Quilt Heirlooms

I am sorting through my children's books. I am packing up the ones we want to donate and setting aside the ones we want to keep.

There are many!

I came across Patricia Polacco's The Keeping Quilt.

It made me wonder about MY quilts.

Three of the latest quilts...
all old tops that were recently machine quilted.

Will they be passed down? Will they be blankets that start a conversation about the great-great-grandmother who made them? Will they be discarded and forgotten and eventually sold at an Antique Quilt Market?

Three more..
T-shirt quilts and simple squares

Right now my children love the quilts we have around the house. Each child has a quilt that I made especially for them. Each one is personal.

I love making quilts.

Follow your passion and you will find your purpose

Having a Great Day

I am having a great Friday!

It started with a breakfast with my husband at my favourite place. Then 2 hours of knitting and chatting at the Purple Purl. Then baking for tonight's dinner party. The house smells fabulous!

Something I saw at the knitting store this morning reminded me of something funny.

Bunting (knitted) hanging at the Purple Purl.

In Italy, I often see prayer flags of different colours hanging from the balconies.

Here is one example (top right side)

The coloured, rectangle flags are sometimes used to bless the surrounding countryside. The wind takes the blessing and carries it everywhere. All who are touched by the wind are uplifted and a little happier.

I saw something like it in Umbria except the colours were different.

After I uploaded the images on my computer I realized it was a clothesline of rags!

I hope on whichever day you are reading this, that you too are having a great day!

Umbria Trip Meeting Date Set

If you are interested in finding out about my Umbria Trip please join me at

Olive grove

 L'Espresso Bar, 321 Bloor Street West (at St George) in Toronto

 Sunday, November 1, 2015 

4 pm

Beautiful Umbria

I will have a print-out of the itinerary, the price, some photographs and can answer all questions about the trip.

The focus of the trip is to create a journal where from ideas can be extracted and new work, either traditional or contemporary, produced upon return to a  home studio. It is a chance to gather ideas and be inspired without the pressure of performing on the spot. It allows people to vacation and learn. The journal then becomes not only a collection of ideas but a memory of beautiful Italy.

I will bring my journal/sketchbook on the 1st.

The view of Trevi from the terrace

Studio Visit in Umbria

While in Umbria I visited my friend, Virginia Ryan,  in her art studio.

Acrylic paintings by Virginia Ryan fill the studio space.
Exhibit SHIFT, 2013

She is an established multidisciplinary artist. She is also a mother and an author.

She has lived for many years in West Africa and that influence is evident in her art work. Please read on her website "White is a Color" by scrolling 1/5th of the way down.

detail, Les Femmes de Gagne A'la' Rue du Commerce/4
160cm x 180cm
2013
acrylic on canvas

Eight years ago, I saw her multi-entry exhibit at the GCAM (galleria civica d'arte moderna palazzo collicola) in Spoleto. Photography, paintings, collage, sculpture, video and voice.

On this visit, I was particularly interested in her fabric-related work from her SHIFT installation.

fabric dresses as inspiration

She is such a wonderful person full of life and full of great ideas AND a great hostess! I find her inspirational to me as a person and as an artist.

Catalogue cover for SHIFT 

She will be giving us a tour of her studio and a presentation about her work on the Umbria Textile Trip I am organizing for August 2016.