Last weekend saw me in Mt. Vernon, Washington, where I was the guest speaker at a meeting of the Northwest Quilters Connection (NQC). This is a group of quilters from BC and Washington. I was to give them an update on the Bitengye Designers, the group of women I teach sewing and quilting to, in Uganda. My car was full of their samples - everything from jewellery pouches to quilts. Well, sadly it was my turn to get stopped at the border. After more than an hour, I was told that while I was welcome in the US, my samples were not. I phoned Arlene in a panic - she's one of the organizers of the group, on the Canadian side of the border.
Thankfully she had not left home yet, and I was able to drive up to her place, drop off all the Bitengye items, and drive back down to Mt. Vernon with my Powerpoint presentation. I had the great pleasure of staying with Patty and Bill Mitchell in Bellingham, and that's where these photos are from. Patty has ventured into various ways of quilting, and these are just three examples of her work. I am particularly drawn to "The Corn Maidens", the second very graphic quilt made up in the colours of the Southwest. There are elements in this that look almost African. Thanks for letting me post these, Patty, as well as calming me down after my border-encounter. The last photo is of Nora, now two months old. I managed to route my return to Vancouver Island via Victoria, so I could fit in a quick visit to her (and her parents too, of course). She's smiling and starting to coo when you sing to her, and beautifully healthy. (I'm not sure I should be using the blog for family photos, but I heard from a little birdie that there was someone in particular from southern Ontario, who wondered why there hadn't been more pictures of Nora. I'm more than
happy to post them from time to time.)
Last weekend saw me in Mt. Vernon, Washington, where I was the guest speaker at a meeting of the Northwest Quilters Connection (NQC). This is a group of quilters from BC and Washington. I was to give them an update on the Bitengye Designers, the group of women I teach sewing and quilting to, in Uganda. My car was full of their samples - everything from jewellery pouches to quilts. Well, sadly it was my turn to get stopped at the border. After more than an hour, I was told that while I was welcome in the US, my samples were not. I phoned Arlene in a panic - she's one of the organizers of the group, on the Canadian side of the border.
Thankfully she had not left home yet, and I was able to drive up to her place, drop off all the Bitengye items, and drive back down to Mt. Vernon with my Powerpoint presentation. I had the great pleasure of staying with Patty and Bill Mitchell in Bellingham, and that's where these photos are from. Patty has ventured into various ways of quilting, and these are just three examples of her work. I am particularly drawn to "The Corn Maidens", the second very graphic quilt made up in the colours of the Southwest. There are elements in this that look almost African. Thanks for letting me post these, Patty, as well as calming me down after my border-encounter. The last photo is of Nora, now two months old. I managed to route my return to Vancouver Island via Victoria, so I could fit in a quick visit to her (and her parents too, of course). She's smiling and starting to coo when you sing to her, and beautifully healthy. (I'm not sure I should be using the blog for family photos, but I heard from a little birdie that there was someone in particular from southern Ontario, who wondered why there hadn't been more pictures of Nora. I'm more than
happy to post them from time to time.)
Oh, how stressful at the border! Patty's quilts are beautiful and so is baby Nora (baby photos always welcome). In other news, I spent two lovely days sitting beside Sara at a Maiwa embroidery class 2 weeks ago, and I thought you might like to see this quilt http://selvageblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/my-new-african-quilt.html
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