December 14, 2022

I made luggage tags for everyone, including a couple for myself. They were a quick and easy project and for anyone waiting to spot their bags on a belt at the airport it is nice to have something unique to look for.

Perfect timing too as Christy and Kathryn head to Arizona for Christmas.

I was looking for a date on my website and realized I’d never done a proper post for my sashimi sampler.

I enjoyed doing this so much that I already have two more lined up waiting. It is relaxing as all the stitches (and stitch lengths) are printed on the fabric and it really is quite mindless. Once I started I couldn’t put it down.

There is, of course, a story behind why I ended up with such a large “first” project. When Stacia, Deloise and I were at Quilt Canada in Vancouver I picked up a couple of smaller pieces. I remember admiring this larger piece that was done as a sample at the booth. Somehow Deloise convinced me to buy the larger project and she would buy the smaller ones. Neither of us touched them until our trip to Panorama in June. Not to be left out Stacia also ordered a small project so we all started at the same time.

I did some experimenting with the stitches – knots in the back for starting threads and later doing smaller stitches at the beginning and end of the thread and going back over three stitches. In some places I left about a quarter inch of a loop on the back to allow for shrinkage but, after Stacia finished and washed hers, it didn’t seem to make much difference. So I stopped doing that and simply made sure I wasn’t pulling the thread too tight.

When it was finished it washed up really nice and all the pre-stamped stitching lines came out. While I was stitching I had a couple of ideas of where I would put it but none of them worked. It ended up here where it is protected but visible under the glass that covers our dining room table.

December 24, 2021

A collection of the few hand-made cards I managed this year.

I can’t say for sure how long it took me to finish this; the first photo I can find of it is from 2020 when only the centre portion was complete. I purchased the pattern before Michael’s stores were open in the West; I think it came from Crafts Canada which doesn’t appear to exist any longer. It wasn’t until we purchased the Texada studio that I got serious about stitching it.

When I first bought the pattern I looked forward to making it. After a few months of stitching I began to wonder whether it was appropriate for me, who doesn’t share the First Nations culture, to be making it at all. I had a few other patterns with Native designs and I sold them on one of the Facebook groups I belong to.

I spent most of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation working on the Thunderbird. Now that it is finished I think of the project as honouring our First Nations. I will proudly hang it next to the Maple Leaf I finished for Canada’s 150th.