There’s been progress all round this last little while…

Progress finishing the very last little details of my renovation, the last 3 light fixtures are up in the kitchen and my amazing sink is installed! It sits on the counter in a hallway between the kitchen and eating area  so I get to see it all the time on my way back and forth through the house.

Beautiful isn’t it? Elizabeth Harris made it for me and has done a brilliant job of it! There  are quotations circling the drain, all sorts of quotes and thoughts on the good, bad and humorous aspects of drinking. It was good fun scouring the Bartlett’s and Oxford dictionaries for suitable quotations and a hard task to narrow it down to the ones in the sink.

Back to progress… I’ve been working on my cherry blossom quilt and it’s coming along well, the drawing is almost done, just a little bit more to go. It even has a name now, the quilt is called “Hanami”. Hanami literally translated ( or so I have been told) means “flower viewing” I thought it sounded just right for this piece.

Here’s a little detail so you can see what’s happening…

Just for a change of pace I headed up to Whistler on Friday to attend the opening of The White Dog Studio Gallery a number artists I know and admire are exhibiting there.

The gallery is beautiful with lots of light and open space. There is second floor opening out onto the main floor, the whole space is very inspiring.

and it was a great evening for a beautiful drive…

there’s even progress on the weather front around here. It’s been a very spring like weekend, here’s hoping it lasts.

Have a great week,

Bye for now, Catherine

What a wonderful weekend I’ve had, well wonderful in every way except the weather!

I spent this past weekend leading a workshop on Salt Spring Island, an absolutely beautiful place tucked between Vancouver Island and the mainland of BC. I traveled over on Friday afternoon, an easy journey compared to the trip home! Friday night was a trunk show and presentation of my work, Saturday and Sunday were spent with the students.

We had a wonderful well-lit room, with loads of space to spread out and get to work.

I had a great time working with the students and getting them started on their own designs. There was some amazing work created over the 2 days! Many, many thanks to Karen, Susan, Wendy, Rachel, Bobbie and all the gang at Stitches on Salt Spring for all their help, hospitality and organization.

Salt Spring Island is a beautiful place though I didn’t get to see it at it’s best. It was a cool and rainy weekend, perfect for a workshop but not so good for taking images of all that natural beauty. There were few picture-taking opportunities, but I can never resist stepping into the forest in search of interesting trees and moss,  you can see just how dark it was.

One of the best parts of spring is skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus  for those who understand the Latin names of plants) and since Salt Spring Island has an “earlier” spring than we do on the mainland, the skunk cabbage are just coming out.  They are truly one of my favorite things!

A few more days and a bit of sunshine will nudge these beauties into full bloom.

The weather really didn’t cooperate for me traveling back home to Vancouver , there was a major windstorm and many ferry sailings were canceled making my trip away a bit longer than expected.  Don’t let the calm water in these images fool you… this is the calm after the storm.

We were packed in like sardines once the ferry started running again, there were lots of weary travelers …me included.

Sometimes there really is no place like home!

Bye for now,Catherine

I know I know, I’ve been a bad blogger.

No excuses except this one….I have had a touch of the flu the past 10 days and haven’t had much energy for anything but the absolutely necessary. I know you don’t want to see pictures of that!

A group of wonderful  women have been spending their Wednesdays at my studio for a few weeks now, they are taking my Textile Illustration course and creating great work. I really enjoy seeing the way each of them  use the techniques we have sampled and explored.

Dorothy is working on a piece inspired by some “city eagles”, she has altered the original image with exciting results.

Monica is creating a design inspired by a tree near her home.

and Cheryl is building a most amazing forest!

Everyone has been working really hard…. well almost everyone!

I have made a bit of progress on my cherry blossom quilt, all the bits and pieces have been appliqued in place and I have started on the second coat of paint.

The 3 blossoms on the left have had their second coat of paint and ready for the next step… the 3 on the right will get done this week, that’s my plan anyways.

Bye for now, Catherine