Home from Hornby

Well, here I am, back home from my "artist's retreat" on Hornby Island. It was terrific - taking time apart from the busy-ness of life to be creative, to focus on my work, to think about what direction I want to go in. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Without the usual distractions of life, I have better been able to narrow down what kind of work I want to do, and confirmed in myself a new, and somewhat unexpected direction. In addition to quilting, I did a lot of journalling (this is a decades-old practice that I find very helpful in sorting out my thoughts, as well as for unloading concerns and cares that have the potential to divert me from what I really want to do), and collecting of images that inspire me and sorting through those. I was able to concentrate on eating a healthier diet, and getting outside for daily exercise - all those good things that are part of a more balanced life. It was good, very good. So . . . . I thought I'd show you just a couple of the pieces I worked on, besides
the Hornby Quilters journal pieces. "To Market, To Market" is the first in a series of improvisational studies I am embarked on making. I used a painted barkcloth image as the focal point, and built around it, with strip units that were cut in different widths, some of them wedge-shaped and some not, and sliced apart to make a border for the focal point. In the second study - So Many Zebras", I began by making curved strip-units, and then cutthem apart and put them back together again. I will show you others in this series as they evolve. Next is a piece called "Windows on Africa". I made a grid by couching very thin strips of African fabrics,
then filled in the squares with scraps of some of the many African wax fabrics that I have used in the past. It's a playful "What If?" piece, and measures 16" X 36". "Knight" is the last piece I worked on, and it still needs quilting. I used Ruth McDowell's method to break down a photo of Knight, one of the Bitengye Designers, as she was ironing on a table underneath the trees. It will be the first in a series of quilts featuring African women. As you've probably gathered, I am focussing on African-inspired work at the moment. I am using African fabrics, and other fabrics that work well with these, as well as African artwork, and have tucked most everything else away for now. And this is what I plan to continue working with in the coming weeks and months. Thanks for letting me share this with you.

My Newest African Collage quilt, cont'd

It's sometime since I posted, but I have a good reason. Believe me! After a brief visit in Victoria at the end of January (there's a photo of Nora at the bottom of the post - isn't she great?), I headed over here to Hornby Island for a 6-week "artist's retreat". It's the first time in several years that I haven't gone to Uganda at this time of year, so I decided to use the time to hunker down and "do the work". That is, to play with my fabric. When I last posted, I had just spent a few days on Hornby, and had begun working on a new African collage quilt. I thought you might like to know what became of it. First of all, I added borders to all of the silk-screened prints - 4 different borders in all. Then I began figuring out how to put the whole thing together - decided to work in three columns. I used strips of leftover fabric for fillers and constructed two zebra-stripe and black columns to separate the different sections, and then I just sewed it all together. It still didn't look complete, though, so I constructed a strip of huts for the bottom, which helped to balance the sun on the top left and the stars on the top right. I had a lot of fun doing it,
although I couldn't seem to step away from a symmetrical setting. I've moved on to a couple of new projects, and will show you those once they're a little further along. I'm going to do my best to post once a week - think of it as a weekly report on my retreat. I am without TV and internet service (I can come to this office and use theirs if absolutely necessary). I have a cell phone but no land line. I have music and CBC radio, or just plain quiet if I want it. When I wake up in the morning I can hear the eagles in the nearby nest, and there are lots of beach or forest walks when I need a little exercise. Most of all, I'm away from my usual commitments and obligations, and can sew to my heart's content. Or read or write. Pretty wonderful. I'll let you know if I am as productive in this environment as I hope to be. I anticipate learning a lot about myself as well as progressing in my work. Until next week . . .

Hornby Island Community Quilt

Every year, the quilters of Hornby Island are asked to make a block for their community quilt. There is an overall theme - this year it was Hornby Island trees - and some of the fabrics are provided, so that it has a cohesive look to it. It hangs outside the co-op under a cedar shelter, and raffle tickets are swift every year. The beneficiaries change each year, but it goes to a Hornby Island recipient. Things like the new medical clinic, and the program to neuter and limit the numbers of feral cats on the island. The blocks are exquisite in their own right, and I felt sure you would enjoy seeing close-ups of some of them. Marg Bennett, Gayle Lobban, and Eleanora Laffin are the creators of three of these gems. The fourth quilter is not known to me. Wouldn't you love to have this hanging on the wall of your home or cabin? Just in case you're wondering why you've been hearing so much about Hornby lately, it's because after five years of owning a small piece of land here, and almost fifteen years of coming here regularly on holidays, we have just built a cabin here, complete with a sewing loft. It is such a gift to come here - so quiet and peaceful and
soul-restoring. And there's a wonderful group of quilters, as well as many other artists on the island, so I feel very much at "home".

Hornby Island Quilt Show

Last week, on the Sunday of the holiday weekend, I was honoured to take part in the Hornby Island Quilt Show. This is a one-day annual affair, held outdoors (weather permitting), on Heinz and Eleanora Laffin's charming property. And this year the day was perfect - sunny but not too hot, a warm breeze blowing through the tall firs and through the orchard, and quilts hung against the barn, along the house siding, through the apple trees, and out on the washing line. Add to this the sweet sounds of Graham Herbert playing his harp, lemonade and goodies served in the garden, and the friendly interest of island dwellers and island visitors alike, and it made for a very pleasant day indeed. I went with the items made by the Bitengye Designers, as well as this year's Grandmothers' quilt, and the sales of over $1000 will go directly to the Kitambaa Sewing Project. So encouraging. It was lovely to be part of such a community event. There was no jurying, there were no prizes, but every person entered the quilts they had made in the previous year, and felt proud to be a part of it all. There was tremendous variety in style of quilt, in colour use, and both traditional and innovative designs could be enjoyed. I couldn't help but feel that this was quilting at its best.

Paying Attention

One of the amazing benefits of slowing down, is that there is time to pay attention to the world around us. And it is from that place of noticing the insignificant, moving slowly enough to see the detail, that creativity springs. Here is a small fern frond, just beginning to unfurl in the debris of last year's growth.

Here are its cousins, just a little bit older, vibrant green and stong and tall.

And older family members, resplendant and confident, majestic in their summer attire.

And here are the blackberry bushes, making their annual bid to overtake the salal, some of the berries already ripe.

And when not taking time to pay attention to the natural world around me, there is the time to notice the details of other treasures, in this case these carved gourds from Uganda. Barbara Ueland, an older and very wise writer about writing, credits her creativity to the daily walk which was part of her routine. Time to pay attention, she said. To take the time to notice details. In some mysterious way, she was more creative because of it. And we who work with fabric benefit from taking time to pay attention in the same way. What a joy to be travelling a little more slowly through these summer days, to have the luxury of noticing the world around me.

R & R - Hornby Island

After a very busy spring, some R & R time is in order. And for me, this means time on Hornby Island. Two ferries and an hour and a half from Comox, there is this magical place that restores my soul. We have a half acre over there, and on it we have perched a not-very-fancy 5th wheel, with a porch. A large tent is put up for the summer, ready to receive any guests that arrive. There is an eagle tree on the property right beside us. And just down the road is Grassy Point, from which the most spectacular sunsets of the summer can be viewed. It's a place to slow down and to re-group. Once the grass is cut, and

the blackberries cut back in their relentless attempt to overtake us, we have little else to think about except reading a long-awaited book, paddling in the tidal pools, cooking shmores over the open fire, and sleeping long and quiet and uninterupted sleeps. Our twin girls, Jessie and Emily, are already over there, and tomorrow we will join them. And on Thursday July 2nd we will celebrate their 30th birthday together. How amazing is that! And then I will set up a little sewing table on the porch, and get that binding on the latest grandmothers' quilt, and will bring out my sketch book and put a few ideas that have been dancing around my head on paper. And all being well, you will be introduced to the patterns that are birthed in this place this fall. May you all have such a soul-nourishing, creativity-inspiring summer!