After a Long Winter
The connection to nature is a vital part of being a human on this earth. We thrive when we have access to nature and can spend time outdoors, surrounded by plants, rocks, water, and soil. In Canada, doctors can now prescribe nature access in the form of free passes to
Connections to Nature
I could have gone in many different directions with this prompt. Eventually, I decided to go with a technique that I have worked on for the last several years – my nature prints. The connection to nature is so important for humans, for our physical and mental health. Doctors in
Pattern Sampler
At first, I intended to print and paint my fabrics for this challenge. I was planning to make marks on fabric, but then I remembered that I had a selection of fabrics set aside for exactly such a piece already. The bundle contained two printed Marcia Derse fabrics (the dots
Back to the roots
When I started my quilting journey about 20 years ago, I made a couple of traditional quilts. I learned to sew the blocks and arrange them. Patterns are a main design element of traditional quilts, as the repeating blocks are put together to form patterns. Often, secondary and tertiary patterns
Doodling lines
Ah, lines! I love playing with lines in my abstract works. There is so much you can do with them as design elements, the possibilities are endless. A while ago, I filled up a small sketchbook with doodles of thin lines, with different markers and all black and white graphics.
After the Storm
The prompt “Climate Change” could not have come at a more poignant moment for me. Just the weekend before, on September 24, post-tropical storm “Fiona” had devastated our region with hurricane-strength winds. In Atlantic Canada, there was torrential rainfall, winds up to 179 km/h, flooding, washed-out streets and houses, and
Oma’s Farm – finished!
As promised, here is my finished piece for our prompt “Heritage”. To read the full story about my grandmother’s farm and the making of this quilt see the previous blogpost. I’m glad I didn’t rush the quilting part as I think it adds a lot to this piece. The detail
Oma’s Farm
When we got the prompt “Heritage” I immediately thought about my Grandmother’s farm in Germany. This is where I grew up, in the Rhineland, a few kilometres from the border with the Netherlands. I have a lot of vivid memories about this place, about the farm as a building and
My Grandmother’s farm
A lot of us seem to go back to our family heritage for this prompt, and I’m thinking in the same direction. I was back in Europe for a family visit last month, and as usual, I visited my grandparent’s farm which is just a few steps away from the
Looking to nature
In researching our new prompt “flexible”, I read about flexibility in nature. The structures in nature seem to be less rigid and more bendable than the manmade structures we build with concrete and stiff materials. Plants have to be flexible to adapt their growth to the situation they find themselves