Sisters

Sisters
by Ilene Atkins

One day in October several years ago, three of my sisters were here in Ontario for a visit. The weather was one of those perfect warm sunny fall days that we all love so much. We just had to go for a drive to see some of what Southern Ontario has to offer. 

We were all quite taken with the fall colours, and stopped a few times to take it all in. On one of those stops, near Collingwood, these two sailboats happened to go by. I snapped a few photos, and later printed this on onto fabric. 

I spent many an hour doing the threadpainting, and thinking fondly of my sisters and that great get-together. 

This quilt was chosen for exhibit at Quilt Canada, coming up June 15 to 18, 2016, in Toronto.

Update:  My quilt won first place in its category at Quilt Canada, in the National Juried Show. This is quite an honour, since my name was called with many other big names in the Canadian art quilt world. I am quite pleased. When I was at the show in Toronto, talking to people about my quilt, I was joined by one of my sisters who enjoyed that October day with me, and my good quilting friend from Alberta. It was a sweet moment in my life. 

Stained Glass Inspiration

When I was driving through Parry Sound a few weeks ago, I learned about a public art collection at the West Parry Sound Health Centre. I went in to have a look. Many great paintings and a quilt were on display, which changes as the artworks are sold. What a great idea! To have such a public place as a venue that reveres local art, in such a beautiful setting to boot. Click here.

My favourite piece there was a stained glass Mandella by local artist Mary Jane Zissoff. I love the colours in it to begin with, which is what first attracted me. And for some years, I have had a keen interest in stained glass, and have been known to go out of my way to see it, in buildings both secular and non, public and private. It seems clear that she used the surrounding natural world as her inspriation, and I really like the way the window is stylized and repeated in a circular way, set slightly off vertical alignment to make it very interesting visually.

And here's another photo of the natural beauty that is plentiful in the area between Parry Sound and North Bay. A little camping there with my sister was a great way to reconnect with nature, amongst the windswept pines. We sat by this lake to watch the sun rise up and clear off the morning fog. A very magical moment.

It's Been a While

I've been doing some other things, and haven't been blogging, for a while now. I just got out of the habit, if you can believe it. I've promised myself I would get back to it. So here goes.

I did another postcard, this one of my yoga sister. I had printed this onto cotton fabric, then simply did some stitching and yarn for trim. I suppose I could do some sparkle and colouring in, but it may stay like this for all eternity.


I've also been slowly adding thread painting to another photo. This one is printed on silk, which I think gives better results than printing onto cotton. I took this photo in our garden last summer, and used mostly purple threads to "paint" in the flowers. You can see here how I have it in an embroidery hoop to keep it taut. It will still need some blocking to smooth it out. So far, I'm pleased with the results, and I'm thinking how I can finish it.




I've been doing a lot of camping and nature stuff this fall, too. Being out in nature is just as important as quilting. Yikes, did I say that out loud! Anyway, camping near Parry Sound, near North Bay, and near Peterborough. And hiking along the Bruce Trail near Orangeville. All good for the soul. Sitting by the fire at one point, I was inspired by these power animals to guide me, so I stitched them into a postcard quilt. They are cut out of Laurel Birch fabrics, and appliqued onto a background. Nothing complex, but I do like it.

Road Trip

Two of my sisters were in the area for the weekend, one from Alberta, and one from Ottawa, along with a niece from Korea whose blogs here. So I went to visit with all of them, at the home of another niece in Toronto, along with her very adorable baby. It's great to spend some time with these women in the family.

What a perfect opportunity, I thought, to drive to a quilt store which also happens to be in Toronto. The Sew Sisters started selling fabric online out of their home, and have now moved into a nice retail spot. I've seen them selling their stuff at various quilt shows, and promised myself that I would get to their store when I had a chance. Surprisingly, there aren't a huge number of quilt stores in the big smoke. You're much more likely to run into a quilt store in any number of small towns in Southern Ontario, which is always also good for a road trip.

Of course, I bought some fat quarters, but didn't spend a huge amount of money. I've been collecting pale creamy colours for a project that is still in my imagination. I still need more, and in my typical fashion, I won't start cutting out the quilt until I have 30 or 40 different fabrics. Besides, I'm still in the starting stages of my other quilt, so the last thing I need right now is to start another quilt! When I'm ready, though, at least I'll have all the fabric I need.

And there is a delightful change from my usual raspberries. My friends have been scoping out blueberries for me. They were in the Muskoka area and picked up an 11 quart basket of yum. Not cheap for these wild ones, but they will survive in the freezer and taste delicious in the winter. I might still go picking, but it'll have to be the cultured ones.

Talk about Inspiration

Whew! I finally had a moment to sit down and upload my photos from Quilt Canada 2010. Amazing. I really loved seeing all the excellent quilts, walking amidst the energy of creativity.

Enjoyed the company of my sister and sister-in-law, who are also quilters, and my niece and ten year old great-niece. She's a budding crafty quilty little girl It was a treat to see the world through her eyes!

Spent a few dollars, toured Calgary a bit, collected a lot of ideas.