with us a number of her felted creations, including cuff bracelets, garments, wall hangings, vessels and art dolls. Although our "topic of the evening" was embellishment, we were all very interested in the felting processes she uses as well - both Nuno felting and wet felting. She kindly allowed me to photograph her work to share with you here.

You can view more of Sharon's creations at   http://www.whisperofspirit.com/index.html
Thank you Sharon for an inspiring program!!

Luscious Lavender Morning Cuff bracelet

Hummingbird's Garden  Cuff Bracelet

Metamorphosis - Rebirth of the Phoenix art doll

Felted vessel

Felted Vessel

Felted wallhanging Earth Sky - 14" x 36". A celebration of the dance between Mother Earth and Father Sky

Detail of Earth Sky

Detail of Earth Sky