the house with the golden windows: north wall

We lived in Kenora, North Western Ontrio for ten years in a narrow two story brick house on a quiet street. In our back yard we had tall maple trees. There was a lane.


It was the only time that I have ever lived in a town.























I studied fine art through Lakehead University at the time. The professors would come to Kenora from Thunder Bay every two weeks. Our classes were on alternate weekends.

During the last two years, my friend Barbara Sprague and I would drive to Thunder Bay for conferences with our professors. I made this house for my graduate exhibition.


At the 1994 convocation, I was awarded the chancellor's medal for the highest marks of any part time student that year. We did not attend the ceremony. By then, we were already living on Manitoulin Island.

number eighty six

Lucky Protection

Made for my grandson Jack, who was born Friday the 13th, October 2009.




I finished it Christmas 2011.





I used red thread for protection.
On the back, I embroidered the Hemp Leaf (asanoha), a classic sashiko stitch used in Japanese infant clothing and bedding. For luck.


number eighty five

April Lily

A baby quilt for my youngest child, April Anne. Born in April, 1987. Entirely hand pieced and quilted.

number eighty four

log cabin flip

This is a string quilt made one block at a time. The batting and backing are layered, and then the logs are built up by stitching with machine, then flipping flat and stitching further logs. Log cabin blocks begin at the central square, usually red. Dark and light logs make up the strong design and with this method, the quilting just happens as the block is stitched. The blocks are joined afterwards by hand.


This quilt is now used at our cottage on one of the single beds in the new guest cabin.
number eighty three

Storm at Sea

I made this quilt for my husband's brother Tom and his new wife Margaret in 1988 as a wedding gift. It is from a collection of blue scraps in my collection, plus some new fabrics. I followed a pattern I found in Judy Martin's book Scrap Quilts.

Many people still think that I am the Judy Martin who wrote all those wonderful quilt pattern books but I am not her. I would reccomend her books however, as they are excellent resources for traditional piecework patterns.

number eighty two

Frank's Quilt

There was a period when I was trying to use up all my scraps. In this quilt, I sorted my printed fabrics into darks and lights, and pieced one of each square together. When arranged, they formed a new pattern, as yet un named.
I gave the quilt to my new nephew Frank in 1989.


number eighty one

Trees in Winter

Stitched photos,
silk
puff paint


Photos of our back yard
in Kenora, North Western Ontario
taken from the kitchen
window

1990

Number eighty

Light Of The Moon

Collage on canvas
painted, stitched
backed with hand dyed cotton
Quilted with a couched binding



Circle imagery


2009


number seventy nine

Twenty Four Hour Care

hand dyed, over dyed cotton
Cotton velvet
buttons, rayon ribbon
machine pieced, hand quilted
This piece was in the
works for six years.


2009


number seventy eight

AWARD: First place Traditional Wall Quilt
National Juried Show (Canada) Saskatoon 2009

Somewhere there are heirlooms

favourite night dress
hand dyed rayon, paper
artist canvas, cotton perle,
hand stitch


2008



number seventy seven

Zen Ecstacy

Sari Fabric and mixed media
Hand stitch
raw edge applique, couching
embroidery, embellishments.

Part of the Millenium Journal

2006


seventy six

String Quilt

Machine PIeced
Machine quilted
Each block was flipped
and stitched so that it was sewn and quilted at the same time.

Then I hand finished the blocks so that they were sewn together.

I made about ten of these
string quilts and gave
them away during the
period we lived
in Kenora Ontario.

I taught the workshop
"string quilts" at
quilt Canada 1996
in Saskatoon and again
in Edmonton. It's
so easy.

1988

seventy five

January

Cotton and cotton blends
Machine pieced "bars"
Hand quilted.
I made three of these
bar quilts when we lived
in Kenora.

I gave this one to my
sister Nancy. I don't have photos of
the others.

1986

seventy four

Patch of Blue

Sugar Sack and Cotton
Cotton Muslin backing
Machine pieced
Hand quilted
The blocks were gifted to me by Doris, our neighbour in Kenora, Northern Ontario.
When Doris died, her daughter gave me Doris' sewing chest which I still have. I gave this quilt to Yvone, our dear friend who lived in Canada for a while but moved back to New Zealand.


1984

seventy three

Zoo Animal baby quilt

cotton and cotton polyester blend
hand pieced and quilted



1987



seventy two