Thursday, June 28, 2012

Teaching in Kitimat

Where, do you ask, is Kitimat?  The easy answer is: halfway up the west coast of BC - a two hour flight North from Vancouver to Terrace followed by a hour long drive to Kitimat.

I was contacted two months ago by the local guild about flying in for a weekend to teach. They have a very active, albeit isolated, guild.  Each year they conduct local fund-raising so they can bring in an instructor to teach.  This year, I was asked to teach my Big City Lights pattern (aka New York Beauty) and Fibre Layering. Since returning from Ottawa I was busy ordering supplies, printing patterns and assembling kits.  I flew up last Thursday and was met by wonderful people and spectacular scenery.  I taught Friday and Saturday and even had the local tour. I think I even had more fun then the quilty ladies!! A special thanks goes to Karen for organizing the trip, as well as my hosts Janet and Gary. What a fantastic weekend!!!

Fibre layering

Big City Lights

Some perspective!

Beautiful scenery
After the whirlwind weekend, I returned Sunday just in time to get ready for our long weekend camping trip.  When, oh when, will I get time to get back to quilting? Oh well, I should have most of July and August to quilt, dye new batches of fabric, design new art projects and get ready for the fall quilt shows.


Thursday, June 21, 2012

Teaching and Celebrating in Ottawa

Busy, Busy, Busy!!  We barely had time to take a breath following the Summerland Artists Studio Tour before we left for Ottawa early June to attend our son Robert`s convocation ceremony at Carleton University.  After 5 years in the co-op program, he graduated With Distinction from the Computer Software Engineering program. Even better, he started a new job with a software firm two weeks before grad!

Our graduate!

Proud parents!
While in Ottawa, I was also able to touch base with Ann and my other friends at the Country Quilter to teach my Fibre Layering class.   What a lot of fun to see old friends and introduce them to my latest activities.  I like teaching this Fibre Layering class because every project is unique, from the hand-dyed fabrics through to the coordinating fibers and embellishments.  I teach the techniques - the overall layout design is entirely up to the inspiration of the student.

Laying out the project
Layering and embellishing
Quilting the top
The finished project
The finished project
Congratulations - each project is unique
Now - I'm off to the airport to catch a flight to Kitimat, BC, for my next quilting adventure.