Pumpkin Seed Quilters and Boundary Bay Quilters

To continue where I left off - my week of travels began with two most enjoyable events. First, there was the Pumpkin Seed Quilters Show and Sale. This is a group of quilters whose purpose is solely to make charity quilts. This year saw them making more than 500, which are then distributed to several worthwhile causes. I was invited to attend with my Bitengye items, in which there was lots of interest (see the two happy shoppers, picking up Alice bags for their two daughters).




















Then it was off to Tsawwassen, where I taught a one-day Ferns and Flowers class. So many colourful quilts were in process by the end of the class. I can't wait to see them finished! And now I'm home again for the rest of the year, and nearly giddy with all the possibilities dancing through my head. I just had a few days on my own on Hornby Island, playing with fabric and reading, walking down to the beach with our dog. But I forgot to take a sketch book with me, and could hardly sleep last night, thinking about what I might make next and getting home to write them down before they depart like fairy dust. It was storming like mad - a true south-easterly - in fact I think I was on the last ferry off Hornby before they shut down the ferries - but it felt like a sunny day in Mexico to me.

Fall Visits to Vancouver and Victoria

After a week of travelling, I'm happy to be back home again, and ready to work on all those things that were put on hold while I was busy teaching. One thing that couldn't be put off during the fall, though, was Nora's quilt. And I came home via Victoria so that I could deliver it to her in person, and have a little visit at the same time. I think she liked the pink bunnies, as she was already dressed in coordinating clothes. At four months now, you can see that she's thriving - a happy baby, giggling away as her father (Ben) tickles her tummy. I also managed to fit in a visit to one of my daughters - Emily - and we had a delicious time walking through the leaves that were covering the ground - red and green mixed together - the aftermath of the previous day's storm. Another highlight was discovering a new fabric store - A Spool of Thread - at Fraser and 15th. It's actually called a Sewing Lounge, and is high and open and well lit, and full of bolts of modern fabrics as well as solids (which was what I was looking for). An inviting gathering place for young people to learn how to sew, with a full slate of classes on how to make pajama bottoms, or
pillow slips or bags. It was refreshing to see young people engaged in these activities, and made me feel as though the baton has been passed to the next generation.

Alice Bags at Aspen Park School

Sarah, Gabby and Max are three Grade 6 students at Aspen Park School who, along with their class, are looking for ways to make a difference. They're learning about the world community, as well as the local community, and already proving the old addage that even one person can make a positive difference in the lives of others. Just over two weeks ago, I was invited to speak to this class about the work I do with the Bitengye Designers in Uganda. I showed them photos of the women at work, and shared their stories, ending by showing them some of the crafts the women make in order to provide for their families. Well, Gabby and Sarah, with their teacher's encouragement, went to other classes in the school, telling them what they'd learned, and particularly about the bags I've been selling to raise money to build Alice a new sewing school. They took orders from anyone who wanted to buy a bag, and took my breath away when I heard they'd raised over $800 in Alice bag sales - enough for her to buy many of the supplies she needs to finish the interior of her school. Today we delivered the bags, and other items, to the school. And cleaned us out of Alice bags
almost entirely!!! A most happy event. Many of the bags were purchased as gifts for family members, and others will become their school bags. Sarah and several others have been using Alice bags in just this way for sometime, and it seems it's become a bit of a fashion statement within the school. And what a difference it will make to Alice! And what a wonderful thing for these young people to have done. Next on the agenda, I understand, is a presentation Sarah, Gabby and Alex will be making at one of the local high schools. Congratulations to all of you!

Collaging with the Blue Mountain Quilters

I'm just home from teaching another class of African Collage - still one of my all-time favourites. This time I was with the Blue Mountain Quilters in Port Coquitlam. I was thrilled to see the amazingly different quilts develop, and to witness the creativity of each and every person in the class. They all started with the same fabrics, more or less, but tackled the questions of how to bring balance to the different design elements in their work, of deciding what "worked" and what didn't, in their own personal ways. For some, the process of designing their own quilts was quite new, but they
were all enthusiastic, and I can't wait
to see photos of the individual wall-hangings when they are finished. In the top photo, Brenda and Gail are deciding where best their pieced borders might fit, and in the next, Janet and Mary Ann are figuring out how to put an unconventional top on Mary Ann's piece. Works in progress by Carol, Brigitte and Louise are also pictured. All in all, it was a great weekend, complete with a Trunk Show and an evening dinner at the home of the President (Louise) I'd like to thank you all for being so welcoming. It really was a treat to spend the weekend with you.

A New Shipment from the Bitengye Designers

Just before I left for Canmore and Calgary, a new shipment of goods made by the Bitengye Designers arrived. This is always exciting. We unpack the large posho (cornmeal) sacks in which they come, and look to see who made what, and to exclaim over colours and fabrics and the women's craftmanship. We check off the order against Athens carefully listed inventory, and then begin taking them out to various sales. This being the season for Christmas sales, is our busiest time of year. We were delighted to receive cosmetic bags (we'd sold out of these), paper bead necklaces and beaded bracelets, as well as being able to replenish supplies of Alice bags in two different sizes. Trudy Thorne continues to be the one looking after all this inventory, and re-orders items from Athens whenever the stock is getting low. Athens then contacts Alice with the order, and Alice divies up the work amongst all the Bitengye members. You can also see that lots of paper bead necklaces and bracelets arrived in this same shipment, and soon - very soon - we will have the new and improved Kitambaa and Bitengye website up and running, so that you will be able to
order these items directly from the web, using paypal, if you're not close enough to attend one of the sales where these products will be sold. The great thing in all of this is how well all the women are doing, that the order system we set up is now working well, and that we're able to communicate with Alice via emails to Athens during the year, as well as when we travel to Uganda. Thanks again to all of you who support this project. Nothing would have been possible without all of you.

Time Flies . . .

What have I been doing lately? Something I've never done before - taking an online class through Quilt University. The class was called Working in a Series, and it was instructed by Elizabeth Barton. What I hadn't reckoned on, was how totally absorbing it would be. I've posted a few photos of the sketches I made in class, which give you a hint of where I'm headed, but are only the beginning. Elizabeth gave us so much material to work with, referred us to many artists (quilt artists and other artists) who work in series, and I haven't quite finished it even now. Life intervened too, of course - visits to Nora and her parents in Victoria, the FAN (Fibre Art Network) retreat in Naramata, BC, teaching on Mayne Island and again in Canmore and Calgary this coming weekend. You know how it happens. I feel I learned so much and am looking forward to working with what I learned for weeks to come. More on that later. I'm also reading a book on creativity that recommended to me - Fearless Creating, by Eric Maisel - and there is lots of meat in this as well. Fall always seem to be a time of re-evaluating for me, this year as much as any. For
those of you who receive Robert Genn's Newsletter, you have already read a profound quote from Steve Jobs of Apple fame. But I think it bears repeating here: "Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important." And "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the
noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your own heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."