Stitch and Miss

Patchwork in clothes is sometimes stunning ...

Top Canadian designer, Joseph Helmer, made a patchwork maxidress of linen (2008)
photo in Elle Magazine (Canada) March 2008
photo credit: Leda & St. Jacques

...and sometimes not.

Patchwork skirt, Oscar de la Renta
photo credit: oscar PR girl's instagram

Sorry Oscar.

Quick Response Codes

Artist, Diane Mohan's work.

Diane Mohan's textile piece made from 1 inch squares.
"If I Can't Afford a Smart Phone How Do You Expect Me to Read This"
48" x 48"
It was part of "Alleged" an exhibited in March 2013
at the Propellor Gallery for Visual Arts 

Advertisement in the Paris subway for a sushi place.

Made with pieces of sushi.

Knitted art by Greta Grip for the exhibit Hard Twist at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto.

"Watch Me"
One of 8 of a series.

If you use a QR code reader can you actually read the codes? I don't know because I don't have a smart phone.

Expression for All Senses

I saw this piece in Paris.

We Stopped Just Here at the Time, 2002, detail,
by Ernesto Neto (1964-)

It's installed in a perfect spot at the end of a hallway at the Centre Pompidou and can be seen from far away.

We Stopped Just Here at the Time, by Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto.

The viewer participates in a sensorial experience.

It's a sculpture made of fabric and spices- cloves, cumin, pepper, curcuma. The smells arouse the senses. I feel the weight of it by looking at it. From reading about this artist, I see many of his works are interactive but I saw no one venture into this space.

View of the top of the soft sculpture

You can see an interview where he speaks about another piece he installed, The Edges of the World, at the Hayward Gallery in London, England, by clicking here.

Subway Art

A patchwork of stone.

A detail of a mosaic in the Spadina subway station in the city of Toronto, Canada.

Click here for more on art and architecture at the Spadina station.

Miss Gracious

A few years ago while at a piano concert performed by Julian Gargiulo, I met Denise Garrido.

Julian gets crowned by Denise in the parking lot.

She has been in the news recently. She was crowned Miss Universe Canada for a day only to find out that the judges miscalculated the points!

Denise Garrido at the concert

She has been on every radio show and TV talk show for the last 2 days. I must say she is very gracious in all her interviews...like a true Miss Universe! Commendable.

from left to right:
me, Christina Rowlandson, Julian Gargiulo, Denise Garrido, friend

Through meeting the group (seen above), I was able to connect with the Diabetes Association spokes person from the Cayman Islands (C. Rowlandson) which is where Ad Maiora Canada and Ad Maiora (Verona) donated blue quilts for the newly diagnosed children.

I also became good friends with Julian. His music was the inspiration for one of my art pieces.

Julian Smokes
(he doesn't by the way!!)
67 cm x 83 cm
 It actually isn't finished yet!

Julian Smokes, detail
hand embroidery, stamped afbric

Julian Smokes, detail
hand embroidery, stamped fabric

Rescuing Old Quilts

I have written about my antique quilt collection before. You can see some of my very small collection if you click here and here and here.

When I see a nice quilt that isn't too expensive and (usually) related to what I teach, I buy it.

I do have a favorite spot where I buy. Barbara Griffin's antique store at the St Lawrence Market (north market on the west corner) in Toronto is a perfect spot for me.


Last weekend I bought two really old ones.

I bought this one because it was well made.
 It's got a lovely design and
the small triangles are appealing to me.

I bought this one because it had a completely different quilt on the back!

The fabrics are fabulous! There are some really old ones in this one!

The batting in this one is a wool blanket. You can see it in spots where the fabric has disintegrated.

This is the back of the quilt.

Barbara was happy that they were going to someone who really appreciates them!

When I purchase a new textile I put it in a plastic bag and freeze it to kill all bugs. They say it is good to redo that once in a while.

A Visit

Canadian Quilters' Association board of director member, Laine Canivet, was in Toronto recently.

Old City Hall tower in downtown Toronto

She and I (and Marsha Cleveland, editor of The Canadian Quilter) have been communicating about articles for the magazine since the exhibit Tradition in Transition was invited to France.

summer issue 2013

The Summer Issue 2013 has an article entitled Definitely Canadian which is in large part the presentation I gave at the 18th Carrefour Européen du Patchwork Lecture Series.

starts on page 11

A future issue will feature an article about Verona and their biennial textile festival. I will let you know when that gets published.

To order a copy click here.

Laine and I met on Friday for a coffee at my favourite place, L'espresso. She wanted to see my studio which was full of cardboard boxes and bubble wrap and not much sewing. I plan to set up my sewing machine this week as I slowly send out the Mineral pieces that arrived from Europe last week and make more room in my head for creating!