Maybe it's a Sign

I read an email too quickly and missed an important sentence.

There is in fact a traveller for my Verona trip that would indeed like to share the apartment, a quilter who'd like a room mate.

Find the white church tower at the top curve in the river. Walk back diagonally to the left until you find the green, top of a tree situated between the two bridges. That is pretty much where our apartments are!
Photo taken by my Italian friend Caterina from the air!

So I guess there is STILL a spot left for the trip- a spot for double occupancy.

View of the Roman Theatre

Maybe you saw the other post saying the trip was full and you were so disappointed. Well, this is a sign! The spot opened up for you!

Pass the word around, talk about it at your guild, call a friend who you know would love to do this.

You don't have to leave from Toronto or even Canada as the trip begins in Verona.

It is an amazing experience.

Food as Inspiration

Yes inspiration is everywhere.

I find food can be an inspiration.

How about this home-made torrone patchwork! Love the rectangles with the hazelnut organic shapes.

Or the shapes of the end of the Treviso lettuce...could make an interesting free motion quilt design.

How about the colours of a poached pear (last Sunday's dessert!)

Use your senses and be inspired.

*all photos from my Bellezza project

Today's Greyness

I took this picture last summer. It sums up today's greyness. It is raining in Toronto.

It isn't done on a canvas.

It isn't painted by an artist.

It was dripping paint from the side of a building.

It's beautiful.

ONE SPOT LEFT

Well the Verona trip registration is almost full. How great is that?!

view of the Adige river
close by to our accommodations

Just ONE place left.

one of Verona's views,
seen here mostly Roman architecture

Who's coming with?? Decide soon.

San Giorgio near our accommodation

*all photos are from my Bellezza project

A New Year

The kids have returned to their homes, the house is quiet again. There are still signs around the house of our festivities, like a dining-room table full of dirty crystal glasses waiting to be washed by hand and a fridge full of amazing leftovers, or as I like to call them "highlights of the week".

cluttered design wall!
I have contemporary work up
as well as the traditional 9-patch blocks
for a quilt I am working on.
I should really only have ONE thing up there at a time.

I have decided to redo my studio. A good project to start with. I am no longer inspired when I enter the space. Sometimes I don't even want to go in the room! So it's time.

Where to begin... The important thing is to start, to actually begin.

folded fabrics everywhere!

I am a list maker. I take a job or a goal and break it down into manageable bits. I feel good when I accomplish a task that takes me closer to my goal. The task is sometimes a very small step but nonetheless something that takes me closer to the end.

I will keep my cigar boxes
filled with embroidery floss and threads.

 A make over. The new year is a good time to make such a change.

prize ribbon
for a contemporary work I did in 2009.
I will keep that visible!

May your 2015 be filled with inspiring changes.

Happy New Year.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to all my blog followers.
Thank you for supporting me. I have had close to 93,000 visits.
I enjoy all your comments. I am glad so many find my posts inspirational.
This year is the end of my 4th year of blogging.
I have loved my experience.
Thank you to two of my children who "gave" me this blog in 2010.
Click here to see the first post from them!

Artists' Dinner

Last week I hosted an artists' dinner where art makers came together to exchange thoughts about their work, their process, their troubles, their goals, their stories.

Almond Caramel Meringue Roulade with caramel sauce

I think it was a success in that people went away with ideas and ways they can make their practice better. That was my goal.

(BTW, the Contemporary Textile Studio Co-op in Toronto started hosting these Salon-Soirees so artists can enhance their practises and meet with other creative people to broaden their horizons. I am always on the cutting edge of trends!!)

bread right out of the oven

We were a small group of 5, a textile artist, a painter, a paper maker and a photographer and me.

apple phyllo pie

As I was preparing for the dinner, I recognized my food is my art. I love marrying flavours and textures and presenting the food in an artistic way, either by being conscience of the colour combinations or the textures or even the shapes.

berry cheese cake and mango-lime pie

This evening I hosted another dinner. I prepared with joy everything we eat together.

(Pictures posted from past food file...wanted to post recent food pictures but forgot to take them and everything got eaten up!)