First Days in Uganda

Trudy and I arrived safely in Entebbe on Thursday night, and have spent the last couple of days in Kampala the capital of Uganda. We've arrived in the rainy season, which doesn't mean steady rain, like we get on the west coast, but instead the morning sunshine  steadily builds up to a sky filled with dark grey clouds, which finally can't hold any more water, and open up with a heavy, hard, but warm rain, which is often over within an hour or two. The bougainvillea in extravagant colours climb up the walls and birdsong in the morning and cicadas in the evening fill the air with smells and sounds that are at once familiar and foreign. Adonai House, where we're staying, provides the perfect touchstone for us before heading out to Mbarara.

Our main business here in Kampala was to check out the craft markets - in three main locations - to see what's being produced here and what gaps might be filled by the crafts made by the Bitengye Designers. We have made a good friend and contact in Resty, who is the Manager of the National Crafts Organization, and who is already selling their work, and asking for more - "Please send me everything they make." Good news to pass on to the women when we see them. The one drawback of this opportunity is that the women don't get paid for their work until it sells. They have become used to us paying them up front for what they make. But it is still a means for them to sell their work.

Today we head up to Mbarara, where we will meet up with Alice and all the other women. It's a five hour drive, with a mandatory stop at the equator, but it will feel good to settle into Canada House again, and to get ready for the workshop with the women. 

A Visit to the Bitengye Designers

Alice and the Bitengye Designers have been on my mind for a long time, and thankfully, today, Trudy Thorne and I will be starting our journey back to Uganda to see them again. (Sadly, Joan, who has been there for every previous visit is not able to travel with us this time. I will miss her, and am sure the Bitengye Designers will too.) You may remember that I was meant to go last October, but ended up in hospital instead, so it is a gift to be able to go now.

We will all be meeting at Canada House once more, where we'll review some of the products they have been making, and present possible ways for them to go forward on their own. Because this will be the last visit - bittersweet, indeed - for a variety of reasons. I have very mixed feelings about this, but have known all along that the time would come for the Bitengye women to "fly on their own", and this seems to be the right time.

We have a couple of Ugandan contacts to make on their behalf, and another Canadian who is working in Uganda and interested in purchasing some of their goods, so one of our goals is to further these relationships while we're there. I had hoped that we might link them with the Stephen Lewis Foundation, but when I looked into it, they are supporting larger, umbrella organizations, not small groups like ours.

Thank you once again to all of you have supported this group of women over the years. It is thanks to you that we're able to hold this workshop, and set them up with the equipment and supplies they'll need to carry on. Also thanks to you that Alice's Sewing School is operational, and that Recheal's Clinic for her village of Kikagate is now built. Visits to both of these will be highlights of our trip. I'll be posting photos and news here during our time in Uganda when I'm able to, and hope you'll be able to enjoy these, and so feel a part of the journey. Hugs to all of you.

A Special Quilt for a Special Baby

Earlier this year we received the exciting news that our daughter Emily and her husband Michael, who live in New Zealand, are expecting their first baby. So of course Emily and I needed to talk about what sort of quilt he or she might like. At first it was to be a quilt of sea otters - very cute, but a bit limiting in colours. Then it was to be a quilt containing all sorts of wildlife - sea stars ("Could they be puffy please?") and jelly fish ("It would be great if they had dangly bits hanging from them!") and sand dollars. Just when I was beginning to wonder how exactly I was going to pull this off, a quilt with orqa whales was suggested. Yay!!! Here was something I could work with. 

I began with a graphic I found online. I wrote to the artist - a young woman from Seattle - and asked for her permission to use it, which she graciously gave me. Then I simplified the design, enlarged it to the size I wanted, and used it as the basis for the centre panel. I wanted to make something that this wee babe would use - could spit up on and poop on and be cuddled up in, with the quilt being thrown into the wash whenever necessary. Nothing too precious. So the lines are simple and the fabrics are few. I was already well into the appliqué when we learned that it's our first grandson who will be making his way into the world in December. Not that one has to use blues only for boys, but I felt happy that these colours would be fitting for a boy.

I had some pretty complicated ideas for how to surround the centre panel, but kept reminding myself to keep it simple. Two inch squares in a variety of blues and sea greens seemed fitting. And to finish it off I added a darker blue border. I feel pretty happy with it, and most importantly, it will be ready to take to New Zealand when we return there in December, in time for the birth we hope, and so that we can help out in the first few weeks.

The Wonder of Trees

It's a wonderful thing when one is able to show one's work in a public place, and I am so thankful to Heidi at Sweet Surprise for giving me this opportunity to show a few of my recent works, all inspired by my wonder of trees, in her shop. I think the first time I heard of textile art being hung in a public, working space, was in the Esprit offices in San Francisco. They believed that their employers were happiest and worked best when in an atmosphere that included art. Heidi echoes this belief, and I am one of several people who has benefitted from her generosity. In this case, her customers as well as her staff have the opportunity to enjoy these textile creations while consuming a cup of coffee or tea and one of her yummy gluten-free desserts. 

So thank you to Heidi, and to all those wonderful people that offer people like me the chance to have their creations seen, and hopefully enjoyed, in our community. The exhibit of 10 works will be on display until the end of October. All works are for sale.

A Winter Garden

A Winter Garden - 18" X 60"

Sometime ago, I wrote about a piece I was working on as entry for the Surface Design Association exhibit entitled "Garden Tapestry". I am now pleased to be able to tell you that "A Winter Garden" was juried into this show, which will be at the Portals Gallery in Duncan from October 22nd to November 10th. I am so looking forward to seeing the other pieces made specifically for this. As for my own piece, it began with a collection of hand-dyed and commercial indigo fabrics that I've collected over the years, and the thought of the gorgeous bouquets of tulips that appear for sale in late January or early February, a reminder that the rains will not continue forever. The exquisite colours of these flowers - outrageous, really - lift my heart and give me hope. I often bring some home with me on the dark, short days of late winter, and wanted to celebrate them in this work. You will likely notice the quilting, done with hand-dyed pearl cottons from Colour Complements. This way of working is becoming more and more prevalent of late. There's just something about sitting down and connecting with the cloth through hand stitching that can't be accomplished with machine work.

A Winter Garden - detail

A Summer of Outdoor Living

Setting off in our kayaks from Spring Island

View from our tent on Spring Island

This summer has been a summer of outdoor living, of breathing in the good, sweet, fresh sea air of Canada's west coast. Sometimes camping, sometimes kayaking, sometimes staying by a fresh water lake. Free of the responsibilities of running a business and preparing for new quilting classes, I have been able to enjoy all of this in a way I haven't been free to in years. And it is so good for the soul, for health, for re-kindling a sense of joy in our world. I have done very little stitching this summer, apart from new leaves on my "traveller's blanket", and finishing my entry for "Garden Tapestry", a juried show of work made by members of the Surface Design Association of Vancouver Island. (Happily it was juried in, and will debut in a Duncan gallery in October.) But I sense it's been a time of refreshment for me, and know that the creative life and stitching is somehow linked to this time spent moving slowly, noticing the small things as well as the enormity of God's creation, and that come the fall, I will be in just the right space to get back to work. I'm so very thankful.

Fibre Art Voices

I consider myself fortunate in belonging to a local group of fibre artists known as Fibre Art Voices. We are fairly diverse in our backgrounds and in the ways we like to work, but we come together regularly to share what we've learned, to experiment with new techniques, and to challenge ourselves in our creative endeavours. We have just put together an exhibit called "Oceans", and are now applying to various venues in order that the public can see what we're up to. Each of us created one large piece and two or more supporting pieces, and here are a couple of photos of them on display in the context of the recent mid-Island garden show. (Thanks to Marcy's parents for inviting us to hang them in their Ladysmith garden house!) The benefits of being part of a small group like this are enormous - lots of encouragement, opportunities for critique, challenges as to "what if . . .?", and the camaraderie of like-minded friends. Oh yes, and good food and drink shared along with lots of stories and laughter.

Yesterday we had an indigo dyeing day in the backyard of one of our members. Hands-on help, the ability to ask pertinent questions, and the sharing of resources resulted in some wonderful indigo pieces being created. The magic of watching a green piece of fabric gradually change to indigo as it's exposed to the air always amazes. And experiments with tie-dyeing, folding and clamping, scrunching pole-wrapping yielded such a variety of results. The challenge now will be incorporating some of these gems into the pieces we make. Hey, maybe that should be our next group challenge? A collection of work based on our indigo fabrics . . .

Margaret with a piece of fabric freshly dipped in the indigo vat.

Some of the first pieces made. In no time at all the washing line was full.

So then we spread the pieces on the grass.

June preparing a piece of shibori.

Marcy looks on as June and Margaret work their magic.