The Embarrassing Music on My Music Player

 

I love my music. I have music playing for much of the day. Cooking needs the radio; Classic Rock of course, or maybe some Newfie music. Sewing, crafting, writing and working out require the use of a portable music player; often hooked up to speakers. Before you go getting all excited, know that I don’t listen to anything even remotely new. I have to admit, that I am not much of a music aficionado. My music dates me. (Good thing too, cause nobody else will. Ha ha.) I am hooked on classic rock up to the nineties and country music up to about 2005.

My first MP3 player was loaded when I got it in about 2002, I never did change the music on it. Not even once. I had it until about two months ago. I think it died of boredom from hearing the same 113 songs over and over. *grin* Even now, when I hear certain songs, I am disappointed when I don’t get the song that I am expecting next. Werewolf in London should always be followed by Cracklin Rosie. That’s just how it should be … in my corner of the universe.

 

So I now have an iPod. I loaded a few songs on it the day I got it. My iPod; a cute little pink one, is loaded with most of the same stuff that was on my original MP3. Sure, there are a few more songs, and certainly room for lots more music; but I am have never gotten around to loading more songs. Do you know how much effort it takes to go through a directory of 10,000-ish classic rock songs to find the ones that move you? Plus, we all know that I am, by my very nature, lazy. Lazy. Lazy.

I have to admit, that there are a couple songs that don’t really move me anymore or that are just plain crappy remake versions, but I have yet to remove them. The danged thing needs a delete button! I also have to confess (it’s a good thing that confession is good for the soul, cause I seem to confess a lot of things here.) Where was I? Oh yeah, confessing that there is a lot of music on my little pink player that is an embarrassment. You know . . . the kind of music that makes you shut the speakers down when someone comes into the room.

Jack Wagner: All I Need

Stompin Tom Connors: All of his songs! (Gotta love him!)
Captain and Tennille: Love Will Keep us Together

In terms of better music, you’ll find The Who, The Beatles, Alan Jackson, ELO, Prism, April Wine, The Irish Rovers, Alabama, Burton Cummings, Green Day and many more like that. Soon, I will be adding more classic rock some really old country music (think Dolly Parton) and a whole whack of Newfie Music. Oh, and let us never forget the world’s all-time best album, Bat out of Hell by Meatloaf! Paradise by the Dashboard Light is my favourite song…okay it is tied with Beer for my Horses by Toby Keith; but let’s not quibble. I would add some classical, because I love it too, but in general it’s hard to hear over my machines when I am working.

My favorite song for romance writing is I Love the Way You Love Me, by John Michael Montgomery. And nothing makes me cry like Dance Little Jean by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. When I need pumped up, it’s Mary Mac by Great Big Sea. There is no way you can keep your feet still during this song. For a laugh there is always Drink and Drink and Fight by Flogging Molly.

I do have one problem with the cute little iPod … when it is on shuffle, why does it play the same songs over and over? After three months, I heard The Night Chicago Died for the first time since I loaded it and I’ve heard Boris the Spider ninety seven times. I mean really, Why?

Creative Stitches 2010

 Yesterday was Creative Stitches here in Calgary. For those of you who don’t know, it is mostly a quilting and scrap booking show. You can look at other people’s work, talk to shops and other crafters, but best off all, you can SHOP. Often you find new and exciting things, or that special piece of fabric that you were hunting for. Every year there are new projects and inspirations waiting in every booth.
   The competition quilts were beautiful and inspiring. My preference is for the pieced ones, rather than the heavily machine embroidered ones, but they were all inspiring. My friend Deb D. won a prize for her quilt. Congratulations Deb.
   

Secret Workshop's Booth



 I found some great books by Pam Clarke called Designs with Lines. I picked up three from the series about alternate ways to freehand traditional quilt blocks. I also picked up a stitch in the ditch ruler. These I found at the shop of my friend Barb, The Secret Workshop which is based out of BC. It is an internet store that caries a wide variety of tools and gadgets for longarm quilters. If you aren’t a long arm quilter, don’t skip over her site, because she has plenty of good things for quilting on the domestic machine. She taught a great class in moving beyond the basic stipple. Thanks Barb, you’ve inspired me. http://secretworkshop.com/home.php



Horst of To Be Quilting



It was good to see my friends Horst and Julie of To Be Quilting. They are always fun to chat with and make a great mid-arm machine. And check it out, they are a CANADIAN company. A mid-arm machine made in Canada, it almost makes me with I was still looking. http://www.tobequilting.com/

 

Matt and Gage

 

I spent some time chatting to Matt Sparrow, Man Quilter, and his son Gage. They were manning the APQS booth, a booth after my own heart. My longarm is an APQS and I couldn’t be happier with it. If you ever wondered what these machines were all about, you should ask Matt and Gage, both of who can pretty much tell you everything about these great machines. They have a number of sizes and fabulous customer service. I love that their machines are designed to be maintained by the quilter. You should see Gage running the Lenny. http://manquilter.com/





Fabric. Mmm. I saw some fabulous fabrics. I think I’m in my batik phase. I found some lovely batik fat quarters and some Christmas and Halloween ones too. I’ll be giving away the seasonal ones soon right here on this very blog. Check back for more details.



 



Quilter's Haven's Booth



Just because I don’t already have enough to do, I signed myself up for a block of the month from the Quilter’s Haven of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Similar to a Sun Bonnet Sue, these blocks have appliqued ladies in old style skirts. They have a great selection of fabrics and some cute patterns I’ve never seen before. They have a pattern for a licorice allsorts quilt that was too cute to be believed.. http://www.quiltershaveninc.ca/

   



Nice Nancy(left) and Patricia Trouble
clowning around in
 the Wonderfil Booth.



Wonderfil Specialty Threads. How could I forget them? For piecing my quilts I use wonderfil threads exclusively. Their Konfetti is fabulous, double gassed and almost lint free. Both my domestic machine and my longarm love it. Check out their website (http://www.wonderfil.net/) or my website if you want to learn more about these great threads. www.pinefreckleforest.com.



When talking of shows like this, its easy to forget people, and I would be sadly remiss if I neglected to mention my chaufeur for the day. Special thanks go to Kim of Chatterbox Quilts. She’s a good friend and fine quilter and we car pooled to the show. I’m curious to see how her new Accu-cutter works.

Have you been to a show lately? What was your favorite part? Let us know.

Cath

Scotland

Before I begin, let me say that I was married 30 years before we went on our honeymoon. Before that vacations were few and far between and mostly spent camping. My husband is a reformed workaholic. I used to wish he were home more. Now I wish he wasn’t mostly retired. Be careful what you wish for….

A big chunk of our vacation this year was spent in Scotland. I always thought that Canada was the most beautiful place in the world with its vast and varied landscapes. Now, I know that other places can be just a lovely. Scotland has a huge variety of landscapes, and each comes upon you in a rush as you travel down the highways. In a matter of only five miles you can see mountains, valleys, farmland, forests, highlands, lowlands, lakes, moors and rocky plains. It changes so quickly that it is breathtaking.

We spent eight days traveling and staying in a variety of bed and breakfasts. We put 1150 miles on that rental car. Let me tell you it sure is scary being a passenger when the driver is on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. We won’t even get into the damage on the front left tire…

Our personal trip highlights included Loch Ness, the ocean at Nairn, Clava Cairns and dozens of castles and ruins.

One of the cairns at Clava Cairn and a lovely old tree there.

I’ve always been a believer in Nessie. Sadly we didn’t get to see her, but when you look into the depths of

Loch Ness, you can’t help but believe. I wish we had had more time to loiter there, maybe for some late evening walks. I like to think that she would have showed herself. (I’m only marginally delusional.) While at Loch Ness, we visited Urquart Castle. Well maintained they were fascinating but swamped with tourists. But for us, the beauty of castles lies in the hard to reach places that the tour buses don’t get to.

We found one castle quite by accident, as they aren’t all on the maps. We traipsed up a dirt road, crossed a fence, wandered up the mud path, through the sheep fields full of sheep and up a small hill. I think it was about a mile or more. At the top of the hill was Castle Auchindoun. We passed one couple on our way up but aside from them, we were the only people there. We were able to climb all over the walls and spent time just sitting and thinking about castle life. Very inspiring, there may be a pattern out of this trip. I’ve got dozens of ideas scampering through my head I just need to get them down on paper before they dissipate.

Spent three days staying at Warthill Castle. It’s a private home that sometimes is a bed and breakfast. It was great! Everywhere you looked were stories of the life of the Lesley family who have lived there since 1050. Ancient and modern mingled to give a glimpse of life and history you rarely ever see. They own 2500 acres of land. Even in a country as big as Canada, you rarely see such huge estates. Beautifully treed, it was teaming with wildlife. Deer, rabbits, and birds were everywhere. Part of their land was for crops and cattle, but near the castle itself were rich lawns and lush forests. It was interesting to learn the family history and of all the renovations to the castle itself. A tiny castle grew and grew over the years until tough times forced the family to sell off much of the fancy-work and copper ducting outside the newest parts of the hall. Without proper drainage, those parts of the castle started to fall into disarray and were torn down. A large part of the castle still stands and is quite lovely. I wish I could have seen it when it was at its largest, most grand stage.

All-in-all, one cannot sum up a vacation in only words and a few pictures. The memories will linger on, with photographs and momentos to keep us going.

Until next time,   Cath

European Vacation: Part One

In theory, this blog is about quilting and inspiration. I'm a firm believer that who we are and what we do influences our creativity. Well, I'm pumped and fired up to create again because of vacation.

Wow. I’ve been crazy lazy. Vacation flew by. Then the Ranch River Run. Then work work work. Finally, a trip to visit my folks. At long last, a new blog entry.

Vacation: Took three weeks and went to Europe. I had a great time. We toured London, Paris, Manchester and then Scotland.


London was incredible. We spent a lot of time on the double decker bus tour. We had a different guide each time and found that each one had their own focus. We learned new things from each driver. I had no idea that Big Ben was the bell inside the tower. I thought the tower was Big Ben. But nope, I was wrong. It is the Tower of Big Ben with Ben being the bell itself. We did the Jack the Ripper tour. It was interesting to tour White Castle and see all the locations of his murders and to learn theories, old and new about whom Jack really was. The Sherlock Holmes Pub was entertaining and served fabulous pub grub. We did the Clink Museum tour. It gave an interesting perspective on the Clink Prison, but a little disappointing. We saw the Phantom of the Opera. The acting was divine and the music breathtaking. I would go again in a heartbeat, even after seeing already.


Stonehenge: I have been told that normally when you go to Stonehenge, there are hundreds and hundreds or people there and they are packed five deep and block your view. Not for us, we took the Sunset Tour! We arrived just at the monument was closing. Once all the other tourists were cleared off, our group went in. There were about fifty of us and we were allowed inside the protective fence. It was humbling and inspiring. I’ve read stories about the lei lines of power that run through the world and the theory that Stonehenge was built on a junction of these lines. I always thought it was a bunch of bunk. Well, I have to admit I was wrong. Woefully wrong. There is power there; the place fairly hums with it. I cannot describe what it felt like. It was almost as if it were alive. I got goose bumps and tingled all over. Technically, we were not allowed to touch the stones. But seriously, who could go there and not touch them? I know I sure didn’t resist and neither did any of the other
people in our group.

Paris was interesting, but way too crowed and busy. The Eiffel Tower was incredible to see. The Louvre had some fabulous paintings. Mona was much smaller than I had anticipated, but the building itself with its intricate architecture, history and painting ceilings was breathtaking. Even the floors were inspiring. I’ve got a quilt series on the floors of Europe ratting around my brain. Rodin’s Garden was fascinating. The Gates of Hell was incredible and the rose garden was beautiful.

What nobody warned us about was that in Paris, you cannot use the washroom unless you buy something. My wee tiny bladder has trouble with that concept. So, after much walking and pee-dancing around, we decided to sit and have a beer at a small outdoor pub. After a few sips, I could take no more. I had to go. With sign language and much blundering about, I managed to find out where the washroom was. Down the narrow, steep, rickety stairs, first door on the left. So, I traipsed down the dimly lit stairs and opened the door to the unisex bathroom. The smell or urine hit me like a truck. There was pee ankle deep on the floor. Still, I was desperate and my bladder wouldn’t wait any longer. I rolled up the legs of my pants to keep them dry, dropped my drawers and squatted over the toilet. No way in the world would I sit on that thing. I was no more than started when the light went out. Motion sensor! What the hell and programmed for under a minute. Who pees that fast? Not me! And clearly none of those who went before me finished in time. I waved my arms around and the light came back on. Whose brilliant idea was that? Motion sensor in a bathroom. I’m guessing that the men had trouble standing there and trying to aim when the lights went out. It sure explained the mess on the floor. Yuck. Yuck and yuck again.


The best part of Paris was the Musée de Cluny. By chance I discovered that this museum was the home of the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries. So, we hoped the Metro, (which by the way is fast and efficient and the best way to travel Paris) and visited the museum. Unlike the Louvre, which was wall to wall people and so busy you could hardly see the art, Cluny was almost empty. It is a museum of medieval history and had incredible artwork, architecture, stained glass and hordes of other stuff. All of which you could get right up to and see the fine details. Best of all were the tapestries. We spent over half and hour in that climate controlled room. Alone except for the security guard, we studied each one closely and took some pictures. Non-flash pictures, but they turned out not bad all things considered. We also visited the Military Museum and took a Segway tour from Fat Tyre Bicycle Tours. They are an American company with all young American and Australians doing the tours. Fabulous for those of use who don’t speak French. Don’t ask about our segway accident. It was Dave’s fault and that’s all I’m going to say. Don’t listen to him when he tells you otherwise.

Manchester is a rainy dismal industrial city. We stayed there for eight days while Dave played in the World Field Lacrosse Championships. They didn’t do so well, but it was fun to watch.

Scotland…. Scotland is worth a blog entry of its own. Stay tuned.

Evolution of a Quilter

The other day, someone asked me what inspired me to start quilting. After thinking about it I came up with these things.

1. Years ago, too many to count as I was only about 13, the family went on vacation to Nova Scotia, Canada. We spent a couple weeks there visiting relatives. At one house, their Grand Mother (Aunt?) was visiting and she was busy hand quilting a top she had made. It was lovely. Too this day I can see it clear as a bell. Lovely blue and green background with Sun Bonnet Sue, trees, a pond, ducks, a barn. It was a fabulous scene and kind of the inspiration for my Sundreams pattern.

2. Sewing clothing. I always loved sewing. So much so that my parents gave me a sewing machine when I graduated high school. We didn’t have much money then, and it was a huge gift! Thanks folks. But what I discovered it that I was short, had very short legs and a big chest, nothing I ever made fit quite right. I even took a pant-fitting course and had the instructor in fits trying to figure me out. Over the years, it only got worse as I blossomed (read as got fat). A huge percentage of my clothing attempts were failures, so I took up quilting. After all, if a blanket doesn’t fit, use it somewhere else. King becomes queen. Queen becomes double. On down the line it goes until it’s a wall hanging.

3. Babies! Yup. Twin girls. Tons of fabric scraps and still having the desire to create. I made quilts. When one of my daughters is sick (she’s 22 now) she still sleeps with the first quilt I made her.

4. Craft book sale. I joined a craft book club. For signing up I got 5 or 6 books for $1.99 You know how these things work. 6 Books only $1.99 but the don’t tell you about the $20 shipping. Sigh. Anyway, I ordered a couple of crochet books and a couple of quilting books. Older books. Nothing in them about rotary cutting, just templates and black and white drawings. I picked the nine-patch and I was off.

Now it should be noted that I am mainly self taught. I learned a lot of things the hard way as I went along. I mean who knew you couldn’t cut eight layers of fabric with dull kitchen scissors? Not me that’s for sure. Still I persevered. I a made a double quilt from poorly pieced blocks. Quarter inch seam? Never heard of it. I thought all seams were 5/8ths. It went together poorly, the blocks weren’t square. I layered it. Pinned it. Quilted it. Walking foot? I had two of those, one on the end of each leg, but not one for my sewing machine. Needless to say, the quilt has puckers. More than one and some of them are quite big. One was so bit that my husband taught the girls to flip up the corner and say “look at the hockey pucker.” Gotta love men!

So there it is in a nutshell. Yes I get it. That would make me the nut! I’m a quilting nut. I quilt everyday. I have to quilt every day. Two years ago I even burned the potatoes on Christmas day because I snuck into the studio and got distracted.

Do tell me, what inspired you to start quilting? What was your biggest quilting mistake? Next time, I’ll tell you about the twelve days of Christmas Quilt disaster.

To the right is Rabbity Long. One of my Long Fellas Series.

Creativity: The Force That Drives Us

As a quilter and pattern designer, I find inspiration in many places. Now, not all inspirations make it into a quilt. Most of them never hit the design board and are destined to remain nothing more than a pretty picture or hastily scratched drawing. Some make it into rough designs but not into an actual quilt. Sometimes the initial inspiration sparks one idea that quickly becomes a run-away and morphs into numerous other ideas with the first spark lost in the dust.

I collect images from magazines, newspapers, book covers, catalogues. I take photographs and make rough sketches. Occasionally,words spark an idea. Sometimes a quick turn of a phrase sparks a design.

Like Neapolitan. I used to work in a local quilt shop. One evening a customer came up to me with three bolts of fabric. She had a brown, a pink and a white. “Does this look like Neapolitan?” She asked. That touched of the inspiration for my Neapolitan quilt. Right after work I hit the computer, fired up EQ and started designing. I didn’t stop until the final design for my Neapolitan quilt was finished.I had the design complete, the sample quilt finished and the instructions written and ready for my testers within 48 hours. WOW. Now that's inspiration.

Talking of inspiration, let's not forget flowers and trees and all of Mother Nature’s wonders. They are always inspiring. But so too are the works of man. Towering skyscrapers and elaborate architectural curves delight the eye and stir the mind. Perhaps my favorite inspiration has come from a visit to Banff, Alberta. It hit me just outside our hotel.

My husband was attending an engineering conference and we were staying at the Banff Springs Hotel. For me the trip was a boondoggle. It was just some free time away from the kids and pets. Time to relax and revitalize myself. Touring the hotel grounds I happened upon an inspiration. It was perfect. I had to record that image so I could use it later.

But alas, I had no camera. Some silly woman left the camera at home. Sigh. So I scurried into the gift shop and purchased a disposable camera (for about the same price as a real camera, I might add) and hurried back to take pictures of my inspiration.

Yup, it was still there. It hadn’t moved. What was this wonder? The perfect design for an all-over quilting motif, or perhaps for an intricate applique design. I tilted that camera too and fro. I moved back and forth getting many angles. I wanted to be sure I didn’t miss a detail. Finally, sure I had it all I stood back and tucked the camera into my purse.

That’s when I heard the whisper. A small girl asked her mother, “Mom, why is that lady taking pictures of that garbage can?”

That’s it. Find your inspiration where you can and pay no heed to the critics and those funny little voices.

Cath